There are many cheap travel sites out there so how do you know which one is the best? Well the short answer is there is no one site perfect for everyone. We recommend using a few different sites to compare and search for the best cheap flights. We have provided a list of our favorite and best cheap flight search engines. We call this list “Travel Search Engines You Should Know About”.
- Adioso
Adioso is a new kind of travel search and booking app. It’s the world’s first travel search app that’s build to work the way travel-loving humans think about travel. We’ve long known that you don’t always know exactly what dates they want to travel, or even exactly where they want to go. So we let you ask questions that match the way you think, like:“ Southeast Asia in late January for 10 to 15 days ”
“ Western Europe in March for 3 weeks ”
“ Vegas any Friday returning 2 to 3 days later ” - Routehappy
Routehappy has created the definitive, unbiased rating system, by cabin, for every flight worldwide. Routehappy Scores are comprised of aspects of the flight experience that flyers care about most, including aircraft, seat, amenities, trip duration, and ratings. We continuously research and validate fragmented data from hundreds of sources to maintain this single authoritative measure of flight quality.
Routehappy provides comprehensive data within and across basic Happiness Factors, including sentiment to make it easy for flyers to understand key differences between flights.
Hopper
Hopper is undoubtably about to change the way we travel. They provide detailed reports of airfare ticket prices and give you the averages and lowest prices over the past 6 months. Definitely run your travel plans through this site, as they are on the cutting edge of technology for savvy travelers. Sign up for price alerts or just do a search to see the insanely low fares that OTHER travelers have been getting so you can know what you should be paying.
Tips on the best time to shop, buy and fly. It’s fast, easy to use and totally free. Never overpay for your tickets again. Know what a good deal is for your route before you even start shopping. Date flexibility is the best way to save big. Compare every departure date in seconds. Airlines are changing prices all the time. We tell you the best time to book and watch prices so you don’t miss a deal.We are the experts in student and youth travel. We’ve been wandering around the world getting the weird, wild and wonderful under our money belts since 1979, and we’re still exploring, still learning and still impossibly loved up with the world. Our customers want adventure travel and we’ve got the knowledge, experience and partners to help you create unique and personal experiences. Stop wondering and start wandering. Stay barefoot and happy. Start the Adventure…
One big advantage of travelling with STA Travel are our legendary airfares. Our unique airline partnerships offer the lowest fares around and allow you to change your plans without bursting your money belt and with exclusive fares for students and youths, we’re the go to for student travel!
But that’s not all. As well as cheap flights, we offer real value with the flexibility and features that our travelers want.
- fly.com
Fly.com is an airfare search engine that makes looking for airfares both quick and easy. When you use Fly.com, the site searches hundreds of airline and major travel sites for real-time fares, and then presents the results in a simple, clean and easy-to-understand format. We even include taxes in the fare prices so you can quickly see the total cost.Fly.com searches major domestic and international airlines, including low cost airlines, and even online travel agencies and airfare consolidators. From companies like Travelocity to JetBlue to many lesser-known discount sellers in between we want to make sure you find the best deal.
But we are not a booking engine. We help you decide which flights are right for you, and show you where to book. When you find the right flight simply click on the “select” link to be taken directly to the supplier’s Web site.
Finally, if it isn’t obvious, we don’t force you to sign in to our site, and we don’t charge you for our service. We make our money from our partners and advertisers.
- Airfare Watchdog
The fares we list on this site:
- Have suddenly gone down (overnight or during the day)
- Are lower than their historical average
- Are usually offered by just one or two airlines serving the route
- Are in our opinion a good deal when taking into account the route, fare restrictions, time of year, or other factors
- Have at least a few seats available at the sale price
(we check “by hand”). - Are often unadvertised and short-lived
- Kayak
We’ve written about Kayak before with their amazing Kayak Explore feature. This is a great way to satisfy some of that wanderlust and help you find amazing locations in YOUR budget.We’re a tech company focused on making online travel better. Compare hundreds of travel sites at once. Choose where to book. Our website and mobile app enable you to easily compare hundreds of travel sites with one search. Once you find what you want, we let you choose where to book (most travel sites do not).
- Matrix Airfare Search
Matrix showcases some of the freshest travel search ideas from ITA Software. Version 3.0 has been completely rebuilt to run on Google technology. Let us know what you think.
- Cost per mile filter
- Geo Search – search by airport code, city, or nearby airport
- Interactive Calendar – explore date ranges and lowest fares
- Real-time Filters – focus on flights that suit your preferences
- Color-coded Time Bars – compare flights at a glance
- Skyscanner
- Skyscanner is a leading global travel search site, providing instant online comparisons for millions of flights on over a thousand airlines, as well as car hire and hotels.
- Skyscanner’s flexible search options mean you can browse prices across a whole month, or even a year, allowing you to get the best deals. You always book direct with the airline or travel agent, so you get the lowest price, with no extra fees added.
- We’ve been in the travel business for 10 years, and we employ more than 30 different nationalities from our global offices in the UK, Singapore, Beijing, Shenzhen, Miami and Barcelona. We have over 60 million visitors every month who use us to find flights in more than 30 different languages – we hope we can help you find yours too!
- Hipmunk
Founded in 2010 and based in San Francisco, CA, Hipmunk offers customers the fastest, easiest way to plan travel. The site and mobile apps save you time by comparing top travel sites so you don’t have to. The unique display makes it easy to visually compare results and choose what’s best for you. Hipmunk offers the most comprehensive travel search, bringing in travel options ranging from commercial flights to trains to charter flights and accommodations ranging from large hotels to home and apartments rentals through Airbnb and Homeaway.
- Skiplagged
Skiplagged is currently in the news because of a lawsuit from United Airlines (though it looks like a judge just threw it out). This new company is striving to be THE major player in crafty ways to get some cheap travel options. They utilize layover options to help travelers get cheaper airfare by utilizing the layover (rather than using the entire ticket).
- Fare Compare
FareCompare is a travel meta-search engine that helps you find the best and cheapest prices for your next trip.
Our mission is to enable you to plan and shop for the best fares on your next flight.
We provide you the best advice derived from the analysis of historic and recent travel data. Our team of travel experts curates the best deals on flights from around the world, focusing on getting you the best fare deal.
- QFly
This is the European version of Kayak Explore. They offer a nice interactive map to show you where you can fly to based on your budget.- Searches 3.3 million cheap flights.
- Compares all low-cost airlines in Europe.
- Finds where you can go for €…
- All-in prices: all charges — even payment handling fees — are included in the prices we show.
More about Qfly »
- momondo
In 2006 a small group of skilled and dedicated Danish developers united around a mission: to open the world. Challenging the dogmas of the flight industry, they created momondo: a free, independent online flight search offering full price transparency across the market. Putting their highly specialized skill within coding, robot building and programming to work, they provided people with an un-manipulated listing of all flight prices in the entire world – and made it available to everybody.
- Dohop
Dohop is a search engine for flights and has a great section on their site with a huge list of low-cost airline companies.
- Student Universe
StudentUniverse is the world’s leading travel booking site offering exclusive discounts for students and youth.
For students looking to travel the world, we offer our members special rates on flights, hotels and tours, allowing students to travel more and spend less. Our unique pricing and terms are negotiated specifically for this demographic through contracts with dozens of world-class partners and more than 70 airlines. Membership is free. We are on a mission to make global experiences possible. We believe that travel is essential to a modern education and that students return enlightened and inspired. Millions of students use our service every year.
StudentUniverse launched in 2000. Our headquarters are in Boston and we have offices in London, Toronto, New York and the Philippines.
- google.com/flights
And of course, last but not least: Google Flights
Getting the best deal on your airfare isn’t hard. We often use many of the above sites to try and find the best deal on airfare. We try not to rely on just one website. Utilizing many of these travel search engines for cheap airfare is a great way to ensure you aren’t buying your tickets at the worst time. We believe this list is ever changing, but we will keep our blog updates with all of our travel tips and tricks. These are definitely Travel Search Engines You Should Know About!