Let’s face it, trying to find a good deal on airfare can be intimidating!
There are so many sites to look at – from airline sites, to online travel agencies, to third party comparison services. Ultimately, you’re left wondering if you're getting the best price. And that's not a good feeling.
The best place to start is always with comparison websites that don’t actually let you book directly. This is because not only do they have access to the same inventory as the others, but they also partner with a wide array of online travel agencies to ensure you get the absolute lowest price.
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In fact, most sites should have very similar prices and inventory because they all use a small shared set of backend systems. Therefore, the biggest savings come when you either find an interesting booking that is a mish-mash of multiple airlines or one of the online travel agencies decides to get aggressive on their pricing and pass on some of their usual profit to you.
Here's a quick peek of our results
| Site | Trip 1 (St. John – Vancouver) |
Trip 2 (Toronto – Sydney) |
Trip 3 (Calgary – Paris) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Momondo | $798 | $1,820 | $973 |
| Cheapflights | $798 | $1,821 | $992 |
| Kayak | $798 | $1,821 | $994 |
| Google Flights | $702 | $2,093 | $935 |
| Skiplagged | $701 | $1,608 | $933 |
| Farecompare | $889 | $1,721 | $971 |
| Skyscanner | $822 | $1,907 | $1,191 |
| Expedia | $1,367 | $1,599 | $1,199 |
Top Airfare Comparison Websites
1) momondo
Big Advantages:
- Always had some of the lowest prices in my tests.
- Awesome bar that shows estimated prices by date, so you can quickly find nearby dates with better prices.
- Quickly sort by Cheapest, Quickest, and Best (value), which are all very common things people are looking for with flights.
- Very nice looking flight details popup that is easy to read and digest.
- Consistently returns more search results than most other sites.
- Can choose flights by Airline Alliance if you're looking to earn rewards in a particular frequent flyer program.
- Nearby airports listed in filters and checkbox to show nearby airports directly in search results.
- Search form stays visible while you scroll through results.
- Filters prominently displayed so you can easily find the flight you want.
- Can make your choice of connecting airports in the filters.
Not So Good:
- Uses some online travel agencies that have weird restrictions for getting the advertised fare (like having to pay in an obscure way).
Prices:
- Saint John (YSJ) to Vancouver (YVR): $798
- Toronto (YYZ) to Sydney (SYD): $1,820
- Calgary (YYC) to Paris (CDG): $978
2) Cheapflights
Big Advantages:
- Always had some of the lowest prices in my tests.
- Easy-to-use date selection calendar.
- Displays the legroom and other information directly in the flight details.
- Big list of alternative suppliers so you can choose where you want to book.
- Quickly sort by cheapest, quickest, take-off times, and landing times, which are all very common things people are looking for with flights.
- Very nice looking flight details popup that is easy to read and digest.
- Nearby airports listed in filters.
- Ability to search by Alliance if you're looking for specific reward programs.
- "Our Advice" section tells you if they think prices will fall soon.
Not So Good:
- Filters are set through a popup instead of directly on the search results page.
Prices:
- Saint John (YSJ) to Vancouver (YVR): $798
- Toronto (YYZ) to Sydney (SYD): $1,821
- Calgary (YYC) to Paris (CDG): $994
3) KAYAK
Big Advantages:
- Competitive prices, but not always the lowest.
- "Fee Assistant" which lest you filter by the number of allowed bags.
- Nearby airports listed in filters and checkbox to show nearby airports directly in search results.
- Flight details include airplane type which can be of use for frequent travellers who want to target a specific plane.
- Flight details can be displayed inline in the search results, which can be a blessing and a curse.
- Can filter out long or inconvenient layovers and certain types of aircraft in advanced search filters.
- "Our Advice" section tells you if they think prices will fall soon.
Not So Good:
- Sometimes had out of date prices.
- Lots of sort options but not very prominently displayed.
- Automatically sorted by "Recommended" instead of "Cheapest."
Prices:
- Saint John (YSJ) to Vancouver (YVR): $798
- Toronto (YYZ) to Sydney (SYD): $1,821
- Calgary (YYC) to Paris (CDG): $994
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4) Google Flights
Big Advantages:
- Amazing flight map that shows prices to any destination you might be interested in. Great for those traveling for vacation and that are open to different destinations.
- Lots of flight information displayed in flight details like propeller plane warnings, in-seat power options, Wi-Fi availability, and video entertainment options.
- Great set of filters that lets you choose Airline Alliances and Connecting Airports in addition to the usual Stops and Times.
- Very simple interface that is easy to use.
- Fastest search by far.
- Can show results in a variety of different ways, including list, date grid, and price graph.
- Shows if the current prices are more expensive than usual, cheaper than usual, or typical.
Not So Good:
- Prices often seem to be either out of date or a little bit higher than other sites because of lack of partners.
- Sometimes they ask you to book directly with the airline by calling them, meaning you can’t book the fare online.
- No apps at all.
- Doesn't display the amount of results it found.
Prices:
- Saint John (YSJ) to Vancouver (YVR): $922
- Toronto (YYZ) to Sydney (SYD): $1973
- Calgary (YYC) to Paris (CDG): $1422
5) skiplagged
Big Advantages:
- Awesome line graph that shows flight prices 3 months into the future for the same itinerary you’ve chosen.
- Creative routings that can both save you money or increase your reward miles earned in exchange for more connections and longer travel times.
- Easy option to sort by Cost, Duration, and number of Legs.
- Flight prices update on the fly as you adjust routes and dates.
- Visual representation of your trip and its various layovers.
- Can filter by layover city.
Not So Good:
- No choice to see prices from nearby airports.
- Just redirected me to Priceline when it was time to book, but didn’t search for the flight automatically. It didn’t even have flights selected by default when I arrived there.
- Often have to book departing and return flights separately which is really clunky.
- Cheapest priced tickets are usually incredibly inefficient lengthy routes with extra stopovers. That would be ok, but often the prices are still higher than other sites.
- Long transfer time to airline site.
- Doesn't display how many results it found.
Prices:
- Saint John (YSJ) to Vancouver (YVR): $701
- Toronto (YYZ) to Sydney (SYD): $1,608
- Calgary (YYC) to Paris (CDG): $933
6) farecompare
Big Advantages:
- Competitive prices.
- Can make your choice of connecting airports in the filters.
- Ability to group flights by Price, Stops, Airline, and Departure Time.
- Displays cheapest price by airline.
- Ability to see alternate dates and airports directly in search.
Not So Good:
- Confusing user interface.
- Automatically included nearby airports and dates, giving confusing results.
- Prices in USD by default.
Prices:
- Saint John (YSJ) to Vancouver (YVR): $889
- Toronto (YYZ) to Sydney (SYD): $1,721
- Calgary (YYC) to Paris (CDG): $971
7) skyscanner
Big Advantages:
- Ability to change dates forward or backward at the click of a button.
- Filters prominently displayed so you can easily find the flight you want.
- Add nearby airports to departing or return flights using checkboxes.
- Dropdown to sort by Price, Trip Time, Departure Time, Stopovers, and Airline.
- Quick list of recent searches for easy retrieval.
Not So Good:
- User interface is starting to show its age but still really good.
- Sometimes had out of date prices.
Prices:
- Saint John (YSJ) to Vancouver (YVR): $882
- Toronto (YYZ) to Sydney (SYD): $1,907
- Calgary (YYC) to Paris (CDG): $1,191
8) Expedia
Expedia is being included here for comparison's sake due to its popularity. They are an online travel agency and therefore aren’t willing to display prices from other agencies. Their site does have an impressive set of options and competitive prices but you won’t typically find the best fare here.
Prices:
- Saint John (YSJ) to Vancouver (YVR): $1,367
- Toronto (YYZ) to Sydney (SYD): $1,599
- Calgary (YYC) to Paris (CDG): $1,199
How Ranking Were Determined
Price was the most important factor in determining the rankings. If prices were nearly identical, then I also considered the accuracy of prices listed along with ease of use and number of useful features each site had.
Momondo really won in a landslide on all accounts because they always had the lowest accurate prices and their feature and usability are unmatched by their competitors.
Where Do You Search?
What is your go to place for finding your next airfare? Which one of these websites do you like best?
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Comments
For sure - that's a great site. Those are for special sales and deals - this article is geared towards finding the best price on a particular day/time/route.
I've used Priceline extensively for booking hotels but not so much for flights. Booking a flight is more complicated and important than booking a hotel, so I'm more hesitant to use the Name Your Own Price service for flights although I am interested in trying it sometime.
From what I've read, discounts aren't nearly as high on flights booked this way and it may not be worth the added restrictions to do it. Let me know if you try it and how you make out.