Are packing cubes actually worth taking on holiday?

Packing cubes are one of those travel products that seem to be recommended everywhere. They promise a tidier suitcase, easier unpacking and — in the case of compression cubes — supposedly more room for your clothes.

The organisation part is easy to understand. The space-saving claims are much less convincing.

A recent Which? test compared folding, rolling, compression cubes and vacuum bags across four different pieces of luggage. Simply folding the clothes fitted the largest number of garments overall. Compression cubes fitted fewer garments, although they did make it easier to separate clothing and fill smaller gaps with items such as socks.

So our view is fairly simple:

Buy packing cubes for organisation, not because you expect them to magically create more suitcase space.

Our quick verdict

Worth considering if: you like keeping clothes separated, share luggage with other people, move between hotels, use a backpack, or tend to live out of your suitcase.

Probably unnecessary if: you're taking a straightforward one-week holiday, unpack when you arrive and mainly want to fit as much as possible into your case.

Compression cubes: potentially useful, but we wouldn't pay a large premium purely for the compression feature.

What do packing cubes actually do?

Standard packing cubes are essentially lightweight zipped fabric compartments that sit inside your suitcase.

You might use:

• one for T-shirts
• one for underwear
• one for children's clothes
• one for swimwear
• one for dirty laundry on the return journey

Their real advantage is organisation.

Instead of digging through an entire suitcase to find one item, you can remove the relevant cube. This can be particularly useful if you're moving accommodation regularly rather than unpacking everything into hotel drawers.

Which? reached a similar conclusion in its 2026 testing: packing cubes were useful for separating categories of clothes even though they didn't improve overall packing capacity.

Do compression packing cubes save space?

Not necessarily.

Compression cubes usually have a second zip that squeezes the packed cube into a thinner shape.

That certainly makes the individual cube smaller, but there's a catch: compressing the clothes doesn't necessarily mean the resulting shapes fit your suitcase more efficiently.

In Which?'s test, compression cubes accommodated fewer garments overall than ordinary folding. The testers also found them relatively easy to overfill, at which point closing the compression zip became more difficult.

That's why we'd be cautious about claims such as “pack twice as much”.

A better reason to choose compression cubes would be that you like the organisation of ordinary cubes and also want the option to flatten bulkier clothing a little.

Where packing cubes make the most sense

We think they're most compelling in four situations.

Travelling between several hotels: you can remove individual cubes rather than unpacking and repacking everything.

Family holidays: separate each person's clothes inside a shared suitcase.

Backpacks and soft luggage: cubes can stop everything collapsing into one large pile.

Living out of your suitcase: if you rarely unpack into drawers, labelled or differently sized cubes make finding things much easier.

They make less difference on a simple holiday where you arrive, unpack everything and don't touch the suitcase again until you leave.

Standard or compression cubes?

For most people, we'd start with ordinary packing cubes.

They're simpler, usually cheaper and provide the main benefit: organisation.

Compression cubes make more sense if you're particularly concerned about bulky clothing or regularly travel carry-on only. But the independent evidence we've found doesn't support paying a big premium because you expect significantly greater luggage capacity. Which?

Products we'd look at

For someone who just wants to try the idea without spending much, the Amazon Basics/Amazon Essentials sets look like sensible starting points.

Amazon Essentials 4-Piece Packing Cubes Travel Accessories Set

This looks like a sensible entry-level option for someone trying packing cubes for the first time. It's positioned as a relatively inexpensive starter set, which is the kind of option we'd favour for a first purchase. There's little reason to spend a premium amount before you even know whether packing cubes suit the way you travel.

A compression alternative worth comparing is:

Thule Compression Packing Cube

This is a more premium compression option, sold as an individual cube, so it costs substantially more per cube than basic multipacks. The extra cost only makes sense if the compression and build quality matter to you.

What about premium packing cubes?

Premium cubes can offer better zips, lighter materials, water resistance and stronger construction.

The Independent's 2026 roundup found meaningful quality differences between the sets it tested, including better compression, mesh ventilation and durability in higher-quality products. It also selected products ranging from budget sets to much more expensive specialist organisers.

But unless you travel frequently, we'd be reluctant to suggest paying a large premium just for suitcase organisation.

For an occasional holidaymaker, a basic, inexpensive set is probably enough to discover whether you like using them.

What we wouldn't buy them for

We wouldn't buy packing cubes specifically to:

avoid airline baggage fees — airline limits still apply to the external dimensions and weight of your luggage.

dramatically increase luggage capacity — independent testing doesn't support that claim particularly well. Which?

compress heavy items — reducing volume doesn't reduce weight, which can become the more important restriction with checked luggage.

Are they worth taking?

Yes, if organisation is the problem you're trying to solve.

They're particularly appealing for families, backpacking, multi-stop trips and people who prefer to keep everything organised inside their suitcase.

If the only reason you're considering them is because you've seen videos claiming they'll somehow double your luggage capacity, we'd save the money.

For most travellers curious about packing cubes, we'd start with an inexpensive standard set rather than premium compression cubes. If you find yourself using them on every trip, that's the point where upgrading may make sense.