Glove Size Calculator
Hand circumference to numeric and letter sizes.
Find your glove size from the circumference around your palm, in numeric sizes and S/M/L, for men's and women's gloves.
Around the widest part across the knuckles, excluding the thumb, hand relaxed.
Glove size
8.0
M
The numeric size is simply your palm circumference in inches, which makes it far more reliable across brands than the letter sizes. Measure the dominant hand — gloves are sized to one measurement and the larger hand decides.
How the Glove Size Calculator works
Glove sizing is unusually honest: the numeric size is simply the circumference of your palm in inches, so an eight-inch hand takes a size 8 glove. The letter sizes are a coarser mapping of the same measurement, which is why they fit less predictably across brands than the numbers do.
Also known as: hand size calculator · glove sizing chart
How the number is derived
Glove sizing is unusually direct: the numeric size is the circumference of the palm in inches. An eight-inch hand is a size 8. There is no division, no offset and no national variation in the numeric scale, which makes it the most honest sizing system in this cluster.
The measurement is taken around the widest part of the hand across the knuckles, excluding the thumb, with the hand relaxed rather than spread. Spreading the fingers inflates the circumference by a half size or more.
Letter sizes are a coarse mapping of the same measurement, with each letter covering roughly a full inch. That is why letter-sized gloves vary so much more between makers than numbered ones do — the maker chooses where to put the boundaries.
A worked example
A palm measuring 20.3 cm is 7.99 inches, so a size 8 glove. On most men's letter scales that is a medium; on a women's scale the same 8 would be a large, because the letter boundaries sit about an inch lower.
Someone between sizes at 8.25 inches faces a real choice rather than a rounding one. In leather, take the smaller and let it stretch; in a knitted or insulated glove, take the larger, because compression costs warmth.
Where the answer misleads
Circumference ignores finger length entirely, and hands vary in proportion as much as in girth. Someone with a broad palm and short fingers and someone with a narrow palm and long fingers can measure the same circumference and need different gloves. Where a maker publishes a finger-length measurement as well, it is worth using.
Material changes the correct fit substantially. Unlined leather is expected to be snug when new and will mould to the hand within a few wearings, so a leather glove that fits comfortably on day one will be loose within a month. Insulated and knitted gloves should never be snug: the dead air inside is what keeps the hand warm, and compressing it defeats the insulation.
Finally, gloves are sold in pairs sized to one measurement, and hands are not identical. Measure the dominant hand, which is usually the larger, or the tighter glove will be the one you use most.
Frequently asked questions
How do I measure my hand for gloves?
Wrap a tape around your dominant hand at the widest point across the knuckles, excluding the thumb, with the hand relaxed. The circumference in inches is the numeric glove size, rounded to the nearest half.
What size glove is a medium?
Roughly an 8 to 8.5 inch hand for men's and a 7 to 7.5 for women's. Because the letter scales differ by maker, the numeric size is the more reliable thing to shop by where it is offered.
Should gloves be tight?
Close-fitting but not restrictive, with enough room to make a fist. Leather stretches with wear and will mould to the hand, so a new leather glove should be snug; a knitted or insulated glove should not be, since compression costs you warmth.
Do I measure my left or right hand?
The dominant one, which is usually slightly larger. Gloves come in pairs sized to one measurement, so sizing to the smaller hand leaves the other one tight.