Southwest vs Allegiant 2026: Free Bags & Seats vs Direct Leisure

Fees, policies, and figures in this comparison reflect what we verified as of Oct 2026 and can change afterward. Our live tools and the data behind them are re-verified more often than the written comparison.

There is a particular type of traveler Allegiant is built for, and it is not the person standing at Southwest.com comparing base fares. It is the person who lives in Provo, Utah, or Chattanooga, Tennessee, or Bellingham, Washington, and wants to fly direct to Las Vegas or Myrtle Beach or Orlando without connecting through Dallas or Denver or Phoenix. For that traveler, Allegiant is often the only airline offering a nonstop at all.

When both airlines serve the same market, the comparison gets more interesting. Southwest has been the most-searched airline on this site, and Allegiant has quietly expanded to 30 new routes in 2026 and entered some larger markets. Both carriers target leisure travelers who care about the total price. Both carry-on policies are significantly different. Both loyalty programs reflect different philosophies about what points should do.

Southwest ended its free-checked-bag era and switched to assigned seating on January 27, 2026. For tickets booked on or after April 9, 2026, the first checked bag is $45 and the second is $55. These changes narrowed two of Southwest’s clearest advantages while Allegiant kept doing what Allegiant does: flying from secondary cities to vacation spots on thin margins with minimal on-board product.

Short version: Southwest wins for most travelers who have a choice, primarily because of the free carry-on and free Wi-Fi that Allegiant cannot match. Allegiant wins when it is the only direct route available, when you pack ultra-light, and when the base fare gap is large enough to justify flying without screens or connectivity.

What We Looked For

• Carry-on and checked bag fees, since this is where the real price comparison diverges significantly
• Route network and secondary city coverage, since Allegiant’s entire model depends on routes Southwest does not fly
• In-flight product, where the gap between the two airlines is wider than the base fare suggests
• Loyalty programs, where the Companion Pass makes Rapid Rewards one of the most valuable domestic programs available
• Flexibility and booking policy, since Allegiant’s ancillary model creates a very different total-cost structure than Southwest

Which airline charges less for bags, Southwest or Allegiant?

Southwest includes a free carry-on on every fare. Allegiant charges for carry-on bags with dynamic pricing ranging from $10 at booking to $75 at the airport. For travelers with a standard carry-on roller bag, the fees often close the base-fare gap entirely.

This is the most important pricing fact in this comparison.

Southwest includes one carry-on (up to 24x16x10 inches / 61x40.6x25.4 cm) and one personal item free on every fare, including Basic, the cheapest available ticket. There is no upgrade required. You bring your overhead bag, you put it in the bin, no additional cost.

Allegiant includes one personal item free on all fares. A carry-on bag for the overhead bin carries a separate fee that varies dynamically based on route, demand, and when you add it. Adding a carry-on at booking is cheapest (sometimes as low as $10 on off-peak routes). Adding it at online check-in costs more. Showing up at the airport gate without it pre-purchased is the most expensive option, reaching $75. On a round trip, a carry-on on Allegiant costs at minimum $20 if you add it at booking both ways, and potentially $150 if you forget and pay at the gate.

Allegiant’s personal item dimensions deserve attention. The allowance is 18x14x8 inches (45x35x20 cm), which fits under the seat but is enforced more strictly than Southwest’s personal item, which only has to fit under the seat in front of you (Southwest publishes no personal item dimensions). If your personal item is a large daypack or a mini roller, it will likely be re-categorized as a carry-on by Allegiant gate agents and charged accordingly.

Checked bags: for tickets booked on or after April 9, 2026, Southwest charges $45 for the first bag and $55 for the second on standard fares. Allegiant publishes no flat checked bag fee: it prices bags by route and per segment, cheaper when you pre-purchase, and you only see the number in its fee calculator for your flight. For checked luggage added at booking, Allegiant can come in under Southwest on some routes. But the dynamic pricing and the risk of paying at the airport make predictability harder.

Winner: carry-on inclusion

Southwest / free vs Allegiant's $10-75 variable fee

Winner: personal item size

Tie / Southwest publishes no size (fits under the seat); Allegiant allows 18x14x8

Winner: checked bag predictability

Southwest / $45 flat vs Allegiant's route-based pricing

Winner: checked bag pricing at booking

Depends on route / Allegiant prices by route (no flat fee) vs Southwest's $45 flat

Winner: total price with standard carry-on

Southwest

Which airline has better in-flight product?

Southwest is ahead by a meaningful margin in 2026: free Wi-Fi, assigned seating since January 27, 2026, and Starlink arriving summer 2026. Allegiant’s A320 fleet has no Wi-Fi and no seatback screens. On a two-hour leisure flight this is tolerable. On a four-hour transcontinental route, it is the dominant experience.

Southwest switched to assigned seating on January 27, 2026 after decades of open boarding. Southwest publishes no pitch figure for Standard seats. Its Extra Legroom seats, available for purchase, give three to five more inches than Standard: 5 on the 737-700, 3 on the 737-800 and MAX 8. Seat width runs approximately 17.8 to 18 inches (45 to 46 cm). Wi-Fi is free onboard as of late 2025, with Starlink deployment across 300-plus aircraft beginning summer 2026 for Rapid Rewards members. Non-alcoholic beverages (soft drinks, juice, water, coffee) are included on every Southwest flight.

Allegiant operates an A319 and A320 fleet. There are no seatback entertainment screens. There is no onboard Wi-Fi. Beverage service is available for purchase, including water and soft drinks at prices typical for airline service. Seat pitch is competitive with other ultra-low-cost carriers at approximately 30 inches (76 cm) on most aircraft. Southwest publishes no standard pitch to set against it, so there is no published margin either way.

What Allegiant does offer is a direct flight. For a traveler who lives two hours from a major airport and would otherwise connect through Dallas or Atlanta, a direct Allegiant flight from their regional airport to Vegas in two hours has a product quality that no comparison of seat pitch or Wi-Fi captures.

Winner: seat pitch

Not published / Southwest publishes no standard pitch; Allegiant about 30 in

Winner: Wi-Fi

Southwest / free, with Starlink coming summer 2026; Allegiant has none

Winner: in-flight entertainment

Southwest / no seatback screens, but free Wi-Fi streams to personal devices; Allegiant has no connectivity

Winner: included beverages

Southwest / free non-alcoholic; Allegiant charges

Winner: simplicity of boarding

Southwest / assigned since Jan 2026, no open-seating chaos

Does Southwest or Allegiant fly to more destinations?

Southwest flies to 121 airports in 12 countries, including international leisure markets in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America, all on a broad point-to-point network with high frequencies. Allegiant sold travel on 578 routes to 126 cities as of February 2026, but many routes operate only 2 to 4 times per week, and the strength is in secondary-city-to-leisure-destination routes that Southwest does not serve.

Southwest’s network is dense in terms of flights per route. Major markets like Las Vegas, Denver, Chicago Midway, Dallas Love Field, Phoenix Sky Harbor, and others have multiple Southwest departures daily. The point-to-point model means many Southwest routes avoid major hub connections entirely. Southwest also flies internationally to leisure beach destinations such as Cancun, Los Cabos, Aruba, Nassau, Punta Cana, and San Juan, something Allegiant does not do.

Allegiant’s model is different in a specific way: it targets cities that do not have robust air service to leisure destinations. A traveler in Bozeman, Montana, or Niagara Falls, New York, or Savannah, Georgia, may have Allegiant as the only carrier offering a direct flight to Las Vegas or Orlando. In 2026, Allegiant announced 30 new nonstop routes and entered some larger markets including Philadelphia and Trenton-Mercer, New Jersey, reflecting a gradual expansion beyond purely secondary airports while maintaining the core direct-to-leisure model.

The frequency difference matters for disruption recovery. When a Southwest flight is cancelled at a major market, another Southwest flight typically departs the same route within hours. When an Allegiant route operates twice a week and the flight cancels, the next available departure may be three days away.

Winner: network depth

Southwest / 121 airports in 12 countries, high daily frequencies

Winner: secondary city coverage

Allegiant / direct leisure routes from smaller markets Southwest ignores

Winner: schedule frequency and recovery

Southwest

Winner: direct routes from your specific city

Depends entirely on your home airport

Is Rapid Rewards better than Allways Rewards?

Southwest Rapid Rewards is the stronger program, primarily because of the Companion Pass. Allways Rewards is simple and honest, with fixed-value points and no blackout dates, which is enough for occasional Allegiant flyers. It just does not compete with the best domestic travel perk in US aviation.

Southwest Rapid Rewards earns points based on ticket price, not miles flown. The program’s unique feature is the Companion Pass, earned by accumulating 135,000 qualifying points in a calendar year. The Companion Pass lets one designated companion fly with you on every paid and award flight for just taxes and fees for the remainder of the earning year plus the entire following calendar year. On a household where two people fly regularly, this is worth thousands of dollars annually and nothing in US airline loyalty comes close to matching it. Status tiers (A-List, A-List Preferred) provide priority boarding, same-day standby, bonus points, and dedicated phone lines. Points do not expire with any account activity.

Allways Rewards is a straightforward program: points redeem at a fixed value against Allegiant purchases, you earn points on those purchases, and you redeem them against any available seat with no blackout dates. Points do not expire as long as you make at least one booking every 24 months. There are no status tiers in the traditional sense, no partner airline earning, no credit card transfer programs at major bank level. A loyalty program revamp is reportedly in early planning stages at Allegiant, which could change this picture, but the current product is built for simplicity over complexity.

For the occasional Allegiant traveler, Allways is fine. You earn, you redeem, it works. For anyone who wants to use travel credit cards to build toward free flights, Southwest’s program is the far more powerful vehicle.

Winner: total program value

Rapid Rewards / Companion Pass is unmatched in US aviation

Winner: points value per point

Roughly tie / Varies; Allways is simpler, Rapid Rewards has the Companion Pass

Winner: simplicity

Allways Rewards / earn and burn, no complexity

Winner: elite status benefits

Rapid Rewards / A-List priority boarding, standby, bonus points

Who Should Pick Southwest

• You are bringing a carry-on roller bag and want it included without paying a variable fee at each step
• Your destination is one of Southwest’s 121 airports and you want multiple flight options per day
• You travel with a companion and want to earn toward or use the Rapid Rewards Companion Pass
• You want free Wi-Fi on the plane, now or through the Starlink rollout starting summer 2026
• You want scheduling flexibility: Southwest charges no change or cancel fees, and unused value becomes a flight credit (Basic fare credits expire 6 months after booking; higher fares get longer windows, and Basic fares require a fare upgrade to change rather than cancel)
• Your travel dates are far enough out that Allegiant’s limited frequency on your route creates meaningful disruption risk
• You are checking bags and want a predictable $45 flat fee rather than dynamic pricing

Who Should Pick Allegiant

• Allegiant operates the only direct nonstop from your home airport to your destination, and the alternative is connecting through a major hub
• You are packing personal-item-only and Allegiant’s base fare is meaningfully lower than Southwest’s on the same route
• You are traveling with a flexible schedule and can tolerate that your route may operate only two to four times per week
• The route you need is one of Allegiant’s newly expanded markets from its 30 new 2026 routes
• You prefer the simplest possible loyalty experience (fixed-value points, no blackout dates, just book and burn)
• The trip is short enough (under 2 hours) that no Wi-Fi and no screens is not a meaningful factor

The Bottom Line

Southwest and Allegiant are not really competing for the same traveler in most markets. Where they do overlap, Southwest wins on carry-on inclusion, Wi-Fi, and frequency. Where they do not overlap, Allegiant wins by being there.

The free carry-on is still the clearest differentiator. Southwest’s free overhead bag on every fare is a product feature that most airlines have either stripped or relegated to premium fare classes. Allegiant’s dynamic carry-on pricing means the advertised base fare is rarely the actual price for anyone with standard luggage. Do the math before booking: add Allegiant’s bag fees for your packing habits, and the fare gap often shrinks to the point where Southwest’s included amenities close it.

The route question is the bigger one. If Allegiant flies direct from your city to your destination and Southwest does not, this comparison is irrelevant. You will take the direct flight. That is what Allegiant is built for, and it does that job well. If both airlines fly your route and you are comparison-shopping on total price, add the bags, factor in two extra hours of no Wi-Fi, and decide from there.

For most travelers with a genuine choice, Southwest is the more predictable and more inclusive option in 2026.

For more comparisons, see Southwest vs Delta and Southwest vs Spirit (kept for reference now that Spirit has shut down).