Shoe Size Converter

The reason cross-brand sizing feels so unreliable is that regional systems measure the last — the mould the shoe is built on — rather than your foot, and each brand chooses its own toe allowance. That is why converting your foot length is more dependable than converting a size you were once told you are. Measure late in the day, when feet are at their largest, standing with your weight on the foot and wearing the socks you intend to use. Measure both feet and use the longer one, since most people are slightly asymmetric. Treat the result as the size to try first, not a guarantee.

UK and US sizes use the barleycorn: each size is one third of an inch of last length, with the adult scale continuing from children’s. US men run one size above UK, and US women two and a half. EU sizes use Paris points, where one size is two thirds of a centimetre. Foot length is last length minus about 1.5 cm of toe allowance.

Shoe sizing is not standardised. Brands differ by as much as a full size, athletic and dress lasts fit differently, and width fittings are not captured by any of these numbers at all. The conversions here follow the standard barleycorn and Paris-point relationships, but a specific manufacturer’s chart always beats a generic conversion — check theirs when one is published.

A US men’s 10 is a UK 9 and about an EU 43, corresponding to a foot roughly 27.3 cm long. A US women’s 8 is a UK 5.5 and about an EU 38.5, at roughly 24.3 cm.

1. Choose men, women or kids.
2. Select which sizing system you already know.
3. Enter the size, or measure your foot and enter the length in centimetres.
4. Use the neighbouring sizes if you are between two.

• Measuring while sitting, which understates foot length.
• Measuring only one foot when the other is longer.
• Assuming men’s and women’s US sizes use the same scale — they differ by 1.5.
• Ignoring width, which no size conversion accounts for.

The Shoe Size Converter translates between US, UK, EU and centimetre sizing for men, women and children. Every conversion routes through foot length in centimetres — the only physically meaningful measure — rather than hopping directly between regional scales, which compounds each system’s own rounding.

Anyone buying shoes from an overseas retailer, or converting a size found on a foreign website.

• Anchors every conversion on foot length, so results stay internally consistent.
• Shows the sizes either side, which is what you actually need when ordering.
• Covers men, women and kids, which use different scales.
• Reports foot length in both centimetres and inches.

• Ordering from a US site when you know your UK size.
• Converting an EU size found on a European retailer.
• Finding your size from a measured foot length.
• Checking a children’s size against a foreign chart.