Cheapflights
Cheapflights is a global travel metasearch platform that lets consumers compare flight, hotel, and car rental offers from 300+ partner providers side by side. It earns revenue through affiliate commissions and serves millions of budget-conscious individual travelers worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Cheapflights does
Cheapflights is a global travel metasearch and comparison platform that enables consumers to search and compare flight, hotel, and car rental offers from over 300 partner travel providers. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in London, the company operates as a privately held subsidiary of UK-based Momondo Group Limited through the US corporate entity Cheapflights Media (USA) Inc. The platform serves budget-conscious individual travelers, families, solo travelers, and business travelers across North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, the Middle East, and the South Pacific, with localized destination and route pages covering 16+ countries.
The core product is a self-serve web-based comparison platform anchored by a 'Compare To' feature that lets users place up to four selected providers side by side in a consolidated view. Underlying the platform are advanced search algorithms that evaluate millions of flights against user-defined criteria spanning price, travel time, and airline amenities, and personalized recommendation logic tailored to user preferences. The platform does not sell tickets directly; instead, it refers bookings to partner OTAs, airlines, and consolidators including Priceline, Expedia, FlightHub, Kiwi.com, Alaska Airlines, Southwest, Delta, American, United, Hawaiian, and Frontier, with reported engagement exceeding 2.5 million user searches in a trailing seven-day window.
Cheapflights monetizes exclusively through affiliate and referral commissions paid by partner travel providers when users click through and complete bookings on the provider's site. The consumer-facing experience is free, with no subscription, membership, or transaction fees. Customer acquisition relies on SEO, content marketing (travel tips, destination guides, news), and a free tailored-deal newsletter, with bottom-of-funnel conversion driven by the partner referral network. The company competes in the travel metasearch category alongside Kayak, Skyscanner, and Google Flights.
Cheapflights firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cheapflights
- Legal name
- Cheapflights Media (USA) Inc.
- Website
- https://cheapflights.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Cheapflights is a global travel metasearch platform that lets consumers compare flight, hotel, and car rental offers from 300+ partner providers side by side. It earns revenue through affiliate commissions and serves millions of budget-conscious individual travelers worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cheapflights industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Travel Comparison
- akta.pro primary industry
- Flights Metasearch & Airfare Comparison (THALAEAB)
Keywords
Where Cheapflights is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Cheapflights business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Affiliate/Referral Revenue: Cheapflights displays flight deals on behalf of airlines, agents and consolidators. When users click through to book with partner providers, the company earns referral commissions. The platform acts as an intermediary connecting travelers with travel providers without selling tickets directly.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free access for all users with no booking fees |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Cheapflights product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cheapflights is an online travel comparison platform that aggregates flight, hotel, and car rental deals from more than 300 partner airlines, travel agents, and consolidators. Users search the free platform, select up to four providers via the proprietary 'Compare To' feature, and view side-by-side pricing before being redirected to a partner's website to complete the booking. Cheapflights does not sell tickets itself; it earns referral commissions from partner providers.
Product overview
Cheapflights is a single unified travel comparison platform that aggregates deals from 300+ partner airlines, travel agents, and consolidators. The core product enables users to search and compare flights, hotels, and car rentals through a 'Compare To' feature that allows side-by-side evaluation of up to four providers simultaneously. The platform displays pricing from partners including Priceline, Expedia, Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Qatar Airways, and others, directing users to book directly through the partner's website. No additional modules, sub-brands, or add-on products were identified in the source data.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Cheapflights Comparison Platform
Quantifiable outcome
- Users made 2,558,603+ searches in the last 7 days
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Cheapflights
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Cheapflights technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Cheapflights partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and flagship.
- PriceLinecoreMajor online travel agency partner integrated into Cheapflights' comparison platform, providing flight inventory for user comparison and booking referrals.
- ExpediacoreMajor online travel agency partner providing comprehensive flight inventory for the Cheapflights comparison platform.
- FlightHubcoreIdentified as the most accurate and most trusted provider by Cheapflights users, with pricing accuracy over 95% and highest user feedback ratings.
- Kiwi.comcoreTravel provider partner featured on Cheapflights platform offering flight deals to users, particularly for routes like Burbank to Honolulu.
- Alaska AirlinesmajorAirline partner providing flight inventory through Cheapflights, rated highly by users with a 7.9 overall score and 12,560+ reviews.
- Southwest AirlinesmajorMajor airline partner offering flights through the Cheapflights platform with strong user ratings of 7.9 overall and 4,242+ reviews.
- United AirlinesmajorMajor airline partner providing flight inventory through Cheapflights with user ratings of 7.4 overall and 9,874+ reviews.
- Delta Air LinesmajorMajor airline partner offering flights through Cheapflights platform with strong user ratings of 7.8 overall and 8,423+ reviews.
- American AirlinesmajorMajor airline partner providing flight inventory through Cheapflights with user ratings of 7.1 overall and 11,726+ reviews.
- Frontier AirlinesmajorBudget airline partner frequently featured as one of the cheapest options for flights from major hubs like Los Angeles and New York.
- Hawaiian AirlinesmajorAirline partner offering flights to Hawaii and Pacific destinations through Cheapflights with user ratings of 7.8 overall.
- Momondo Group LimitedflagshipParent company that owns and operates Cheapflights through its subsidiary Cheapflights Media (USA) Inc.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cheapflights competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Kayak: Kayak is the leading global flight metasearch engine and the direct parent of Momondo Group (Cheapflights' owner). It competes head-to-head on the same affiliate-driven flight comparison model with broader brand reach and deeper feature set.
- Skyscanner: Skyscanner is a global flight and travel metasearch platform owned by Trip.com Group. It directly competes with Cheapflights on flight comparison UX, partner network breadth, and global SEO presence.
- Momondo: Momondo is the sister brand of Cheapflights under the same Momondo Group umbrella. Both target the same flight metasearch use case with comparable comparison mechanics, competing for overlapping audiences.
- Kiwi.com: Kiwi.com is both a Cheapflights partner and a direct metasearch/booking competitor, combining price comparison with virtual interlining and direct booking — overlapping on the flight comparison use case while adding transaction capabilities.
Broad incumbents
- Google Flights: Google Flights is integrated directly into Google Search and competes with Cheapflights for the same flight comparison intent. Its first-party search placement, scale, and free data feeds represent the dominant competitive threat in the category.
- Tripadvisor: Tripadvisor operates a flight and hotel metasearch offering alongside its dominant review platform, competing for the same comparison-driven traveler audience and SEO traffic that Cheapflights targets.
- Expedia: Expedia is both a Cheapflights partner (providing inventory) and a broad OTA competitor. While primarily a booking platform, its media division and flight search surface compete for the same intent and own the inventory Cheapflights refers into.
- Booking.com: Booking.com is the parent of KAYAK and the ultimate owner of the Momondo Group / Cheapflights portfolio. It is also a competitor in flight and travel shopping, with growing flight metasearch capabilities that overlap with Cheapflights' offering.
Emerging players
- Hopper: Hopper is a mobile-first travel app using predictive pricing for flights and hotels. While not a pure metasearch engine, it competes for the same budget-conscious flight shopper and increasingly overlaps on price comparison and deal discovery.
Regional players
- Wego: Wego is a leading travel metasearch engine focused on the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. It competes with Cheapflights on the same affiliate-based flight comparison model in markets where Cheapflights also operates.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights4 records
Customer concentration
Cheapflights social profiles
Digital presenceCheapflights financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cheapflights leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Cheapflights funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cheapflights M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cheapflights
What does Cheapflights do?
Cheapflights is an online travel comparison platform that aggregates flight, hotel, and car rental deals from more than 300 partner airlines, travel agents, and consolidators. Users search the free platform, select up to four providers via the proprietary 'Compare To' feature, and view side-by-side pricing before being redirected to a partner's website to complete the booking. Cheapflights does not sell tickets itself; it earns referral commissions from partner providers.
Is Cheapflights a public or private company?
Cheapflights is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Cheapflights founded?
Cheapflights was founded in 1996. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Cheapflights based?
Cheapflights is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Cheapflights make money?
One revenue line is on record: affiliate/Referral Revenue.
Who are Cheapflights's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Kayak, Skyscanner, Momondo and Kiwi.com. Broad incumbents are Google Flights, Tripadvisor, Expedia and Booking.com. Hopper is listed as an emerging player. Wego is listed as a regional player.
Does Cheapflights have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cheapflights.
What industry is Cheapflights in?
Cheapflights's product category is Online Travel Comparison. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THALAEAB, Flights Metasearch & Airfare Comparison.