So what are the best flight search engines in 20/20? Which search engine offers the best pricing? Well, I decided to do a test. I decided to visit each website and search for 1 rather long domestic flight and one rather long international flight. All of the results are posted below.
Before we begin, it’s important to note a couple of things:
- I used an incognito browser to help prevent cookies from being stored or read.
- I searched for 2 example roundtrip Flights: Nov 1st (outbound) 31st (inbound), Chicago to Miami & also Chicago to Paris.
- I used a New York IP address using a VPN. Please be aware that the location in which you are searching from will in fact have an impact on your price. Be sure to learn more about how your location impacts flight pricing.
- Often the cheapest results are with budget airlines, so be sure to check the price on adding baggage.
- Results will be Price 1 + Price 2 = Total. Total price dictates order.
It took me about 10 hours to organize this post, hopefully you find it valuable.
List of Cheapest Meta Flight Search Engines
(Most expensive first)
17) Hopper
Unfortunately this site ranks the worst. After visiting their website I could not figure out how to even search for a flight. I literally spent about 2 minutes on their site searching for a way to search! This became quite frustrating. I eventually went to Google to search how to search flights on their website. As it turns out, they don’t even allow computer users to search for flights. It is only an app. Sorry, no score. Next!
16) Flight Network
$267.96 + $498.38 = $776.34
CONS: Extremely choppy website. Not many searching options. Not able to see cheaper days to fly in either direction.
15) Booking.com
This just forwardās you directly to Pricelineās website. The prices were the same without any markup.
14) Priceline
$213.37 + $546.92 = $760.29
Note: Priceline owns Kayak, Booking.com, Agoda, & Momondo. Itās strange that the child-companies are significantly cheaper.
13) Vayama
$204.11 + $535.40 = $739.51
CONS: āDomestic tickets may carry a service fee of up to $25.00 USD per ticket. Certain International tickets may carry a fee ranging up to $50.00 USD per ticket.ā Provided only a +/- 3 day window which would search for cheaper flights. Luckily, however, they found a flight that reduced my entire round trip to $86.55 (including the booking fee)! Not joking! Sweet deal! I have also found this sweet deal on many other sites, though I didnāt list it. I am searching for the best deal on a specific day.
12) Hotwire
$223 + $512 = $735
CONS: Couldnāt find any option/graph/chart to see the cheapest date to fly on.
11) Orbitz
$215.13 + $511.88 = $727.01
10) Expedia
$216 $512 = $728
Note: Expedia owns Travelocity, Orbitz, & Hotwire. You can see some of the prices are identical.
9) Travelocity
$216 + $512 = $728
CONS: There is an option to see +/- 3 days in each direction to find a cheaper price, but the price does appear unless you click āsearchā under each individual date – which then opens up in a new tab. Completely pointless.
8) Tripadvisor
$223 + $502 = $725
CONS: Couldnāt find any option/graph/chart to see the cheapest date to fly on.
7) Google Flights
$210 + $507 = $717
6) Skiplagged
$173 + $543 = $716
5) Skyscanner
$223 + $486 = $709
4) Kayak
$209 + $499 = $708
CONS: Couldnāt find any option/graph/chart to see the cheapest date to fly on.
3) Momondo
$209 + $499 = $708
2) Agoda:
$209 + $499 = $708
CONS: Couldnāt find any option/graph/chart to see the cheapest date to fly on.
1) CheapOAir
$109.20 + $536.99 = $646.19
CONS: āBusiness and First Class Airfares Service fees are up to $150 per passenger. Multi-city trips Service fees are up to $100 per passenger. Fusion Fares Service fees are up to $100 per passenger.ā Also, we canāt see cheaper options on other dates. We must search each date individually.
Graph Indicating The Cheapest Travel Search Engine Sites
| POSITION BASED ON OVERALL PRICE | FLIGHT SEARCH ENGINE NAME | DOMESTIC TICKET | INTERNATIONAL TICKET | TOTAL PRICE |
| 1 | CheapOAir | $109.20 | $536.99 | $646.19 |
| 2 | Agoda | $209 | $499 | $708 |
| 3 | Momondo | $209 | $499 | 708 |
| 4 | Kayak | $209 | $499 | $708 |
| 5 | Skyscanner | $223 | $486 | $709 |
| 6 | Skiplagged | $173 | $543 | $716 |
| 7 | Google Flights | $210 | $507 | $717 |
| 8 | Tripadvisor | $223 | $502 | $725 |
| 9 | Travelocity | $216 | $512 | $728 |
| 10 | Expedia | $216 | $512 | $728 |
| 11 | Orbitz | $215.13 | $511.88 | $727.01 |
| 12 | Hotwire | $223 | $512 | $735 |
| 13 | Vayama | $204.11 | $535.40 | $739.51 |
| 14 | Priceline | $213.37 | $546.92 | $760.29 |
| 15 | Booking.com | $213.37 | $546.92 | $760.29 |
| 16 | Flight Network | $267.96 | $498.38 | $776.34 |
| 17 | Hopper | App only. N/A | App only. N/A | App only. N/A |
Final Thoughts on the āBestā (Cheapest) Flight Search Engines
Just because CheapOAir ranked as number one, does not necessarily mean that they are always going to be the best search engine for purchasing cheap flights. They were the best for this particular day/time/flight.
If I did a few more test flight searches, the order of the flight companies would change (probably slightly). But I do think the the companies which had rather large prices, will remain in that position without much change.
Keep in mind, every airline has contracts with each flight meta search engine. There are different prices that are offered along with different commissions that are offered – and also different algorithms for users in different locations. Behind the scenes, I can only assume that these things are changing quarterly – which would obviously have an impact on pricing.
I also believe that the large websites, such as Priceline or booking.com, have higher prices because they have large affiliate programs built in to their business model as well. In order to make sure that everybody gets paid a fair amount, their prices must be higher than their competition. They rely on people who have used them for many years to simply return again without checking the competition first. People are committed to their brand.
Recommendations When Purchasing a Plane Ticket (Cheap or Not)
There’s no doubt in my mind that prices fluctuate (due to many factors). On top of that, you can also see that it is sometimes cheaper to purchase domestic flights on one website and more expensive to purchase international flights on that same website. Each website know’s their own PROS & CONS, I’m sure.
However, it’s your best bet to search each of the top five websites listed on the chart. Simply don’t rely on one. Each website is specifically relying on you not leaving their website. In addition, they hope that you purchase one flight from them and then in the future, you simply use them again without searching around. Don’t be that person. Do your homework. Do multiple searches. Find the best deal!
You need to also be aware of a couple important tools that can be used to find mistake fares. If you are tired of searching for the cheapest flight, then let these companies do it for you!