Both Kayak and Google Flights are powerful metasearch engines for finding flights, hotels, and rental cars. Google Flights stands out for its price accuracy and speed, while Kayak offers a feature-rich mobile app and more comprehensive search filters. The choice depends on user priorities: accuracy and speed versus mobile accessibility and filter options.
| Attribute | Kayak | Google Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Kayak | Google Flights |
| Specs | Kayak is a metasearch engine that pulls data from hundreds of travel sites, including airlines and third-party agencies, to display prices. It offers comprehensive search filters to refine flight options, including the number of stops, specific airlines, flight duration, departure and arrival times, and cabin class. Other filters include options for pet-friendly hotels or rental cars with specific features. Kayak delivers search results quickly and includes budget airlines in its search results. It has a price alert feature that notifies you of price changes for specific flights or hotels via email or push notifications. Kayak offers exploration tools like Kayak Explore, where you can enter your departure city and search for the cheapest fares to a variety of destinations. Kayak redirects you to the provider's website (airline, hotel, or third-party agency) to complete the booking. Kayak integrates hotel and car rental search features with flight search functionality. Kayak has a mobile app with features like PriceCheck, mobile-only hotel rates, flight tracker, and offline access to itineraries. Kayak provides customer support, but for booking changes or issues, you'll need to contact the rental company directly. | Price comparison accuracy: 97% accuracy rate for flight schedules and fares, prices within 1% of airline website prices 94% of the time. Breadth of search filters: Filters for airlines, number of stops, flight duration, and price range. Ease of use: User-friendly basic searching features and advanced options. Speed of search results: Incredibly fast. Inclusion of budget airlines: Includes Southwest Airlines flights. Price alert feature: Sends email updates for tracked flights. Exploration tools: Explore tool for worldwide deals. Direct booking options: Redirects to airline's website or online travel agency. Hotel and car rental search integration: Includes things to do, hotels, and vacation rentals. Mobile app: Not available. Customer support responsiveness: Contact through website. Transparency of fees: Gathers flight information from various airlines and booking platforms. |
| Price | Not available | Not available |
| Overall Rating | Generally considered user-friendly with intuitive interfaces. | Not available |
| Search Result Speed | Known for its fast search results, delivering options in milliseconds. | Incredibly fast. |
| Price Alert Effectiveness | Generally effective in notifying users of price changes, with short-term airfare predictions being reasonably accurate. | Not available |
| Pros | Comprehensive search filters, User-friendly website and app, Fast search results, Inclusion of budget airlines, Price alert feature, Helpful exploration tools, Hotel and car rental search integration, Feature-rich mobile app | Accurate price comparison, Comprehensive search filters, User-friendly interface, Fast search results, Includes budget airlines, Price alert feature, Exploration tools, Hotel and car rental search integration |
| Cons | Price accuracy not guaranteed, Potential hidden fees from third-party sites, Customer support for booking changes handled by provider | No direct booking options, No mobile app, Customer support only through website, Potential hidden fees from airlines or booking platforms, Flight data is updated once every 24 hours |
| User Feedback - Positive | User-friendly interface, Fast search results, Comprehensive search filters, Helpful exploration tools, Effective price alerts, Reliable mobile app | Accurate tool for finding up-to-date flight information, Offers many filters to find the perfect cheap airfare, User-friendly basic searching features, Amazingly powerful flight search engine, Incredibly fast search results, Useful for finding deals worldwide |
| User Feedback - Negative | Price accuracy issues, Hidden fees from third-party agencies, Customer support limitations | No customer service phone number, No mobile app |
| User Feedback - Value | Helps find affordable destinations, Provides price change notifications, Integrates hotel and car rental search, Offers mobile-only hotel rates | Helps find the best possible fares, Helps find affordable destinations |
| User Feedback - Quotes | Prices displayed may not always match the final booking price., Hidden fees or costs can occur, especially with third-party bookings., Kayak is generally considered user-friendly, with a clean design and intuitive navigation. | Google Flights is an amazingly powerful flight search engine, and the best part is that it's easy to use., The speed at which results are provided is just incredible. |