The 6 Best Travel Carriers for Cats and Small Dogs of 2024 | Reviews by Wirecutter

By Mel Plaut

Mel Plaut is a writer covering pets. They have tested hundreds of products for our best animal friends, including dog beds and pet fountains.

After new testing, we’re recommending the SturdiBag Pro 2.0, Sleepypod Air, Diggs Passenger Travel Carrier, and others, including a luggage-like Away option.

If you’ve ever had a pet carrier with stuck zippers, broken mesh, or a design so crappy that it couldn’t survive a basic cleaning, then you are well aware of a good carrier’s value when you’re traveling with your pal.

There are plenty of cheap options out there, but in our experience, it’s worth investing in a carrier that can withstand the rigors of travel while keeping your pet safe (and relatively cozy).

With its flexible frame, washable shell, and comfortable straps, we think the SturdiBag Pro 2.0 is the one of the most durable, versatile, and stink-resistant carriers you can find.

This carrier stands out for its almost fully machine-washable design, as well as its good ventilation, security, and privacy features. But to wash it, you’ll need to remove some hardware and then reassemble it afterward.

This affordable travel carrier can expand on two sides to give your pet space to spread out, but it’s less comfortable to carry than our other picks.

This independently crash-tested carrier has a water-repellant interior that prevents leaks, and it has bendable bottom edges, to help it to fit under an airplane seat.

This crash-tested carrier stays secure in the back seat, and it has an innovative side-access panel, so you can swap out a pee pad without having to remove your pet. But the bed can’t be machine-washed.

Another crash-tested option, this carrier can match your carry-on, and it’s one of the most comfortable models we tested. But it’s also the most expensive carrier we tried.

May be out of stock

This pet carrier can be carried three ways: like a backpack, by hand, or over the shoulder. It has decent hardware for the price, it cleans up easily, and it has a laptop sleeve.

May be out of stock

This carrier stands out for its almost fully machine-washable design, as well as its good ventilation, security, and privacy features. But to wash it, you’ll need to remove some hardware and then reassemble it afterward.

Great ventilation plus a unique, flexible rod frame make the SturdiBag Pro 2.0 excellent for car trips. And this carrier can likely be squeezed under many airplane seats (depending on the airline and aircraft). This is the only carrier we tested whose outer shell can be safely machine-washed, along with the cushioned bedding insert. This is a major distinction—pet accidents mid-journey can have long-lasting effects on spot-clean-only carriers. This bag comes with zipper locks, to prevent pet breakouts, and it’s one of the most comfortable to carry. But before you wash this one, you need to remove the carrier’s rods, stiff foam-core base, and zipper locks, and then reassemble the whole thing afterward.

Advertisement

This affordable travel carrier can expand on two sides to give your pet space to spread out, but it’s less comfortable to carry than our other picks.

As the name communicates, the Petsfit 2 Side Expandable Pet Carrier opens out on the two long sides, so your little travel buddy can have extra room without leaving the confines of the carrier. For the price, it comes with decent metal hardware, and it holds up well to scratching and clawing. Only the bed insert cover is machine-washable, but in testing the interior surface spot-cleaned well. This carrier was nicer on our shoulders than other models in this price range, but it wasn’t as comfortable as our other picks.

This independently crash-tested carrier has a water-repellant interior that prevents leaks, and it has bendable bottom edges, to help it to fit under an airplane seat.

A pick since 2017, the Sleepypod Air In-Cabin Pet Carrier has a long, zippered mesh top panel, which provides good ventilation and easy access for your pet, especially if they refuse to walk through small, door-like openings. It has a plush padded bedding insert and a water-resistant lining that keeps fluids contained. This pet carrier was among the first soft-sided models to be independently crash tested by the Center for Pet Safety, but it has only a four-star rating, instead of a perfect five stars.

This crash-tested carrier stays secure in the back seat, and it has an innovative side-access panel, so you can swap out a pee pad without having to remove your pet. But the bed can’t be machine-washed.

The Diggs Passenger Travel Carrier has a five-star crash-test rating from the Center for Pet Safety. It straps in securely with an easy-to-use restraint system, so it will give you some peace of mind when you’re driving with your precious bundle of fur. Also, on the top panel, this carrier has a convenient zipper handle, so it’s a cinch to open and close, and the flap can be secured with a metal toggle, to prevent a furry head from popping it open at the worst possible moment. If you need to change out a pee pad, the Diggs carrier’s lower access panel lets you do so, even while your pet is still inside, but it can take a bit of effort. This is the sole model we tested with a bedding insert that can be spot-cleaned only.

Another crash-tested option, this carrier can match your carry-on, and it’s one of the most comfortable models we tested. But it’s also the most expensive carrier we tried.

May be out of stock

The duffel-shaped Away Pet Carrier matches some of the colorways in the Away luggage ecosystem. In addition to its attractive design, it sports a five-star crash-test rating from the Center for Pet Safety. It’s slightly smaller than the Diggs carrier, so it may have a better chance of being accepted on an airplane. This pet carrier’s handles are longer than those on our other picks. So it’s the most comfortable bag to carry around for longer periods, if you need to switch from using the shoulder strap. But it’s the most expensive model we looked at, and the bedding insert is thinner and less plush than those of some of our other picks.

This pet carrier can be carried three ways: like a backpack, by hand, or over the shoulder. It has decent hardware for the price, it cleans up easily, and it has a laptop sleeve.

May be out of stock

Mr. Peanut’s Monterey Series Convertible Backpack can be carried like a backpack, so it can balance the pressure on your shoulders. It can also be placed on two different sides, depending on your space constraints. This is the only model we tested with a sleeve pocket large enough to fit a laptop (depending on the size). But its seat-belt-attachment system doesn’t work well (it’s not crash tested), and the bag can get uncomfortable to carry after a while.

Advertisement

As a Wirecutter staff writer covering pets, I’ve conducted extensive firsthand testing on dog beds, cat litter boxes, and numerous other products for our best animal friends. And in my lifetime, I’ve personally taken dozens of journeys with pets, most notably flying with three cranky cats for a six-month stay in Italy. More recently, my 65-pound dog, Dave, has joined me on several long road trips throughout the US.

For this guide:

If you travel anywhere with your dog, cat, or any other pet, the most important thing you can do is to keep them restrained—for their safety and yours.

For car travel, pets “should be restrained somewhere in the vehicle that is in a back-seat or cargo area, somewhere that is not directly next to you,” said Juliet Caviness, a veterinarian and clinical instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A loose pet can distract you while you’re driving, creating a higher risk of a crash. Plus, they can be injured by front airbags.

Unrestrained pets can get injured in a crash, and they can injure other passengers because they can become a projectile. They’re also a flight risk. “We’ve known that dogs can spook, and they’ll take off running,” said Brandi Hunter Munden, VP of PR and communications at the American Kennel Club (AKC). “If you’re in the middle of an accident in the middle of the highway,” that’s the last thing you want, she said.

Open windows pose another risk to pets riding loose in a car. “If a dog can get their nose out of a window, if they try really hard, they can get their whole body out of a window,” said Molly Racette, an emergency and critical care veterinarian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They can also get eye injuries from debris in the road, the AKC’s Munden told us.

For air travel, the FAA and USDA offer guidance on how to travel with your pet domestically and internationally. But if you’re bringing a carrier with you in the cabin, you’ll be mostly limited by each airline’s size requirements. If you plan to transport a pet via air cargo, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has specific guidelines that most airlines use.

No matter how your pet travels, however, every expert we spoke to agreed that the animal should be able to comfortably stand up, turn around, and lie back down in a carrier or kennel during travel. Each manufacturer has its own way of determining which size is best, so keep your pet’s height, length, and weight in mind when buying a carrier.

Although this guide focuses on physical enclosures, something like a crash-tested harness may be more useful for some people with disabilities, especially when they’re driving with service dogs. “Depending on who is the one that needs to get the dog in and out of the car and what their abilities are, it may impact where the dog rides, and how,” said Becca Bell, national program project manager at Canine Companions, which raises and trains service dogs.

Advertisement

For this update, we considered a pet carrier’s dimensions, pet weight restrictions, ventilation areas, padded bedding inserts, warranty, and other notable features, such as seat-belt straps. We looked at reviews on sites like Amazon, Chewy, and Petco, and we tested soft-sided carriers that looked suitable for small pets, for both car and air travel.

Hard-sided plastic pet carriers are the easiest to clean, but due to their rigidness, it can be difficult to fit them under an airplane seat, so we ruled these out. (We’ll be looking at large hard-sided kennels for big dogs riding in a car or via air cargo for a future update.)

But just because a soft-sided carrier is marketed with a phrase like “airline approved,” that doesn’t mean it will make it on board. In-cabin size requirements vary from airline to airline, and they can change over time. So many manufacturers still suggest that you double-check with your airline before you travel.

We included carriers that exceeded the major airlines’ in-cabin size requirements, as long as they were available in at least one size that came close. During their travels with pets, Wirecutter staffers have noticed that airline staff members weren’t likely to measure a carrier, so you might get away with a few extra inches, especially if the carrier can be squished.

We prioritized bags with a strap or sleeve that can slide over a luggage trolley handle, as well as carriers with internal leash tethers, to keep a pet in place if they want to poke their head out on a layover.

We gave bonus points if a carrier was crash-tested. Unlike with car seats for kids, with pet restraints there are no government-regulated crash safety standards. The nonprofit Center for Pet Safety (CPS) claims to be the only independent organization currently crash-testing pet carriers and kennels in the US. Companies can voluntarily apply to be certified by CPS, and they must adhere to CPS’s standards. But even CPS’s methodology isn’t immune to criticism, including from one company whose product failed CPS testing. “I’m not claiming perfection because there are so many variables here,” said CPS founder Lindsey Wolko. Variables include the size of the animal, the type of vehicle, and the speed and nature of a crash. Still, in our evaluation of carriers, we considered it at least a positive sign when a brand invested in crash-testing with an independent third party like CPS.

That’s not to say all manufacturers’ in-house crash tests are bunk, but it’s best to view their claims through a lens of skepticism. “There’s so much marketing, and to some extent you have to just read the information that they offer to you, and try to read it critically and decide what you’re comfortable with,” said veterinarian Juliet Caviness.

Because crash testing is an imperfect science that also considerably increases the price of a pet carrier, we still considered models from companies that made no such claims.

There’s no science-backed consensus on exactly which type of restraint is safest. But in a crash, an appropriately sized carrier or kennel might help minimize injuries to an animal more than harnesses or seat belt tethers, according to veterinarian Molly Racette. A pet “might get a bump or a bruise when they bonk into the carrier. But they are in such a confined space that they can’t generate as much acceleration and deceleration during the impact, that it’s just much less likely that they’re going to sustain such a high level of blunt-force trauma” as they would without being physically confined, Racette told us. So we didn’t didn’t consider pet booster seats and pet “car seats” for this guide, because they don’t fully contain an animal.

For the update of this guide, we considered 28 carriers and tested 10 according to the following criteria:

Ease of use: We gauged how easy it was to initially set up and attach a carrier to a car’s seat belt (if it came with hardware for that purpose). We judged how comfortable each bag was by loading it up with a 15-pound sack of rice and carrying it up and down several hills for roughly 10 minutes. This was a subjective test—and on a par with the worst CrossFit workout ever. But it gave us a sense of the padding and adjustability of each carrier’s straps, handles, and any other features that might make hauling your pet a little less traumatizing for everyone.

Ventilation and privacy: We noted how many mesh panels each carrier had, and we calculated the total mesh surface area of each carrier, using International Air Transport Association (IATA) guidelines. IATA requires ventilation on at least 16% of the total surface area (PDF) of the four sides (not including top and bottom) of both hard-sided cargo kennels and in-cabin “non rigid” carriers. All 10 of the carriers we tested met or exceeded this minimum. We also looked for carriers with optional privacy panels that could cover the mesh and limit a pet’s view of the outside (if they needed a break from the world).

Durability: We broke out our handy, Wolverine-like meat shredders, and we tore into each carrier’s mesh panels and internal side walls to see how well they might stand up to sharp teeth and claws. We ran the shredders over each surface at least 50 times. Then we brought the surviving carriers to Kitten Rescue Los Angeles and let the cats do their worst. We also yanked on all zippers and buckles to see how they might hold up to the hardships of frequent use.

Cleanability: We poured a fake vomit concoction, made from a mixture of smelly dog food and water, onto the bedding and interior walls of each carrier. We noted if there were any signs of liquid leakage. Then we waited a few hours before spot-cleaning them with paper towels and a vinegar solution, following that up with some X-O Odor Neutralizer. We noted how well the filth came off the bedding inserts and interior walls. Finally, we ran most of the mats (if the instructions allowed) through the washing machine on a gentle, cold cycle, and then let them air-dry. Only one carrier’s outer shell was safe to machine-wash, so we put that one through a cycle as well, to see how it fared.

Structure: We looked at the general construction of each bag, considering the number of entryways, how easy it was to open and close, and the quality of the hardware. We also looked for any special features, such as expandable sides, removable frame rods, zipper locks, and extra storage.

Security of seat-belt attachments (if present): If a carrier had clips meant to attach to a seat belt, we connected those in the back seat of a car and cinched the seat belt tight, until it locked into place. We then loaded each carrier with a 15-pound sack of rice and vigorously yanked on it to see how much the carrier moved (we did not do any crash testing ourselves, for obvious reasons).

Temperature: We put remote temperature sensors inside the carriers and set them outside in the shade on a warm summer day, measuring the percent change in temperature over the course of an hour. However, while this might be useful information for long trips in a vehicle or plane without decent climate control, we didn’t give it a lot of weight when making our picks, since we couldn’t account for fluctuations in humidity and outside temperatures.

We also had a little help from Hank, a 15-pound poodle mix with a skittish disposition, and Sandwich, a 15-pound Chihuahua terrier mix who will do almost anything for a treat. T Rex, Murphy, Astrid, and several other sweet adoptable cats at Kitten Rescue Los Angeles also weighed in.

Advertisement

This carrier stands out for its almost fully machine-washable design, as well as its good ventilation, security, and privacy features. But to wash it, you’ll need to remove some hardware and then reassemble it afterward.

The SturdiBag Pro 2.0 is comfortable, durable, and washable, so it’s an excellent carrier for journeys both long and short. It includes zipper locks, tons of ventilation, and multiple privacy panels. This is the only carrier we tested whose outer shell (minus some hardware) can be machine-washed, alongside the soft bedding insert.

Because the outer shell is machine-washable, you can clean up even the grossest messes. Your pet may pee, poop, or puke on your journey, and cat pee, in particular, can ruin a carrier that is spot-clean only. The SturdiBag Pro is the only carrier whose outer shell can be run through a washing machine, alongside its removable bedding pad. This goes a long way toward getting the carrier fully clean and stink-free. You do have to take it apart first, though: Its 600-denier polyester shell contains five flexible rods and a stiff foam core base, which you remove in order to flatten the bag. (Doing this also helps with storing the SturdiBag in a closet between trips.) The other nine models we tested allowed only for the padded bedding mats to be machine-washed, but the bags themselves had to be tediously spot-cleaned.

It has a versatile design with useful accessories. We tested the SturdiBag Pro in size large, which exceeds some airlines’ size requirements by about an inch or so. But due to the carrier’s flexible construction, it can be squished to fit under an airplane seat without too much finagling. I used to own an older version of this bag and easily got it on several domestic and international flights. It’s also the only carrier we tested that comes with lock clips attached to the zipper tabs, so sneaky paws can’t work the doors open from the inside. It features the most mesh ventilation of all of our picks, and you can opt to cover each mesh panel with a privacy flap, if your pet needs to block out the world.

It’s one of the most comfortable to carry. The SturdiBag’s shoulder strap connects to four burly plastic buckles near the top of the carrier. The four points of contact help distribute the weight of the carrier with your pet inside it. This strap keeps the bag more balanced when you’re carrying it on one shoulder than the straps of other carriers we tested, which all had only two strap attachment points. The SturdiBag’s shoulder strap felt the most comfortable on my body, tied with that of the Away carrier. Also, compared with the inserts of all the carriers we evaluated, the SturdiBag’s bedding insert had the most padding, so it may be more comfortable for pets as well.

It takes extra work to take this carrier apart and put it back together. Whenever you want to fold the carrier flat for storage or throw it in the washing machine, you need to remove the five tension rods, the two zipper locks, and the foam-core floorboard. Getting the rods in and out of the old version of the SturdiBag used to be a total pain, which was part of why we previously dismissed this carrier, but the company fixed this issue with the 2.0 model. It added hook-and-loop access tabs, which make seating the rods into place much easier. The whole process still takes a couple of minutes, but it’s worth the effort to have a thoroughly clean carrier.

It’s not leakproof. The SturdiBag Pro is strong, but it isn’t made of water-repellent materials, so if your pooch or kitty pees, the carrier might not contain it. As with any pet carrier, with the SturdiBag you’d be wise to line it with a pee pad (or two)—I learned this the hard way when one of my cats peed as we waited on a customs and immigration line and it seeped through to my jeans. You should also keep a few spare pee pads handy, in case you need to swap them out mid-trip.

It’s not crash tested. The SturdiBag has loops that you could theoretically thread a seat belt through, but they haven’t been crash tested. Although several experts said it might be okay to travel with your pet’s carrier strapped into the back seat, CPS founder Lindsey Wolko said carriers without an independent crash-test rating “would be better placed behind the front driver or passenger seat on the floor of the vehicle,” even if they have seat belt attachment points. She’s seen non-crash-tested carriers slip out of seat-belt restraints or have their seams torn open, which can allow an animal to escape.

Sizes: six (plus divided options to accommodate two pets)Maximum pet weight: 40 pounds

This affordable travel carrier can expand on two sides to give your pet space to spread out, but it’s less comfortable to carry than our other picks.

The Petsfit 2 Side Expandable Pet Carrier can extend open on two sides to give a pet more room to spread out while still keeping them contained. It’s less expensive than the SturdiBag Pro 2.0, and for the price, the Petsfit carrier is durable, looks nice, and cleans up well.

Your pet can stretch out in it. The Petsfit carrier looks like a standard rectangular carrier, but with a few unzips, the two long sides open out into mesh half-domes; this is especially useful during a layover or in a hotel room (we don’t recommend expanding the carrier while you’re on the move). The expansion panels are accessed via zippers on either the interior or the exterior, so you won’t risk an escape if your pet’s already inside. The medium size meets Delta’s, American’s, and United’s in-cabin requirements, which are 18 by 11 by 11 inches (LWH) at this writing. The carrier’s height can also be compressed downward, if necessary, by removing two rigid rods on the top of the frame.

The bedding insert is one of the easiest to clean. In our spot-cleaning tests, the Petsfit carrier’s insert mat released crud and residue with the least amount of effort. With just a few swipes of a wet paper towel, the fake vomit slid right off the plush material. The rigid base of the pad is made from a thin piece of foam and a rectangle of corrugated plastic. We unzipped the end of the mat to remove these for machine-washing, but when we went to put them back, it was a tight fit. Still, they slid in eventually, and the mat looked pristine after a round in the wash.

Excellent durability for the price. The Petsfit carrier’s mesh and lining withstood our clawing and yanking like a champ; it outperformed most carriers at the same price point—and even some that were over twice the price. While the zippers didn’t feel as smooth as those on our other picks, they held up well to our stress tests. And that little bit of stickiness actually helps keep mischievous paws from opening the carrier from the inside (we’re looking at you, cats).

It’s not as comfortable to carry. The shoulder strap on the Petsfit feels better than those on other similarly priced carriers, but the rigid rods at the top of the bag’s frame dug into my torso while I was carrying it. This became unpleasant after a few minutes. If you think you’ll be hauling your pets around for a long time, and you don’t have rock-solid obliques, you might be better off with our other picks.

You’ll need to use a good pee pad. Like the SturdiBag carrier, the Petsfit bag isn’t leakproof. We noticed some seepage on the outer surface of the carrier after we spilled our liquidy fake vomit inside. It bears repeating: A pee pad will be your best friend when you’re using this—or any—carrier.

Sizes: fourMaximum pet weight: 15 pounds

Advertisement

This independently crash-tested carrier has a water-repellant interior that prevents leaks, and it has bendable bottom edges, to help it to fit under an airplane seat.

The Sleepypod Air has been a pick since 2017, and it continues to be an excellent carrier for both car and air travel. It has bendable bottom edges, which help when it’s being wedged under an airplane seat, and the top and sides unzip in one long strip, making access easy. It’s also crash-test-certified by the Center for Pet Safety.

Its design has been crash-test-rated since 2016. The Sleepypod Air was one of the first soft carriers to pass CPS’s crash testing (video). The company also offers a generous crash replacement program (which hopefully will never be needed); it will send eligible customers a brand new carrier if theirs has been compromised in a crash. In our testing, the Sleepypod remained stable and barely budged, despite our best efforts at yanking on it when it was buckled into the back seat of our car.

The high-quality construction keeps liquids inside. The Sleepypod’s water-repellant liner withstood our fake-vomit concoction, containing the liquidy gunk to the interior of the carrier. This is extra useful if, like me, you’ve ever had cat pee run down your leg in an airport. It fell in the middle of the pack in terms of spot-cleaning, but the plush bedding cover came out of the washing machine looking brand new. The bedding insert had more padding than those of most carriers we tested (second only to the SturdiBag’s), so it should keep your pet comfortable. The carrier unzips in one long strip, from front to top to back. This feature is helpful when you’re loading in a particularly resistant animal, and it allows the bag to fold flat for storage.

It’s compatible with many major airlines’ requirements. The bottom edges of the Sleepypod act as little wings that can be folded up at a 90-degree angle (video), shrinking the length from 22 to 16.5 inches, short enough to meet many airlines’ in-cabin size requirements. These wings aren’t designed to stay up on their own, but, rather, they rely on an airplane seat’s frame to hold them up. The top is also easily compressed, reducing the height from 10.5 to roughly 8 inches.

It doesn’t have a perfect crash-test score. The Sleepypod Air has a four-star crash-test rating from CPS, as opposed to five stars, due to “the amount of vertical lift the carrier experienced during testing,” said Wolko. That doesn’t mean this bag is unsafe, but four stars is the lowest score a carrier can have with CPS and still pass.

It showed a little scratching on the interior. Although the exterior is made of a thick, strong nylon, the inner lining didn’t hold up as well to our meat claws, showing a bit more pulling and marring than our other picks. If a cat is determined enough, they might be able to rip this material eventually.

Sizes: oneMaximum pet weight: 18 pounds

This crash-tested carrier stays secure in the back seat, and it has an innovative side-access panel, so you can swap out a pee pad without having to remove your pet. But the bed can’t be machine-washed.

The Diggs Passenger Travel Carrier is attractive, robust, and crash-test-certified by the Center for Pet Safety. It features a convenient zipper system, multiple grab handles and pockets, and comfortable carrying straps.

It’s easy to strap into the car, and it’s crash-test-certified. The Diggs passed the Center for Pet Safety’s crash test (video) on the first try, without having to make any adjustments to the design. The carrier’s seat-belt-restraint system was straightforward and intuitive to connect, and the plastic clips for the waist belt were a cinch to open and close. When we installed it in our car, it remained stable on the back seat, despite our best efforts to dislodge it.

It has tons of storage and a convenient top zipper handle. The Diggs has lots of pockets, so it’s easy to carry your pet’s documents, medications, extra pee pads, and other miscellany. The buckles and clips feel heavy-duty, and because of its unique handle design, the top panel’s two zippers can be opened with one hand. A toggle lock keeps this panel securely closed. The side-door zipper moves almost too smoothly, making it easier for an animal to wedge it open, so you should clip the zipper tabs together with a small lock, clip, or zip tie.

The lower access panel lets you refresh soiled pee pads without removing your pet. The bottom of the bedding insert features a semi-rigid plastic board that can slide out and be placed on top of the mat (video), so you can adhere a pee pad to it. A long, narrow panel along one wall of the carrier gives you access to the bedding mat and pee pad, without having to take your pet out of the carrier. This is a convenient system, especially if you’re on a plane and you can’t remove your dog or cat while in flight. But it took some wiggling and shifting to get everything into place under a 15-pound bag of rice. We imagine the real-world difficulty of this process will largely depend on whether your animal is squirmy or sleepy, and there’s still the risk of escape if they’re not connected to the internal tether.

The bedding mat can’t be machine-washed. There’s a base inside the padded mat that can’t be removed, so it’s unsuitable for the washing machine. This is a potentially gross hassle since spot-cleaning may only do so much. Diggs’s novel pee-pad system helps mitigate this inconvenience, but the mat’s bolster is still open to filth. If your pet is prone to making a mess on the go, you’ll be better off with one of our other picks.

It doesn’t compress or fold flat for storage. The Diggs bag doesn’t flatten, so it won’t fit in a small space for storage. It’s also a few inches longer than most airlines’ in-cabin limits, so it might be a risk, but some users (video) have been able to fit it under an airplane seat.

Sizes: oneMaximum pet weight: 18 pounds

Advertisement

Another crash-tested option, this carrier can match your carry-on, and it’s one of the most comfortable models we tested. But it’s also the most expensive carrier we tried.

May be out of stock

The Away Pet Carrier expands on the popular luggage company’s core offerings with a duffel-shaped bag for your small pet. This carrier features comfortable carry handles and heavy-duty hardware. This is a great-looking option, and if you’ve already invested in the Away ecosystem, this carrier has the added bonus of matching your carry-on, though the pet carrier is currently offered in only two colors.

This pet carrier can fly under the radar. The Away Pet Carrier looks like a nice small duffel, so much so that your fellow travelers may never even suspect there’s a furry bundle of cuteness inside (though any yowling might give it away). The carrier also matches two of Away’s luggage colorways—jet black and coast blue—so if you have any of the company’s other offerings, this carrier can blend in with them seamlessly. The Away is slightly smaller in length and height than the Diggs bag, so it may raise fewer eyebrows from a rules-obsessed ticket agent. It still slightly exceeds most airlines’ in-cabin requirements, but some users have said they were able to get it on-board.

It’s one of the most comfortable to carry. The Away bag was at the top of the heap, and it tied with the SturdiBag in terms of comfort. The shoulder strap has thin but well-cushioned padding, and the carry handles are long enough to sling over your other shoulder if you need to relieve the pressure for a few minutes. This versatility means you can switch back and forth without murdering your spine, and it’s especially useful if you have to carry your pet for a long distance or duration.

Its car restraint system is crash tested and secure. The Away has a five-star crash-test rating from CPS, and the carrier barely shifted during our vigorous jerking and tugging. This is partly because it secures to the rear head rest of the vehicle via the shoulder carrying strap, in addition to being cinched into the seat belt by two plastic clips on the front, similar to the clips on the Diggs bag. In our (admittedly non-scientific) efforts to dislodge it, the Away carrier felt a touch more secure than our two other crash-tested picks.

It’s the most expensive carrier we tested. The Sleepypod and the Diggs carriers are both expensive, but the Away bag costs even more, by roughly $30 (at the time of publishing). And while most elements of this carrier were high-quality, the sherpa-covered bedding insert felt chintzier than we would expect for a carrier of this price.

The restraint system works well, but it’s a hassle to dial in. Instead of having a strap that connects to the cross-body part of the seat belt, like the Diggs and the Sleepypod carriers do, the Away’s shoulder strap does double duty as a restraint, looping around the back-seat headrest. While this made the Away carrier feel more secure than the others, it took several annoying minutes to adjust the strap to the correct length. If the strap was too long, it wasn’t taut enough to keep the carrier stable; if it was too short, it lifted the carrier off the seat of the car. Plus, we had to readjust the strap once again to a comfortable length for carrying, after we took it back out of the car.

Sizes: oneMaximum pet weight: 18 pounds

This pet carrier can be carried three ways: like a backpack, by hand, or over the shoulder. It has decent hardware for the price, it cleans up easily, and it has a laptop sleeve.

May be out of stock

If you prefer to carry your pet backpack-style, Mr. Peanut’s Monterey Series Convertible Backpack is a great option. It’s also the only model we tested that can sit on two different sides, depending on where you need it to fit.

If you want a carrier with multiple carrying options. The Mr. Peanut’s carrier is the only one we tested that could be carried as a backpack, with extra padding on the backside and an adjustable sternum strap. It can also be carried by the central grab handle or over one shoulder.

It offers adaptable orientation for air or car travel. This is the only carrier we tested that lets you change which way it rests on the ground. When you’re carrying this bag, the narrower sides form the floor and the ceiling, so your pet still has room to recline and ample space to stand or sit up. But if you need to squeeze it into the tight space under an airplane seat, the wide side with the backpack straps can become the floor, giving your pet a broader, more-cushioned base to lie down on, with less overhead height. With mesh ventilation windows on four sides, you can maintain good air flow however you set it down.

It has decent hardware and a laptop pocket. The Mr. Peanut’s carrier has decent metal hardware for the price, and the zippers were more secure against errant paws that might try to stage a breakout. It’s also the only carrier we tested that has a laptop pocket, which is a major convenience if your pet is your only carry-on item. We managed to squeeze a 13-inch MacBook Pro in there, but it was a tight fit, and it took some doing to get it back out.

The carrier can be uncomfortable after you carry it for a while. Even though the pressure on my shoulders was better than it was with most of the other carriers, the Mr. Peanut’s carrier dug into my lower back after I carried it for several minutes with 15 pounds of rice inside. Depending on your torso length and your pet’s weight, this bag might cause some discomfort, so it may not be a good fit for all bodies.

The seat-belt attachment system doesn’t keep the carrier stable. On the front of this carrier, there are two buckles that can be attached to a seat belt, but they loosened easily, and the bag toppled forward and over itself during our yank tests. The bag's instructions didn’t mention looping the shoulder strap around the rear head rest, but we tried it anyway, and it was more stable when connected that way. As with the SturdiBag and the Petsfit carriers, this one may be more secure if you place it on the floor behind the front driver or passenger seat.

Sizes: twoMaximum pet weight: 22 pounds

Advertisement

The Sherpa Original Deluxe Airline-Approved Dog & Cat Carrier Bag is a former pick, and we’re fans of the company’s Guaranteed On-Board Program. But this carrier didn’t compare well against our new picks. The shoulder strap had a flimsy plastic pad, which made it uncomfortable to carry with weight for more than a few minutes. And compared with bedding inserts of all the carriers we tested, this bag’s insert had the thinnest padding. Its fibers also started to loosen and shed after one round in the washing machine.

Tuft & Paw’s Porto Cat Carrier is an attractive, well-made bag that can convert to a cozy, cave-like bed. It was among the more comfortable to carry, but it’s not a practical choice for frequent travel. It had the least amount of ventilation (by surface area) of the carriers we tested, and it was hard to quickly open and close due to its unusual zipper system.

The Vceoa Cat, Dog Carrier is an inexpensive best-seller on Amazon, and it’s similar to the Sherpa in shape and features. But it was one of the least comfortable bags to carry, the zippers frequently got stuck, and the plastic shoulder-strap buckles felt flimsy.

The Jespet Soft-Sided Airline-Approved Travel Dog & Cat Carrier ranked high on Amazon and Chewy, but when we ordered it, the carrier we received had an entirely different brand name on it (Goopaws). This bag was the only one whose mesh tore during our claw tests, and the carrier’s frame dug painfully into my torso while I was carrying it.

We’ll be testing some newer, high-end soft-sided carriers to see if they provide any added benefit for the price. They include Tavo’s Maeve Pet Car Seat (with a unique “stability leg”) and its newly launched Dupree Airline Carry-on Pet Car Seat (which connects to a vehicle’s latch anchor bars), as well as Dagne Dover’s new Kyoto Pet Carrier. We’ll also take a closer look at Travel Cat’s new, moderately priced Odyssey Soft Cat Carrier, which has some useful features, including locking zipper clips.

For larger dogs, we’ll be looking at hard-sided kennels for car travel (and potentially air cargo), including the Gunner G1, Ruff Land, and Dakota 283 kennels, as well as the inflatable Diggs Enventur.

This article was edited by Harry Sawyers. A previous version of this guide was written by Kaitlyn Wells.

Advertisement

Molly Racette, DVM, DACVECC, clinical assistant professor in emergency and critical care at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, phone interview, June 12, 2024

Chris Diefenthaler, executive director of Assistance Dogs International (ADI), phone interview, June 9, 2024

Juliet Caviness, DVM, clinical instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, phone interview, May 8, 2024

Becca Bell, national program project manager at Canine Companions, phone interview, May 8, 2024

Melinda Ruopp, national secretary of the United States Police Canine Association, Inc. (USPCA), email correspondence, May 7, 2024

Brandi Hunter Munden, vice president of public relations and communications, American Kennel Club, phone interview

Johan Ivarsson, PhD, biomechanical engineer at Forensic Failure Engineering, LLC, phone interview, May 6, 2024

Lindsey A. Wolko, founder of Center for Pet Safety, phone interview, May 3, 2024

Bobbie Egan, media relations director for Alaska Airlines, email interview, October 18, 2017

David Fine, owner, Bark n Bag, phone interview, October 16, 2017

Russell Hartstein, CDBC, CPDT-KA, canine executive officer of Fun Paw Care, phone interview, October 13, 2017

Michele Marini Pittenger, president of Travel Goods Association, email interview, October 13, 2017

Mary-Alice Pomputius, founder of Dog Jaunt, email interview, October 15, 2017

Erin Terjesen, spokesperson for Sherpa Pets, email interview, October 17, 2017

Mel Plaut

Mel Plaut is a staff writer covering pets at Wirecutter. They developed a special affinity for animals at an early age, when every stray cat and runaway dog ended up at their family’s doorstep. Their writing has appeared in The New York Times, the New York Daily News, USA Today, HuffPost, NPR’s All Things Considered, and others.

by Kaitlyn Wells

We tested 17 dog crates with our own escape-artist pups and those from area rescues. And our longtime pick, the MidWest Ultima Pro, still came out on top.

by Kaitlyn Wells

Before you bring home a cat for the first time, make sure you have everything to keep your new pet happy and healthy.

by Kaitlyn Wells

Before you bring home a dog for the first time, make sure you have everything to keep your new pet happy and healthy.

by Kaitlyn Wells

Self-cleaning litter boxes are expensive and more work than they're worth. The Litter-Robot III Open Air is the least bad, but we don't recommend one.

Advertisement