Free tool · Updated 2026-07-02
Luggage weight calculator
This free luggage weight calculator estimates your packed bag before you get to the airport. Pick your suitcase (its empty weight fills in automatically) or type it, add what you're bringing from typical item weights, and set your airline's allowance — it shows a running total in kg or lb and warns the moment you go over. Remember the empty bag itself is 2.5–5 kg, so it counts too.
Clothing
- T-shirt / top 0.2 kg
- Shirt / blouse 0.2 kg
- Trousers / jeans 0.5 kg
- Shorts / skirt 0.3 kg
- Dress 0.3 kg
- Jumper / hoodie 0.4 kg
- Jacket / coat 0.8 kg
- Underwear 0.1 kg
- Socks (pair) 0.1 kg
- Sleepwear 0.3 kg
- Swimwear 0.1 kg
Footwear
- Shoes (pair) 0.8 kg
- Sandals / flip-flops 0.3 kg
- Boots (pair) 1.2 kg
Tech
- Laptop 1.4 kg
- Tablet / e-reader 0.5 kg
- Charger / cables 0.2 kg
- Power bank 0.4 kg
- Headphones 0.3 kg
- Camera 0.6 kg
Toiletries & other
- Toiletries bag 0.7 kg
- Towel 0.4 kg
- Book 0.4 kg
- Water bottle (empty) 0.2 kg
- Compact umbrella 0.4 kg
- Gifts / souvenirs 0.5 kg
19.6 kg to spare. Empty bag 3.4 kg + contents 0 kg.
Questions
How accurate is a luggage weight estimate without a scale?
Close enough to keep you out of trouble. It uses typical per-item weights (a t-shirt ≈ 150 g, shoes ≈ 800 g, a laptop ≈ 1.4 kg) that are deliberately a touch conservative, plus the manufacturer's empty weight for your actual suitcase — the two biggest blind spots. For airline purposes that's accurate to within a few hundred grams.
Does the empty suitcase really count?
Yes, and it's what catches people out. The airline weighs the whole bag, and an empty hard-shell case is typically 3–5 kg — up to a fifth of a 23 kg checked allowance before you pack a single item. That's why this calculator adds the bag's empty weight to your contents.
How do I convert my luggage between kg and lb?
Multiply kilograms by 2.205 to get pounds (23 kg ≈ 50.7 lb), or divide pounds by 2.205 for kilograms. The calculator has a kg/lb switch so you never have to do it by hand — pick whichever your airline uses.
What's the fastest way to get an overweight bag under the limit?
Wear your heaviest items on the flight — a coat and boots can move over a kilo off the scale for free. After that, shift things to a bag with headroom and trim counts: six shirts usually survive a week as well as eight.
The same maths, live as you pack
These are the typical weights the Alba app uses to estimate your bag the moment you add an item — no steppers, no guessing. It adds your real suitcase's empty weight, shows “~7.2 / 23 kg” against your limit, and suggests the cheapest way to lighten an over-limit bag. See the data behind it: how much an empty suitcase weighs.
Related: baggage allowance · the liquids rule · packing list generator · suitcase weights compared