Heels Size Conversion Chart

The conversion table

The table below converts women's heel sizes between US, UK and EU systems, with foot length in inches as the anchor for each row. Start from your measured foot length, not from a size you wore in another system, because a conversion that starts from a size number can carry an old error into the new system. Foot length is the one number that does not change when the label changes.

Read across the row once you have your foot length. A foot of 9.7 to 9.8 inches points to US 8, UK 6 and EU 39 in this broad general table, and a foot of 10.1 to 10.2 inches points to US 9, UK 7 and EU 40.5. Keep the row together, because mixing a US size from one row with an EU size from another row is how conversion mistakes happen.

Conversion table with foot length

The table above uses the same foot length ranges as the heels size chart, so the two pages agree row by row. US sizes run from 5 to 12, UK sizes from 3 to 10, and EU sizes from 35.5 to 44.5. The UK number is usually two lower than the US number, and the EU number moves in half steps, which is why a US half size often has its own EU value.

US to UK conversion for heels

US to UK conversion is the simplest of the three, because the UK size is usually two numbers lower than the US size in women's heels. A US 7 converts to a UK 5, a US 8 converts to a UK 6, and a US 9 converts to a UK 7 in this broad general table. That pattern holds across the table, which makes it easy to check your conversion at a glance.

The exception to watch is width. UK brands sometimes cut a narrower heel than US brands in the same converted size, so a wide foot that fits a US 8 may feel tight in a UK 6 even though the conversion is correct. When the length converts cleanly but the fit feels tight, the width or the toe shape is usually the cause, not the conversion itself.

US to EU conversion for heels

US to EU conversion is less tidy, because EU sizes move in half steps and do not line up one to one with US whole sizes. A US 7 converts to EU 38, a US 7.5 converts to EU 38.5, and a US 8 converts to EU 39 in this table. That half step pattern is why it helps to convert from foot length rather than from memory, since a half size error is easy to make.

Some European brands also use a slightly different EU scale, so the same foot can be called EU 38 by one brand and EU 38.5 by another. When a brand lists its own foot length range for each EU size, trust that range over this general table, because the brand chart describes the actual shoes it sells.

UK to EU conversion for heels

UK to EU conversion follows the same table, with a UK 5 converting to EU 38, a UK 6 converting to EU 39, and a UK 7 converting to EU 40.5. The jump from EU 39 to EU 40.5 looks uneven, but it reflects how the EU scale steps through half sizes while the UK scale steps through whole sizes. Read the foot length column to confirm the row before you order.

If you are buying from a UK brand that lists EU sizes, or from a European brand that lists UK sizes, check both columns against your foot length. When the two columns disagree, the foot length column wins, because it is the measurement of your foot rather than a label the brand chose.

Where conversions go wrong

Conversions go wrong most often when someone converts from a size number instead of from foot length, or when they assume every brand uses the same table. A US 7 from a brand that runs small is not the same foot as a US 7 from a brand that runs large, so converting that label into an EU size carries the original error forward. Measure your foot, find the row, and convert from that row.

Pointed toes cause a second kind of error, because a pointed heel in EU sizing can feel a half size smaller than the same size in a round toe. If you are converting into a pointed style, consider the larger of two close rows, and check the return policy so you can exchange if the toe box proves too tight.