The best dog crate for most people is the MidWest iCrate Double Door — a wire crate that folds flat, comes with a divider panel for puppies, costs under $50 for most sizes, and has been the default recommendation from trainers and shelters for over a decade. It’s not fancy. It just works. If you want something with a more modern design and don’t mind spending 4-5x more, the Diggs Revol is the nicest crate we’ve used.
In Short: The MidWest iCrate is our top pick for the best dog crate — affordable, reliable, and puppy-ready with the included divider. For owners who want a premium upgrade, the Diggs Revol is beautifully designed and genuinely easier to set up. Budget pick goes to the New World Double Door at around $30-40.
Why Crate Training Isn’t Cruel
We get this question constantly, and we understand the hesitation. Looking at a wire box and putting your dog inside it feels wrong the first time. It felt wrong to us too. But there’s a meaningful gap between what crate training looks like from a human perspective and what it actually does for your dog.
The AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) considers crate training a safe and effective management tool when used properly. The key word is “properly” — a crate isn’t a storage container for a dog you don’t feel like dealing with. It’s a den-sized space that taps into your dog’s natural instinct to seek enclosed, secure resting spots.
Dogs are denning animals. Wild canids dig burrows. Wolves raise pups in dens. Your dog’s habit of wedging herself under your desk or behind the couch? That’s the den instinct at work. A correctly sized crate mimics that enclosed, protected feeling. Most dogs, once introduced to a crate gradually and positively, choose to go in it voluntarily — door open, nobody asking them to, just walking in and lying down because it feels safe.
Where crate training becomes a problem: using the crate as punishment, leaving a dog crated for 8+ hours routinely, or using a crate that’s the wrong size. A puppy under 6 months shouldn’t be crated for more than 3-4 hours. An adult dog tops out at about 6-8 hours, and that should be the exception rather than the daily routine. If you’re crating your dog for the length of a full workday every single day, the crate isn’t the issue — the schedule is.
Done right, a crate gives your dog a predictable space that’s theirs. It helps with housetraining (dogs avoid soiling their den). It keeps puppies from eating your baseboards at 2 AM. And it provides a genuine sense of security for anxious dogs who get overstimulated by an open floor plan. We’re pro-crate. Not apologetically — confidently.
Quick Picks
- Best overall: MidWest iCrate Double Door — the one most trainers recommend, folds flat, includes a puppy divider ($)
- Best premium crate: Diggs Revol — gorgeous design, puppy-safe latch system, collapses with one hand ($$$)
- Best heavy-duty: MidWest Ultima Pro — thicker gauge wire for strong dogs and serious chewers ($$)
- Best for air travel: Petmate Sky Kennel — IATA-compliant, meets most airline requirements ($$)
- Best soft crate: EliteField 3-Door — lightweight, three entry points, great for camping and hotels ($)
- Best budget: New World Double Door — nearly identical to the iCrate at a lower price ($)
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Crate | Type | Doors | Foldable | Weight Range | Price Tier | Our Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MidWest iCrate Double Door | Wire | 2 | Yes | Up to 90 lbs (48” model) | $ | 4.7/5 |
| Diggs Revol | Wire/Plastic hybrid | 3 | Yes (one-hand) | Up to 90 lbs (large) | $$$ | 4.6/5 |
| MidWest Ultima Pro | Wire (heavy gauge) | 2 | Yes | Up to 110 lbs (48” model) | $$ | 4.5/5 |
| Petmate Sky Kennel | Plastic | 1 | No (two-piece) | Up to 125 lbs (48” model) | $$ | 4.4/5 |
| EliteField 3-Door | Soft/Fabric | 3 | Yes (collapses) | Up to 70 lbs (42” model) | $ | 4.2/5 |
| New World Double Door | Wire | 2 | Yes | Up to 90 lbs (48” model) | $ | 4.3/5 |
How to Size a Dog Crate
Getting the size wrong is the most common crate mistake. Too small and your dog can’t get comfortable. Too big and a puppy will use one end as a bedroom and the other as a bathroom, which defeats the entire housetraining purpose.
The rule is simple: your dog should be able to stand up without their head touching the top, turn around in a full circle without squeezing, and lie down on their side with legs extended. That’s it. You don’t need extra room for activities. It’s a den, not a studio apartment.
How to measure: With your dog standing, measure from the tip of their nose to the base of their tail (not the tip — dogs curl their tails in different positions). Add 2-4 inches. That’s your crate length. Then measure from the floor to the top of their head (or ears, if they stand upright). Add 2-4 inches. That’s your crate height.
Common sizes by breed:
- 24” — Chihuahuas, Yorkies, Maltese, most toy breeds under 15 lbs
- 30” — Beagles, Cocker Spaniels, French Bulldogs, medium-small dogs 15-30 lbs
- 36” — Border Collies, Australian Shepherds, medium dogs 30-50 lbs
- 42” — Goldendoodles, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, large dogs 50-75 lbs
- 48” — German Shepherds, Rottweilers, extra-large dogs 75-110 lbs
For puppies: Buy the adult size now and use a divider panel (included with both MidWest crates and the Diggs Revol). The divider lets you partition off a smaller section of the crate that grows with your puppy. You’re buying one crate, not three. This is especially smart for breeds like Labs and German Shepherds that go from 10 lbs to 70+ lbs in their first year. See our new dog owner checklist for more on puppy setup.
MidWest iCrate Double Door
The one we keep recommending because it keeps earning it.
The MidWest iCrate Double Door is the Honda Civic of dog crates. It’s not going to impress anyone at a dinner party. Nobody’s posting it on Instagram with a designer throw pillow inside. But it’s reliable, affordable, available everywhere, and it does exactly what you need without any surprises. There’s a reason this crate has been the bestselling wire dog crate on Amazon for years, and it’s the same reason every shelter and rescue group we’ve talked to recommends it: it works.
The double-door design gives you a front-opening door and a side-opening door, which matters more than you’d think. Being able to position the crate against a wall with the side door accessible, or slide it into a corner with the front door facing out, gives you real flexibility in where you put the thing. In a small apartment, that flexibility is the difference between the crate fitting your space and the crate dominating your living room.
It folds flat in about 30 seconds with no tools. Weighs 25 lbs for the 42-inch model. A carrying handle on the folded unit lets you move it between rooms or toss it in the car. The included divider panel is free-standing — you slide it in at whatever position matches your puppy’s current size and move it back as they grow.
The wire gauge is 11-gauge on the smaller models and 9-gauge on the 42” and 48” models. For context, lower gauge numbers mean thicker wire. The 9-gauge wire on the larger crates is sturdy enough for a 70-lb Lab leaning against the sides, which they will do, often, while giving you a look that says you’ve personally betrayed them.
The plastic tray on the bottom slides out for cleaning. It will get gross. Puppies have accidents, dogs track in mud, treats crumble into corners. Being able to pull the tray out and hose it off in the yard is a feature you’ll appreciate more than you expect.
What we didn’t love: The latches are the iCrate’s weakest point. They’re slide-bolt style, and a determined dog can learn to nose them open. We’ve heard this from multiple owners of smart breeds — Poodles, Aussies, dogs that treat containment as a puzzle to solve. A $3 carabiner clip on each latch solves this permanently, but it’s annoying that you need the workaround at all. The other issue is the tray. It’s thin plastic and tends to flex when a large dog shifts their weight, which creates a rocking sensation that some dogs don’t love. A piece of plywood or a crate mat under the tray fixes it.
Best for: First-time crate buyers. Puppy owners who need a crate that grows with their dog. Budget-conscious owners who want the most-recommended crate on the market. Anyone who needs to fold and transport their crate regularly.
Diggs Revol Collapsible Dog Crate
The premium crate that actually justifies the price. Mostly.
The Diggs Revol is what happens when someone with a design background looks at the traditional wire crate and says “we can do better.” And they’re right — the Revol is genuinely nicer to look at, easier to set up, and safer for puppies than any wire crate we’ve tested. Whether it’s 4-5x nicer is a personal call, but we understand why people pay it.
Three access points: a front door, a top door, and a side-opening “garage door” panel that slides up. The top door is the feature we didn’t know we needed. Reaching in from above to settle a puppy, drop in a treat, or grab a toy is so much easier than hunching down to reach through a front door. Once you use a top-access door, going back to a front-only crate feels limiting.
The ceiling of the Revol has a built-in mesh skylight panel, which gives the interior a more open, less cage-like feel. Dogs that are anxious in enclosed spaces seem to settle faster in the Revol than in solid-top crates, based on our testing with three different dogs across two size models.
Here’s the safety feature that matters for puppies: the Revol uses a diamond-mesh wire pattern instead of the traditional rectangular grid. The diamond pattern eliminates the straight horizontal bars where a puppy’s jaw or paw can get caught. If you’ve ever seen a panicking puppy with a paw wedged between crate bars (or heard the horror stories), the Revol’s mesh design removes that risk entirely. For puppy owners, this single feature might justify the price.
It collapses with one hand using a pull-strap system — grab the strap, the crate folds flat in about 10 seconds. No wrestling with latches while trying to hold the sides. The folded unit is compact enough to slide behind a couch or into a closet. Our Winston-the-Goldendoodle test involved the large model, and even at 65 lbs of enthusiastic dog, the Revol felt solid and stable with zero wobble.
The build materials are a mix of reinforced wire and high-impact plastic, which gives the Revol a cleaner look than an all-wire crate. The removable tray is thick, rigid plastic — no flexing, no rocking when the dog moves around. It includes a divider panel for puppy training.
What we didn’t love: The price. There’s no getting around it — the Diggs Revol costs significantly more than a MidWest iCrate. For a single-dog household that will use this crate for 8-10 years, the per-year cost difference shrinks. But if you’re buying multiple crates for a multi-dog house, the math gets uncomfortable fast. The other limitation: only two sizes (medium and large). If you have a toy breed or a truly giant breed like a Great Dane, the Revol doesn’t come in a size that works.
Best for: Owners who value design and want a crate that doesn’t look like a cage in their living room. Puppy owners concerned about paw/jaw entrapment in traditional wire crates. Anyone who moves their crate frequently and wants effortless setup and teardown.
MidWest Ultima Pro Double Door
The iCrate’s bigger, stronger sibling for dogs that test boundaries.
The MidWest Ultima Pro shares the same basic design as the iCrate — double doors, folding construction, included divider — but upgrades the wire gauge and overall build strength. If the iCrate is the Honda Civic, the Ultima Pro is the Accord. Same company, same design philosophy, beefier where it counts.
The wire gauge difference matters. The Ultima Pro uses a heavier gauge wire throughout, and you can feel it the moment you pick it up. The 48-inch Ultima Pro weighs about 37 lbs versus the iCrate’s 30 lbs at the same size. That extra seven pounds is thicker wire at every joint and connection point.
Who needs the upgrade? Dogs that are physically powerful and test their crate. A mellow Golden Retriever who walks into the crate and falls asleep? iCrate is fine. A young German Shepherd who stress-chews the bars during a thunderstorm? A Rottweiler puppy going through an adolescent phase of testing every boundary in sight? An anxious rescue dog who panics when left alone? These dogs need heavier wire. The Ultima Pro won’t bend under sustained pressure from a large, motivated dog, which the iCrate’s thinner wire can.
The latches are also upgraded — roller-style rather than slide-bolt, which means they can’t be nosed open by clever dogs. This alone solves the iCrate’s biggest weakness. You don’t need the carabiner workaround here.
The plastic tray is thicker and more rigid than the iCrate version. Still removable, still easy to clean, but the added thickness means no flexing under a heavy dog. A 90-lb Bernese Mountain Dog shifting positions on the Ultima Pro tray sounds like nothing. On the iCrate tray, that same dog creates a plastic drumroll.
At roughly double the iCrate’s price, it sits in the mid-range ($$$) rather than the budget tier. For the durability upgrade, we think the price gap is fair, especially if you have a large breed that will use this crate for 8-12 years.
What we didn’t love: It’s heavier. That extra weight is the price of thicker wire, and it makes the Ultima Pro less convenient to fold and transport. If you regularly move your crate between rooms or take it in the car, the iCrate’s lighter weight is an advantage. The Ultima Pro is more of a “set it up and leave it” crate. The other issue is that MidWest’s finish (the black epoxy coating) can chip over time at the corners and weld points. It’s cosmetic, not structural, but a $70-80 crate shouldn’t shed paint flakes into your dog’s bedding after six months.
Best for: Large, strong dogs who need a crate that won’t buckle. Breeds over 60 lbs with high energy or anxiety. Owners of known crate-escape artists. Households with powerful chewers who have damaged lighter crates in the past.
Petmate Sky Kennel
The flight-ready crate that’s also useful on the ground.
If you’re flying with your dog, the Petmate Sky Kennel is the standard. It’s IATA (International Air Transport Association) compliant and meets the pet cargo requirements for most major airlines including United, Delta, and American. The Sky Kennel has been the go-to airline crate for decades, and it’s what most airline pet travel guides reference when they list their requirements.
The design is a two-piece hard plastic shell (top and bottom) secured with bolt-on fasteners around the perimeter. A wire-grate door on the front with a squeeze-latch. Ventilation openings on the sides and back. No frills. The Sky Kennel looks like it was designed by an engineer who flies cargo, and that’s because it basically was.
Why plastic over wire for air travel? Airlines require hard-sided kennels for cargo hold transport because wire crates can be crushed by shifting luggage and cargo. The Sky Kennel’s rigid shell protects the dog if heavy items shift during turbulence or loading. The plastic also blocks most visual stimulation, which helps anxious dogs stay calmer during the loud, unfamiliar experience of being in a cargo hold.
Beyond airline use, plastic crates have genuine advantages for certain dogs. Dogs with high anxiety often do better in a more enclosed, den-like space than in an open wire crate where they can see everything. The Sky Kennel’s solid walls block visual triggers — other animals walking by, movement outside windows — that can set off reactive or anxious dogs. If your dog is the type that barks at everything they can see through a wire crate, a plastic crate might be the answer you haven’t tried yet.
The Sky Kennel comes in seven sizes, from a 21-inch model for dogs up to 15 lbs to a 48-inch model rated for dogs up to 125 lbs. Each size lists a maximum weight, and airlines take those weight limits seriously. If your dog exceeds the rated weight for the crate size, the airline will reject it at check-in. Measure and weigh your dog, then check the specific airline’s pet policy before buying.
What we didn’t love: Two things. First, it doesn’t fold or collapse — the two-piece shell takes up its full footprint whether you’re using it or not. If your apartment is 600 square feet, a 48-inch Sky Kennel sitting in the corner is a significant furniture commitment. Second, the bolt-on assembly takes about 15-20 minutes the first time, and the included hardware (plastic wingnuts and metal bolts) can be finicky to align. Once assembled, it’s solid. But the initial setup is not a quick process. Cleaning is also more work than a wire crate — the solid bottom catches liquids and the seam where the two halves meet collects debris you can’t easily reach without separating the whole thing.
Best for: Dogs that will fly in cargo. Anxious dogs who benefit from an enclosed, visually blocked space. Owners who want a crate that doubles as a travel kennel for road trips. Not ideal for everyday home use if space is limited.
EliteField 3-Door Soft Crate
The travel crate that folds down to nothing.
The EliteField 3-Door Soft Crate fills a specific niche that wire and plastic crates can’t: it’s light, it’s packable, and it sets up in under a minute. If you’re traveling with your dog — camping, visiting family, staying in a hotel — and you need a crate that fits in your luggage, the EliteField is the one we’d pack.
Three mesh doors (front, side, and top) zip open and closed. The steel-tube frame pops up like a camping tent — unfold, lock the top bar, and the crate takes shape. Collapsed, the 42-inch model folds into a flat carrying case that weighs about 8 lbs. Compare that to a 25-lb wire crate or a 20-lb plastic kennel. For a weekend trip where you’re already hauling dog food and a leash bag and all the other gear that comes with traveling with a dog, that weight difference is real.
The mesh panels provide airflow on all sides while keeping your dog contained. We tested this in a hotel room with a 50-lb dog over a long weekend, and it worked exactly as advertised. The dog settled in quickly, the crate fit between the bed and the wall, and we folded it back into the carrying case in about 45 seconds when we checked out.
An accessory pocket on the side holds a leash, treats, or waste bags. The bottom pad is removable and machine-washable. The carrying case has a shoulder strap.
What we didn’t love: Soft crates are not for unsupervised use, full stop. A dog that wants out of a soft crate will get out of a soft crate. The mesh zippers offer zero resistance to a dog that chews or claws at them. One of our test dogs (a 40-lb terrier mix who was not thrilled about the hotel situation) pawed at the side mesh for about ten minutes before we redirected him. If he’d been left alone, that mesh would have ripped within the hour. Soft crates are for dogs that are already crate-trained and generally calm when contained. If your dog panics or actively tries to escape crates, the EliteField will become an expensive pile of torn fabric.
The steel frame is also susceptible to a large dog leaning hard against the walls. A 70-lb dog throwing its weight against the side panel will bow the frame outward. The 42-inch model’s weight limit is technically 70 lbs, but we’d say 50 lbs is the realistic comfort ceiling based on how the frame handled pressure testing.
Best for: Travel, camping, hotel stays, and visiting family. Dogs that are already calm and crate-trained. Owners who need a secondary crate for portability — not a primary crate for daily use at home. Small-to-medium dogs get the most from this crate style.
New World Double Door Wire Crate
The budget pick that’s basically a MidWest with a different label.
Here’s the thing about the New World Double Door Wire Crate: it’s made by the same parent company that makes MidWest crates. MidWest Homes for Pets manufactures both lines. The New World is their budget tier. Same factory, same general design, slightly thinner wire, slightly lower price.
So what do you actually sacrifice? The wire gauge is a step thinner than the iCrate, which means the New World flexes a bit more under pressure from a heavy dog. The tray is slightly thinner plastic. The latch hardware feels less precise — functional, but with a little more play in the mechanism. These are the kinds of differences you notice when you put both crates side by side. In isolation, the New World feels like a perfectly fine wire crate.
It still folds flat. It still has double doors. It still includes a divider panel. It still has a removable plastic tray. For a puppy that will grow into an adult dog under 60 lbs, the New World will do the job for years. We tested the 42-inch model with a 55-lb dog and saw no structural concerns after three months of daily use.
At roughly $10-15 less than the iCrate across most sizes, the savings aren’t dramatic. But if you’re buying a crate for a foster dog, a temporary situation, or as a backup crate for a second location, spending less without getting junk is exactly the point.
What we didn’t love: The same latch vulnerability as the iCrate (slide-bolt style that clever dogs can learn to nose open), plus slightly flimsier execution. On our test unit, one of the latches didn’t fully engage on the first try about 30% of the time — we had to jiggle it to get it to seat properly. Not a confidence booster when you’re leaving a crate-in-training puppy at home. The tray is also the thinnest of any crate on this list, and it flexes noticeably under dogs over 50 lbs. Same fix as the iCrate — a piece of plywood or a rigid mat under the tray.
The other missing piece: the New World crate doesn’t come in a 48-inch size through all retailers. If you need the largest size for a Great Dane or a very large German Shepherd, you may have to hunt for availability or just step up to the iCrate or Ultima Pro.
Best for: Budget-conscious puppy owners. People who need a second crate for grandma’s house. Foster families buying temporary crates in bulk. Anyone who wants a functional double-door wire crate and doesn’t need it to survive a determined 90-lb escape artist.
Wire vs. Plastic vs. Soft: When to Use Each Type
The best crate type depends on what you’re using it for, not just which one looks best or costs least.
Wire crates are the best default choice for home use. Maximum airflow, full visibility (which most dogs prefer — they can see you and feel included even while crated), easy cleaning, and the ability to fold flat when not in use. Wire crates are what most trainers recommend for puppies and adult dogs alike. The downsides: they’re not travel-friendly beyond car rides, and some anxious dogs do worse with full visibility because they can see every trigger in the room. A blanket draped over three sides of a wire crate solves that cheaply.
Plastic crates are the right choice for air travel (most airlines require them for cargo) and for dogs who do better in a more enclosed, den-like space. The solid walls block visual stimulation and create a darker, quieter interior. Dogs with separation anxiety or noise phobia sometimes settle faster in a plastic crate than a wire one. The downsides: they don’t fold, they take up permanent floor space, airflow is limited compared to wire, and cleaning the seam where the two halves join is tedious.
Soft crates are travel-only crates for already-crate-trained dogs. They’re ideal for camping trips, hotel stays, visiting friends, or any situation where portability matters more than security. They weigh almost nothing and pack into a carry bag. The downsides: they offer zero containment against a dog that wants out. A stressed dog will claw through mesh in minutes. Never use a soft crate as your primary home crate or for a dog that isn’t reliably calm when crated.
Our recommendation for most people: Start with a wire crate (MidWest iCrate or New World) for home use. If you travel frequently, add an EliteField soft crate as your travel crate. If you’re flying, get a Petmate Sky Kennel sized to your airline’s requirements. Most dog owners don’t need more than one or two crate types across their dog’s lifetime.
FAQ
What size crate does a Labrador Retriever need?
An adult Labrador Retriever typically weighs between 55-80 lbs and needs a 42-inch crate. Female Labs on the smaller end (55-65 lbs) fit comfortably in a 42-inch crate, while larger males approaching 80 lbs may do better with a 48-inch model, especially if they’re long-bodied. Measure your individual dog rather than going purely by breed averages — there’s a 25-lb spread within the breed standard, and that translates to meaningful size differences. If you’re buying for a Lab puppy, get the 42-inch crate with a divider panel and size up to 48-inch only if they exceed 75 lbs as adults.
How long can you leave a dog in a crate?
The general guideline from the American Kennel Club is a maximum of 8 hours for a healthy adult dog, though most trainers recommend treating 6 hours as the practical limit for regular daily crating. Puppies have smaller bladders and less impulse control — a rough formula is one hour per month of age, plus one. So a 3-month-old puppy can hold it for about 4 hours. A 5-month-old puppy can manage about 6 hours. Dogs over 8 years old may need more frequent breaks as well. If your schedule requires more than 6-8 hours of daily crating, consider a dog walker or a midday break from a friend or neighbor rather than extending crate time.
Should I put a blanket or bed in the crate?
For adult dogs who are past the chewing stage, yes — a crate pad or bed makes the crate more comfortable and inviting. For puppies and adolescent dogs who still chew, skip the bedding until they’ve proven they won’t eat it. Ingesting blanket fabric or bed stuffing can cause intestinal blockages that require surgery, and the veterinary bills for a GI foreign body removal average $2,000-5,000 according to the AVMA. A bare plastic tray is fine for a puppy. Once your dog is reliably past the destructive chewing phase (usually around 12-18 months), add a fitted crate mat or bed.
Can two dogs share a crate?
No. Each dog should have their own crate. Even dogs that sleep together on the couch or share a dog bed should be crated separately. Crates are small enclosed spaces, and even bonded dogs can become resource-aggressive in tight quarters, especially over a high-value item like a chew toy or treat. The risk of a fight in an enclosed space where neither dog can retreat is too high to justify the convenience of buying one fewer crate. Two crates. Every time.
When should I stop crate training?
Most dogs can gradually transition to unsupervised house freedom between 1-2 years of age, once they’ve demonstrated that they won’t destroy the house, have accidents, or get into dangerous situations when left alone. Start with short supervised absences — leave the room for 10 minutes with the crate door open and see what happens. Gradually increase the time and distance. Some dogs never fully transition away from the crate, and that’s okay. If your dog chooses to sleep in their crate with the door open, they’re telling you they still want that den space. Keep the crate available as an option even after your dog earns full house access.