How to Measure Your Foot Width at Home (and Read D, 2E, 4E)

Most people choose running shoes by length and never think about width — which is exactly why so many of us end up with sore, pinched toes. The fix takes about two minutes and a sheet of paper. Once you know your width, every other decision on this site gets easier. Let’s sort it out.

This is the practical companion to the width-first guide.

First, the letters: what D, 2E and 4E mean

Width is graded with letters, and they go from narrow to wide:

• 2A — narrow
• B — standard for women / narrow for men
• D — standard for men / wide for women
• 2E — wide (men)
• 4E — extra-wide (men)

So when you see “Men’s 10 2E,” that’s a size-10 shoe in a wide last. Two quick things worth knowing: the same letter can fit differently between brands, and a women’s “wide” (D) is a different starting point from a men’s “wide” (2E). Don’t chase the letter — chase the fit.

Measure your feet in two minutes

You’ll want a blank sheet of paper, a pen held straight up, and a ruler.

1. Do it in the evening. Feet swell over the day and are at their widest then — that’s the foot you want to fit.
2. Stand on the paper, weight on the foot, so it spreads the way it does when you run. Standing matters; a foot in the air measures narrower than a foot that’s loaded.
3. Trace around it with the pen kept vertical, then measure the widest part — straight across the ball of your foot, where it’s broadest. That number is your foot width. Measure the length too (heel to longest toe).
4. Do both feet. They’re often slightly different — always fit the bigger one.

Turning that number into a width

Here’s the honest part: the exact millimeter that tips you from “D” into “2E” depends on your length and the brand, so the cleanest path is to take your length and width to a brand’s size chart and read off the width it recommends. Most brand sites have one.

If you’d rather skip the charts, there’s a reliable shortcut — the insole test:

Pull the removable insole out of a shoe you own and stand on it. If your foot sits neatly on top, the width is fine. If your foot spills over the edges, that’s your answer: you need a wider shoe.

It’s low-tech and it’s honest — your foot either fits on the footbed or it doesn’t.

The mistake almost everyone makes

When a shoe pinches the sides, the instinct is to go up half a size. Please don’t. A longer shoe gives you a sloppy heel and a foot that slides forward — and it still pinches across the toes, because length was never the problem.

The right move is to go up a width, not a size. Keep your length; change D to 2E, or 2E to 4E. That’s the whole trick, and it’s why knowing your width matters so much.

One more thing: width isn’t the only story

Some feet are wide across; others are tall — high arch, high instep, lots of volume. A shoe can be wide enough and still feel like it’s pressing down on top of your foot. If that’s you, you’re not imagining it, and it points you toward deeper-fitting shoes (New Balance is a good place to start). The width-first guide walks through both.

You’re ready to shop

That’s genuinely all you need: measure in the evening, standing, both feet; read the wider one; and if in doubt, go up a width rather than a size. With that one number in hand, the brand guides will point you straight to shoes that fit.

Now find your pair: New Balance, ASICS, Brooks, Altra & Topo, or the max-cushion picks.