Dog travel crates that fold away in small apartments
Diggs Revol Collapsible Dog Crate leads for apartments. One lever drops it flat in seconds, and it stores upright against a wall. MidWest Homes for Pets iCrate Folding Metal Dog Crate repeats that fold for far less. Petmate Sky Kennel is the crate to book a flight with.
Diggs Revol suits renters who need the crate gone before guests arrive. Pull one lever and it drops flat in about ten seconds, with no bolts to lose. Side and top doors open where a swinging gate cannot. Weight is the honest tradeoff, since it outweighs a wire crate of the same length.
Apartment crates answer two demands that pull against each other. Big enough for the dog, small enough to hide by Friday night. We compared collapsed dimensions, setup method, door count, stated weight limits and airline compliance across every listing. Owner feedback about escape attempts, scratched boards and rattle carrying through shared floors settled the close calls.
The top picks, ranked
Diggs Revol Collapsible Dog Crate
Pull one lever and Revol folds flat in roughly ten seconds. Diamond-shaped mesh closes the paw-sized gaps that standard wire bars leave open. A garage-style side door plus a top hatch let the crate sit in a corner where a front gate would be blocked.
Pros
- Lever collapse takes seconds and needs no hardware
- Top and side doors work in blocked corners
- Diamond mesh guards paws and jaws better than bars
Cons
- Outweighs a wire crate of the same length
- Largest size still stops short of giant breeds
MidWest Homes for Pets iCrate Folding Metal Dog Crate
Shelters and trainers hand out this wire crate more than any other. Folded, it sits about as thick as a suitcase against a closet wall. A divider panel carries one purchase from eight weeks to adult size, and the plastic pan slides free for cleaning.
Pros
- Divider panel removes the need for a second crate
- Folds to roughly suitcase thickness for storage
- Sizes run 18 to 48 inches, the widest range here
Cons
- Bare wire rattles on tile and hardwood
- Thinner gauge bends under a determined chewer
Amazon Basics Foldable Metal Dog Crate
Familiar folding wire layout, with the extras trimmed rather than the structure. Most sizes ship with double doors, a divider and a plastic tray. Wire gauge runs lighter than the iCrate, so pair it with a settled dog or short weekend trips.
Pros
- Cheapest route into a fold-flat wire crate
- Double doors give two placement options per room
- Divider included across the whole size range
Cons
- Lighter wire gauge than premium wire crates
- Latches feel looser than the iCrate equivalent
EliteField 3-Door Folding Soft Dog Crate
600D fabric over mesh keeps weight low enough to carry up three flights one-handed. Three zip doors mean the crate faces any direction once wedged behind a car seat. Match it to settled adult dogs, because a scratcher finds the mesh seams fast.
Pros
- Light enough for one-handed stair carries
- Three zip doors fit awkward car and room layouts
- Packs into its own carry bag between trips
Cons
- Mesh seams give way under a scratcher
- Not accepted for checked airline travel
Petmate Sky Kennel
Checked pets fly under specific carrier rules, and this shell is built around them. Wing-nut bolts join the two hard plastic halves, vents run on all four sides, and live animal labels plus food and water cups come in the box. Folding is not an option, so apartment storage means splitting the shell and nesting the halves.
Pros
- Built to standard checked-pet cargo requirements
- Rigid shell absorbs knocks during baggage handling
- Nested halves cut stored volume roughly in half
Cons
- No flat fold for everyday storage
- Awkward to move through a building without a dolly
Noz2Noz Sof-Krate N2 Indoor and Outdoor Pet Home
Steel tubing stays sewn inside the fabric shell, so the crate springs open and locks with no poles to thread. That makes it the quickest pick here to stand up in a hotel room after a long drive. Mesh on three sides keeps air moving, and it folds to a slim rectangle that slides under a bed frame.
Pros
- Quickest setup of any crate on this list
- Slim folded profile fits under a bed frame
- Three mesh sides help airflow through summer
Cons
- Zips fail before the fabric does on chewers
- Fabric floor slides on carpet without a mat
Lucky Dog Sliding Double Door Dog Crate
Doors slide vertically instead of swinging, freeing roughly two feet of floor along the front panel. Heavier gauge wire and a reinforced frame handle shepherds and retrievers that lean their weight on the sides. Folding still works like any wire crate, though the extra steel makes repositioning a two-hand job.
Pros
- Sliding doors need no floor clearance to open
- Heavy gauge wire suits leaning large breeds
- Folds flat despite the reinforced frame
Cons
- Heaviest crate here to lift or reposition
- Slide tracks need wiping to run smoothly
Side by side
| # | Model | Frame | Best for | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diggs Revol Collapsible Dog Crate | Steel and aluminium with plastic base | Best overall | 9.4 | Check price |
| 2 | MidWest Homes for Pets iCrate Folding Metal Dog Crate | Coated wire | Best value | 9.2 | Check price |
| 3 | Amazon Basics Foldable Metal Dog Crate | Coated wire, double door | Best budget | 9.0 | Check price |
| 4 | EliteField 3-Door Folding Soft Dog Crate | 600D fabric with mesh panels | Best lightweight for car travel | 8.8 | Check price |
| 5 | Petmate Sky Kennel | Hard plastic shell with steel door | Best for airline travel | 8.5 | Check price |
| 6 | Noz2Noz Sof-Krate N2 Indoor and Outdoor Pet Home | Internal steel tube frame | Best for fast setup | 8.3 | Check price |
| 7 | Lucky Dog Sliding Double Door Dog Crate | Heavy-gauge coated wire | Best for large breeds | 8.0 | Check price |
What to look for
What to look for in an apartment travel crate Measure the storage gap before you measure the dog. Four inches folded slips behind a door; eight inches does not. Setup method decides the rest of your evening, since lever and pop-open frames stand up in seconds while bolted shells want floor space and patience. Door placement is the detail most buyers miss. A front-only gate swings into clearance a small bedroom rarely has.
Wire, soft-sided or hard-shell Folding wire gives the most usable volume per stored inch, which explains why trainers default to it. Soft crates weigh a fraction as much and carry by one handle, yet they only suit dogs that settle instead of digging. Hard plastic is the only construction accepted for checked air travel, and it stores worst of the three. Plenty of apartment households end up with two: a wire crate at home, plus a shell or soft crate for trips.
How to size a crate for a small floor plan Measure your dog standing, nose to base of tail, then add two to four inches. Height runs from floor to the top of the head, or to the ear tips on upright breeds. Buying a size up for comfort backfires with puppies, who then soil one end and sleep in the other. Dividers solve that, and the iCrate and Lucky Dog crate both include one, so you buy the adult size today and shrink it tonight.
Car trips, flights and thin apartment floors Car loading happens through a rear door, so side-opening crates beat top-loaders and light ones beat heavy ones. Flights follow a different rulebook: checked pets need a rigid shell, four-sided ventilation and bolted seams, which is exactly what the Sky Kennel is built for. Noise is the quiet cost of apartment life. Bare wire rings on tile and carries downstairs, so a rubber-backed mat buys you neighbourly silence. Wheels on the largest Revol also save dragging a loaded crate along a corridor.
Frequently asked questions
What size dog crate fits in a small apartment?
Size the crate to the dog first, then judge it on folded thickness. A 36 inch crate that folds to four inches stores easier than a 30 inch crate that never folds. Vertical sliding doors free about two feet of swing clearance as well.
Which dog crates fold without tools?
Diggs Revol collapses on a lever. Wire crates such as the MidWest iCrate, Amazon Basics and Lucky Dog fold flat by hand. Noz2Noz Sof-Krate springs open on an internal frame. Petmate Sky Kennel is the outlier, joining with wing nuts.
Is a soft-sided crate safe for travel?
Calm adult dogs travel fine in soft crates on car journeys and hotel stays. Checked air travel rules them out completely. Dogs that dig or chew get through mesh, and owners report zips failing before the fabric tears.
Can you take a dog crate on a plane?
Checked pets need a crate meeting the carrier’s cargo requirements: rigid shell, metal hardware, ventilation on four sides and no wheels fitted. Petmate Sky Kennel exists for that job. Confirm exact internal dimensions with your airline before booking.
How do you stop a crate scratching hardwood floors?
Slip felt pads under each corner, or set the whole crate on a rubber-backed mat. That same mat kills the rattle travelling through a shared ceiling. Slide-out trays catch spills, and dragging any wire crate across boards guarantees marks.
Do dogs need a divider in a travel crate?
Puppies do, because an adult-sized crate leaves a spare corner to toilet in. Slide the panel back every few weeks as the puppy grows. Adult dogs gain nothing from one.
Wire crate vs plastic crate, which suits apartments better?
Wire wins on storage, airflow and cost. Plastic blocks more light and sound, which helps anxious dogs in a noisy building, and it is the only route onto a plane. For a small home with no flights booked, wire is the sensible default.
How long can a dog stay in a travel crate?
Common guidance caps adult dogs near four hours during the day, with puppies needing much shorter stints. Travel days stretch that, so build in stops for water and a walk. Treat a crate as a rest space, not a full-day answer.
Which crate is best for a dog that escapes?
Escape artists beat zips and light wire first. Diggs Revol answers with diamond mesh and latches that need a deliberate pull, while Lucky Dog uses heavier gauge wire on its sliding panels. Avoid soft-sided crates entirely for a known escaper.
Our take
Diggs Revol earns the money if your floor space is measured in feet rather than rooms. Folding takes seconds, and the side and top doors work in corners where a swinging gate jams. Budget-led buyers should take the MidWest iCrate and accept wire rattle on hard floors, ideally with a mat underneath. Book a flight and you need a second crate regardless, because no folding design meets checked-pet cargo rules; that is Petmate Sky Kennel.
Olivia Hartley
Olivia spent several years working at an animal shelter and a pet-supply retailer before joining the editorial team. She researches pet gear with an emphasis on safety, comfort and the fine print that owners often miss.
