UK shoe size chart, in centimetres
Measure the foot, read the number, then check what the brand does with it. The chart below converts foot length to UK and EU sizes; under it is what each brand’s own number actually means, because they do not agree.
How to measure your foot
Five minutes, a sheet of paper and a ruler. Do it properly once and the number is yours for years – adult feet change slowly, though they do spread with age.
- In the evening. Feet swell through the day by a few millimetres, and a shoe that fits at eight in the morning can be tight by six. The evening measurement is the honest one.
- Wearing the sock you will run in. A running sock and a thin work sock are not the same thickness, and the difference is enough to cross a half size.
- Standing, with your weight on it. The foot lengthens under load. Measuring while sitting gives a shorter foot than the one that will be in the shoe.
- Both feet. Most people have one foot longer than the other, sometimes by half a size. Buy for the longer one.
- Heel against a wall. Stand on the paper with your heel touching the skirting, mark the end of the longest toe – which is not always the big one – and measure from the wall to the mark in centimetres.
That centimetre figure is what the chart wants. Do not measure an old insole: it has been compressed by your foot and reads short.
Fit by brand
Two things a size chart will not tell you: whether the brand makes widths at all, and what its UK number actually means. Brands do not agree on how a US size becomes a UK one – Nike takes a full size off, adidas half – so a “UK 8” is not the same foot in every box. The conversion column is filled only where I have the brand’s own chart.
| Brand | Widths offered | UK number (men) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adidas | Wide fit on selected running models (Supernova Rise, Adizero Boston, Runfalcon) | UK = US − ½ | adidas.co.uk size chart and wide-fit range |
| Asics | 2E and 4E on selected models (Gel-Kayano, GT-2000), in limited colours | check the brand’s chart | asics.com; Believe in the Run |
| Brooks | Narrow to Extra Wide (B, D, 2E, 4E) on the core models | check the brand’s chart | brooksrunning.com |
| Hoka | Wide and Extra Wide on the Clifton and Bondi; Hoka’s Wide is narrower than New Balance’s 2E | check the brand’s chart | hoka.com; Believe in the Run |
| New Balance | Narrow to Extra Wide: B, D, 2E and 4E across the running range | check the brand’s chart | New Balance width guide |
| Nike | Wide and Extra Wide on selected models; the standard last runs narrow | UK = US − 1 | nike.com/gb size chart |
| On | Wide versions of a few road models (Cloudstratus, Cloudflyer, Cloudmonster) | check the brand’s chart | on.com wide range |
| Puma | Wide versions of the Velocity NITRO and ForeverRun NITRO | check the brand’s chart | puma.com |
| Reebok | 2E mostly on walking models; little for running | check the brand’s chart | reebok.com |
| Salomon | Wide versions of the Speedcross 6, XA Pro 3D and Ultra Glide | check the brand’s chart | salomon.com |
| Saucony | Wide fit on selected models | UK = US − 1 | saucony.com UK size chart |
| Skechers | Wide and Extra Wide across the GOrun range | check the brand’s chart | skechers.com |
Which size fits which foot
A UK size is a barleycorn measure: one size is a third of an inch, counted from the length of the last. The last is your foot plus about 1.5 cm of room, which is the same allowance the European number is built on – so both columns come from one measurement. Measure the foot, not the insole: stand on a sheet of paper, in the evening, wearing the sock you will run in.
| Foot | UK | EU | Foot | UK | EU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22.0 cm | 3 | 35 | 26.5 cm | 8 | 42 |
| 22.5 cm | 3.5 | 36 | 27.0 cm | 8.5 | 43 |
| 23.0 cm | 4 | 37 | 27.5 cm | 9.5 | 43.5 |
| 23.5 cm | 4.5 | 37.5 | 28.0 cm | 10 | 44 |
| 24.0 cm | 5 | 38 | 28.5 cm | 10.5 | 45 |
| 24.5 cm | 5.5 | 39 | 29.0 cm | 11 | 46 |
| 25.0 cm | 6.5 | 40 | 29.5 cm | 11.5 | 46.5 |
| 25.5 cm | 7 | 40.5 | 30.0 cm | 12 | 47 |
| 26.0 cm | 7.5 | 41 |
- The UK number is one scale. Men's and women's shoes use the same barleycorn count – what differs between them is the shape of the last, not the number. The US scale is the one that shifts by sex.
- The 1.5 cm of room is already inside the number. For running, some makers suggest going half a size up, because the foot spreads under load.
- Width and last shape vary by brand and by model. This is a starting point, not a substitute for trying them on.
- Sizing varies by manufacturer. The same number from two brands can come out a few millimetres apart, and some use their own lasts and steps. Small departures from this table are normal and expected.
Why the same number fits differently
The number is a length; the shoe is a shape. Two brands can cut the same UK 8 around lasts of different width, instep height and toe-box shape, and the one that suits you is a matter of your foot rather than of the chart. The table above is where to start, not where to finish – and nothing in it replaces putting the shoe on.
Widths are the part most often missed. A foot that is the right length and too wide will feel short, because it sits high in the shoe and the toes run out of room early. If that is you, the width column is the one to read first.