Luggage Weight Checker

Airlines enforce strict baggage weight limits and charge fees for overweight or oversized bags. Knowing your bag’s weight before you reach the airport saves money and eliminates check-in surprises.

Key formulas: Overweight Fee Applies When: Bag Weight > Airline Limit Total Baggage Cost = Check-in Fee + Overweight Fee (if applicable) + Oversized Fee (if applicable) Weight Remaining = Allowed Limit − Current Bag Weight

What each variable means:

• Airline Limit: the maximum weight per checked bag without surcharge. Most carriers set 50 lb (23 kg) for economy class; business/first class often allows 70 lb (32 kg).
• Overweight Fee: a surcharge for bags between the standard limit and 70 lb (32 kg). Typically $75–$200 per bag depending on the airline.
• Oversized Fee: charged when length + width + height together exceed 62 inches. It is the sum that matters, not any one side. Usually $100–$200 extra.
• Linear Inches: calculated as: Length + Width + Height.

Standard airline weight limits (economy, checked bag):

• Delta / United / American: 50 lb (23 kg) standard; 70 lb (32 kg) maximum
• Southwest: 50 lb (23 kg)
• Spirit / Frontier: 40 lb (18 kg), stricter than major carriers
• Most international carriers: 50 lb (23 kg) or 20 kg (44 lb)

Carry-on limits:

• Overhead bag: typically 22 × 14 × 9 inches (56 × 36 × 23 cm)
• Weight: 15–22 lb (7–10 kg) on most carriers

Worked example: You weigh the contents on a kitchen scale and enter them as a list: an empty case at 9 lb, clothes at 22, shoes at 6.5, a toiletry bag at 4, a laptop and charger at 5, and 10.5 lb of everything else. With the airline limit set to 50 lb, that comes to 57.0 lb, which is 7.0 lb over, and it names the clothes as the heaviest single line at 39% of the bag.

Seven pounds is roughly a pair of boots and a coat, and nothing you have on your body counts against a checked bag. Wear both and the same suitcase crosses the scale at 50.0 lb, which is exactly on the line rather than under it. Take one more thing out. An airport scale that reads a pound high is common enough that landing dead on the limit is not the same as passing.

This page deals in weight only, on purpose. What that overage costs you depends on the airline and the route, and the baggage fee calculator is where to work the money out.

Packing a small digital luggage scale (costs ~$10) is one of the best travel investments you can make.