Glock 19 vs 43X: Same Height, Different Width. Which to Carry?

Quick answer: The Glock 19 and Glock 43X stand exactly the same height: Glock lists both at 5.04 inches with the magazine in. The 43X is the thinner gun (1.10 vs 1.34 inches wide), it’s 0.78 inches shorter, and it weighs about 7 ounces less loaded. The Glock 19 holds 15 rounds as standard against the 43X’s 10. So the choice isn’t really about which grip hides better, since both grips are the same height. It’s about width and weight against capacity.

Glock 19 vs 43X Specs, Side by Side

Source: Glock’s official product pages for the G19 V and G43X, us.glock.com, checked October 3, 2026. The G19 Gen5 (now listed on Glock’s law-enforcement pages) has the same figures as the G19 V. The G19 Gen6 lists 1.35 inches wide, 20.11 oz without a magazine and 29.10 oz loaded, with the same height and length.

Same Height Means the Grips Print Alike

The 43X is a slimline gun, so you might expect it to be smaller in every direction. It isn’t. With the magazine in, it’s exactly as tall as a Glock 19.

The grip is the part that prints. When you bend, reach or sit, the bottom of the grip is what pushes out against your shirt. Glock lists the same 5.04-inch height with the magazine for both, so neither one gives you a shorter grip to hide.

If a shorter grip is what you need, look at a different gun. Glock lists the Glock 26 at 4.17 inches tall and the Glock 43 at 4.25. See our Glock 26 vs 19 and Glock 43 vs 43X comparisons.

Width Is the 43X’s Real Advantage

The 43X is 0.24 inches thinner overall and its slide is 0.13 inches thinner. Inside the waistband, every fraction of width adds to how far the gun and holster stand off your body. A thinner gun also leaves a little more room inside your waistband.

Weight and Length: What You Feel by Evening

Loaded, the Glock 19 weighs 7.09 ounces more than the 43X (30.16 vs 23.07 oz). That’s weight your belt carries all day. A stiff gun belt keeps the holster from sagging and letting the grip tip out, and the 19 puts more weight on it.

The 19 is also 0.78 inches longer, almost all of it slide. That length sits inside the holster, below your belt. Carried appendix, the muzzle end of the holster is what presses into your thigh when you sit, and on the Glock 19 it reaches further down.

Capacity: 15 vs 10, and Glock’s 15-Round Slimline Magazine

Glock’s product pages list 15 rounds as standard for the Glock 19 and 10 for the 43X. Glock also lists optional 17-, 24-, 31- and 33-round magazines for the Glock 19, where your state allows them.

That gap may be closing. In April 2026, Glock announced that the G43X and G48 “will come standard with 15-round GLOCK magazines,” a metal, double-stack design that Glock said would reach dealers in May 2026. As of October 3, 2026, Glock’s G43X product page still lists 10 rounds as standard. Check the box or the dealer listing to see which magazine a given 43X ships with. If yours has the 15-round magazine, its standard capacity matches the Glock 19’s.

The In-Between Option: Glock 48

Glock describes the G48 as being “of similar length and height as the G19” but with reduced width. In numbers, it’s 7.28 inches long and 5.04 inches tall like the 19, and 1.10 inches wide like the 43X. If you want the 19’s length with the 43X’s width, that’s the gun. Our Glock 48 vs 43X comparison covers it.

Making Either One Comfortable to Carry

Because both grips are 5.04 inches tall, both need the grip tucked in to stop printing. Three things do most of the work:

• A claw or wing on the holster presses against your belt and rotates the grip in toward your body.
• A wedge low on the body side of the holster pushes the muzzle end out, which tips the grip in. For printing, keep the fill fuller and mount it low. For comfort, start in the middle on fill and move it toward the edge that digs in. Our wedge placement guide shows where it goes.
• A stiff gun belt keeps the holster from sagging. We carry Kore ratcheting gun belts.

We make the Cloudster Pillow, a soft holster wedge made of adjustable cooling-gel memory foam in a fabric cover. It attaches to the back of your holster with hook-and-loop Velcro and goes on any holster: Kydex, leather or hybrid. On leather or hybrid holsters, some owners make it semi-permanent with a dot of glue at the corners and center of the adhesive Velcro, or by lightly sanding the mounting spot with very fine-grit sandpaper. Both change your holster, so check its warranty first.

Which size? The two guns take different sizes:

• Glock 19: the Deluxe.
• Glock 43X: the Standard with no light. Step up to the Deluxe for a weapon light, a sidecar mag carrier or a larger build. When in doubt, size up: a bigger pillow can be adjusted to feel smaller, but you can’t make a smaller pillow feel bigger.

Our size finder takes 30 seconds, or tell us your gun and holster and we’ll confirm. For a full setup on either gun, see how to conceal carry a Glock 19 and our Glock 43X holster guide.

Glock 19 or 43X: How to Decide

Choose the Glock 43X if:

• You want the thinner gun: 1.10 inches against 1.34
• You want the lighter gun on your belt all day
• The holster’s muzzle end digs in when you sit with a longer gun
• You can get the 15-round magazine, or 10 rounds is enough for you

Choose the Glock 19 if:

• You want 15 rounds standard and Glock’s longer optional magazines
• You want one gun for carry, the range and home
• The extra quarter inch of width doesn’t print on you

Comparing more Glock models? See our best Glock for concealed carry guide.

Quick Answers

Is the Glock 43X smaller than the Glock 19?
Thinner and shorter, but not lower. Glock lists both at 5.04 inches tall with the magazine. The 43X is 0.24 inches thinner and 0.78 inches shorter.

Does the 43X conceal better than the Glock 19?
The grips print alike because they’re the same height. The 43X’s advantages are its width (0.24 inches thinner) and weight (7.09 ounces lighter loaded).

Do Glock 19 magazines fit the 43X?
Glock doesn’t list them as compatible. The 43X’s product page names only its “slim (01)” magazine and lists no optional magazines, while the Glock 19’s page lists 17-, 24-, 31- and 33-round options.

How much heavier is the Glock 19?
5.12 ounces with no magazine and 7.09 ounces loaded, per Glock’s figures for the G19 V and G43X.

What size Cloudster Pillow do I need?
The Deluxe for a Glock 19, and the Standard for a 43X with no light.

Written by the Cloudster Pillow team. We make holster wedges and carry Kore gun belts. We don’t sell firearms or holsters, and nobody paid for this comparison. Specs are from Glock’s published product pages and press releases, checked October 3, 2026. This isn’t legal advice: magazine limits and carry laws vary by state.