Do Adidas Shoes Run Big Or Small?

The Adidas brand needs no introduction. For almost a century, they’ve been offering great quality and amazing styles, but what about sizing? Do Adidas shoes run big or small?

In today’s article, I’ll answer this exact question and share with you tips on how to figure out your right shoe size so you don’t have to deal with the frustration of buying the wrong fit.

Disclosure: This is a reader-supported site, which means we may earn a commission if you choose to purchase through the affiliate links on this page. Thank you!

Do Adidas Shoes Run Big Or Small?

Adidas shoes typically run true to size so, generally speaking, Adidas shoes do not run either big or small. For the majority of people, your best bet is to order your normal size in Adidas.

However, some models may be bigger or smaller than your regular fit. For example, the Adidas Ultraboost range features lightweight, padded shoes designed specifically for runners.

The company recommends that if you’re buying a pair of these and you have wide feet, you should go up half a size up from your usual size. So, if you’re typically an 8, you should choose an 8.5 for Ultraboost 1.0 and 2.0. TheUltraboost 3.0 doesn’t seem to have this issue.

Similarly, Adidas Cloudfoam shoes are constructed to provide maximum comfort during athletic activities. If you’re planning to get a pair of these, you may need to go a half size down, or even a full size down if you want a snug fit.

In any case, it’s great that Adidas shoes come in whole and half sizes, so you’re very unlikely to find trouble buying their shoes in the right size as long as you take accurate measurements of your feet.

I reviewed the feedback of customers on a bunch of popular models of Adidas shoes purchased via Amazon and calculated that approximately 70% of users who shared feedback reported that their Adidas shoes fit true to size.

This means that your chance of landing a proper fit from Adidas is quite high. But just to stay on the safe side, it’s better to buy your Adidas shoes from Amazon or another reliable retailer to enjoy hassle-free returns in case of misfits.

Are Adidas Shoes Really True to Size?

For the most part, Adidas footwear fits true to size. However, when customers do report having problems with the sizing of their shoes, the most common reason is that the shoes run a bit too big.

Since Adidas offers half sizes, fitting isn’t a major issue. Still, this doesn’t prevent occasional exceptions. I researched customer reports and did some digging to find out whether Adidas shoes run big, small, or true to size.

More closely, I applied some statistics on the 5,899 reviewers and the 8,168 reviewers on Amazon who submitted a size review for the Adidas Originals Men’s Superstar Shoes and the Adidas Originals Women’s Superstar Running Shoes, respectively as of the time of publication.

Table of Customer Feedback Regarding Adidas Men’s Shoe Sizing

Adidas Customers	Somewhat big / too big	True to size	Somewhat small / too small
Number	584	4,835	480
Percentage	9.9%	81.9%	8.1%

As you can conclude from the table gathering the feedback from 5,899 Adidas customers, nearly 8 out of every 10 reviewers on Amazon report that Adidas shoes fit true to size.

Table of Customer Feedback Regarding Adidas Women’s Shoe Sizing

	Somewhat big/too big	True to size	Somewhat small/too small
Number of customers	2,763	5,003	402
Percentage of reporting	33.8%	61.3%	4.9%

As you can tell from the above feedback from 8,168 customers, approximately 6 out of every 10 reviewers on Amazon reported that Adidas shoes fit true to size.

The bottom line? If you’re really worried about finding the perfect fit for your Adidas shoes, you might want to consider going a half size down from your regular shoe size, especially if your feet are on the narrow side.

That said, since Adidas makes their shoes available in half sizes, you shouldn’t come across any sizing problems given that you measure your feet accurately. So, if your usual shoe size is 8.5, you’ll most probably find a comfortable fit in the same size.

If your feet are narrow,  you prefer a snug fit, or you don’t like it when shoes are somewhat big, then order a half size down, which is a 7 in the previous case.

How to Measure Your Adidas Shoes Size

To find out what your correct Adidas shoe size is, follow the steps below:

1. Take off any shoes or socks you may be wearing.
2. Place your bare foot flat against a wall and make sure your heel is touching the floor.
3. Put a ruler or a tape measure to the side of your foot, making sure that the end of your chosen tool is touching the floor just like your heel is.
4. To measure the length of your foot, observe the distance from the floor (your heel) to the highest point of your foot, which doesn’t have to be the big toe. For many people, the index (second biggest) toe is the tallest toe.
5. Repeat the previous steps to double-check the accuracy of your measurements.

Adidas Size Charts

Once you know your foot length, refer to the sizing chart of and men’s and women’s Adidas shoes below:

Foot length (inches)	US men’s size	US women’s size	UK size
8.7	4	5	3.5
8.9	4.5	5.5	4
9.0	5	6	4.5
9.2	5.5	6.5	5
9.4	6	7	5.5
9.5	6.5	7.5	6
9.7	7	8	6.5
9.8	7.5	8.5	7
10.0	8	9	7.5
10.2	8.5	9.5	8
10.4	9	10	8.5
10.5	9.5	10.5	9
10.7	10	11	9.5
10.9	10.5	11.5	10
11.0	11	12	10.5
11.2	11.5	12.5	11
11.3	12	13	11.5
11.5	12.5	13.5	12
11.7	13	14	12.5
11.9	13.5	14.5	13
12.0	14	15	13.5
12.2	14.5	15.5	14
12.4	15	–	14.5
12.7	16	–	15
13.0	17	–	16
13.3	18	–	17
13.4	19	–	18
14	20	–	19

There’s also a size chart for kids’ and teens’ Adidas shoes, which you can view on their website. To give you a general idea, the company offers sizes for babies and toddlers from 0 to 3 years, children from 4 to 7 years, as well as older kids and teens from 8 to 16 years.

Adidas Sizing Tips

1. If possible, ask someone else to help you draw around your foot. This makes it easier to obtain more accurate measurements because the whole process now revolves around measuring only.
2. If you often wear your shoes with socks, be sure to account for the extra room you’ll need inside your shoes to accommodate socks. A simple way to do this is by wearing your usual pair of socks while measuring your foot’s length for the sake of better accuracy.
3. Typically, people’s feet tend to get swollen after being up and about for many hours. As such, it’s best to wait until the end of the day before measuring your feet so that your shoes stay comfortable even if your feet swell up.

How to Use the adiFIT Kids’ Insole

If you’ve purchased a pair of Adidas shoes for your child (up to 7 years old), they’ll arrive fitted with an adiFIT insole. This is an insert that you can use to make sure whether or not the size you chose properly fits your kid. Here’s how:

• Take out the adiFit insole and lay it flat on the ground.
• Have your kid step on the insole, fully positioning their foot fully over it.
• If your child’s foot is within the marked area, then the shoes will fit them well without issues.

***

So, do Adidas shoes run big or small? Generally, the answer is neither! Adidas shoes fit true to size most of the time and they even offer half sizes to help you find a perfect fit.

📚 Read Next:

• Do Clarks Shoes Run Big Or Small?
• Do UGGs Boots Run Big or Small?
• Do Asics Shoes Run Small or Big?

Cover Image: Pixels Studio / Shutterstock