Carry-On Size Checker: Does My Bag Fit?
Enter the three sides of your bag and its weight to compare them with the common carry-on size, a checked-bag limit or the numbers from your airline. Your airline’s own rules always prevail
Your Bag and the Limit
For a custom limit, enter all three sides, the sum of the sides, or both. Leave empty what your airline does not state.
Measure the outside of the bag at its widest point in each direction, including wheels, handles and pockets. The order of the three sides does not matter.
Every check you set is within the limit. This tool only compares numbers: your airline’s own rules, and how the bag is measured at the airport, always prevail.
Airline conditions of carriage always apply. The numbers here are general references, not your airline’s rules: check the airline before you travel.
How to use this tool
- Choose the limit: the common carry-on size, the checked-bag sum of sides, or a custom limit with the numbers from your airline.
- Measure the outside of the bag in each direction, wheels and handles included, and type the three sides. Add the packed weight if you want to check it too.
- Read whether the bag is within the limit, which side is over and by how much, then press Copy Result.
Worked example
A bag of 22 × 14 × 9 in (55.9 × 35.6 × 22.9 cm) against the carry-on reference of 22 × 17.7 × 9.8 in (56 × 45 × 25 cm) leaves 0.05 in (0.1 cm), 3.72 in (9.4 cm) and 0.84 in (2.1 cm) to spare on its three sides, so it is within the limit. Change the third side to 11 in (27.9 cm) and the shortest side becomes 11 in (27.9 cm) against 9.8 in (25 cm): 1.16 in (2.9 cm) over. The tool then reports the bag as over the limit and shows which side causes it.
Methodology
The tool sorts the three sides of your bag from longest to shortest, does the same with the limit and compares them pair by pair: longest with longest, middle with middle and shortest with shortest. The bag fits when no side is longer than its pair, which is the same as turning the bag in any direction to get it through a frame. As a general reference, IATA gives 56 × 45 × 25 cm (22 × 18 × 10 in), including wheels and handles, as the maximum carry-on dimensions that many airlines apply, and 158 cm (62 in) as a common maximum for checked baggage, where applied, counting length + width + height. Its passenger baggage rules page also states that airline conditions of carriage always apply. Check with the defaults: 22 × 14 × 9 in against 22 × 17.7 × 9.8 in leaves 0.05 in (0.1 cm), 3.72 in (9.4 cm) and 0.84 in (2.1 cm) to spare.
One side over is enough
A bag can be smaller in volume than the reference box and still fail, because each side is checked on its own. Here is a 22.8 × 16.5 × 8.7 in (58 × 42 × 22 cm) bag against the carry-on reference.
The outer volume of this bag is 53.6 L against 63 L for the reference box, so it holds less than the box and is still 0.79 in (2 cm) too long. Only the longest side is the problem, and that is exactly what the tool points to. Enter your own bag above to see where it stands.
Travel Gear for the Airport
A luggage scale to check the weight, packing cubes to organize the bag and a tape measure to read its sides
Etekcity digital luggage scale, 110 lb capacity
Digital hanging luggage scale, listed with a 110 lb capacity, a hanging hook, a rubber grip, a battery included and an easy-to-read display. Handy for checking the packed weight before you leave for the airport.
BAGAIL packing cubes, set of 8 (cream)
Set of 8 packing cubes for organizing a suitcase, listed as luggage packing organizers for travel accessories in cream. Check the listing for the size of each cube and compare it with the inside of your bag.
CRAFTSMAN 25 ft retractable tape measure (CMHT37443S)
Retractable 25-foot tape measure (CMHT37443S), listed with a manual-locking blade. Useful for measuring the three sides of a bag, wheels and handles included.
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Frequently asked questions
What size is a standard carry-on bag? ▼
There is no single size. As a general reference, IATA gives 56 × 45 × 25 cm (22 × 18 × 10 in), including wheels and handles, as the maximum carry-on dimensions that many airlines apply. Others allow more or less, and some also limit the weight, so use Custom limit with the numbers on your airline’s page.
Are wheels and handles included in the measurement? ▼
In the IATA general reference, yes: the carry-on dimensions include wheels and handles. Measure the outside of the bag at its widest point in each direction, and include side pockets and anything that sticks out.
Does the order of the three sides matter? ▼
Not here. The tool sorts the sides of the bag and of the limit from longest to shortest and compares them pair by pair, so it does not matter which side you call length, width or height. Some airlines state the three sides in a fixed order, so check how yours does it.
What is the usual size limit for checked bags? ▼
Where an airline applies a size limit, IATA gives 158 cm (62 in) as a common maximum, counting length + width + height. The Checked bag preset compares the sum of your three sides with that number. Many airlines use a weight limit instead, or as well.
What weight limit applies to carry-on and checked bags? ▼
It depends on the airline. IATA notes that some airlines apply carry-on weight limits, typically starting at 5 kg (11 lb), and that international guidelines recommend an individual checked bag should not exceed 23 kg (50 lb). Type the figure from your airline in the weight limit box and the tool compares it with the packed weight you enter.
Can I check the rules of my own airline? ▼
Yes. Pick Custom limit and type the numbers from your airline’s baggage page: the three sides, the sum of the sides, the weight, or only the ones it states. The tool deliberately holds no airline list, so there is nothing out of date to trust; the airline’s own page is always the reference.
Can I use it for a personal item or an underseat bag? ▼
Yes, with Custom limit. Airlines give their own size for the small bag that goes under the seat in front, so type that size from the airline’s page and compare your bag with it.
Does the tool guarantee that the bag will be accepted? ▼
No. It compares numbers, and the airline decides at the airport with its own sizers and scales. An overpacked soft bag can measure more than the numbers you typed, so leave some margin, and check the airline’s conditions of carriage before you travel.
Is anything I enter uploaded? ▼
No. The comparison runs in your browser, so the numbers you type stay on your device and nothing is saved. If you reload or close the page, the fields return to their defaults.