Men's to Women's Shoe Size Conversion for Sneakers

On Nike’s charts, add 1.5 to a men’s size to get the women’s size, so a men’s 7 is a women’s 8.5. Makers differ, though. The Converse Chuck Taylor chart adds 2 (men’s 7, women’s 9), and the Adidas chart adds 1 (men’s 7, women’s 8). Convert with the chart for the brand you are buying.

That gap matters most with unisex sneakers and with shoes bought from the other department. A rule of thumb that is right at Nike is a full half size off at Adidas.

How do men’s and women’s sizes compare by brand?

Each column below comes from that maker’s own chart. The Adidas column is from the Adidas chart as printed by the retailer Marathon Sports.

The step stays the same down each brand’s chart: 1.5 at Nike, 2 on the Chuck Taylor chart, 1 at Adidas. So a single “add 1.5” rule works at Nike and can steer you wrong elsewhere.

Going from women’s to men’s

Work the same chart in reverse. Nike’s women’s chart puts a women’s 8 in the same row as a men’s 6.5, and a women’s 9 with a men’s 7.5. On the Converse Chuck Taylor chart, a women’s 8 is a men’s 6 and a women’s 9 is a men’s 7.

If your women’s size converts to a men’s size the brand does not make, check the maker’s chart for the nearest size and its foot length. Nike’s charts list a foot length for every size, which is the safest way to compare. How to measure your feet shows how to get that number at home.

How are unisex sneakers sized?

Unisex charts at these brands start from the men’s scale. Nike’s unisex chart lists men’s sizes with the matching women’s size 1.5 higher, the same step as its men’s chart. Marathon Sports notes on its copy of the Adidas chart that unisex sizing follows the men’s size.

The Converse Chuck Taylor chart lists men’s and women’s sizes side by side for the same shoe. So a pair labeled men’s 7 is the women’s 9 on that chart. For how Chucks run, see Converse sizing.

Unisex Converse, Vans and New Balance sneakers

Shop unisex sneakers→

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Do men’s and women’s shoes differ in width?

Yes, in their standard widths. Brooks publishes one chart for both:

So the same letter means different things in each department. On Brooks’s chart, D is the standard men’s width but the wide women’s width. A woman with a wider foot who buys a men’s shoe in standard D is buying the same letter as a women’s wide.

Width letters are not the same at every maker, and some brands use words such as “wide” instead. The shoe width chart explains B, D, 2E and 4E in more detail.

Can women wear big kid sizes?

Big kid sizes convert the same way at Nike. Its kids’ chart gives each Y size the same number in men’s sizes and a women’s size 1.5 higher, so a 6Y is a men’s 6 and a women’s 7.5. A 7Y, the top of the big kid range, matches a women’s 8.5.

The full kids’ scale, from toddler C sizes to big kid Y sizes, is on the kids’ shoe size chart.

Before you order

Check three things: the brand’s own conversion, whether the listing is in men’s or women’s sizing, and the width letter. For more on sizes, go back to the shoe size chart or compare international sizes on the EU to US shoe size page.