A side-by-side reference of cabin, checked, and overweight baggage fees on every major budget carrier, what you pay online, at the desk, and at the gate.
How budget carriers price baggage
Budget airlines unbundle baggage from the base fare. The advertised ticket includes only one small under-seat personal item, almost everything else is sold à la carte. The price you pay for a bag depends on three variables: when you commit (booking, online check-in, or at the airport), the route's distance band, and the bag's size and weight. Buying at booking is always cheapest, then online check-in, then desk, then gate, and the price gap between online and gate is brutal.
Most low-cost carriers in Europe (Ryanair, Wizz Air, easyJet, Vueling, Volotea, Transavia) and the Americas (Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant, Sun Country, Volaris, Viva) follow the same playbook. The numbers below are typical 2025–2026 ranges for short-haul fares; long-haul budget carriers (Norse, Scoot, AirAsia X) charge similar amounts for cabin bags but more for checked.
Cabin bag fees
A 'small personal item' that fits under the seat is included on every budget carrier. A larger overhead-bin cabin bag almost always costs extra. Typical pre-paid prices when added at booking:
- Ryanair Priority + cabin bag: EUR 8–25 short-haul, more on peak dates
- easyJet large cabin bag: GBP 6–32 depending on route
- Wizz Air WIZZ Priority: EUR 7–25
- Vueling cabin bag: EUR 8–22
- Spirit Airlines carry-on: USD 39–69 online (USD 99 at the gate)
- Frontier carry-on: USD 35–69 online (USD 99 at the gate)
- Allegiant carry-on: USD 10–75 by route and timing
- AirAsia 7 kg cabin bag: included; second item paid
- Volaris hand luggage upgrade: USD 30–70 at booking
The widest gap between online and gate price is on Spirit and Frontier, pay USD 39 online or USD 99 at the gate for the same bag. On Ryanair the equivalent gate fee is currently EUR 25–40 over the online price. Always commit at booking, not check-in.
Checked bag fees
Checked bags are the second largest revenue line for low-cost carriers. Online prices for a single 20 kg bag at booking:
- Ryanair (10 kg / 20 kg): EUR 12–35 / EUR 25–60
- Wizz Air (10–32 kg, weight selectable): EUR 8 per kg over the included weight
- easyJet (15–23 kg): GBP 9–37
- Vueling (23 kg): EUR 14–45
- Spirit (1st checked): USD 30–65 online, more at airport
- Frontier (1st checked): USD 30–65
- Allegiant (1st checked): USD 18–50 + size/weight surcharges
- Volaris (1st checked, 25 kg): USD 25–45 international
- AirAsia (20 kg): USD 9–25 short-haul
Pay attention to the route distance band. The same airline can charge double on a long-haul route compared to a short hop. Some carriers (Wizz, Norse, AirAsia) sell weight in kg increments rather than per-bag, which is genuinely cheaper if you can pack to 12–15 kg.
Overweight and oversize penalties
Going over the published weight or dimension by even half a kilo can cost more than the bag itself. Typical airport overweight surcharges are USD 30–80 per kilo over the limit, with no notice and no negotiating. Bring a luggage scale; weigh the bag at home; pull layers out and wear them on board if you are within a kilo of the cap.
Money-saving tactics
- Pay for bags at booking, never on the day of travel.
- Sign up for the airline newsletter the week of booking; LCCs frequently push 20–30% baggage discount codes.
- If you fly the same airline often, the loyalty card or paid membership (Spirit Saver$ Club, easyJet Plus, Wizz Discount Club) usually breaks even at three trips.
- If the cabin bag fee is over half the ticket price, reprice as a backpack-only basic fare and check the airline's personal-item dimensions carefully.
- For multi-leg itineraries on different LCCs, treat each leg as a separate bag transaction. Bags do not check through.
When budget is not actually cheaper
If you need a 23 kg checked bag, seat selection, and a hot meal on a 4-hour flight, a legacy carrier in basic economy can come out cheaper than the LCC plus all the add-ons. Always reprice the same itinerary on a full-service airline before clicking 'pay' on the LCC bundle. Tools like ITA Matrix or Google Flights surface the comparison clearly.
Sources & further reading
The fees, allowances and procedures cited in this guide are cross-checked against carrier and regulator publications. For primary sources and official rulings, see:
- IATA, international airline trade body; canonical source for IATA codes, baggage tracking standards and industry statistics.
- ICAO, UN civil aviation agency; the authoritative reference for ICAO codes, safety standards and global aviation policy.
- OpenFlights public dataset, the open airport, airline and route dataset that powers the directory side of FlightHaven.