Kayak
Flight/hotel/car metasearch with strong price alerts.
What Kayak is
Kayak is a travel metasearch app that compares flights, hotels, and rental cars across many booking sites at once, so you can scan a wide range of options in a single search. Travelers use it to gauge fair prices, set alerts, and find the cheapest or most convenient itineraries before booking. It typically directs you to the airline or agency to complete the purchase rather than selling directly.
What it does for travelers
- ✓Metasearch across airlines, hotels, and car-rental providers in one query
- ✓Price alerts that notify you when fares change for tracked routes
- ✓Flexible-date and nearby-airport searches to find cheaper options
- ✓Trip-management tools that organize confirmations in one place
- ✓Filters for stops, airlines, cabin, and amenities
Good to know
- As a metasearch tool, it usually hands you off to a third party to book, so support and change policies come from that provider.
- The app is free; an account is optional but enables saved searches and synced trips.
- Displayed prices can shift between search and checkout on the partner site.
- Searching requires a data connection; there's no offline fare lookup.
Tips from the road
- Set price alerts for your route well ahead of time so you can book when fares dip rather than guessing.
- Use flexible-date and nearby-airport options to surface significantly cheaper itineraries.
- Confirm the final price, baggage rules, and change policy on the booking partner's site before paying, since terms are set by them.
- Cross-check a promising fare directly on the airline's own site, which sometimes matches or beats the metasearch result with better support.
When to reach for it
Use Kayak when you want to compare prices broadly across many flight, hotel, or car-rental sources at once and track fares over time before committing.
Kayak — frequently asked
Does Kayak sell tickets directly?
Usually no. It compares prices and then sends you to the airline or agency to book, so your booking relationship is with that provider.
Are the prices on Kayak guaranteed?
Not always; fares can change between the search and the partner's checkout. Confirm the final price and fees before paying.
How do price alerts work?
You can track a route or trip and get notified when prices change, helping you book when fares drop.