Best Glock Clones [2026]: Custom Glock 19 Alternatives

“Aren’t they all the same?”

That’s what I thought when I dove into this market. But the more Glock clones I shot, the more I realized they aren’t all the same. Mostly.

I aimed to pick the best Glock clones you can buy today. They need to be accurate, reliable, and easy to shoot, while fulfilling a particular goal. All of these Glock clones do that.

Can these Glock clones improve perfection?

Glock Clone Comparison Chart

How We Chose the Best Glock Clones

Glock sets a pretty high bar to clear when it comes to making accurate, reliable pistols.

Clones may not have the same lengthy track record of success, but they need to be tough and put rounds on target.

Beyond doing the basics right, I wanted to highlight Glock clones that do something different. They might address common complaints about Glock pistols or fill specific niches better than a Glock. Sometimes, they do something radically different while keeping that classic Glock DNA.

Meet the Experts

This article comes to you from Pew Pew Tactical contributing author Travis Pike. Travis spent a lifetime shooting as a kid and later joined the United States Marine Corps, where he spent five years as an infantryman. His experience as a machine gunner, recreational shooter, and hunter has given him unique insight into various guns and accessories. He also has extensive experience owning, testing, and reviewing all manner of Glock pistols and their clones.

Best Glock Clones

1. Ruger RXM - Best Overall

Best Overall

Ruger RXM

$392

at GrabAGun

Prices accurate at time of writing

$392 at GrabAGun

Classic Firearms (see price)

Battlehawk Armory (see price)

Palmetto State Armory (see price)

Specs 

• Caliber: 9mm
• Action: Semi-automatic, striker
• Capacity: 15+1
• Barrel Length: 4”
• Overall Length: 7.15”
• Weight: 23 oz
• Country of Origin: USA

The Ruger RXM, a collaboration with Magpul, came out of left field. I, like most of you, view Ruger as a bit traditional. They seem to be actively changing that perception, and the RXM is certainly a part of that change.

The RXM pushes the boundaries of what counts as a Glock clone. It sure looks the part and many components are cross-compatible, but Ruger designed the RXM with a removable, serialized fire control group. This allows you to swap grip modules and slides with ease.

Magpul designed and produces the frame. At first your only option was a Glock 19-sized frame, but now Magpul offers Glock 17- and Glock 26-sized frames. You can mix and match your RXM slides with various frame sizes to create the gun you want. I’m a big fan of the compact slide on a full-sized frame for a Glock 45-sized platform.

Ruger currently produces compact and full-size slides with threaded barrels and standard options. You can also use seemingly any Gen 3 slide, which opens up a world of aftermarket Glock slides.

Beyond that, the pin-type optic interface doesn’t depend on adapter plates to mount an optic to the slide. It’s super easy to use, and I love that optics sit low enough to co-witness with the factory iron sights.

The RXM is my personal favorite Glock clone. I love shooting this gun so much that it has become my go-to gun for range time. It’s about as modular as a pistol can get. JL Billet even makes a Reaper PDW chassis for it!

Hungry for more info? Check out our hands-on Ruger RXM Review!

What do you think of the RXM? Rate it below!

2. Palmetto State Armory Sabre Dagger - Best Value

Best Value

PSA Sabre Dagger Full Size

$629

at Palmetto State Armory

Prices accurate at time of writing

$629 at Palmetto State Armory

Specs 

• Caliber: 9mm 
• Action: Semi-automatic, striker
• Capacity: 17+1 (includes +5 extensions)
• Barrel Length: 3.9”
• Overall Length: 7.15”
• Weight: 22 oz
• Country of Origin: USA

I’d argue that the entire Glock clone market kicked off because of the Palmetto State Armory Dagger. I remember seeing it at SHOT Show years ago and being impressed that they got away with it. 

The Sabre Dagger takes the standard Dagger and pushes it into a more semi-custom role while keeping a great price. Like any PSA product, you can buy the whole gun or just the pieces – slides and frames are available separately.

The Sabre Dagger lineup includes Glock 45 and Glock 43X counterparts. I don’t doubt this line will extend to encompass other models in the near future. 

These pistols come with many of the custom features we usually see on pricier guns: a direct-mount RMR cut, a lightened slide, suppressor-height sights, and optional threaded barrels for a suppressor.

The standout feature to me is the grip design: it’s much straighter than a Glock. I’m not a grip angle complainer, but I do like the pronounced backstrap hump and aggressive grip texture. The massive undercut under the trigger guard lets me get my hand up high and establish an excellent grip on the gun.

This translates to good control over recoil and no Glock knuckle to speak of. I can keep shooting and I don’t have any reason to whine. 

Other little things worth appreciating include a metal flat-faced trigger, an extended magwell, and the highly textured slide.

Plus, did I mention it comes in woodland camo, also known as God’s plaid?

Want to see this pistol punch above its weight? Head on over to our PSA Sabre Dagger review!

3. Shadow Systems CR920 Elite - Best Semi-Custom

Best Semi-Custom

Shadow Systems CR920 Elite

$799

at Guns.com

Prices accurate at time of writing

$799 at Guns.com

GrabAGun (see price)

Primary Arms (see price)

DEGuns (see price)

Show all prices

Specs 

• Caliber: 9mm 
• Action: Semi-automatic, striker
• Capacity: 10+1, 13+1
• Barrel Length: 3.41”
• Overall Length: 6.37”
• Weight: 18 oz
• Country of Origin: USA

Shadow Systems wasn’t the first to make Glock clones, but they seem to be the first semi-custom treatment. I could pick any model, but I feel the Shadow Systems CR920 is worth a mention. It’s the brand’s take on the Glock 43X MOS and Glock 48-sized platforms. 

This pistol does break a cardinal sin of Glock clones: it doesn't use Glock magazines.

I know, I hear the hate, but there is a decent reason for this: Glock mags top out at 10 rounds. Shadow Systems uses either 10-round flush-fit mags or slightly extended 13-round mags, and they’re primarily metal.

Beyond that, we get a refined gun with an aggressive grip and a textured slide. Various models are optic-ready, and each has a short rail for a pistol light. The grips come with a nice, high beavertail and matching trigger guard undercut to facilitate a proper grip.

These are small, thin guns, but they handle extremely well. Improved ergonomics make them less snappy than their Glock counterparts, and the aggressive grip texture keeps these little fellas under control. The CR920 has an excellent trigger, which breaks at a consistent 4.5 to 5 pounds.

Add in a match-grade barrel, and you lose all your excuses for missing. These aren’t budget guns, but they don't handle like budget guns – they sit between a standard concealed gun and a race gun.

We reviewed this pistol's big brother, the Shadow Systems MR920 -- check it out!

4. Zev Technologies OZ9 V2 Combat Pistol - Best Premium Duty Gun

Best Premium Duty Gun

Zev Technologies OZ9 V2 Combat Pistol

$1429

at Guns.com

Prices accurate at time of writing

$1429 at Guns.com

Zev Technologies (see price)

Specs 

• Caliber: 9mm
• Action: Semi-automatic, striker
• Capacity: 17+1
• Barrel Length: 4.48”
• Overall Length: 8.04”
• Weight: 27 oz
• Country of Origin: USA

Zev has a long history of customizing Glocks, but the company rotated into building pistols from the ground up a few years back. As you’d expect from a custom house, Glock clones like the Zev Technologies OZ9 V2 Combat Pistol are decked out from top to bottom.

The OZ9 V2 Combat Pistol has to be cool because it has Combat in the name, right? In this case, Combat signifies that it’s a duty and concealed-carry option. 

It comes in a few different configurations. There are full-size and compact options, as well as the ability to add the compact slide to the full-size grip.

Zev uses a serialized internal chassis to make customization easier. You can swap grips and slides without having to go through the FFL process. It’s not quite as simple as the Ruger RXM, but if you can watch YouTube, you can make the swap.

The OZ9 V2 Combat comes with Zev’s PRO Match Barrel and the PRO Trigger.

Everything else is a mix of parts with Gen 3, Gen 4, and Gen 5 compatibility.

The slide is cut for the Trijicon RMR footprint, and comes with high-visibility sights. A lot of Zevs are more focused on competition and looking space-age, but the OZ9 V2 is a pure duty gun in the Glock clone market.

5. Lone Wolf Dusk 19 - Best Alternative Grip Profile

Best Alternative Grip Profile

Lone Wolf Dusk 19

$573

at Guns.com

Prices accurate at time of writing

$573 at Guns.com

Rainier Arms (see price)

Palmetto State Armory (see price)

Specs

• Caliber: 9mm
• Action: Semi-automatic, striker
• Capacity: 15+1
• Barrel Length: 3.9”
• Overall Length: 6.95”
• Weight: 20 oz
• Country of Origin: USA

Lone Wolf is one of the longest-running Glock aftermarket companies. They’ve been doing it since the days of ordering from catalogs. It’s no real surprise that the company decided to create their own pistol, the Lone Wolf Dusk 19.

As the name implies, this is a Glock 19-sized pistol series that includes basic models, ported models, threaded barrels, different sight heights, and more.

The frame’s 19-degree grip angle is more conventional than the classic Glock profile, and interchangeable backstrap inserts make it easy to find the right fit.

We get a beavertail big enough to choke up on, and a matching trigger guard undercut to encourage a high grip. The massive magazine release is much easier to reach than a standard Gen 3 Glock.

Little touches on this gun make it easy to shoot fast. The flat grip looks awkward but feels surprisingly nice. I found myself preferring that flat grip over the rounded grip. I’m not sure it improved my performance, but it feels fantastic.

These guns are optic-ready, have flat triggers, and you can even pick lower-third sights to make it easy to co-witness through your red dot. 

The Dusk 19 series is a culmination of Lone Wolf’s experience in upgrading Glocks.

6. Matrix Arms MXI 5.3 - Best Competition

Best Competition

Matrix Arms MXI 5.3

$2630

at Matrix Arms

Prices accurate at time of writing

$2630 at Matrix Arms

Specs 

• Caliber: 9mm 
• Action: Semi-automatic, striker
• Capacity: 17+1
• Barrel Length: 5.3”
• Overall Length: 8.8”
• Weight: 39.5 oz
• Country of Origin: USA

Glock made a name for itself by producing polymer-frame, striker-fired pistols. For years, people derisively called them Tupperware. If you’ve ever wanted a metal-frame Glock, you have an option in the Matrix Arms MXI 5.3.

This metal-frame Glock clone is also one of the few that breaks into Glock 34 territory. If you want a long-slide Glock clone, this is the clone for you.

The metal frame adds weight, and weight helps reduce recoil. Aggressive, wrap-around polymer grips lock the gun into your hand with excellent texture. You can choose between a 70% and 100% grip texture depending on how sharp you want it to be.

The MXI uses a Glock Gen 5 Marksman barrel with a target crown. This is one of the few Glock clones I know of making use of actual Glock Gen 5 parts. The rest of the frame uses Gen 3-compatible parts, which makes it easy to outfit the gun with whatever aftermarket mods and upgrades you want.

A patent-pending buffer to helps tame recoil to create a flat, fast gun that’s ready for competition. That’s where the MXI excels.

As you’d imagine for a gun that starts as a block of steel, this one is pricey. Like most custom guns, you get plenty of options to set up the pistol exactly how you want it. It’s certainly something a bit different on the Glock clone market, and I appreciate a company going outside the norm.

Final Thoughts: Getting Glocked Up

The Glock brand is going nowhere. The current Gen 6 overhaul is creating radical changes that show a big move for the Austrian gunmaker. 

With that in mind, Glock clones aren’t going anywhere, either. You can’t go wrong with any of these picks.

What’s your favorite Glock clone? Let us know below! Would you rather buy the real thing? Check out our guide to the Best Glocks!

Latest Updates

• May 2026: Complete overhaul with new products and supporting content.