Although it’s great to look fly and chic, the main reason people spend money on footwear is to make their feet comfortable when they walk or move around. Unfortunately, many people go for stylish shoes, regardless of whether they are the right fit.
But as you already know, wearing shoes that do not fit can be a great source of discomfort. Based on industry research, about 60% of people wear the wrong sneaker size at any given time, which affects both gait and posture. Thankfully, purchasing discomfort with your hard-earned money can be avoided, as you’ll see in this Vans sizing vs Nike comparison.
The Confusion with Shoe Sizing
If you’re like most people, there’s a huge possibility that you do not know what your actual shoe size is. To make it even more complicated, you may need to order two different shoe sizes if you were buying footwear from two different brands, at least if you want to enjoy walking in both. Yet, both shoe measurements will fit you nicely.
For many people, the only logical way to solve this seeming confusion is to order a few different shoe sizes to return the wrong ones. They’ve had a handful of experiences buying undersized or oversized shoes.
But the problem with shoe sizing may not be primarily because you don’t know your correct shoe size. Instead, it has more to do with the lack of universal sizing, meaning customers who are used to a particular brand’s sizing may have a difficult time working out their correct shoe size when buying shoes from another brand.
This quick post will compare Vans sizing vs Nike to eliminate the seeming confusion common with choosing the right shoe sizes. In other words, this guide will help you to pick up a pair of Vans shoes based on a size you are already used to with the Nike brand or vice versa, and you won’t end up with the wrong pair.
We’ve picked these brands because they manufacture footwear with many similar features but can differ in size. But even if you don’t buy either of these brands, the information here will help you figure out how to pick the right shoe size, especially when you are buying from a new brand with different sizing than you’re familiar with.
How to Know Your Perfect Size Every Time
There is no hard and fast rule to knowing your correct shoe size with any brand. However, the easiest way to go about it is to measure your feet and use this accurate measurement against the size chart of the brand you wish to purchase.
While this is not something you must do, measuring your feet late in the afternoon or late morning will usually yield the best results. The legs tend to shrink early in the morning, and you may get an undersized measurement at that time.
Meanwhile, Nike has an app that makes figuring out your perfect shoe size a lot easier. But generally, you should know that Nike shoes are slightly smaller in size than Vans, meaning if you are used to Nike shoes, you may have to add about half a size to your usual feet measurement when buying a Vans shoe.
Since we are comparing Vans sizing vs Nike shoe sizes, you’ll need to understand how the sizing of the two brands. We have provided their shoe size charts below, so you can consult them any time you want to pick the right shoe size.
Vans Shoes: A Brief Overview
Vans is a California-based manufacturer that specializes in different kinds of shoes specifically targeting extreme sports. Vans produces trendy old skool shoes, such as skateboarding shoes, snowboarding boots, and BMX boots. Vans styles tend to expand over time.
Vans Shoes Sizing
We can’t effectively answer whether Vans shoes run small or large because they measure differently for males and females. In reality, Vans shoes are unisex. However, measuring them against Nike brands reveals that they run a bit large for females and large for males. Vans shoes run small for kids against Nike.
When buying Vans shoes for kids, you should buy sizes that are larger compared to Nike. For women, it is usually best to buy Vans shoes about half a size smaller than Nike, while it should be one size smaller for males, compared to Nike.
The above general comparison is for US sizing. The full Vans sizing chart for the US, UK, and EU is below.
Vans says their shoe sizes are based on US metrics and are true to size. However, this can still be a bit confusing because Vans shoes are unisex and do not indicate specific sizes for women. Most women and girls will certainly find this quite challenging, but the chart below should help.
Vans Shoes Size Chart
Let’s look at a tabular representation of Vans shoe size for the US (male and female), UK, and EU.
| US Men | US Women | UK | EU |
| 3.5 | 5 | 2.5 | 34.5 |
| 4 | 5.5 | 3 | 35 |
| 4.5 | 6 | 3.5 | 36 |
| 5 | 6.5 | 4 | 36.5 |
| 5.5 | 7 | 4.5 | 37 |
| 6 | 7.5 | 5 | 38 |
| 6.5 | 8 | 5.5 | 38.5 |
| 7 | 8.5 | 6 | 39 |
| 7.5 | 9 | 6.5 | 40 |
| 8 | 9.5 | 7 | 40.5 |
| 8.5 | 10 | 7.5 | 41 |
| 9 | 10.5 | 8 | 42 |
| 9.5 | 11 | 8.5 | 42.5 |
| 10 | 11.5 | 9 | 43 |
| 10.5 | 12 | 9.5 | 44 |
| 11 | 12.5 | 10 | 44.5 |
| 11.5 | 13 | 10.5 | 45 |
| 12 | 13.5 | 11 | 46 |
| 13 | 14 | 12 | 47 |
This table will help you to properly figure out the best shoe size that would fit perfectly.
Nike Shoes: A Brief Overview
Nike was founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by a track-and-field coach and his former student at Oregon. The company opened its first retail outlet in 1966, but the Nike brand was launched in 1972. It has become a global brand making many sports shoes, but most notably for basketball players.
Nike Shoes Sizing
Nike is well-known for running small with its shoes, so most users need to order larger sizes compared to Vans. The only exception is for those with narrow feet. Most times, you should go for a 0.5 increase in size compared to Vans, except if you have wide feet. In that case, you can go for a size higher. In exceptional cases, to get the right size, you may need to go a size and a half higher.
Nike has an app that lets you scan your feet to find the accurate size to prevent problems associated with wrong sizes. However, you can simply measure your feet against a wall and find the corresponding length on a Nike shoe size chart if you don’t have the brand’s feet measuring app.
One of the similarities when comparing Vans sizing to Nike is that both shoes tend to stretch or expand over time. That means even if your shoe seems a bit tight initially, it may become more comfortable with time.
However, with Nike, you can only expect stretching for those with narrow feet. Nike shoes also provide noticeable arch support for those with high arches.
Nike Shoes Size Chart
Let’s look at the shoe size chart for Nike.
| US Women | Inches | CM | US Men | Inches | CM |
| 5 | 8 ⅝ | 22 | 6 | 9 ⅜ | 23.7 |
| 5.5 | 8 ⅞ | 22.4 | 6.5 | 9 ½ | 24.1 |
| 6 | 9 | 22.9 | 7 | 9 ⅝ | 24.5 |
| 6.5 | 9 ⅛ | 23.3 | 7.5 | 9 ⅞ | 25 |
| 7 | 9 ⅜ | 23.7 | 8 | 10 | 25.4 |
| 7.5 | 9 ½ | 24.1 | 8.5 | 10 ⅛ | 25.8 |
| 8 | 9 ⅝ | 24.5 | 9 | 10 ⅜ | 26.2 |
| 8.5 | 9 ⅞ | 25 | 9.5 | 10 ½ | 26.7 |
| 9 | 10 | 25.4 | 10 | 10 ⅝ | 27.1 |
| 9.5 | 10 ⅛ | 25.8 | 10.5 | 10 ⅞ | 27.5 |
| 10 | 10 ⅜ | 26.2 | 11 | 11 | 27.9 |
| 10.5 | 10 ½ | 26.7 | 11.5 | 11 ⅛ | 28.3 |
| 11 | 10 ⅝ | 27.1 | 12 | 11 ⅜ | 28.8 |
| 11.5 | 10 ⅞ | 27.5 | 12.5 | 11 ½ | 29.2 |
| 13 | 11 ⅝ | 29.6 | |||
| 13.5 | 11 ⅞ | 30 | |||
| 14 | 12 | 30.5 | |||
| 15 | 12 ⅜ | 31.3 |
Nike figures are in inches but have been converted to centimeters to make the calculations easier for you. The first three columns are for women’s sizes, while the last three are for men. All measurements are for the US.
Based on the tables, men’s US size 10 for Nike would correspond to US size 9.5 for Vans shoes, translating to size 8.5 for the UK and 42.5 for the EU.
But whatever your size, because Nike tends to be a bit smaller, always buy Nike shoes that are about 0.5 higher in size to your exact feet measurements.
Conclusion
Nike and Vans are similar brands but their sizing is different. You can consult the charts above to know your size before purchasing either brand. Nike has male and female sizes but Vans sizing is unisex.
