Shoe Size Converter (AU, UK, US, EU)

Guide

How the sizes are worked out

Foot length is the one measurement that does not depend on a country or a brand, so every conversion here goes through it. A shoe is longer than the foot inside it, so the converter adds an allowance (1.7 cm for men, 1.2 cm for women, 1.5 cm for kids) to get the shoe length. Then:

• UK: the shoe length in inches × 3, less 25 for adult sizes. Each whole UK size is one third of an inch (a barleycorn).
• EU: the shoe length in centimetres × 1.5, to the nearest half. This is the Paris point: one EU size is two thirds of a centimetre.
• US: men’s is UK + 1, women’s is UK + 2½ (US women’s is US men’s + 1½), kids’ is UK + ½.
• AU: men’s is the same as UK, women’s is the same as US women’s, kids’ is the same as UK.

Worked example: a US men’s 9 is UK 8. The shoe is (8 + 25) ÷ 3 = 11 inches, which is 27.94 cm. In EU sizes that is 27.94 × 1.5 = 41.9, so EU 42, and the foot is 27.94 − 1.7 = 26.2 cm. A US women’s 8 is a UK 5.5, an EU 38.5 and a foot of about 24.6 cm.

Measure your foot

• Stand on a sheet of paper against a wall, with your heel touching the wall.
• Mark the tip of your longest toe, then measure from the wall to the mark.
• Measure both feet and use the longer one, preferably in the evening when feet are at their largest.
• Type the length in centimetres or inches into the foot length mode.

Example: a 27 cm foot gives a men’s UK 9, US 10, EU 43.

Where the sources disagree

Shoe sizing is not a standard. Published charts differ by about half a size in places, and brands differ again, so these are the choices this site makes and where others differ.

• Australian men’s sizes are shown the same as UK sizes, as Hush Puppies, Williams Shoes and Mountfords say. Some other guides put AU men’s half a size or a whole size away, so check the retailer’s chart.
• Australian women’s sizes are shown the same as US women’s, as the same retailers say. A few charts print AU a size below US.
• US women’s against UK: the chart here uses UK + 2½ (the usual chain from US men’s). Some guides use UK + 2, so a size can differ by half a size.
• Kids’ sizes: US is shown half a size above UK. size.ly’s toddler chart puts US a whole size above UK at the smallest sizes.
• EU sizes are rounded to the nearest half here. Printed EU charts often round differently, so an EU value can be up to half a size from a particular brand’s chart.

Between sizes, and brands

If your foot falls between two half sizes, the converter shows the nearest and says so. Sizes vary by brand and by style: runners, boots and dress shoes from the same maker can fit differently. If you are between sizes, size up or check the brand’s own chart. Width is not covered here.

Common questions