Shoe Size Converter

Maps shoe sizes between US, EU, and UK systems for men, women, and children. Conversion uses standard chart values; results are approximate because sizing varies by manufacturer and last shape.

Women's US sizes typically run 1.5 numbers higher than men's US for the same foot length. EU sizes are based on Paris points (approximately 6.67 mm per size).

The three dominant systems use different physical references. The US system is approximately one-third inch per size, with men's and women's offset by 1.5 sizes (a US men's 8 corresponds to US women's 9.5 for the same foot length). The UK system shares the one-third-inch increment with the US but starts numbering at a different baseline, so UK 7 ≈ US men's 8. The EU system measures the inner length of the shoe in Paris points (one Paris point = 2/3 cm = 6.67 mm), with no gender split in the numeric scale; a EU 42 means the same internal length whether marketed as men's or women's.

A worked example: a foot measuring 26.0 cm long fits roughly a US men's 8.5, US women's 10, UK 8, or EU 42. Manufacturer variance shifts these by half a size in either direction, sometimes more. Brannock device measurements in store usually land within a half size of the converted value; online ordering without trying first is where the variance becomes visible. Brands with athletic origins (Nike, Adidas) tend to run small in length; classic dress brands (Allen Edmonds, Church's) often run true to last.

Limitations are real and matter for purchases. Width is not handled at all. A US sizing system uses letter codes (D for medium men's, B for medium women's; up to EEEE for extra-wide), while EU sizing rarely encodes width and UK uses an F-G-H scale. A length match in the wrong width is uncomfortable in different ways than a length mismatch. Children's sizing has additional fragmentation: US infant, toddler, and youth scales reset numbers at different points (a US youth 1 is bigger than a US toddler 13). The converter uses the most common chart but cannot account for proprietary brand-specific systems (Birkenstock uses pure EU; Vans run small versus Nike at the same nominal size).

For online ordering, measuring foot length on a flat surface in the evening (when feet swell to maximum) and consulting the specific brand's published size chart against that measurement is more reliable than any cross-system conversion. The tool is best used as a first-pass estimate, not a final answer.