Searching for a flight can be a bit overwhelming. There are so many factors: dates, times, price, fare class, airline, and more. Even when you know exactly when and where you want to fly, where should you look for the absolute best price?
Unfortunately, no website consistently has the lowest prices. Most of the popular OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) are usually in the same ballpark for the price, but not all offer the same benefits or search functionality.
We’ve combed through many popular OTAs to compare prices and show you the benefits and drawbacks of each site.
Book Direct Through the Airline’s Website
More often than not, booking directly through the airline’s website will give you the best price, or will at least be the same as the OTAs.
Some airlines, like Southwest, won’t even show up on sites like Expedia or Orbitz, so you have to book direct. It can also be the most simple way to book. If a problem arises, you don’t have to deal with a third party to get it resolved.
Another reason to book directly through an airline’s website is to use those frequent flyer miles — hooray for award flights!
Of course, to book through the airline’s website, you first need to know which airline has the best prices. There are lots of travel search engines and OTAs that can help you find the best deals so you know which airline’s website to visit. Some OTAs even offer perks that might make it worth booking someplace other than the airline’s site.
Hot Tip: A card such as The Platinum Card® from American Express earns an impressive 5x Membership Rewards points per $1 spent on flights booked directly with airlines or with AmexTravel.com on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.
1. Momondo
Momondo is a travel metasearch engine similar to Kayak. The home page displays a simple search box where you can plug in your travel details.
One of the things we love about this site is the visual way it shows you the price trends for your flight. At first glance, you can tell if you could save some money by shifting around your travel dates a bit. It also offers a price tracker and lots of filtering options on the left-hand side of the screen.
It also offers Mix & Match fares (formerly Hacker Fares), which are simply 2 one-way tickets from different airlines packaged together to get you the best deal. However, unlike other sites, you must go to 2 separate websites to book these types of tickets.
Pros and Cons of Momondo
Pros:
- Great price tracking tools
Cons:
- Mix & Match fares require you to make 2 separate reservations; this is usually handled “behind the scenes” on other websites
Hot Tip: We cover the ins and outs of finding cheap airfare with this website in our guide to using Momondo.
2. Kayak
Kayak is not an OTA. Rather, it’s a travel search engine — making it a great place to start your flight search.
The site compares prices from many websites in a single spot, so you can easily see the cheapest options. Most of the time, you’ll click through to a different site to complete your booking.
Kayak offers the ability to combine 2 one-way tickets (usually on different airlines) in 1 itinerary, which is a great way to save money on your flight. These itineraries can be pretty good deals and something that doesn’t always appear in search results of other websites.
A couple of new features were introduced in early 2024 — Kayak PriceCheck and Ask Kayak. Kayak PriceCheck allows you to upload a screenshot of an itinerary in the Kayak app, and Kayak will compare it to prices on hundreds of other sites to ensure you’re getting the best deal. Ask Kayak is an AI tool that helps you personalize your travel planning.
Pros and Cons of Kayak
Pros:
- Ability to combine 2 one-way flights on a single itinerary
- Price Alerts to keep an eye on flight prices
- Kayak PriceCheck
- Ask Kayak
Cons:
- Kayak offers the most benefit when your travel plans are very flexible; many of its most valuable tools help you search for deals, so this site might be less appealing when you have a specific flight in mind
Bottom Line: For more information about Kayak’s travel search tools, check out the complete guide to booking travel with Kayak.
3. Expedia
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Expedia is another tried-and-true OTA that people have been using since the 1990s. Back then, Expedia was a go-to source for searching and booking flights. But how does it stack up now?
You aren’t necessarily getting a better deal booking through Expedia, but you aren’t paying any more than you might on the airline’s website.
A nice perk of using Expedia is that it offers a rewards program called One Key. This program offers member pricing plus the ability to earn points for flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, activities, and more.
Hot Tip:
If you’re a member of an airline’s frequent flyer program, you’ll be happy to know that you can still earn airline miles on a flight booked through Expedia. However, you often won’t be able to earn miles/points toward status or be eligible for seat upgrades.
Pros and Cons of Expedia
Pros:
- Earn and redeem points through the One Key program
Cons:
- Booking through Expedia may limit your mileage earned toward elite status
- Your ability to be eligible for upgrades can be limited when you book through Expedia
Hot Tip: For more information, check out our post about how to use Expedia to find great deals on flights, hotels, vacation packages (and more).
4. Priceline
Priceline is a popular OTA that introduced the Name Your Own Price tool and opaque bookings. These types of bookings can offer discounts, but many of the details are hidden until after the booking. The Name Your Own Price tool was discontinued for flights in 2016, so now Priceline operates like most other OTAs.
One of the nice things about searching for flights on Priceline is that it has a nice color-coded calendar, so you can easily see which days offer the lowest prices.
The search results on Priceline are clear and easy to navigate. As you scroll through your search results, you can easily see the cheapest nonstop options and things like flights with no change fees or early bird flights.
Another way to save money is by looking at Priceline’s Express Deals. These opaque bookings are ones where select details of the flight (like the departure, arrival times, or even the airline) are hidden until the booking is complete.
Pros and Cons of Priceline
Pros:
- Express Deal flights can offer a good discount if you have some flexibility; many of the details of the flight, including airline and arrival and departure times, are hidden until the booking is complete
- Color-coded calendar and easy-to-read search results
- Price Match Guarantee
- Free online cancellation within 24 hours of booking (except for Express Deal flights)
Cons:
- No rewards program
- Express Deal flights can be good deals, but they can sometimes be even more expensive than a standard booking
Bottom Line: For more information, check out the complete guide to booking travel with Priceline.
5. Orbitz
Daily Deals Special: Check out Orbitz’s Daily Deals
Orbitz is another reliable OTA that has been around since 2001. One thing that makes this site a little different is that it offers its own rewards program called Orbitz Rewards. You can earn Orbucks when you book hotels, flights, and vacation packages through Orbitz. However, you can only redeem Orbucks for hotels.
When booking a flight through Orbitz, you’ll earn 1% of your purchase price back as Orbucks (or 2% if you use the Orbitz mobile app). If you book a $500 flight, you will earn 5 Orbucks, which is worth $5 toward a hotel booking. Joining the Orbitz Rewards program is free.
Unfortunately, Orbitz sometimes charges a 1% booking fee. Keep an eye out for these on your trip summary page before finalizing your purchase, and factor them into your calculations to see if you’re getting a good deal or not. While earning Orbucks is great, paying a booking fee could wipe out all of the benefits.
Pros and Cons of Orbitz
Pros:
- Orbitz Rewards lets you earn Orbucks that can be applied to hotel bookings
- 24-hour cancellation policy
- Low Price Guarantee: if you find a lower price for your flight on another website within 24 hours, Orbitz will refund the difference
Cons:
Bottom Line: For more information, check out our guide to booking travel with Orbitz.
6. Agoda
Agoda is an OTA owned by Priceline. This website doesn’t offer much more than a simple search with limited filter options when looking for flights. Agoda is worth checking out if you’re looking for unique accommodations such as an apartment or private villa, but it doesn’t offer much when searching for flights.
One cool thing about Agoda is that the site is multilingual. You can select your language by clicking on the flag in the top menu bar.
Pros and Cons of Agoda
Pros:
- Simple search functionality
- Multilingual option
Cons:
- Limited filtering options for flights
Hot Tip: Agoda has a loyalty program called VIP, but it only applies to hotel stays. For more information, check out our guide to booking travel through Agoda.
7. Hotwire
Special: See these Hotwire Flight Deals
Hotwire is a popular OTA that has been around for almost 20 years.
The simple home page offers the main search box to input your departure and arrival cities as well as your desired dates of travel.
Hotwire can offer a great deal when booking a hotel along with your flight. Many times during the booking process, you’ll see pop-ups or prompts advertising great savings when booking a hotel at the same time. We tested it, and every time we priced out a Hotwire vacation package deal against purchasing a flight and hotel separately, the package deal was cheaper.
Bottom Line: If you need a hotel in addition to your flight, booking both together through Hotwire can save you money.
Another thing to remember when using Hotwire to find great flight deals is that sometimes a booking fee will be charged.
Pros and Cons of Hotwire
Pros:
- Package deals that include a hotel stay can save money
- 24-hour cancellation policy
- Low Price Guarantee
Cons:
- Hotwire can sometimes charge a booking fee
Bottom Line: For more details about finding great deals, check out our complete guide to booking travel through Hotwire.
8. Skyscanner
Skyscanner is another travel search engine that does not sell flights directly. It shows you a list of flights and links to the airline’s website or OTA to complete the purchase.
This site excels for travelers with flexibility. In the search box, you can select Explore everywhere to search for the cheapest destinations on your chosen dates.
Skyscanner operates like most other travel search sites if you have a set destination with specific dates.
Pros and Cons of Skyscanner
Pros:
- Flexible searches, including Explore everywhere and Multi-city search
- Easy to change language and currency
- Price alerts
Cons:
Hot Tip: For more information, check out our in-depth piece on Skyscanner.
9. Travelocity
Travelocity is yet another OTA that has been around for a while and is very similar to the other websites we’ve been looking at.
On the plus side, there are some nice filtering options to help you find the best flight for your needs. On the downside, prices can change between selection and booking. We did a dummy booking, and by the time we got to the payment section, the flight price had gone up from $157 to $338!
Much like other online travel agencies, Travelocity can also charge booking fees, so keep an eye out for those in the payment section of the booking process.
Pros and Cons of Travelocity
Pros:
- Price Guarantee: If you find a lower price on an identical itinerary within 24 hours, Travelocity will refund the difference in price
- Free cancellation on flights within 24 hours of booking (on most airlines)
Cons:
- Travelocity sometimes charges a booking fee
- Prices can change between flight selection and payment
Bottom Line: For more information, check out our guide to booking travel with Travelocity.
10. Google Flights
Google Flights is not an OTA. Rather, it’s a metasearch engine similar to Kayak. Once you find a flight, Google Flights will link you to the airline’s direct website or an OTA to complete the purchase. It is a powerful search engine built on the ITA Matrix, which was originally developed for travel agents.
This site shows you price trends and how your travel dates could affect the cost of your ticket. Plus, it allows you to track the prices of a route, so you can jump on low prices when they pop up. These features make Google Flights a great tool to help you feel confident that the price you’re getting is a good deal.
Google Flights recently rolled out a price guarantee feature on select flights departing from the U.S. If you book a flight with the price guarantee badge and the price drops, you’ll get a refund of the difference (with a maximum of $500 per calendar year) from Google Flights via Google Pay. However, you can only receive up to 3 price guaranteed refunds at any one time.
Pros and Cons of Google Flights
Pros:
- The price graph shows you the pricing trends for your route and allows you to see what days might be cheaper to fly
- Price tracking will send you an email when your flight’s price increases or decreases
- Automatic price guarantee on select flights
Cons:
- Since this search engine is so powerful with lots of options, it could get complicated for a novice traveler
Hot Tip: You can earn frequent flyer miles on flights booked through an OTA, but you might not earn miles toward elite status.
11. CheapOair
CheapOair is an OTA that offers its own credit card. Before applying for the card, we recommend considering a better travel rewards credit card for more lucrative and flexible travel rewards.
This site might not be as cheap as you would think. That’s because it can charge expensive “agency fees.” For most flights, the fees can be up to $35; however, once you read the fine print, you’ll see they can actually be as high as $200 per ticket!
In addition, CheapOair charges a fee to change or cancel any ticket, including within 24 hours, which is free on many other sites.
Pros and Cons of CheapOair
Pros:
- Price Match Promise: CheapOair will refund the difference in price if you find a lower price on the same itinerary on a major OTA within 24 hours of booking
Cons:
- CheapOair charges hefty booking fees in addition to fees to cancel or change your flight
- Price Match Promise is very limited; the guarantee is only good for identical flights on Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, and Travelocity
Bottom Line: CheapOair might not be cheap after all. It advertises low base fares, but it charges booking fees, which usually result in a higher price than the airline’s website. For more information, check out our guide to CheapOair.
12. Hopper
Hopper is an app that tries to predict the right time to buy a flight. It claims that using its app can save you up to 40% on flights. The simple interface and color-coded map show you the cheapest and most expensive times to fly to your chosen destination.
You can also set up alerts to watch the prices for your specific dates or watch a whole month if you have flexible travel plans.
Pros and Cons of Hopper
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Choose to watch prices for a specific trip or choose to watch prices over a whole month
Cons:
- No ability to search on a desktop
- Few filtering options
Hot Tip: There are many credit cards with travel insurance and extra protections like trip interruption and cancellation protection and baggage delay coverage. We suggest looking at Chase credit cards or Amex credit cards for great insurance coverage.
Price Comparisons
We searched for a flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to New York City (JFK) across different travel booking websites to compare pricing head-to-head. Below is the cheapest ticket each website offered.
In this search, we weren’t taking anything other than price into consideration. When you are actually booking a flight, there will most likely be more factors that go into your decision of which flight to book.
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In this example, Google Flights, Hopper, and Priceline tied for the cheapest flight cost with Expedia, Hotwire, Orbitz, and Travelocity coming in just $3 more expensive. CheapOair was by far the most expensive option.
Final Thoughts
There is no one-stop shop to find the lowest prices on a flight every time. Most OTAs are in the same ballpark when it comes to price.
If you’ve got some flexibility, many of these sites can help you find the lowest-priced travel dates and destinations.
If you prefer a more traditional booking, start out with a travel search engine like Kayak or Google Flights to search all of the other sites. That will give you a good idea of the best website to use to save the most money on your next flight.
Are you a student? Don’t miss our guide to the best websites for cheap, discount student flights.
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