Shoe Size Recommender

How the shoe size recommender works

There's no universal shoe size. A US men's 9 in one brand and a US men's 9 in another can be made for feet several millimetres apart. What brands do publish, though, is a chart that ties each of their sizes to a foot length, the distance from your heel to the tip of your longest toe. Foot length is the one measurement every brand agrees on, so it's the common language the recommender uses:

1. You tell us a size you wear. We look that size up in the brand's own chart and read the foot length the brand gives for it.
2. We look up the brand you want. In that brand's chart, we find the first size made for a foot at least that long.
3. If you fall between two sizes, we round up. A shoe that's a few millimetres long is far easier to live with than one that pinches your toes, and that's also what most brands advise.

The same rule powers the foot length option: you give us the measurement directly and we run it through all 13 charts.

Why the same size fits differently in each brand

Shoes are built on a last, a foot-shaped form each brand designs for its own fit, and every brand grades its sizes from its own last. Even the size systems differ. US and UK sizes step by a barleycorn (a third of an inch) but start from different points, EU sizes use the Paris point (two thirds of a centimetre), and some brands, including adidas and HOKA, print EU sizes in thirds such as 42 2/3. Our explainers on Paris point sizing and Mondopoint sizing go into the history.

Brands also publish foot length differently. Some, such as Nike, adidas, HOKA and Reebok, list a foot length that sits a little under the shoe's nominal length. Others, such as New Balance, ASICS, Under Armour, Vans, Crocs and Dr. Martens, list rounder figures that sit closer to the shoe's labelled size. Here is how far apart the brands' charts are for the same label:

Foot length for a men's US 9, by brand

Foot length for a women's US 8, by brand

That spread, close to a centimetre between the shortest and the longest, is why "I'm a 9 in everything" so often turns out not to be true.

About On (approx.): On publishes Japanese sizes rather than foot lengths. On's sizing FAQ says its Japanese size is about 1 cm longer than the measured foot, so we subtract 1 cm. Treat On results as approximate.

Popular brand-to-brand conversions

These are worked out by the recommender from the brands' charts. Use them as a starting point, not a guarantee: a brand's running shoe and its lifestyle sneaker can fit differently even in the same size.

Men's

Women's

A Nike men's 9 in every brand

A Nike women's 8 in every brand

How to measure your foot

A measured foot length is the best input you can give the recommender, and it takes five minutes.

1. Measure at the end of the day. Feet swell a little through the day, and shoes should fit your bigger evening foot.
2. Stand on a sheet of paper against a wall, heel touching the wall, wearing the socks you'll wear with the shoes.
3. Mark the tip of your longest toe. It isn't always the big toe. Keep the pen upright, or ask someone to mark it for you.
4. Measure from the wall to the mark in centimetres or inches.
5. Do both feet and use the longer one. Most people have one foot slightly longer.

Our guide to measuring your shoe size without a Brannock device has photos, and the shoe size conversion tool turns a foot length into US, UK, EU and Japanese sizes.

Between two sizes?

Rounding up is the safe default, but a few situations call for thought:

• Running shoes: feet swell on a run and move forward on downhills, so many runners prefer some room at the toe. Size up rather than down. Our guide on how to measure for running shoes explains how much.
• Sandals and clogs: Birkenstock gives a foot length range for each size, and the recommender uses the top of the range. Crocs come in whole sizes only, so a half-size foot always rounds up.
• Boots: if you'll wear thick socks, measure in them. Dr. Martens is sized by UK number and most styles come in whole sizes only.
• Wide or narrow feet: length is only half the fit. If your feet are wide, a half size up in a standard width is often a worse fit than your size in a wide width. See what N, M, W and XW mean and what D width means.

Men's and women's sizes

Most brands make men's and women's shoes on different scales, so the same foot gets a bigger number in women's sizes. The gap isn't the same everywhere: adidas puts women's at men's + 1, many brands use + 1.5, and Crocs uses + 2. Because the recommender converts through foot length, it handles this for you. Choose "Men's" or "Women's" for the shoe you own and the shoe you're buying, and they don't have to match. For the general rule, see our women's to men's shoe size conversion.

The brands we cover and how they size

We read each brand's official size chart and copied its sizes and foot lengths as published. Click a brand name for its full men's and women's size chart. Where a brand's main US page couldn't be read, we used the same brand's chart from another of its official regional sites. All charts were reviewed on 2026-10-28.

Brands not included yet

Some popular brands are missing on purpose. Converse, Skechers and Puma don't publish a foot length we could tie to each size, so there's nothing reliable to convert through. Saucony publishes foot lengths only on some product pages, with differences between them. UGG's own chart couldn't be read, and copies on retail sites disagree with each other. We'll add each one when its brand publishes a clear chart, rather than guess.

Getting the best result

• Start from a shoe that fits you well, ideally a recent one, from a style similar to the one you're buying.
• Check the product page of the exact model. Some models are known to run long or short, and brands sometimes say so.
• Read the reviews for fit. Comments like "runs small, size up" from many buyers are worth acting on.
• Check the returns policy before you order, especially when buying a brand for the first time.

More shoe sizing guides

For full charts by gender, see the men's shoe size chart and the women's shoe size chart. For converting between countries, there's US to UK, US to EU and US to Japan. For brand comparisons in article form, see the sneaker size chart by brand and the running shoe size chart by brand. For children, see the kids' shoe size chart by age.

For shoe shops on Shopify

If you sell footwear, the question this page answers is the one your customers ask before every order: "I'm a 9 in Nike, what am I in yours?" A product-page size chart that shows the foot length for each of your sizes lets customers answer it themselves. Our free size chart generator builds one, and Tailor Size Guide for Shopify adds size charts and a free size recommender to every product. There's more in our guide to size chart best practices for shoe stores.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and standards

1. Nike men's footwear size chartNike: reviewed 2026-10-28.
2. Nike women's footwear size chartNike: reviewed 2026-10-28.
3. adidas men's and women's footwear size chartAdidas: reviewed 2026-10-28.
4. New Balance size guideNew Balance: reviewed 2026-10-28.
5. ASICS size chartsASICS: reviewed 2026-10-28.
6. Brooks men's footwear size chartBrooks: reviewed 2026-10-28.
7. Brooks women's footwear size chartBrooks: reviewed 2026-10-28.
8. HOKA men's shoe size guideHOKA: reviewed 2026-10-28.
9. HOKA women's shoe size guideHOKA: reviewed 2026-10-28.
10. On sizing FAQOn: reviewed 2026-10-28.
11. On size chart (Cloudmonster 3, men's)On: reviewed 2026-10-28.
12. On size chart (Cloudmonster 3, women's)On: reviewed 2026-10-28.
13. Reebok men's shoe size guideReebok: reviewed 2026-10-28.
14. Reebok women's shoe size guideReebok: reviewed 2026-10-28.
15. Reebok Australia size guides (UK and EU)Reebok: reviewed 2026-10-28.
16. Under Armour men's shoe size chartUnder Armour: reviewed 2026-10-28.
17. Under Armour women's shoe size chartUnder Armour: reviewed 2026-10-28.
18. Vans size guides (Vans South Africa)Vans: reviewed 2026-10-28.
19. Crocs adult size chart (Crocs Thailand)Crocs: reviewed 2026-10-28.
20. Crocs size chart (Crocs Malaysia)Crocs: reviewed 2026-10-28.
21. Birkenstock US size conversionBirkenstock: reviewed 2026-10-28.
22. Birkenstock fit guide size chart (UK)Birkenstock: reviewed 2026-10-28.
23. Dr. Martens size guide (US)Dr. Martens: reviewed 2026-10-28.
24. Dr. Martens shoe size guide (UK)Dr. Martens: reviewed 2026-10-28.