Adidas Sizing Guide: How Adidas Shoes Fit, Model by Model

Adidas does not have one fit. Its terrace classics, court shoes, running shoes and Yeezy-era models are built on very different lasts, so the honest answer to "what size Adidas should I buy?" is: it depends on the shoe. As a working rule, order your usual sneaker size in the Stan Smith, Superstar, Forum and current Ultraboost, go half a size down in the roomy Gazelle, Campus and Spezial, and keep the Samba at your normal length unless your feet are wide.

The second thing to know is that Adidas labels its shoes on a UK-based scale. That is why the US, UK and EU numbers on an Adidas box don't line up the way they do on a Nike box, and why European sizes come in odd-looking thirds like 42 2/3. Get those two ideas straight and ordering online gets a lot less stressful.

Adidas fits by family, not by logo

Think of the catalog as four families. Each has its own personality, and once you know which family a shoe belongs to you can predict the fit fairly well.

• Terrace and indoor shoes (Samba, Gazelle, Spezial, Campus): low, flat, suede or leather. Length is similar across the group, but volume varies a lot. The Samba is the slim one; the other three are roomier and often worn half a size down.
• Court classics (Stan Smith, Superstar, Forum): true to size for most people, with a slightly slim forefoot on the Stan Smith.
• Running and Boost (Ultraboost, Adizero, Supernova): true to size in current versions. Early knit Ultraboosts were snug.
• NMD and Yeezy: the least predictable family. The NMD tends to feel long, while the Yeezy Boost 350 V2 is famously tight and usually needs half a size up.

If you only remember one thing, make it this: buy Adidas by model, not by brand loyalty. Two shoes with the three stripes can sit a full size apart for the same foot.

Why the numbers on an Adidas box look different

Nike and most American brands start from US sizing and convert outward. Adidas works the other way. Its size grid is anchored to UK sizes, and the US and EU numbers are derived from them. On the Adidas men's chart, the US size is always the UK size plus a half: a UK 8.5 is a US 9, a UK 9.5 is a US 10, and so on up the range.

Compare that with the standard Nike-style chart, where a US men's 9 is a UK 8. Same US number, different UK number. If you shop on a British or European site and order by your UK size, you can end up half a size off without realizing it. Our advice: pick one system you trust, either US men's or foot length in centimeters, and convert from that every time.

Women's sizing adds one more step. Adidas puts US women's at US men's plus one, so a men's 7 on a unisex Adidas shoe is a women's 8. Most other big brands use a gap of one and a half sizes instead. If you are crossing from Nike women's sizing to an Adidas unisex shoe, that half-size difference matters.

What the EU thirds mean

European sizes are counted in Paris points, and one point is two-thirds of a centimeter. Adidas keeps that fraction visible instead of rounding it, so every half size on its UK scale moves the EU number by two-thirds. That gives you labels like 40, 40 2/3, 41 1/3 and 42. Nike rounds to the nearest half (40, 40.5, 41, 42). Neither is wrong; Adidas is simply showing its math.

The practical takeaway: an Adidas EU 42 2/3 and a Nike EU 42.5 both sit on a US men's 9. Don't try to match European labels across brands to the decimal. Match the US size or the foot length, then adjust for the model. Our US to EU conversion guide explains why European labels drift from brand to brand.

Terrace classics: Samba, Gazelle, Spezial and Campus

These four look like siblings, so people assume they fit the same. They don't. The common consensus ranks them from roomiest to slimmest as Campus, Gazelle, Spezial, Samba.

Samba. True to size in length, narrow everywhere else. The toe box is low, the midfoot hugs and the heel is slim. Narrow and average feet do well in their normal size; wide feet usually want half a size up, and very wide feet may never get comfortable. Fit guides do split here: some tell everyone to go half up, others say only wide-footed buyers should. We side with the second group. The full breakdown is in our Adidas Samba sizing guide.

Gazelle and Gazelle Indoor. Roomier than the Samba through the forefoot and midfoot, with a bit of extra length. Most people with narrow or average feet are happiest half a size down, while wide feet can stay at their usual size. A few collaborations break the rule, which we cover in the Gazelle sizing guide.

Spezial. Sits between the Gazelle and the Samba. It runs a little long, so many wearers drop half a size, but the arch feels more structured than the Gazelle's. With wide feet or a high instep, stay true to size.

Campus 80s and Campus 00s. The roomiest of the four, especially the chunky 00s with its padded tongue and fat laces. Half a size down is the usual move for average feet. Wide feet are often fine at their regular size and tend to find this the friendliest shoe in the Originals range.

Court classics: Stan Smith, Superstar and Forum

This is the easy group. The Stan Smith fits true to size for most feet. It is slightly slim through the forefoot, so if you are on the wide side expect a snug first week while the leather relaxes. A few narrow-footed wearers notice spare length and go half down, but that is the exception.

The Superstar is also true to size. Its rubber shell toe doesn't stretch, so the front of the shoe never gets roomier with wear. If your toes press into the shell when you try them on, don't count on a break-in to fix it. You will see claims online that the Superstar runs big; in general the extra feeling of space comes from the heel and collar rather than the length, and lacing a little tighter usually handles it.

The Forum Low and Forum Mid fit true to size with a fairly generous, basketball-style volume. The ankle strap on the Mid adjusts the collar but does nothing to the length, so order your normal size.

Running shoes and Boost

Adidas performance running shoes are built to more consistent specs than the lifestyle line, and most current models fit true to size.

• Ultraboost: current versions are true to size. The early Primeknit generations, including the original Ultraboost 1.0, were tight around the forefoot, and many owners went half a size up. If you are buying an older pair on resale, factor that in.
• Adizero Adios Pro and Adizero Evo SL: true to size with a secure, race-style lockdown. Narrow-footed runners who like a very close fit sometimes go half down in the Evo SL.
• Adizero Boston: forgiving through the forefoot. Most runners take their normal size; some prefer half down for a closer fit.
• Supernova: true to size and a bit boxy. A runner's loop at the top eyelet helps if your heel lifts.

Running shoes need more space in front of the toes than lifestyle sneakers, roughly a thumb's width, because feet swell over longer distances. If an Adidas trainer feels perfect in the store with your toe near the end, it is too small for a long run.

NMD and the Yeezy era

The NMD line is known for feeling long. The R1 and its successors use a sock-like knit upper with plenty of room at the front, and the general consensus is half a size down for average and narrow feet. Wide feet can stay at their usual size because the knit gives.

The Adidas Yeezy partnership is over, but plenty of pairs still circulate on resale, so the sizing questions keep coming. The Yeezy Boost 350 V2 runs small: the knit is tight and the heel tab presses on the Achilles, and most wearers go half a size up. The Yeezy 700 is closer to true to size, with some people going half up for toe room. The Foam Runner came in whole sizes only, so half-size wearers usually round up.

Wide and narrow feet in Adidas

Adidas offers very little in the way of width sizing, especially in its lifestyle range. That means width gets solved by choosing the right model rather than ordering a 2E. If you measure wide (our shoe width chart explains what the letters mean), your friendliest options are the Campus, Gazelle and Forum, all at your normal length. Avoid fixing a narrow shoe by going up a full size: you gain a little width and a lot of length, and the flex point ends up in the wrong place under your foot.

Narrow feet have the opposite problem. The Samba and Stan Smith will feel great at your usual size, while the Campus and Gazelle may feel sloppy even half a size down. In the roomy models, a thicker insole or tighter lacing through the top eyelets takes up the extra volume.

Adidas men's and women's size charts

These are the Adidas grids. The foot-length column is the length Adidas maps to each size, so measure your foot in centimeters and find the closest row. If you land between two rows, let the model decide: round down in the roomy shoes (Gazelle, Campus, NMD) and round up in the snug ones (Samba if your feet are wide, Yeezy 350 V2).

One detail worth noticing: from about a US men's 9 upward, the Adidas chart assigns a slightly shorter foot to each US number than the standard Nike-style chart does. A 28 cm foot reads as a US men's 10 on the standard chart and a 10.5 on the Adidas chart. In practice most people still wear the same US size in a Nike Dunk and an Adidas Stan Smith, so treat the centimeter column as a starting point and the model notes above as the deciding factor.

Coming from Nike, New Balance or Asics

Most buyers already know their size in another brand. Here is how to translate, assuming you start from the size you wear in that brand's true-to-size models.

• From Nike: your usual Nike size is the right starting point for the Stan Smith, Superstar, Forum and Ultraboost. If you size down in the Air Force 1, start from your regular Nike size here, not your AF1 size.
• From New Balance: New Balance lifestyle models tend to be roomier in the forefoot. Keep the same US number, but expect a Samba to feel much tighter than a 550 or a 990.
• From Asics: keep the same US size. Asics runners usually give you more toe box than a Samba or Stan Smith, so wide-footed Asics fans should lean toward the Campus or Gazelle.

For a side-by-side grid of the major brands, use our brand size comparison tool.

How to order Adidas without guessing

1. Measure your foot length in centimeters, standing, late in the day. Use the longer foot.
2. Find that length on the Adidas chart above to get your base US size.
3. Check the model: half down for the Gazelle, Campus, Spezial and NMD; true to size for court and running shoes; half up for the Yeezy 350 V2; Samba at your base size, or half up if your feet are wide.
4. If you shop women's sizes, remember that Adidas uses a one-size gap between men's and women's, not one and a half.
5. Read the fit note on the product page at adidas.com when there is one. Adidas sometimes flags models that run large.

That last step catches most of the surprises. A minute spent on the specific model beats any brand-wide rule.