Glove Size Chart & Converter
Convert glove sizes from palm circumference (inch or cm) — fashion sizing, the old UK/French scale, and independent EN 420 work-glove sizing. Three systems, never mixed.
Step 1 — Measure
How to Measure Your Hand for Gloves
Palm circumference is the number every glove sizing system in this converter is built from — take one measurement, get every result.
- 1
Flatten your dominant hand
Lay your dominant hand flat, palm up, fingers together (not spread). Your dominant hand is usually slightly larger, and gloves should fit your larger hand comfortably.
- 2
Wrap the tape around the widest part
Wrap a soft tape measure around your palm at its widest point — just below the knuckles, not including the thumb. Keep the tape snug but not compressing your hand.
- 3
Read the measurement in inches for fashion sizing
The inch reading is your fashion glove size directly (7 inches = size 7). If you measured in cm, enter it above and select cm — the converter does the math for you.
- 4
For work/safety gloves, also note your hand length
If you're buying EN 420 certified work or lab gloves, some retailers also ask for hand length (middle fingertip to wrist crease) — this converter's EN 420 tab shows the matching reference value, but sizes by palm circumference.
- 5
Round up if you're between two sizes
If your measurement falls between two rows, choose the larger size. A glove that's slightly loose is far more usable than one that's too tight, especially for closures with buttons or snaps.
Step 2 — Convert
Glove Size Converter
This tab covers everyday / dress gloves, sized by palm circumference in inches. Shopping for safety, lab, or work gloves? Switch to the EN 420 tab — it's a different sizing scale.
Fit
Input type
Unit
Wrap a tape measure around your palm — see the HowTo steps on the left.
Enter a palm circumference or size above to see the conversion.
Results update instantly as you type.
Why did my glove size change? (EU labeling regulation)
If a glove you've bought for years suddenly shows a bigger number on the label, your hand didn't change — the label did. EU manufacturers have shifted from the old UK/French sizing scale to the current EU scale (which matches fashion/inch sizing), and the new EU number runs about half a size larger than the old UK number for the same physical glove. For example, an old UK size 9.5 and a current EU size 10 can describe the exact same glove. This converter shows both the fashion/EU number and the old UK/French number side by side in the fashion tab so you can cross-check either label.
Men's Fashion Glove Size Chart
Scroll horizontally on mobile. Fashion and EN 420 are shown as separate tables on purpose — never read a row from one chart against the other.
| Palm Circ. | Fashion Size | Old UK/French | Letter* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7" / 177.8mm | 7 | 6½ | S |
| 7½" / 190.5mm | 7½ | 7 | S/M |
| 8" / 203.2mm | 8 | 7½ | M |
| 8½" / 215.9mm | 8½ | 8 | M/L |
| 9" / 228.6mm | 9 | 8½ | L |
| 9½" / 241.3mm | 9½ | 9 | L/XL |
| 10" / 254.0mm | 10 | 9½ | XL |
| 10½" / 266.7mm | 10½ | 10 | XL/XXL |
| 11" / 279.4mm | 11 | 10½ | XXL |
| 11½" / 292.1mm | 11½ | 11 | XXL |
| 12" / 304.8mm | 12 | 11½ | 3XL |
Women's Fashion Glove Size Chart
| Palm Circ. | Fashion Size | Old UK/French | Letter* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6" / 152.4mm | 6 | 5½ | XS |
| 6½" / 165.1mm | 6½ | 6 | XS/S |
| 7" / 177.8mm | 7 | 6½ | S |
| 7½" / 190.5mm | 7½ | 7 | S/M |
| 8" / 203.2mm | 8 | 7½ | M |
| 8½" / 215.9mm | 8½ | 8 | M/L |
EN 420 Work Glove Size Chart
| EN 420 | Hand Length | Palm Circ. | Min. Glove Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 152mm | 160mm | 220mm |
| 7 | 178mm | 171mm | 230mm |
| 8 | 203mm | 182mm | 240mm |
| 9 | 229mm | 192mm | 250mm |
| 10 | 254mm | 204mm | 260mm |
| 11 | 279mm | 215mm | 270mm |
* Letter tiers are a suggested midpoint (Dents as primary source) — brand boundaries can shift by about half a size. Fashion data cross-validated across Dents, Omnicalculator, and Topology Clothing; EN 420 data from standard PPE sizing references.
Editor's Notes: How We Picked These Numbers
Glove sizing is the most conflicted system in our size-converter family — three definitions exist and none can be reduced to a single formula. Here's exactly how we resolved that honestly instead of averaging it away.
- We picked fashion sizing (size number = palm circumference in inches) as the primary baseline because it's the cleanest, most transparent system and matches Dents' "Traditional Size" — a 150-year-old glove maker's own published standard.
- The old UK/French scale (palm circumference in cm ÷ 2.71, rounded to the nearest 0.5) is shown as a reference column inside the fashion tab, not as a separate tab — because it's the same physical glove, just an older regional label, not a genuinely different sizing philosophy.
- We verified the EU relabeling issue against a dedicated safety-equipment source (hazchemsafety.com): EU manufacturers shifted labels from the old UK scale to a new EU scale equal to fashion/inch sizing, so the same glove's number went up by about half a size. We show this explicitly rather than silently picking one number.
- EN 420 (CE-certified work/lab glove sizing) is kept on a fully separate tab with its own fixed table, because its size numbers describe a different standard entirely — an EN 420 size 8 corresponds to a 182mm palm circumference (about 7.16 inches), not an 8-inch palm. Mixing this with fashion sizing would produce a wrong-fitting glove, so our code and copy both keep them structurally isolated.
- Men's and women's fashion size boundaries differ by about half a size across the sources we checked (Omnicalculator, Topology, Dents) — we used Dents (the heritage source) as primary and flagged every letter-tier result with a brand-variance note rather than presenting a false-precision average.
Understanding Glove Sizing: Why Three Systems Exist
Unlike hat sizing — where every regional system is a pure mathematical transform of head circumference — glove sizing genuinely diverged into incompatible standards, because gloves for fashion, historical tailoring, and industrial safety were never built to the same specification.
Fashion/English-American sizing is the simplest: your size number is your palm circumference measured in inches, full stop. A palm that measures 8 inches around wears a fashion size 8 glove. This convention traces back to English glove-making heritage (Dents, founded 1777, still publishes it as their "Traditional Size") and remains the dominant sizing language for dress and everyday gloves sold in English-speaking markets.
The old UK/French scale measures the same palm circumference but in centimeters, then divides by 2.71 and rounds to the nearest half — producing a number about half a size smaller than the fashion/inch figure for the same physical glove. This wasn't a different glove standard so much as a different unit-conversion convention that some regional retailers and older stock still use. Adding to the confusion, EU regulators later required manufacturers to relabel gloves using a size equal to the fashion/inch number — so a glove once marked "old UK 9.5" is now marked "EU 10" despite being physically identical. If you've ever wondered why your usual glove size suddenly "changed," this relabeling is almost always the reason, not a change in your hand.
EN 420 is a completely separate system that has nothing to do with fashion sizing conventions. It's a European CE-certification standard for personal protective equipment — safety gloves, laboratory gloves, industrial work gloves — built around a fixed table that pairs palm circumference (in millimeters) and hand length with a size number from 6 to 11. Critically, an EN 420 size number does not equal a palm circumference in inches: EN 420 size 8 corresponds to a palm of 182mm (roughly 7.16 inches), not an 8-inch palm. Because the two numbering systems can overlap in the same 6–11 range while meaning entirely different things, buying an EN 420-certified glove by matching it to your fashion glove size is a common and avoidable fitting mistake.
Women's and men's fashion gloves are sized on the same inch scale but occupy different typical ranges — men commonly fall between 9 and 10 inches, women between 6.5 and 7.5 inches — and the boundary where a size counts as "Small" versus "Medium" genuinely differs by about half a size between major retailers, since there's no governing standard for letter tiers the way there is for the numeric palm-circumference figure itself.
Data Sources & Standards
Glove sizing has genuine cross-system conflicts, unlike hat sizing. We cross-checked fashion sizing across 3 independent retailers, sourced the EU relabeling explanation from a dedicated safety-equipment authority, and used standard EN 420 PPE references for the work-glove table — every number below is traceable, and no system was merged with another.
No data is stored. All calculations run locally in your browser.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why did my glove size number change even though my hand didn't?
- This is almost always the EU labeling regulation, not your hand. EU manufacturers shifted from the old UK/French sizing scale to a new EU scale that matches fashion/inch sizing, and the new number runs about half a size larger for the exact same physical glove — an old UK 9.5 and a current EU 10 can be identical. Check the fashion tab above: it shows both numbers side by side so you can confirm your usual glove hasn't actually changed size.
- What's the difference between EU and UK glove sizes?
- The old UK/French scale is palm circumference in cm divided by 2.71, rounded to the nearest half-size. The current EU scale equals fashion/inch sizing, which runs about half a size larger than the old UK number for the same glove. So EU size 10 ≈ old UK size 9.5 — same physical glove, different label convention. This converter shows both columns together in the fashion tab.
- How do I measure my hand for glove size?
- Lay your dominant hand flat, palm up, fingers together. Wrap a soft tape measure around your palm at its widest point, just below the knuckles, not including your thumb. The reading in inches is your fashion glove size directly (7 inches = size 7); enter cm if that's what you measured, and the converter handles the conversion.
- Are EN 420 work glove sizes the same as regular glove sizes?
- No — and this is the single most important thing to know if you're buying safety, lab, or industrial gloves. EN 420 is an independent CE-certification standard where the size number does not equal your palm circumference in inches: EN 420 size 8 corresponds to a palm of 182mm (about 7.16 inches), not an 8-inch palm. Use the EN 420 tab above, not the fashion tab, when shopping for certified work gloves.
- What is the average glove size for men and women?
- Men most commonly fall between fashion size 9 and 10 (palm circumference 9–10 inches / 23–26 cm); women most commonly fall between size 6.5 and 7.5 (16.5–19 cm). These are typical ranges cross-checked across multiple retailers, not universal cutoffs — brand boundaries for letter tiers like Medium or Large can shift by about half a size, so the numeric palm-circumference size is always more reliable than a letter alone.
- Should I round up or down between two glove sizes?
- Round up. A glove that's slightly larger than your exact measurement will still function properly and is far more comfortable than one that's too tight, especially for gloves with buttons, snaps, or a fitted wrist. This applies to both fashion and EN 420 sizing.
- How do I convert glove size from cm to inches?
- Divide your palm circumference in cm by 2.54 to get inches (or multiply by 0.3937). For example, 20.5 cm ÷ 2.54 ≈ 8.07 inches, which rounds to fashion size 8. Enter either unit into the converter above and it performs this conversion automatically, along with the old UK/French equivalent.
- Can I use a fashion glove size chart to buy safety gloves?
- Not reliably — safety and laboratory gloves are almost always sized to the EN 420 standard, which uses a completely different palm-circumference-to-size-number relationship than fashion gloves. Always check the product listing for "EN 420" and use this converter's EN 420 tab, not the fashion tab, to confirm your fit.
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