Buying guide Luggage & Bags

Crossbody phone bags, the phone is sold in inches and the bag in centimetres

By Khizar Published

The short answer

Prices in GBPeach row carries the day it was read
Best overall, and measured all the way round PU Leather Flap Crossbody Bags Phone Wallet A plain flap bag, and one of only two listings that give every size and the strap as well: 19cm tall, 13cm wide, 4cm deep, with 55cm of strap above the bag that adjusts on a buckle. Nineteen centimetres takes a large phone standing up, and 4cm of depth takes it in a case with a card or two behind it. The photographs do not show how the flap fastens. Red, white, brown or black, and the title says PU rather than pretending to be anything else £4.21checked 18 Oct 2026 Check price opens in a new tab
Zipped shut, and the fullest description Mobile Phone Bag Women's Crossbody Oxford Oxford cloth in three zipped layers, measured at 19 by 10 by 5cm, with its weight given as 0.13kg, the lining named as polyester, a strap that unclips and a hole for a headphone cable. No other listing on the page fills in that much. It also warns that hand measuring may be one to three centimetres out, which is honest and worth remembering when a big phone has about two to spare. It costs more than most of the page for a simple bag £15.73checked 18 Oct 2026 Check price opens in a new tab
The cheapest, and it names the phone it fits Floral Cat Pattern Crossbody Bag Print Phone A printed fabric sleeve, cats among flowers on both sides, on an adjustable strap given as 120cm that clips on to wear across the body or round the neck. One of three listings to say which phone fits: up to 6.7 inches, which is a phone about 16cm tall. Its two measured photographs disagree, 18 by 10cm in one and 17 by 9.3cm in the other, so assume the smaller and expect a snug fit. The photographs show no zip or flap, just an open top. The lowest price on this page £3.69checked 18 Oct 2026 Check price opens in a new tab
Nylon, with pockets inside and out Nylon Mobile Phone Bag Lightweight A nylon pouch in six colours, measured at 18 by 11.5cm in its own photograph, on a rope strap that clips on at both ends. A flap closes the top, there is a zipped pocket on the back, and the inside photograph shows a mesh pocket holding keys and earphones. Eighteen centimetres is the least to trust with a large phone, so it suits one without a thick case. Its photographs are of the bag being worn, with nothing printed on it but its own small mark £5.20checked 18 Oct 2026 Check price opens in a new tab
If you want it to look like something Ethnic Style Woven Straw Bag Solid Color Knotted cord with a long fringe, in tan or cream, measured at 20 by 20 by 2cm, with a zipped fabric lining inside that stops small things falling through the knots. The title says woven straw; what the photographs show is macramé cord. Roomy for a phone but only 2cm deep, so a phone and a card or two and not much else. The braided strap shows no adjuster and no length is given £7.94checked 18 Oct 2026 Check price opens in a new tab
If you need more than a phone Women's Convertible Sling Backpack Crossbody A different object, said plainly: a small sling backpack, 33 by 18 by 9cm and 0.26kg by its own figures, worn across the body or on both shoulders. A diagonal zip pocket near the top takes the phone, and there is room below for a wallet, keys and a power bank, with a mesh bottle pocket on each side. The one to choose if a phone bag would leave the rest of your things in your hands. It is not a laptop bag £9.43checked 18 Oct 2026 Check price opens in a new tab

Twenty small crossbody bags for a phone, none handled here. The bag worn across the body so the phone sits at your hip instead of in a back pocket.

The phone is sold in inches and the bag in centimetres, and three listings of twenty put the two side by side.

Why the height is the whole question

A phone is sold by its screen, measured corner to corner in inches. Whether it goes into a bag depends on its height, which is a different number:

PhoneScreenStands roughly
Standard6.1 to 6.3 inches14.5 to 15.5cm
Large6.7 to 6.9 inches16 to 16.5cm
Large, in a thick case6.7 to 6.9 inchesabout 17cm

A bag’s size is measured on the outside, seams and flap included, so the pocket is a little smaller. The simplest check is a ruler along your own phone.

What the twenty print

No title gives a height. The photographs of fifteen listings do:

Height printedListings
15cm1
17 or 18cm, its two photographs disagree1
18cm2
19cm4
20cm4
21cm, a dry pouch1
A wallet lying on its side, a sling backpack2
No size for the pocket at all5

The 15cm bag is shorter than a large phone. At 18cm one goes in with a little room, and 19 or 20cm leaves space for a case. Width is rarely the problem: every width printed is 9.3cm or more, against a large phone about 8cm across.

Three that do the conversion

Three listings give a phone size in inches beside a bag size in centimetres: 6.7 inches for a sleeve measured at 17 or 18cm, 6.9 inches for a bag of 18cm, and 6 inches for one of 20cm. So sellers will put a phone of about 16cm into a bag of 18, which is snug and the smallest worth considering for a large phone. None of the twenty claims to fit every phone.

One listing warns its sizes may be one to three centimetres out. With two centimetres to spare, that is a reason to buy the taller bag.

The strap

Four listings put a figure on the strap and one gives both ends of its adjustment, 84.5 to 153cm. Measure a bag you already wear across your body, and where a listing gives no figure, check its photographs show a buckle or slider.

Five that are something else

A sling backpack, which is the last pick and not a laptop bag (the laptop backpack guide covers those), a dry pouch on a cord, a quilted wallet cut for the Galaxy Z Fold, a knitted sleeve, and a listing titled square crossbody bag whose four photographs all show a two-sided leather shoulder harness.

What was left out, and why

Six listings are not picked because a photograph shows another company’s logo: on a car key, a cap, a phone, a strap, a credit card and a shop wall. Three more are left out from the same caution, over a fashion house’s style named in a photograph, a phone accessory maker’s name in large type, and a badge nobody explains. That last bag is sold by a second listing here too, from the same photograph, at a different price.

Side by side

Prices in GBP. Each row carries the date its price was read.

Product PriceWhy it is here Where to buyLink
Best overall, and measured all the way round PU Leather Flap Crossbody Bags Phone Wallet Simple £4.21checked 18 Oct 2026 A plain flap bag, and one of only two listings that give every size and the strap as well: 19cm tall, 13cm wide, 4cm deep, with 55cm of strap above the bag that adjusts on a buckle. Nineteen centimetres takes a large phone standing up, and 4cm of depth takes it in a case with a card or two behind it. The photographs do not show how the flap fastens. Red, white, brown or black, and the title says PU rather than pretending to be anything else Check opens in a new tab
Zipped shut, and the fullest description Mobile Phone Bag Women's Crossbody Oxford Fabric £15.73checked 18 Oct 2026 Oxford cloth in three zipped layers, measured at 19 by 10 by 5cm, with its weight given as 0.13kg, the lining named as polyester, a strap that unclips and a hole for a headphone cable. No other listing on the page fills in that much. It also warns that hand measuring may be one to three centimetres out, which is honest and worth remembering when a big phone has about two to spare. It costs more than most of the page for a simple bag Check opens in a new tab
The cheapest, and it names the phone it fits Floral Cat Pattern Crossbody Bag Print Phone Wallet £3.69checked 18 Oct 2026 A printed fabric sleeve, cats among flowers on both sides, on an adjustable strap given as 120cm that clips on to wear across the body or round the neck. One of three listings to say which phone fits: up to 6.7 inches, which is a phone about 16cm tall. Its two measured photographs disagree, 18 by 10cm in one and 17 by 9.3cm in the other, so assume the smaller and expect a snug fit. The photographs show no zip or flap, just an open top. The lowest price on this page Check opens in a new tab
What is good

What you can settle before you buy

  • Find the height in the photographs. No title gives it. Fifteen of the twenty print it in a photograph, and apart from a sling backpack and one wallet that lies on its side, it runs from 15cm to 21cm. That one number decides whether your phone goes in standing up.
  • A large phone is about 16cm tall. Phones are sold by the screen measured corner to corner, so a 6.7 or 6.9 inch phone stands roughly 16 to 16.5cm, nearer 17 in a thick case. Measured on the outside, 18cm is the least to trust with one, and 19 or 20cm is comfortable.
  • Two listings tell you everything. One gives 19 by 13 by 4cm with 55cm of strap above the bag, the other 20 by 13 by 3cm with a strap from 84.5 to 153cm. Height, width, depth and strap are the numbers that decide a bag this size, and two of twenty print all four.
  • Choose the closure on purpose. A zip keeps things in when the bag tips over, a flap is quicker to get into, and an open top is quickest and keeps nothing in. The photographs show which kind each one is.
What is not great

What to read twice

  • No title gives a height. Two titles carry a measurement at all: 6 inch, which is a phone, and 80cm, which is a knitted sleeve from end to end. Five listings give no size for the pocket anywhere, in the title or the photographs.
  • The sizes are approximate, and some say so. One listing warns that its hand measurements may be one to three centimetres out, another allows half a centimetre either way, and a third prints 18 by 10cm in one photograph and 17 by 9.3cm in the next. With a big phone and two centimetres to spare, that is the whole margin.
  • The strap is a guess on most. Four listings put a figure on the strap and only one gives both ends of its adjustment. One, a pouch on a cord, suggests tying a knot in it if it is too long.
  • Five of the twenty are something else. A sling backpack, a dry pouch on a cord, a quilted wallet shaped for the Galaxy Z Fold, a knitted sleeve, and a listing titled square crossbody bag whose every photograph shows a leather harness with a pocket under each arm.
  • Six show another company's logo. On a car key inside the bag, a model's cap, the back of a phone, the tabs of a strap, a credit card and a shop wall. A famous name in the photograph of a cheap bag may be innocent, and it is also how copied listings look, so none of the six is picked.