The 13 Best Websites for Booking Flights at the Cheapest Prices

Here you will Discover TWO things:

1. The most well-known sites to get cheap prices on travel.

2. You will learn how to access an unadvertised site that offers even deeper travel discounts than the sites listed below.

If you want immediate access to the deep discount site, you are welcome to scroll down and get access.

So let’s get started…

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 3rd party to get it resolved.

Another reason to book directly through an airline’s website is to use 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.

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 I love about this site is the super visual way they show 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. They also offer a price tracker and lots of filtering options on the left-hand side of the screen.

You can quickly see how the prices for your travel dates compare to others. You can often save some money if you have a bit of flexibility.

They also offer Mix and Match fares which are simply 2 one way tickets from different providers packaged together to get you the best deal. However, unlike other sites, to book these types of tickets you do have to go to 2 separate websites to book.

Pros and Cons of Momondo

Pros: Great price tracking tools

Cons: Mix and Match fares require you to make 2 separate reservations. This is usually handled “behind the scenes” on other websites.

2. Kayak

Kayak is not an OTA; it’s a travel search engine. And since it’s a search engine, it’s a great place to start.

Kayak compares prices from many different websites all in a single spot so you can easily see where the cheapest options are. Most of the time, you’ll end up clicking through to a different site to complete your booking.

Kayak hacker fares are a great way to save money on your flight. These are itineraries created by bundling 2 one-way tickets (usually on different airlines) instead of a round-trip on 1 airline. These can be pretty good deals, and something that doesn’t always appear in search results of other websites.

Pros and Cons of Kayak

Pros: Kayak hacker fares Price tracker to keep an eye on flight prices

Cons: Kayak offers the most benefit when your travel plans are very flexible. Many of their most valuable tools help you search for deals, so this site might be less appealing when you have a specific flight in mind.

3. Expedia

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 do they stack up now?

I searched for a round-trip flight from Columbus (CMH) to Minneapolis (MSP) on Expedia, United’s website, Orbitz, and Priceline. All were the same price except for Orbitz, which charged a small booking fee.

As far as price goes, you aren’t necessarily getting a deal booking through Expedia, but you aren’t paying any more than you might on the airline’s website.

Expedia offers a rewards program, but I’m unimpressed with the earning potential through flights. The rewards program offers more benefits when booking hotels.

While you can earn miles on a flight booked through Expedia, you often won’t be able to earn miles toward status. You also might not be eligible for seat upgrades.

Expedia offers a rewards program, but the earning potential through flights isn’t great.
Pros: Expedia Rewards (although Expedia rewards have far better earning potential on hotels, cars, packages, activities, and cruises)

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 on Expedia, check out our dedicated article: 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 out there.

Testing for a couple of different flights revealed all were the same price across the board on other OTAs and on the airline’s own website.

Keep in mind, this isn’t always the case, but generally, the price you get on Priceline will be in the ballpark of the flight cost on other websites.

Pros and Cons of Priceline

Pros: Express Deal flights. These 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. Price Match Guarantee Free online cancellation within 24 hours of booking (except for Express Deal flights)

Cons: Priceline doesn’t offer the ability to search for flexible dates.

Even having a day or 2 of flexibility can save you money. Express Deal flights. While these can be good deals, they aren’t always.

Sometimes, it’s worth a little extra to know exactly what you’re getting. Priceline’s Express Deal flights can save you money…if you have some flexibility!

5. Orbitz

Orbitz is another reliable OTA that has been around since 2001. One thing that makes this site a little different is they offer their 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. 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.

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: Orbitz often charges a booking fee. Look out for the fee on your trip summary page before finalizing your purchase. Keep an eye out for the booking fees Orbitz sometimes charges. Image Credit: 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.

If you’re looking for unique accommodations such as an apartment or private villa, Agoda is worth checking out, but they don’t offer much when searching for flights.

One cool thing about Agoda is the site is multilingual. You can select your language by clicking on the flag in the top menu bar.

You can easily change the language on Agoda by clicking on the flag icon in the top menu bar.

Pros: Free cancellation within 24 hours of booking Simple search functionality Multilingual option

Cons: Limited filtering options for flights

7. Hotwire

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. You will need to click on the third tab in the main search box to access the flight search.

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.

I tested it, and every time I priced out a Hotwire vacation package deal against purchasing a flight and hotel separately, the package deal won.

Bottom Line: If you need a hotel in addition to your flight, booking both together through Hotwire can save you hundreds of dollars.

When searching for your flight, you might come across a Hot Rate flight. These are flights in which the exact times, number of stops, and carriers are hidden until after your purchase is complete.

These require a fairly large amount of flexibility and I found the price difference to be as little as $20. They can sometimes offer a great deal, but many times, there isn’t much savings.

Hotwire can save you money when you book a hotel and flight together.
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. Hot Rate flights don’t always offer huge savings.

8. Skyscanner

Skyscanner is another travel search engine that does not sell flights directly.

They show you a list of flights and links to the airline’s website or OTA to complete the purchase.

Skyscanner excels for travelers with flexibility.

In their search box, you can select Everywhere to search for the cheapest destinations on your chosen dates.

If you have a set destination with specific dates, Skyscanner operates like most other travel search sites.

Pros and Cons of Skyscanner

Pros: Flexible searches Easy to change language and currency Price alerts

Cons: There isn’t much that makes this site unique. All of the features offered are available on other sites.

9. Travelocity

Travelocity is yet another OTA that has been around for a while. They offer many of the same benefits as other sites like the Price Match Guarantee and free cancellation within 24 hours.

Under the Price Match Guarantee, in addition to refunding the difference in price, Travelocity offers a $50 coupon to use on a future booking of a Travelocity Rate hotel or air and hotel package.

This guarantee comes with the usual terms: the lower price must be on an identical reservation from a U.S.-based website within 24 hours of your booking.

Travelocity Bargain Fares are opaque bookings, meaning you won’t know all the details of your flight until after your purchase is complete.

These flights are featured at the top of your search results and can offer savings if you have flexibility in your schedule.

Travelocity Bargain Fares can save you money as long as you don’t mind not knowing your flight details until after your purchase is complete.

Pros: Price Guarantee. If you find a lower price on an identical itinerary within 24 hours, Travelocity will refund the difference in price plus give you a $50 credit to use on a future booking. Travelocity Bargain Fares Free cancellation on flights within 24 hours of booking (on most airlines)

Cons: Travelocity sometimes charges a booking fee.

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.

Google Flights shows you price trends and how your date of travel 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 Flight’s price graph allows you to see price trends so you can choose the best time to fly!

Pros: 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. Lots of filtering options so you can customize your search.

Cons: Since this search engine is so powerful with lots of options, it could get complicated for a novice traveler.

11. CheapOair

CheapOair is an OTA that offers its own credit card. The CheapOair credit card offers a $50 rebate if you make $500 in purchases in the first 90 days with no annual fee.

CheapOair can have expensive booking fees. For a coach ticket, the fees can be up to $35. However, once you read the fine print, you’ll see they can actually be as high as $100!

On a flight from Boston to New York, the base price on CheapOair was a couple of dollars cheaper than the airline’s website, but once the fees and taxes were added in, the flight was $16 more! This price even included their CheapOpick! Special Offer discount.

I did several searches for both domestic and international routes, and most of the time, CheapOair was more expensive. Once, they offered the same price as the airline’s website, but they were never cheaper.

You might be thinking you are getting a deal with the CheapOpick! Special Offer, but the hefty fees make this booking more expensive than booking direct.

Hot Tip: CheapOair might not be cheap after all. They advertise low base fares, but they charge booking fees which usually result in a higher price than the airline’s website!

Pros and Cons of CheapOair

Pros: The CheapOair credit card offers a $50 rebate after $500 in purchases in 90 days.

Cons: CheapOair charges hefty booking fees. Price Match Promise is very limited. The guarantee is only good for identical flights on Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, and Travelocity.

12. Hopper

Hopper is an app that tries to predict the right time to buy a flight.

They claim using their 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.

Hopper offers a great visual calendar to quickly search for the cheapest days to fly to a particular destination.

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

13. Flight Network

Flight Network is a Canadian-based OTA. They offer Price Drop Protection, which means if Flight Network advertises a lower price on your flight, you can receive the difference in price to put towards another booking.

Pros and Cons of Flight Network

Pros: The Price Drop Protection allows you to receive the price difference toward another booking.

Cons: The Price Drop Protection is not as inclusive as some other sites’ guarantees

A Final Thoughts And A BIG SECRET

FINAL THOUGHT:
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.

Opaque bookings tend to offer the best deals, but require a certain level of flexibility. If you don’t mind not knowing your flight times or even your airline, that could be the way to go to save the most money.

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.

THE BIG SECRET:
Most travelers are unaware that there are secret sites that are not advertised to the general public but they definitely exist and they offer even deeper travel discounts. For access to the even deeper discounts click the box below.