Shoe Size Converter

Convert shoe sizes between US, UK, EU, and centimetres — men's and women's tables

Converting shoe sizes between US, UK, EU, and centimetre measurements is complicated by the fact that these systems don't share a single consistent offset — and men's and women's sizing tables within the same country-based system often use different numbering conventions for what's physically the same foot length, which is a frequent source of confusion when shopping across regions or between gendered size charts.

Why there's no single consistent formula across all these systems

The US, UK, and EU shoe sizing systems each use different underlying measurement conventions and starting points, which means converting between them isn't a simple linear formula that works identically at every size — the offset between US and UK sizes, for instance, isn't always exactly the same number of size units across the entire size range, and EU sizing (based on a different measurement standard, foot length in Paris points) doesn't track either US or UK sizing with a perfectly consistent conversion ratio either. Compounding this, men's and women's sizing within the same national system typically aren't the same numbering scale for identical foot length — a specific numeric size in a men's US chart corresponds to a different physical foot length than the identical number in a women's US chart, which is why gendered conversion tables (not a single universal chart) are necessary for an accurate size conversion.

A worked example

The identical physical foot length can correspond to different numeric sizes depending on whether the men's or women's version of a given national sizing system is being used — converting a shoe size without specifying which gendered chart applies risks landing on a size intended for a different actual foot length than the one being converted.

How this connects to your other measurement calculations

For centimetre-based foot length specifically (the one measurement in this conversion that's a direct physical length rather than a country-specific numbering convention), that figure is the most reliable cross-system reference point — when in doubt between conflicting size-chart conversions, matching to actual foot length in centimetres is more reliable than converting size-number to size-number directly.

Common mistakes

Using a men's sizing conversion for a women's shoe (or vice versa) is a common cross-shopping mistake, since the two scales for the same national system generally don't align to the same physical foot length — always confirm which gendered sizing table a specific product or conversion is actually using before relying on a converted size number.