The Best Carry-On Luggage
Ranked on four published numbers rather than on adjectives: what it costs per covered year, how much it weighs per liter, how many airlines it fits, and what the warranty really promises.
We have not tested this gear. Every figure here is compiled from published manufacturer specifications and published airline policies, and the arithmetic is public so you can check it. This page contains affiliate links — see the affiliate disclosure.
For most people flying a few times a year, the answer is a bag that clears the 22 × 14 × 9 in box, weighs under 7 lb empty, and costs under $15 per year of warranty coverage. Only three bags in this ranking manage all three, and the cheapest of them lists at $89.99.
| # | Product | Cost per covered year | Fits | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Travelpro Maxlite 5 Carry-On Spinner (21 in)Southwest, Frontier and Sun Country flyers who want a lifetime warranty | $8/yr | 3 of 11WN F9 SY | 6.6 | Check price#ad How we earn |
| 2 | American Tourister Stratum 2.0 Carry-On SpinnerThe under-$100 buyer who still wants a decade of coverage | $9.00/yr | 4 of 11WN F9 G4 SY | 5.9 | Check price#ad How we earn |
| 3 | Samsonite Omni PC Carry-On Spinner (20 in)A hard shell that survives being sat on by the bag above it | $12.75/yr | 4 of 11WN F9 G4 SY | 5.4 | Check price#ad How we earn |
| 4 | Samsonite Freeform Carry-On Spinner (21 in)Southwest and Sun Country flyers who want a hard shell | $13.00/yr | 3 of 11WN F9 SY | 5.1 | Check price#ad How we earn |
| 5 | Travelpro Platinum Elite Carry-On Spinner (21 in)Frequent flyers who check a carry-on at the gate often | $19.50/yr | 3 of 11WN F9 SY | 4.8 | Check price#ad How we earn |
| 6 | LEVEL8 Road Runner Carry-On (20 in)Anyone who wants a front laptop pocket on a hard shell | $9.50/yr | 4 of 11WN F9 G4 SY | 4.7 | Check price#ad How we earn |
| 7 | Amazon Basics Hardside Spinner (21 in)One or two trips a year on Southwest, Frontier or Allegiant | Not published | 4 of 11WN F9 G4 SY | 3.4 | Check price#ad How we earn |
| 8 | Delsey Paris Helium Aero Carry-On Spinner (21 in)Nothing in this ledger — see the alternatives above it | Not published | 3 of 11WN F9 SY | 3.3 | Check price#ad How we earn |
| 9 | Rockland Melbourne Hardside Spinner (20 in)Flying carriers that actually measure, and packing light on purpose | Not published | 4 of 11WN F9 G4 SY | 3.1 | Check price#ad How we earn |
No live price is currently verified, so every button here reads Check price rather than a number we cannot stand behind. See how we handle prices.
What this ranking optimizes for
Most carry-on rankings score for feel: how the handle moves, how the wheels sound, how premium the shell looks. Those are real things and we cannot assess any of them, because we have not handled these bags. What we can do is take the four numbers every manufacturer publishes and every airline publishes, and do the arithmetic that nobody else in this category bothers with.
The result is a ranking that answers a different question from the one you will find elsewhere: not which bag is nicest but which bag costs least per year it is covered for, fits the most gates, and spends the least of your weight allowance on itself. If you fly two to six times a year and you are replacing a bag that broke, that is the question you are actually asking.
- Value, 35% — published price divided by years of warranty, and by liters of published capacity.
- Airline-fit breadth, 25% — how many of the eleven US carriers we track publish a limit these published dimensions satisfy, on all three sides.
- Carry efficiency, 20% — published weight per liter of published capacity.
- Warranty and support, 20% — length, whether repair is published as a remedy, and whether airline damage is covered.
The full method, with the breakpoints and a worked example, is on the methodology page. Nothing in it requires owning a bag.
The uncomfortable finding
Running every bag’s published dimensions against every carrier’s published limit produced a result we did not expect: most carry-on suitcases do not fit most airlines.
Of the nine bags here, only two clear the standard 22 × 14 × 9 in box on all three dimensions. The rest fail somewhere — usually on width, occasionally on height, and in two cases on all three. That is not a manufacturing scandal; it is the predictable result of the industry publishing a “case size” that excludes the wheels and the handle housing, and everyone shopping on that number.
| Bag | Published overall size | US carriers it fits | Where it fails |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rockland Melbourne Hardside Spinner | 20 × 13 × 10 in | 11 of 11 | Nowhere — it is genuinely small |
| American Tourister Airconic Carry-On | 21.7 × 15.8 × 7.9 in | 4 of 11 | Width, at six carriers |
| Amazon Basics Hardside Spinner | 21.6 × 14.9 × 10 in | 4 of 11 | Width and depth |
| LEVEL8 Road Runner Carry-On | 21.5 × 14.4 × 9.2 in | 5 of 11 | Width by 0.4 in, depth by 0.2 in |
| Travelpro Maxlite 5 Carry-On Spinner | 23 × 14.5 × 9 in | 4 of 11 | Height by 1 in, width by 0.5 in |
| Delsey Paris Helium Aero Carry-On | 22.5 × 15.25 × 10 in | 3 of 11 | All three dimensions |
The practical reading is not “buy the smallest bag”. It is that if you fly American, Delta, United, Alaska, JetBlue or Hawaiian — which is most US flying — you should treat any bag over 22 × 14 × 9 in as a bag that may be gate-checked, and decide whether you are comfortable with that. The per-carrier limits are here, and measuring your own bag takes two minutes.
What a warranty is worth, in dollars
The single most useful number in this ranking is cost per covered year: the published price divided by the years of warranty behind it. It reframes the whole category, because it turns two very different-looking bags into comparable products.
| Bag | Published price | Warranty | Cost per covered year |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Tourister Stratum 2.0 Carry-On | $89.99 | 10 yr | $9.00 |
| American Tourister Moonlight Spinner | $90.99 | 10 yr | $9.10 |
| Travelpro Maxlite 5 Carry-On Spinner | $160 | No stated end date | $8.00 |
| LEVEL8 Road Runner Carry-On | $189.99 | No stated end date | $9.50 |
| Samsonite Omni PC Carry-On Spinner | $127.49 | 10 yr | $12.75 |
| Samsonite Freeform Carry-On Spinner | $129.99 | 10 yr | $13.00 |
| Travelpro Platinum Elite Carry-On Spinner | $390 | No stated end date | $19.50 |
Two conclusions fall out of that table and neither is obvious from a price tag. First, the $160 Travelpro is cheaper per covered year than the $89.99 American Tourister, because its warranty states no end date. Second, the $390 Travelpro is not — it costs more than twice as much per covered year as the bag directly below it in the same range. You are paying for airline damage cover and a heavier build, and whether that is worth $11.50 a year depends entirely on how often your bag gets gate-checked.
How to choose in three questions
Which airlines do you actually fly?
If the answer includes American, Delta or United, size for 22 × 14 × 9 in and treat everything else as a compromise. If you fly Southwest almost exclusively, the 24 × 16 × 10 in box opens up bags that are over the limit elsewhere — but it also locks you in, and Southwest is one airline.
Does a published weight limit apply to you?
Hawaiian publishes 25 lb, and Frontier, Breeze and Sun Country publish 35 lb. On Hawaiian’s cap, the difference between the lightest and heaviest bag here is 4.9 lb of payload — around four days of clothing. The weight limits page has the full arithmetic.
How long do you intend to own it?
This is the question that decides whether the $90 bag or the $160 bag is the cheaper purchase, and the honest answer for most people is “until it breaks”. We looked at what published warranty terms actually imply about that, and the answer is more useful than the marketing suggests.
What this ranking cannot tell you
Three things matter in a carry-on that no published specification captures, and we would rather name them than pretend our four axes are the whole story.
- Wheel quality. Wheels are the most common failure point on a rolling case and no manufacturer publishes a bearing spec or a load rating for them. A ten-year warranty that explicitly names wheels — as Travelpro’s does — is the closest thing to a published signal, which is why warranty terms carry 20% of our score.
- Zip quality. Same problem. “YKK zippers” appears in some published specs and is a genuine signal; most makers say nothing.
- How it feels to pull. Handle wobble, wheel noise and the way a bag tracks behind you are real and we have no basis for an opinion on any of them.
If those three things are what you care about most, a site that physically tests bags will serve you better than this one on that question. What we offer instead is arithmetic you can check, on numbers that testing sites mostly do not publish.
Every pick, with the working
Each entry below shows the published inputs, the four axis scores they produce, and what you give up. The order is the computed order, not a commercial one.
1 · Southwest, Frontier and Sun Country flyers who want a lifetime warranty
Travelpro Maxlite 5 Carry-On Spinner (21 in)
The best weight-per-liter figure of any softside carry-on here, and the cheapest route to a lifetime warranty — but the published overall height is 23 in, which is an inch over the limit at most US carriers.
- Published size
- 23 × 14.5 × 9 in
- Weight
- 5.4 lb
- Capacity
- 46 L
- Weight per liter
- 0.12 lb/L
- Cost per covered year
- $8/yr
- Published list price
- $160
Warranty Built For A Lifetime limited warranty
Fits 3 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, SY. See the limits.
What it does well
- 5.4 lb for 46 L is 0.12 lb per liter, the lightest carry-on in this ledger
- Lifetime limited warranty covering wheels, zippers and handles at a $160 published price
- Softside give means an overstuffed bag still closes
What you give up
- Published overall height of 23 in fails the 22 in limit at American, Delta, United, Alaska, JetBlue and Hawaiian
- No published airline-damage cover
- Fabric shell scuffs where a hardshell would only mark
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value 8.1/10 — $160 ÷ 20 yr = $8/yr; $160 ÷ 46 L = $3.48/L
- Airline-fit breadth 2.7/10 — Fits the published carry-on limit at 3 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, SY
- Carry efficiency 7.3/10 — 5.4 lb ÷ 46 L = 0.117 lb/L
- Warranty & support 8.0/10 — no stated end date (6 of 6); repair published (+2); airline damage not covered (+0)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: Travelpro published specifications, compiled 3 September 2026. Travelpro publishes both a 21 × 14 × 9 in case size and a 23 × 14.5 × 9 in overall size. The overall figure is the one a gate sizer measures, so it is the one used here.
2 · The under-$100 buyer who still wants a decade of coverage
American Tourister Stratum 2.0 Carry-On Spinner
$9 per covered year is the best value figure in this ledger, and it is the only bag here that lists under $100 at its own manufacturer.
- Published size
- 22 × 15 × 9.5 in
- Weight
- 7.3 lb
- Capacity
- Not published
- Weight per liter
- Not published
- Cost per covered year
- $9.00/yr
- Published list price
- $89.99
Warranty Limited 10 year global warranty
Fits 4 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, G4, SY. See the limits.
What it does well
- $89.99 published price against a 10 year warranty works out at $9.00 per covered year
- 22 in published height clears the 22 in limit exactly at six US carriers
- ABS shell is the cheapest way to a wipe-clean hard case
What you give up
- 15 in width fails the 14 in limit at American, Delta, United, Alaska, JetBlue and Hawaiian
- ABS is the least impact-resistant of the common hardshell plastics
- No published capacity figure, so cost per liter cannot be computed
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value 8.6/10 — $89.99 ÷ 10 yr = $9.00/yr
- Airline-fit breadth 3.6/10 — Fits the published carry-on limit at 4 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, G4, SY
- Carry efficiency not scored — No published capacity, so weight per liter cannot be computed.
- Warranty & support 4.0/10 — 10 yr (4 of 6); no published repair route (+0); airline damage not covered (+0)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: American Tourister published specifications and price, compiled 3 September 2026.
3 · A hard shell that survives being sat on by the bag above it
Samsonite Omni PC Carry-On Spinner (20 in)
The most widely sold polycarbonate carry-on in America, and the one whose published height actually meets the 22 in standard — the width is what fails it.
- Published size
- 22 × 15 × 9.75 in
- Weight
- 7.05 lb
- Capacity
- Not published
- Weight per liter
- Not published
- Cost per covered year
- $12.75/yr
- Published list price
- $127.49
Warranty Limited 10 year global warranty
Fits 4 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, G4, SY. See the limits.
What it does well
- Full polycarbonate, which flexes under impact and returns rather than shattering
- $12.75 per covered year
- 22 in published height meets the standard US carry-on height exactly
What you give up
- 15 in width and 9.75 in depth are both over the 14 × 9 in standard
- 7.05 lb of the 25 lb Hawaiian cap is gone before you pack
- Published price varies by colorway, which makes the value figure a moving target
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value 7.6/10 — $127.49 ÷ 10 yr = $12.75/yr
- Airline-fit breadth 3.6/10 — Fits the published carry-on limit at 4 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, G4, SY
- Carry efficiency not scored — No published capacity, so weight per liter cannot be computed.
- Warranty & support 4.0/10 — 10 yr (4 of 6); no published repair route (+0); airline damage not covered (+0)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: Samsonite published specifications and price, compiled 3 September 2026. Samsonite's own store published $101.99 to $127.49 across colorways on 3 September 2026. The higher figure is used here so the value arithmetic is not flattered.
4 · Southwest and Sun Country flyers who want a hard shell
Samsonite Freeform Carry-On Spinner (21 in)
Polypropylene at a polycarbonate price and 6.5 lb for a hard case is genuinely good — but the published 23 × 15 × 10 in box is over the limit on every dimension at the big three.
- Published size
- 23 × 15 × 10 in
- Weight
- 6.5 lb
- Capacity
- Not published
- Weight per liter
- Not published
- Cost per covered year
- $13.00/yr
- Published list price
- $129.99
Warranty Limited 10 year global warranty
Fits 3 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, SY. See the limits.
What it does well
- $13 per covered year on a 10 year global warranty
- 6.5 lb is light for a hardside of this size
- Polypropylene is the most crack-tolerant of the mainstream shell plastics
What you give up
- 23 × 15 × 10 in fails American, Delta, United, Alaska, JetBlue and Hawaiian on all three dimensions
- No published capacity figure
- The published price is a promotion against a stated $219.99 comparable value, so it moves
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value 7.5/10 — $129.99 ÷ 10 yr = $13.00/yr
- Airline-fit breadth 2.7/10 — Fits the published carry-on limit at 3 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, SY
- Carry efficiency not scored — No published capacity, so weight per liter cannot be computed.
- Warranty & support 4.0/10 — 10 yr (4 of 6); no published repair route (+0); airline damage not covered (+0)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: Samsonite published specifications and price, compiled 3 September 2026. Samsonite's own store showed $129.99 against a stated comparable value of $219.99 on 3 September 2026.
5 · Frequent flyers who check a carry-on at the gate often
Travelpro Platinum Elite Carry-On Spinner (21 in)
The only bag in this ledger whose published warranty covers airline handling damage once the bag is registered — which is the single most expensive thing that happens to luggage.
- Published size
- 23.5 × 14.5 × 9 in
- Weight
- 7.8 lb
- Capacity
- 46 L
- Weight per liter
- 0.17 lb/L
- Cost per covered year
- $19.50/yr
- Published list price
- $390
Warranty Built for a Lifetime limited worry-free warranty
Fits 3 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, SY. See the limits.
What it does well
- Published warranty covers damage caused by an airline when the bag is registered
- Same 46 L capacity as the Maxlite 5 in a heavier, more heavily built shell
- Repair rather than replacement is the published first remedy
What you give up
- $390 published price is the highest here — $19.50 per covered year against the Maxlite 5's $8
- 7.8 lb before anything goes in it, against a 25 lb cap on Hawaiian
- 23.5 in overall height fails the 22 in limit at six of the eleven US carriers we checked
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value 3.2/10 — $390 ÷ 20 yr = $19.50/yr; $390 ÷ 46 L = $8.48/L
- Airline-fit breadth 2.7/10 — Fits the published carry-on limit at 3 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, SY
- Carry efficiency 5.2/10 — 7.8 lb ÷ 46 L = 0.170 lb/L
- Warranty & support 10.0/10 — no stated end date (6 of 6); repair published (+2); covers airline damage (+2)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: Travelpro published specifications, compiled 3 September 2026.
6 · Anyone who wants a front laptop pocket on a hard shell
LEVEL8 Road Runner Carry-On (20 in)
The only hard case here with a published height under 22 in, and it pays for that with the worst weight-per-liter figure in the ledger.
- Published size
- 21.5 × 14.4 × 9.2 in
- Weight
- 9.3 lb
- Capacity
- 35 L
- Weight per liter
- 0.27 lb/L
- Cost per covered year
- $9.50/yr
- Published list price
- $189.99
Warranty Lifetime warranty
Fits 4 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, G4, SY. See the limits.
What it does well
- 21.5 in published height is genuinely under the 22 in standard
- Front-opening laptop pocket that takes a 15.6 in machine
- $9.50 per covered year against a lifetime warranty
What you give up
- 9.3 lb for 35 L is 0.27 lb per liter, more than double the Maxlite 5
- 14.4 in width is still a fifth of an inch over the 14 in standard
- The lightest thing in the bag will be the bag's own dead weight allowance
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value 6.6/10 — $189.99 ÷ 20 yr = $9.50/yr; $189.99 ÷ 35 L = $5.43/L
- Airline-fit breadth 3.6/10 — Fits the published carry-on limit at 4 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, G4, SY
- Carry efficiency 1.4/10 — 9.3 lb ÷ 35 L = 0.266 lb/L
- Warranty & support 6.0/10 — no stated end date (6 of 6); no published repair route (+0); airline damage not covered (+0)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: LEVEL8 published specifications and price, compiled 3 September 2026.
7 · One or two trips a year on Southwest, Frontier or Allegiant
Amazon Basics Hardside Spinner (21 in)
A three-year warranty against a decade elsewhere is the whole story: this is the bag you buy when the trip is next week and the budget is fixed.
- Published size
- 21.6 × 14.9 × 10 in
- Weight
- 6.9 lb
- Capacity
- 39 L
- Weight per liter
- 0.18 lb/L
- Cost per covered year
- Not published
- Published list price
- Not published
Warranty Amazon Basics three-year limited warranty for luggage
Fits 4 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, G4, SY. See the limits.
What it does well
- 21.6 in published height is under the 22 in standard
- 39 L published capacity at 6.9 lb, which is 0.18 lb per liter
- Built-in TSA lock on a bag at this tier
What you give up
- Three-year warranty is the shortest in this ledger by seven years
- 14.9 in width and 10 in depth both fail the standard box
- No repair route published — the remedy is replacement inside three years, then nothing
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value not scored — No manufacturer-published price, so this axis is not scored.
- Airline-fit breadth 3.6/10 — Fits the published carry-on limit at 4 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, G4, SY
- Carry efficiency 4.9/10 — 6.9 lb ÷ 39 L = 0.177 lb/L
- Warranty & support 1.5/10 — 3 yr (1.5 of 6); no published repair route (+0); airline damage not covered (+0)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: Amazon Basics published product specifications, compiled 3 September 2026. Sold only through Amazon, so its price is a live retail price rather than a manufacturer list price. We do not carry a number we have not verified live — check it on the day.
8 · Nothing in this ledger — see the alternatives above it
Delsey Paris Helium Aero Carry-On Spinner (21 in)
Skip this one. It is the heaviest bag in this ranking at 8.4 lb, its published 22.5 × 15.25 × 10 in box misses the standard limit on all three dimensions, and there is no manufacturer-published price to justify either. Every other hard case here does more with less.
Skip this one. At 8.4 lb it is the heaviest carry-on in this ledger, and its published 22.5 × 15.25 × 10 in box misses the standard limit on all three dimensions.
- Published size
- 22.5 × 15.25 × 10 in
- Weight
- 8.4 lb
- Capacity
- Not published
- Weight per liter
- Not published
- Cost per covered year
- Not published
- Published list price
- Not published
Warranty 10 year limited warranty
Fits 3 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, SY. See the limits.
What it does well
- Two-compartment layout with a lined divider and tie-down straps
- TSA-approved combination lock as standard
What you give up
- 8.4 lb empty is a third of Hawaiian's entire published 25 lb allowance
- Over the limit on all three dimensions at six US carriers
- No manufacturer-published price, so its value cannot be checked either
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value not scored — No manufacturer-published price, so this axis is not scored.
- Airline-fit breadth 2.7/10 — Fits the published carry-on limit at 3 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, SY
- Carry efficiency not scored — No published capacity, so weight per liter cannot be computed.
- Warranty & support 4.0/10 — 10 yr (4 of 6); no published repair route (+0); airline damage not covered (+0)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: Delsey published specifications, compiled 3 September 2026. No manufacturer-published US price was readable on 3 September 2026. The Value axis is not scored for this bag.
9 · Flying carriers that actually measure, and packing light on purpose
Rockland Melbourne Hardside Spinner (20 in)
The only bag in this ledger whose published dimensions clear every single US carrier's carry-on limit — because it is genuinely small.
- Published size
- 20 × 13 × 10 in
- Weight
- 7.5 lb
- Capacity
- Not published
- Weight per liter
- Not published
- Cost per covered year
- Not published
- Published list price
- Not published
Warranty 5 year limited warranty (published terms vary by retailer)
Fits 4 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, G4, SY. See the limits.
What it does well
- 20 × 13 × 10 in clears the published carry-on limit at all eleven US carriers here
- 43 linear inches, comfortably inside Delta's 45 linear inch cap
- Expandable, so the small footprint is a floor rather than a ceiling
What you give up
- Published warranty term differs between sources, which is its own warning
- 7.5 lb for a case this small is a poor weight-per-volume trade
- ABS shell at the cheapest end of the material ladder
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value not scored — No manufacturer-published price, so this axis is not scored.
- Airline-fit breadth 3.6/10 — Fits the published carry-on limit at 4 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, G4, SY
- Carry efficiency not scored — No published capacity, so weight per liter cannot be computed.
- Warranty & support 2.5/10 — 5 yr (2.5 of 6); no published repair route (+0); airline damage not covered (+0)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: Rockland published product specifications, compiled 3 September 2026. No manufacturer-published price was readable on 3 September 2026. The Value axis is not scored for this bag.
No live price is currently verified, so every button here reads Check price rather than a number we cannot stand behind. See how we handle prices.
Common questions
What is the best carry-on luggage?
What size carry-on fits every airline?
Is expensive carry-on luggage worth it?
Hardside or softside for a carry-on?
How much should I spend on a carry-on?
Have you tested these bags?
Sources
- Travelpro — Maxlite 5 and Platinum Elite published specifications
- Samsonite — Omni PC and Freeform published specifications and prices
- American Tourister — Stratum 2.0 published specifications and price
- LEVEL8 — Road Runner published specifications and price
- Airline carry-on limits, compiled and dated per carrier
- Our ranking method, weights and breakpoints