The most reliable way to buy shoes online is to know your foot length in centimetres, then match it to each brand's size chart. It takes about five minutes and costs nothing.
How to measure your foot
- Measure in the evening. Feet swell slightly during the day, so an evening measurement avoids buying shoes that are too tight.
- Wear the socks you'd normally wear with the shoes.
- Stand on a sheet of paper against a wall, with your heel touching the wall and your weight on the foot.
- Mark the tip of your longest toe. This isn't always the big toe.
- Measure from the wall to the mark in centimetres.
- Repeat with the other foot and use the longer measurement, since most people have one foot slightly bigger.
Foot length to shoe size
This chart follows a common sportswear convention. Treat it as a guide, since brands vary by up to half a size.
| Foot length (cm) | UK | US men's | US women's | EU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24.0 | 5 | 6 | 7.5 | 38.5 |
| 25.0 | 6 | 7 | 8.5 | 40 |
| 26.0 | 7 | 8 | 9.5 | 41 |
| 27.0 | 8 | 9 | 10.5 | 42.5 |
| 28.0 | 9 | 10 | 11.5 | 44 |
| 29.0 | 10 | 11 | 12.5 | 45 |
Allow room to move
Choose a shoe with about 0.5 to 1 cm of space beyond your longest toe. If your foot is 26 cm, look for an internal length of roughly 26.5 to 27 cm.
Wide feet, narrow feet and half sizes
- Wide feet — if the shoe feels tight across the ball of your foot but long enough, look for wide-fit ranges rather than sizing up.
- Between sizes — for trainers, most people go up to the larger size. For leather shoes that stretch, the smaller size can work.
- Different brands — a Nike UK 8 and a Clarks UK 8 won't feel identical, so check the brand's own guide, such as our Nike size chart.
Buying for children
Children's feet grow quickly, so re-measure every few months. Our kids shoe size converter covers UK, US and EU children's sizes.
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