Is Monos Better Than Away? We Put these Top Two Luggage Brands To the Test.

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As suitcase after suitcase passes you by on the conveyor belt at baggage claim, you may start to notice more and more bags are from two sleek-looking brands: Away and Monos. Both are popular luggage companies that offer top-notch quality, albeit for a somewhat high price tag.

If you're going to spend $275 on a carry-on suitcase, it makes sense that you'd want to fully ensure you're buying the best of the best. Our pros in the Good Housekeeping Institute Textiles Lab regularly test luggage, and the suitcases from Away and Monos offer travel gear that routinely exceed their expectations.

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So, which brand is better? Ahead, read our in-depth comparison of Away vs. Monos to help you determine which brand's carry-on bags or checked luggage will make traveling easier — including maneuvering through tight airplane aisles.

Overview

Similarities between Away and Monos

At first glance, Away and Monos appear almost identical. These are some of the qualities the brands share:

Hardside shell made with a durable polycarbonate

Sleek, minimalist design

Available in more than 10 solid colors from neutrals to vibrant shades

Organizational features like laundry bags, shoe bags, etc.

Locks on the zippers

Smooth maneuverability

Nearly perfect scores across categories from our GH testers

Identical prices

Differences between Away and Monos

While the carry-on and checked suitcases from Away and Monos have a lot in common, there are a few distinctions that can help you identify which is a better choice for your travels:

Away:

Larger capacity

Has an additional underside grab handle near the wheels

Monos:

Lighter

Has a more comfortable grip on the handles, per our Lab tests

The luggage we tested:

For this comparison review, we'll focus on the carry-on and medium-sized checked luggage from Away and Monos. Both are popular options from the brands that were top performers in our luggage tests.

Away

mike garten

The Medium

Away

$441.00 at awaytravel.com

The Carry-On

Away

$275.00 at awaytravel.com

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Away was founded in 2015 in New York City, but the brand did a full overhaul and redesign of its suitcases in 2023 to improve the original design. Away's The Carry-On and The Medium both have hardside shells made with durable polycarbonate.

READ OUR FULL REVIEW: Away Luggage

Monos

Philip Friedman

Check-In Medium

Monos

$345.00 at monos.com

Carry-On

Monos

$275.00 at monos.com

Monos is a Canadian luggage brand that was founded in 2018 and has since skyrocketed in popularity. The Monos Carry-On and Check-In Medium are both sleek, durable hardside bags made with polycarbonate. The checked bag even earned a past Good Housekeeping Family Travel Award.

READ OUR FULL REVIEW: Monos Luggage

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Ahead, dive deeper into all the features and design elements of the carry-on and checked luggage bags from Away and Monos.

Construction

Materials

Away and Monos luggage shells are both made from 100% polycarbonate, which is a hard polymer material with excellent impact resistance and durability. This material is typically more durable for luggage than an ABS-plastic shell, and lighter than luggage made with a metal shell like aluminum. Monos's shell is also made from partially recycled materials. The interiors and the organizational bags of both brands' suitcases are made from polyester (Away's laundry bag is made from 100% recycled polyester).

Wheels

Luggage from Away and Monos have 360-degree spinner wheels that make it easy to roll the suitcases in different directions and over a variety of floor types.

Handles

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Away has a retractable handle with two adjustable heights. In our Lab tests, our pros gave the handles for the Away Carry-On lower comfort scores compared to other suitcases. "They felt a bit wobbly and less sturdy than other carry-on handles, and they don't offer any padding at the grip," says Textiles, Paper & Apparel Lab Associate Director Emma Seymour.

mike garten

There's also an additional underside handle by the wheels — a new feature that we love — to make it easier to grab the luggage from a car trunk or an overhead bin on an airplane.

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The telescopic handle on the Monos is made from aluminum tubes and can be locked at four different heights. "I'm tall and found the telescopic handles extended high enough for me to pull my bags without having to hunch over. But when extended to their maximum height, the handles were a little wobbly — but still effective," says Home & Apparel Reviews Analyst Amanda Constantine.

Some GH testers also found the handle to be a little flimsy and experienced issues with the telescopic handle when overstuffing their bag. "Added tension from a super-full suitcase can make it difficult to lock the handle into place or fully lower it," Constantine explains.

The Monos handle also features a release button hidden underneath, which can be useful, although one GH tester said they accidentally pressed it often while gripping the handle. The carry-on and checked luggage bags both have a side handle that makes it easier to lift the bags into an overhead bin.

mike garten

Zippers and locks

Both the carry-on and checked bags for Monos and Away have reverse coil zippers and TSA-approved safety locks. Simply set a three-digit combination code and click the zippers into place. That way, no one can zip open the suitcase without knowing your passcode, keeping your items safe while you travel.

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Regarding which brand has easier-to-use zippers: "I've never encountered smoother zippers on a piece of luggage than the zippers on Monos's bags, and I've tried dozens of suitcases from popular brands," Constantine says.

Expandability

Away's Flex styles are still hard-shell suitcases, but they can expand an additional 2.25 inches to fit extra items. Keep in mind that it may no longer be approved as a carry-on luggage depending on the airline, but it can come in handy if you use it as a carry-on for one flight and check the back on the flight home after fitting in extra gifts and items you bought during your trip.

Monos' Expandable Carry-On only adds 1.6 inches of extra space, but this keeps it at an acceptable size for a carry-on suitcase at the airport. Monos also has an Expandable Check-In Medium.

Maneuverability

Away

In our Lab tests, Away luggage was easy-to-use and maneuver. "The 360-degree wheels rolled easily over a variety of different surfaces when I was at the airport, including linoleum, tile and carpet," Seymour says. Plus, testers found it easy to maneuver through an obstacle course we set up in our Lab. Still, since our pros and GH testers weren't huge fans of the handle, this created some issues with the maneuverability. "I think the handle was a tiny bit loose, [it] was hard to roll on the airport's carpet," reported one person who tested the Away Carry-On.

Monos

In our Lab tests, Monos's suitcases were easy to maneuver around sharp twists and turns and the wheels easily glided over all types of flooring like tile, wood and even carpets. GH testers reported that the suitcases didn't drag or feel harder to push even when fully packed. "When it comes to navigating the suitcases through a busy airport or crowded train platform, you don't have to worry about whether or not the bags can handle it," Constantine says.

Durability

Both luggage brands have hardside shells made from polycarbonate, which is a very durable material. Our drop tests involve filling each suitcase with a standardized weight and repeatedly releasing the luggage from a 3-foot height at different angles.

Away

Constantine says the Away luggage showed no dents, damages or changes in appearance after using the drop tester. Away's luggage also aced our scratch-resistant testing (which involves scratching the surface of a suitcase with a wire). The exterior showed very minimal scuffs and was in great condition. Marks are inevitable, but Away provides a sponge to buff the marks out to keep luggage looking new and fresh.

Monos

Monos luggage held up well without dents or breakage when using the drop tester. After using Monos luggage at the airport, Constantine and GH testers found that there was no major damage.

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Although, Monos did not perform as well as Away in our scratch-resistance testing — but, when it did scuff, we found it easy to clean with the included sponge. "I shoved the suitcase under the seats on the Long Island Railroad multiple times, and while it did scuff, the handy sponge it came with got rid of all the scuffs with no issue," one tester shared.

Weight and size

Away has a larger capacity when comparing the same categories of luggage. Away's The Carry-On has a capacity of 39.8 liters and The Medium has 68.8 liters, which means you can fit more items. Monos' Carry-On only has 28 liters of space and the Check-In Medium has 60 liters.

Monos' luggage weighs slightly less (around half a pound), but both suitcases from both brands felt incredibly lightweight to our testers, so it may not be a factor to base your decision on. "It was super easy to lug up and down staircases in Europe," one GH tester for a Monos carry-on suitcase shared. Similarly, the dimensions are almost identical.

Design

Exterior

The appearance of both brands' luggage is so similar that it's difficult to rank one over the other. Both have sleek, minimalist designs that are available in more than 10 shades of solid colors ranging from neutrals to bright shades. Monos offers some limited edition colors that you can only purchase for a period of time (for the summer of 2025, you can hop on the butter yellow trend!).

Interior organization

The interior organization of Away luggage features two compartments, zippered pouches and compression straps. mike garten

Away and Monos both have interior features and compartments that make organizing your belongings much simpler. In Away's The Carry-On and The Medium, there are three mesh pockets, a laundry bag and one hanging pocket. You can also purchase Away's set of four Insider Packing Cubes for $45 if you want even further organization (these performed well in our packing cubes test).

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Both Away and Monos have a compression pad system with buckled straps that help compress clothing in a compartment to help you fit more items in your suitcase. Overall, more testers found they could fit a surprising amount of clothing and items in Away's carry-on than the carry-on for Monos.

The interior organization of Monos luggage features multiple pouches, compression buckles, a removable panel and two deep compartments. Philip Friedman

Monos has more organization features, which can be a pro or con depending on what you're packing. Monos luggage includes a laundry bag, two shoe bags, a hanging pocket, a zippered pouch that covers one main compartment and a fabric panel that is part of the compression system. The Check-In Medium includes two more zippered pouches.

There are tons of pockets and sections to squeeze more items in, but some testers didn't have a use for some of the small pockets. "I don't find all of the small compartment super useful, like the very front zipper or some of the mesh pockets," one tester said. If you're looking for even more organization in the large compartment of the Check-In Medium, you can purchase Monos' Compressible Packing Cubes for $95, which is at a higher price than Away's set.

Price

The carry-on and checked luggage from Away and Monos have identical prices for the same sizes. Both of these brands are not necessarily budget-friendly compared to other luggage brands, but you pay for what you get most times, and Away and Monos live up to the expectations for their price tags. Away offers softside luggage that is slightly more affordable (the Softside Carry-On is $225) and Away's packing cubes are $50 less, but their prices are otherwise equivalent.

Returns, trial periods and warranties

Away

Away offers free returns for unused items up to 100 days. Before traveling, try rolling the suitcase around your home and checking how much clothing and items you can fit in the suitcase to see if it's the right match for you. Once you use the suitcase, you cannot return it, but Away does offer a lifetime warranty that covers damage to the wheels, handles, zippers, exterior and more.

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Away's warranty is one that you can trust too: "My cousin's Away luggage got damaged outside of her warranty, but Away still replaced them," one GH staffer said. Plus, many users and posters on Reddit reported success with the liftetime warranty.

Monos

Monos also offers a 100-day return period on unused products and a limited lifetime warranty to cover some damage to the suitcase. However, there are quite a bit of users and posters on Reddit that reported difficulties with receiving replacements for broken parts through the warranty.

Not all customers were dissatisfied with the warranty. One user said it took quite a few weeks, but they received a response after emailing the customer service a few times: "They eventually did send me a completely brand new suitcase. So it took a long time, but it was successful."

Away vs. Monos: Our final thoughts

You can't go wrong with either of these brands. They both offer durable, high-quality, long-lasting, sleek, lightweight and easy-to-use luggage. Plus, our GH testers gave both brands nearly perfect ratings in their feedback after testing suitcases while traveling. So, it ultimately depends on what you're looking for.

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Constantine — who personally prefers Away — recommends Away luggage if you're looking for a more durable suitcase. "The polycarbonate material performs well in our tests and it has the extra grab handle at the bottom to help you lift it into an overhead bin, making it more practical for frequent travel," she says.

On the other hand, Monos is great if you prefer a very sleek suitcase with an interior that has a little more organization inside. "The design is sleeker and the interior compression panel is high quality and stands out," Constantine explains.

Overall, our honest answer is that Away takes the crown because even if you want more organization, you can always purchase the brand's packing cubes, which are much cheaper than Monos' packing cubes.

How we test luggage

In recent years, our experts in the Good Housekeeping Institute's Textiles Lab tested over 100 suitcases and more than 70 brands. To test luggage from brands like Away and Monos, we use specialized equipment and obstacle courses to test the durability, scratch-resistance and maneuverability of each suitcase. Here are the specifics:

✔️ Size and weight

We weigh suitcases while empty to cross-check whether it matches the weight listed by the brand online. We also measure the dimensions to ensure carry-on suitcases meet the requirements for major airlines.

mike garten

✔️ Ease of use and packing capacity

Along with considering feedback from testers who packed for long vacations or short weekend trips, we also rate each suitcase based on how much they can hold. We use a standardized load for each type of luggage (carry-on, medium checked, large checked, etc.) across all brands. We also rate how easy it is to close and open zippers, fit items in pouches and more.

✔️ Drop tests

Our Lab pros repeatedly test suitcases with our specialized equipment that drops luggage at the same intensity from a three-feet height to simulate the damage that occurs when traveling and flying. Then, the experts evaluate signs of wear, scratches and scuff marks.

Good Housekeeping/Lexie Sachs

✔️ Scratch- and water-resistant testing

We perform scratch tests with specialized equipment on hardside luggage like suitcases from Away and Monos. We also pour water onto each suitcase and use blotting paper on the inside of the zipper to measure how much liquid seeps through to determine how well a suitcase can withstand water damage (you never know when you'll get caught in the rain while traveling!).

✔️ GH testers

To determine how easy a suitcase is to maneuver, we set up an obstacle course for testers that involves multiple surfaces, tight turns around traffic cones and lifting the luggage. We also enlist a team of GH testers to bring suitcases with them on their travels all over the world. They provide feedback on their experiences with the suitcases over months and even years. This helps us evaluate how well a suitcase performs and holds up over time.

Why trust Good Housekeeping?

Isabella Cavallo is the assistant commerce editor at the GH Institute. She has experience writing a wide range of shopping content and reviewing different brands. A frequent traveler and chronic overpacker, Cavallo is always on the lookout for the best luggage that will fit a pair of hiking boots, multiple outfits and an 800-page book.

To write this product review, Cavallo consulted GH Institute Home & Apparel Reviews Analyst Amanda Constantine. She tests all kinds of luggage from popular brands and travel accessories. Plus, Constantine is frequent traveler who took over 40 flights and train rides last year where she put luggage to real-world tests.