Southwest Airlines allows a carry-on up to 24 × 16 × 10 inches including wheels and handles. No weight limit is published, but you have to lift it into the bin yourself. It is free on every fare.
Measure the outside, wheels and handles included — that’s what they measure at the gate.
Links below are Amazon affiliate links — we earn a commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you. No brand paid to appear here or to rank above another.
Built to maximum-legal geometry on purpose. The flat 22 × 14 × 8 box wastes almost no sizer volume, and it’s the only backpack here strictly inside 22 × 14 × 9 on all three axes.
Exactly 22 × 14 × 9 overall — genuinely legal with the wheels counted, which almost no other "20-inch" bag can claim. Lightest in this group, and it expands two inches.
The perennial best-carry-on recommendation. Expands two inches and swallows far more than the 20-inch version.
23 inches overall once you count the wheels, so it’s over the 22" limit on most carriers. Fine on Southwest and Sun Country.
A pound and a half for 45 litres inside a legal carry-on footprint, and it converts to a backpack. Nothing else here comes close on weight.
A ripstop bomber duffel with lockable zips and stowable backpack straps that packs down into itself. The durability pick.
The reference point for one-bag travel. Suspended mesh backpanel, stowaway harness, a proper hipbelt, clamshell opening.
9.1" depth is a hair over the nine-inch box, but it’s soft and compresses. Legacy S/M and M/L versions still circulate with different specs.
The women’s-fit sibling to the Farpoint. Identical outer dimensions, different harness and torso geometry.
Same footprint as the Road Runner but 1.8 lb lighter, an inch slimmer, and it holds more — no front pocket eating into the volume.
The highest-volume budget hardside on Amazon. Unusually slim at 8.7 inches deep, which is how it clears nine-inch sizers.
Listings advertise "22×14×9 airline approved" but the retailer spec sheet gives 15.4" width. Trust the spec sheet.
The long-running budget Samsonite bestseller — micro-diamond polycarbonate shell, and it expands.
Retailers publish 20 × 14.5 × 9.5 for the case only. True overall height with wheels is 22 inches, and the width runs 15.
Only 7.75 inches deep. This is the bag to buy when depth is the thing that keeps catching you out rather than height.
A popular lightweight polypropylene hardside that expands an extra inch when you need it.
At 23 × 15 × 10 it exceeds 22 × 14 × 9 on all three axes. It fits overhead bins in practice but fails a sizer.
The cheapest credible hardside spinner and the default budget answer. Expands about 25 per cent, and the published dimensions explicitly include the wheels.
Routinely under $60, with eight multi-directional wheels and a five-year warranty. Nothing fancy, but it does the job.
Suitcase-style mesh organisation built in, so it replaces your packing cubes, wrapped in a TPU weatherproof shell. The design-forward one-bag pick.
10" depth exceeds the nine-inch sizer, though it compresses. Cotopaxi doesn’t publish exterior dimensions — these come from REI and Pack Hacker.
The Away and Monos alternative — front-opening laptop compartment and double TSA locks. Dimensions explicitly include the handles and wheels.
9.5 lb empty, the heaviest bag in this list by roughly two pounds. That matters on any 35 lb carrier.
Looking at the other size too? See Southwest personal item sizes, the full Southwest baggage guide, or our picks for the best Southwest bags. Flying with a camera? 16 camera bags fit — see the camera bag guide.
| Cheapest fare | ✓ | Included. Southwest does not strip the carry-on from its lowest fare. |
|---|---|---|
| Main cabin and above | ✓ | Included. |
| Elite status / co-brand card | ✓ | No change — it was already free. |
Southwest Airlines publishes no aircraft-specific carry-on rule — the same limit is stated for its whole fleet. Only Delta, United and American publish rules that change with the aircraft, and we are not going to invent one for the others.
Wondering how big the bins actually are? Nobody publishes that — see what is actually known about overhead bin sizes.
24 × 16 × 10 inches including wheels and handles. No weight limit is published.
No. Free on every fare, including the cheapest Basic fare.
Yes. The outside of the bag is measured, so wheels, handles and external pockets all count. A suitcase sold as a "20-inch carry-on" is often 22 inches overall.
It usually gets gate-checked, which is free. You collect it at the jet bridge or baggage claim.
Manufacturers publish dimensions inconsistently, and a “20-inch” spinner is almost never 20 inches once you count the wheels. Where a brand states dimensions including wheels and handles, that’s the number we use. Where it only publishes the case, we say so on the card. Airlines measure the outside of your bag — wheels, handles, straps and all. Anything marked borderline is down to the gate agent, and remember that a soft bag squashes into a sizer while a hard shell won’t.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Product links on this page are affiliate links and cost you nothing extra.
Limits verified August 2026 against each carrier’s published policy. Airlines change these without notice — always confirm before you fly. Spirit Airlines ceased operations on 2 May 2026 and is no longer listed.
Airline Bag Size Checker v1.0.15 · last updated 2026-08-12