Luggage Weight Calculator

Airline baggage weight limits, in plain English

Almost every US airline uses the same basic rule, with a few exceptions worth knowing before you pack.

• 50 pounds (23 kg) is the standard limit for a checked bag on American, Delta, United, Southwest and JetBlue domestic flights.
• 40 pounds applies on some low-cost fares, certain regional routes and a few international itineraries. Spirit and Frontier sell bags by weight band rather than giving you a flat 50.
• 70 pounds is the ceiling for a heavy bag on most airlines, and it is where the fee roughly doubles. Above 70 pounds many carriers charge a second, larger fee; above 100 pounds the bag is refused outright.
• 62 linear inches is the size limit, length plus width plus height. Weight and size are checked separately, and a light but enormous bag still gets refused.

The overweight fee is the important part, and it is usually flat, not per pound. A bag at 51 pounds and a bag at 68 pounds typically cost the same $100 on a domestic flight. That single fact changes the strategy: if you are going to be over, either get under the limit or accept that the last 17 pounds are free.

Carry-on bags almost never have a weight limit on US airlines, the limit is size. That is why moving four pounds from a checked bag to a backpack is the cheapest fix in this whole page. The Transportation Security Administration's what you can bring page covers what is allowed in the cabin, and the U.S. Department of Transportation publishes the consumer rules that airlines must follow on baggage fees and delayed bags.

Worked example: two bags at 54 and 47 pounds

You weighed your bags on the bathroom scale the night before. Bag one is 54 pounds, bag two is 47 pounds, and your airline's limit is 50 pounds per checked bag.

• Bag 1: 54 − 50 = 4 pounds over
• Bag 2: 47 pounds, 3 pounds under
• Total checked weight: 54 + 47 = 101 pounds
• Bags over the limit: 1
• Overweight fee at the counter: $100 (flat fee for 51 to 70 pounds)

Now do the arithmetic that saves the money. Move 4 pounds from bag one into your carry-on, a laptop, a pair of sneakers or a jacket, and both bags are legal. The fee drops from $100 to $0, which means those 4 pounds were being charged at $25 a pound. Nothing else on this page is worth as much per minute of effort.

The other option is to redistribute. Shift 2 pounds from bag one to bag two and you get 52 and 49, still one bag over, still $100. Redistribution only helps when the total is under the combined allowance. Here the total is 101 pounds against a 100-pound two-bag allowance, so the only fixes are removing 1 pound overall or moving 4 pounds to the cabin.

Add a 22-pound carry-on and the trip total is 123 pounds of bags. That is the number to compare against your airline's combined limits if you are flying a carrier that weighs carry-ons, which most US airlines do not on domestic routes but several international carriers do.

Weight limits and overweight fees at a glance

Typical US domestic figures for a first checked bag. Fees change often and vary by route and fare class, always confirm on your airline's own baggage page before you fly:

The spread is real: on a 55-pound bag Southwest charges $75 and JetBlue charges $150, so the same mistake costs twice as much depending on the carrier. The gap is even wider on international itineraries, where 51 to 70 pounds commonly runs $100 to $200 and the second bag can cost more than the first.

Two rules of thumb come out of that table. First, if your bag is under 51 pounds you owe nothing extra on any US carrier, so the target is always 50 pounds, not 70. Second, if you are flying a carrier that allows a 40-pound bag, the flat fee structure means you should aim for 40 exactly, there is no partial credit for being close.

How to weigh a bag without a luggage scale

You almost certainly own a scale that will do the job.

• Bathroom scale method. Weigh yourself, then weigh yourself holding the bag. The difference is the bag. It is accurate to about half a pound, which is plenty against a 50-pound limit.
• Suitcase on the scale. A hard-shell bag that fits on the platform can be weighed directly, but hold it steady, leaning on the floor or a wall throws the reading off by several pounds.
• Airport check. Most airports have a public scale near the check-in desks, and it is usually free. Weigh before you join the queue, not at the counter.
• Leave a margin. Home scales run light. Pack to 48 or 49 pounds rather than exactly 50, because a two-pound difference at the counter is a $100 difference in your wallet.

Weigh the bag the night before, not in the morning. If you find it is over at 10 PM you can move things to a carry-on or a coat pocket; if you find out at the airport you are paying the fee. If you are flying with a group, weigh every bag, the total matters as much as the individual weights, because many airlines charge per bag over the limit rather than per pound.

What weighs something

Four pounds sounds like nothing until you see what it is. These are typical packed weights, and the easiest candidates to move into a carry-on:

So the 4 pounds in the worked example is a laptop and a hoodie, or a pair of sneakers and a book. Wearing your heaviest shoes and jacket onto the plane routinely takes 3 to 5 pounds out of a checked bag for free, and nobody weighs what you are wearing.

The heaviest thing people pack without thinking about it is shoes. Three pairs is 6 pounds, which is 12% of a 50-pound allowance spent on footwear. Two pairs, one worn, is the usual compromise.

Carry-on rules and what you cannot move

Moving weight to the cabin has limits, and they are mostly about liquids rather than pounds.

• Liquids. Containers must be 3.4 ounces or smaller and fit in one quart-sized bag. Full-size shampoo, sunscreen and wine cannot go in the cabin regardless of weight.
• Sharp objects. Knives, scissors over 4 inches and most tools must be checked, so they cannot be moved out of an overweight bag.
• Sports equipment and batteries. Lithium batteries must stay in the cabin, and large power banks cannot go in checked bags at all.
• Cabin size limits. Carry-on bags must fit the sizer and the overhead bin. A 22 × 14 × 9 inch bag is the usual domestic maximum, and if it does not fit, it gets checked, at the gate, often for a fee.

The practical rule: move dense, non-liquid, non-sharp items to the cabin. Electronics, chargers, books, a change of clothes and medication are all ideal. Toiletries and tools are not. Check the current list on the TSA site before you pack, because the rules on specific items change more often than most travellers expect.

One last piece of arithmetic worth doing before you fly. If an overweight bag costs $100 and a second checked bag costs $40 to $50, splitting the contents across two bags is usually cheaper than paying the overweight fee, provided your fare includes a second bag at that price. Compare the two fees at the airline's own page, and remember that on a round trip every fee is charged twice.