9 Best Flight Search Sites for Booking Cheap Airfare

There are tons of booking sites available to you to check for the best flights.  Have you ever wondered which sites are the best ones?  You’re not alone.  In addition to booking directly with the airlines there seems to be endless options of flight-booking websites known as online travel agencies (OTAs) that are available, making it more difficult to determine which one to choose.  The truth is, and you need to remember that no one flight search engine can guarantee the best price 100% of the time.   You may have to use a mix of the right resources that can help you ensure you end up not overpaying.

When you look through the different OTAs, make note that Southwest fares are not available to purchase from these sites.  Some other airlines have pulled their fares from some OTAs, but most airlines make their fares available.

Below are the 9 sites on our list that are the best flight booking sites.  Since it is impossible to know for sure which site will provide the best price for your particular trip, you should always compare fares before you book.

Travelocity

Expedia owns Travelocity therefore you’ll find that Travelocity will basically give you Expedia price results with just a different website look.  Although, you’ll find that the Travelocity homepage to be more streamlined, you will notice that it does not offer a flexible date search option.

Travelocity rates each flight itinerary with a score on a scale of 10 taking into account the duration of flights, type of aircraft and quality of amenities on board.  When trying to compare prices, remember to scroll a bit to find any bag fees that you need to account for in determining the total price.  Travelocity does not charge a booking fee for round-trip flights on the same airline.

Best Feature:  Because of the scale of 10 rating feature, you are less like to make a mistake in booking a flight that has a long lay-over or miss on a better itinerary when you pay attention to the Travelocity score.

Expedia

Expedia is nearly identical to Travelocity just a different color scheme.  As with Travelocity and other OTAs, Expedia will try to upsell you on adding a hotel to your itinerary.  Their goal in doing this is to show that you can save money but be sure to always compare process before you book. Like Travelocity, Expedia does not charge a booking fee on a round-trip fare with the same airline.  To make sure you are able to really see and understand the fare before you book, Expedia will display what is covered and not in the fare, including seat selection, cancellations, changes and baggage rules.

Best Feature:  Like Travelocity, Expedia basically double-checks that you understand what the fare is before you hit “Select”.

TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor is Smart Travel’s parent company.  Trip Advisor is known for its hotel reviews. Today, travelers are able to apply their ratings to airlines in addition to hotels and can also search for airfare on the site.  TripAdvisor does not always offer the cheapest fares but sometimes they do.  The site also gives you the option to show Expedia, Travelocity and other flight booking sites which makes it easier to compare fares in one click.  TripAdvsor also provides helpful search options up-front like a check box for prioritizing nonstop flights

Best Feature:  Unique to TripAdvisor is their review-based FlyScores of airlines alongside their fares.  This makes you less likely to book with an unknown, low-rated airline without realizing it.

BookIt.com

Results from BookIt.com are listed in a handy chart versus the typical scrolling list.  It will show the lowest prices group for non-stop, one-stop and two-stop flights for a few primary carriers including the best price clearly marked.  BookIt.com charges a booking fee but it is difficult to find information and know exactly how much it charges, The vague language on booking fees under the site’s terms and conditions does not help explain the booking fees.

Best Feature:  The table style results charts on BookIt.com makes it easy to compare prices in one place versus scrolling and mentally comparing itineraries.

CheapOair

CheapOair and One Travel are versions of the same product owned by Fareportal Inc.  CheapOair and One Travel charge a booking fee of up to $35 per ticket.   The results of these two sites are identical but CheapOair’s layout is a chart rather than One Travel’s calendar layout.

Best Feature: Prioritizes nonstop prices over itineraries with stops, organized in easy to read charts by airline.

One Travel

One Travel borrows its interface from Google Flights which uses a calendar search feature.  Once you enter your departure and destination airports, the date fields bring up a calendar with the prices already pre-populated.  This is a helpful feature when your dates are flexible making you see the best prices depending on the dates.

One Travel charges a service fee of up to $35 per ticket.  Another drawback is that it offers different itineraries than most at the top of its results page.  If you don’t pay attention you may book highlighted itineraries that upon closer inspection may include an extra stop.  Make sure that you are comparing the same exact flights by looking at the flight number.

Best Feature:  If you are flexible on travel dates, One Travel’s calendar organization, not on most booking sites, is the ideal format.

Travelzoo

If you are on a budget and have to travel in a specific timeframe but have no firm idea of when and where you want to go, then Travelzoo is the one for you.  With Travelzoo you can search broad timelines instead of booking specific itineraries.  If you have specific plans in mind then Travelzoo is not likely to be helpful.

Best Feature:  Travelzoo’s flexibility requirement can afford great deals you won’t find anywhere, like cheap business class flights and mufti-city itineraries.

Google Flights

Like One Travel, Google Flights shows a calendar pre-populated with prices once you enter your departure and arrival airports.  You can target the dates with lower fares.  Once you have your results from your search, you are able to track fares on your selected dates and receive updates by email.

Best Feature:  The “search by map” function which allows you to enter dates or a flexible period and see the fare displayed all at once on a map is Google Flight’s best feature.  This will helpful if for instance you want to go to Europe during a particular month but don’t have a particular destination in mind.

Kayak

Kayak was a game-changer when it launched.  To date it is still one of the most powerful metasearch tools available.   Kayak is often imitated and frequently duplicated but unlike Google Flights, Kayak shows a ton of ads on their site but it is still easy to use.

Best Feature: Kayak’s Hacker Fares claim to piece together separate one-way tickets that potentially save you money compared to similar itineraries.  The site also offers a wide range of filters, sorting options and predictive technologies.