CM to UK shoe size converter

CM to UK examples

• A 23 cm foot is closest to a UK 4 (men's US 5, women's US 6.5).
• A 24 cm foot is closest to a UK 5.5 (men's US 6.5, women's US 8).
• A 25 cm foot is a UK 6.5 (men's US 7.5, women's US 9).
• A 26 cm foot is closest to a UK 7.5 (men's US 8.5, women's US 10).
• A 27 cm foot is closest to a UK 9 (men's US 10, women's US 11.5).

How foot length and UK sizes relate

UK sizes are counted in thirds of an inch on the last: UK = 3 × last length in inches − 25. With two-thirds of an inch of toe room, that becomes UK = 3 × foot length in inches − 23.

So each full UK size is about 8.5 mm of foot length and each half size about 4.2 mm. UK sizes are the same for men and women.

How every size system is defined

How to measure your foot

1. Measure late in the day, when feet are at their largest, wearing the kind of socks that will be worn with the shoes.
2. Put a sheet of paper on a hard floor against a wall and stand on it with the heel touching the wall.
3. Mark the tip of the longest toe on the paper. It isn’t always the big toe; keep the pen upright.
4. Measure straight from the wall to the mark, in centimeters or inches.
5. Do both feet and use the longer one. Enter that length in the converter above as a foot length.

The foot lengths on this page are bare-foot measurements. The shoe itself is longer, so don’t measure an old shoe or insole and treat that as your foot length.

Width and between sizes

Length is only half of fit. US shoes are often sold in widths marked with letters. A common convention: men’s standard width is D, wide is 2E and extra wide is 4E; women’s standard is B and wide is D. Letters vary by brand, and many brands use words such as narrow, regular and wide instead.

If your measurement falls between two sizes:

• Measure late in the day, when feet are at their largest.
• Let the longer foot decide; most people have one foot slightly longer than the other.
• Think about the socks: thick hiking or winter socks take up more room than thin dress socks.
• Think about what the shoe is for. People often choose a little more room in athletic or hiking shoes than in dress shoes.
• If you can, try both sizes on and walk around before deciding.

Using a brand’s own chart

For a final answer, look up the official size chart on the brand’s own website, for the exact product line if it has one. Compare by foot length in centimeters rather than by size number: find the brand’s row for your measured foot length and read the size from there.

Size numbers don’t always mean the same length from one brand to the next. Some brands, particularly in sportswear, list EU sizes about half a size higher than generic charts like this one, and some use their own offsets between UK and US sizes. This page doesn’t guess any brand’s offsets; it shows one consistent reference chart.