Wondering what ESC to run in your 1/10 buggy, stadium truck or short course truck? They run the same ESCs, so we counted them together. The Hobbywing XR10 Pro is the most popular in both stock and modified, and it isn't close. We counted the setups saved in the RC Setup App since January 2024: 1187 racers named an ESC, and Hobbywing leads with 794 of them, followed by Reedy at 92 and Tekin at 77.
The number under each ESC is how many racers run it in that section. Check your class rules first, since some classes limit which ESCs you can run. Counts updated November 2026.
Buy links to AMain may earn us a commission. That doesn't change the order: racers decide that.
Choosing the rest of the electronics? See the most popular motors, radios and servos for 1/10 off-road buggies and trucks. Running a 1/8 electric buggy or truggy? See the most popular 1/8 electric ESCs.
Most popular ESCs for stock racing
578 racers named an ESC on a setup with a stock motor. Hobbywing has 393 of them, and four of the top five are its XR10 models. This list covers ESCs with at least 10 racers.
1. Hobbywing XeRun XR10 Pro
158 racers
The most popular ESC in stock classes by a wide margin, with 123 racers in 2WD and 44 in 4WD, even though it's Hobbywing's modified model. The current G3 is rated for 160A and motors down to 5.5T in a buggy, so it still works if you move up to modified. 55 racers pair it with a Hobbywing motor, 25 with a Trinity and 13 with an R1. Of those who named a generation, most run a G2, and the button goes to the G3.
Buy the Pro G3 at AMain (opens in new tab)
2. Hobbywing XeRun XR10 Stock Spec
93 racers
Hobbywing's ESC built just for stock classes, and second here with 76 racers in 2WD and 20 in 4WD. The G2 is rated for 100A and limited to 10.5T motors and up. It's lighter than the Pro G3, 63g to 93g, and its firmware covers both blinky and boost racing. Hobbywing motors lead at 33, then Fantom at 10 and Trinity at 9. Racers who named a generation almost all named the G2, which is the version the button goes to.
Buy the Stock Spec G2 at AMain (opens in new tab)
3. Hobbywing XeRun XR10 Justock
79 racers
The simplest and least expensive of the four XR10s here, made for blinky racing, and a big favorite in short course. On the G3S, ESC timing is locked at 0 degrees, the rating is 60A, the motor limit is 10.5T and up, and it's ROAR approved. It's mostly a 2WD choice, with 73 racers to 7 in 4WD, and 43 racers pair it with a Hobbywing motor. The button goes to the G3S, the generation racers name most.
Buy the Justock G3S at AMain (opens in new tab)
4. Tekin RS
28 racers
The top ESC outside Hobbywing in stock, with 18 racers in 2WD and 10 in 4WD, all of them in buggies. Trinity motors are its most common partner, at 10 racers. This count covers the RS, RS Pro and RS Spec. The button goes to the RS Pro Black Edition.
Buy the RS Pro Black at AMain (opens in new tab)
5. Hobbywing XeRun XR10 Pro G3X Stock Spec
28 racers
The stock version of the Pro G3. It keeps the 160A rating, three saved profiles and data logging, and Hobbywing built it to run cooler at high current in stock classes. Unlike the Pro G3, it has no reverse polarity protection, so double-check your battery leads. 25 racers run it in 2WD and 6 in 4WD. 18 pair it with a Hobbywing motor and 5 with an R1.
Buy the G3X at AMain (opens in new tab)
6. Reedy Blackbox 610R
23 racers
Reedy's update to the 510R, for both stock and modified. It's rated for 160A and motors down to 4.5T, and has a ROAR approved blinky mode. Over the 510R it adds 32-bit hardware and Standard and Expert tuning modes, and full tuning takes the separate PROgrammer2. 19 racers run it in 2WD and 6 in 4WD, and 18 of its 23 racers run a Reedy motor.
Buy the 610R at AMain (opens in new tab)
7. Reedy Blackbox 510R
21 racers
The 610R's predecessor, in the same size case and rated for 150A to the 610R's 160A. It's still on plenty of cars, with 15 racers in 2WD and 7 in 4WD, and 16 of its 21 racers run a Reedy motor. It's discontinued, so the button goes to the 610R.
See the 610R at AMain (opens in new tab)
8. REDS ZX Pro
13 racers
The ESC here that does best in stadium trucks: across stock and modified, 8 of the racers who run it are in trucks and 9 in buggies. In stock, 10 run it in 2WD and 4 in 4WD, and 9 of its 13 racers pair it with a Whitz Hyperspec motor. The button goes to the Gen3, rated for 160A and motors above 3.5T, with a 32-bit processor.
Buy the ZX Pro Gen3 at AMain (opens in new tab)
9. R1 Wurks Digital
12 racers
9 racers in 2WD and 4 in 4WD, and 8 of its 12 racers pair it with an R1 motor. Racers mostly name the Digital 3. The button goes to R1's current Digital Pro on R1's own site.
Buy the Digital Pro at R1 Wurks
10. Muchmore Fleta
12 racers
Rounds out the stock list, with 9 racers in 2WD and 3 in 4WD. Racers pair it with a mix of motors, led by Muchmore at 4 and Trinity at 3. The button goes to the Fleta Pro V3.
Buy the Fleta Pro V3 at AMain (opens in new tab)Most popular ESCs for modified racing
368 racers named an ESC on a setup with a modified motor. Hobbywing has 229 of them, followed by Reedy at 32. Modified racers are spread across many brands, so this list covers ESCs with at least 8 racers.
1. Hobbywing XeRun XR10 Pro
147 racers
Modified's clear favorite and the XR10 built for it, with about five times the racers of anything else: 112 in 2WD and 50 in 4WD. The G3 is rated for 160A and motors down to 5.5T in a buggy, with three saved profiles and data logging. 94 racers pair it with a Hobbywing motor. Of those who named a generation, 78 run a G2 and 28 run a G3, and the button goes to the G3.
Buy the Pro G3 at AMain (opens in new tab)
2. Hobbywing QuicRun 10BL120
30 racers
More common in modified than stock here, with 18 racers in 2WD and 12 in 4WD. The button goes to the sensored G2.
Buy the sensored G2 at AMain (opens in new tab)3. Reedy Blackbox 610R
16 racers
Reedy's ESC for both stock and modified, rated for 160A and motors down to 4.5T. It's almost entirely 2WD in modified, 15 racers to 1 in 4WD, and 11 of its 16 racers run a Reedy motor.
Buy the 610R at AMain (opens in new tab)
4. Pro Performance RC XSC150P
10 racers
One of two ESCs here more common in 4WD, 6 racers to 4 in 2WD.
See the XSC150P at Speedy RC5. Reedy Blackbox 510R
9 racers
The 610R's predecessor, rated for 150A, with 8 racers in 2WD and 2 in 4WD, and 6 of its 9 racers run a Reedy motor. The button goes to the 610R that replaced it.
See the 610R at AMain (opens in new tab)
6. Tekin RSX
8 racers
The other ESC here that leans 4WD, 6 racers to 3 in 2WD, and half of its 8 racers pair it with a Tekin motor. The button goes to the RSX Pro.
Buy the RSX Pro at AMain (opens in new tab)7. Hobbywing XeRun XR10 Justock
8 racers
A stock ESC that shows up in the mildest modified classes, with 7 racers in 2WD and 1 in 4WD. The G3S it links to is limited to 10.5T motors and up, so check that before you put it on anything hotter.
Buy the Justock G3S at AMain (opens in new tab)4WD short course trucks
Most 4WD short course racers don't enter a motor wind, so very few of them are in the lists above, and many run a bigger ESC. Of the 105 who named a model, the most common are the Hobbywing Max10 at 24 racers, the Hobbywing XR8 Pro at 22, the Hobbywing XR8 SCT at 16 and the Tekin RX8 at 13.
How we counted
We count anonymous totals from setups saved in the app. A racer counts once per ESC no matter how many setups they've saved, and a value only counts if the racer entered it themselves, not if it came along with a copied setup. An ESC counts as stock or modified by the motor on the same setup: a wind of 13.5 or higher is stock and anything lower is modified. A racer who runs both counts in both lists. Plenty of racers leave out the model or the motor wind, so these rankings only cover the ones who entered both. Many racers don't say which generation they run, so generations are counted together. Setups with a ready-to-run motor, like the Traxxas Titan or Velineon, aren't in the stock or modified lists. Specs come from the store listing for the version each button goes to.
