Google Flights is Google's flight search engine: you enter where and when you want to fly, it compares fares across airlines and booking sites, and you finish the purchase with the airline or travel agency you pick. Searching is free, and you sign in to a Google Account only when you want to track prices. For the points-and-miles angle, see our Google Flights guide for points and miles. For the Dates calendar, Price graph and filters in more depth, see our Google Flights feature guide for cards-and-points travelers. To compare it with another search engine, read our Skyscanner review.
Below, we will look at how to use Google Flights Search to save money on your next trip and will detail our tips and hints for getting the most out of this powerful, online travel tool.
Google Flights Overview
Google Flights is part of the Google Travel online application. You can use this tool to both search for and book flights from third-party travel and flight providers. Using Google Flights, you can carry out quick and comprehensive searches to discover the best and cheapest deals on offer. The Google Flights Search app also allows you to track certain destinations and receive alerts when a particularly good deal comes on the market.
Ways to Save Money With Google Flights
Increased search capability. Instead of limiting your search to flights from a certain airport or to a certain destination, Google Flights Explore will allow you to search for flights to and from an entire continent. This will enable you to find cheaper flights, especially if you are flexible with your vacation destinations or would consider taking an initial flight to a hub airport to enjoy a cheaper travel cost overall.
You can check extra costs before you book. As well as prices, Google Flights will give you lots of important and easy-to-digest information about your flight, including whether there are extra costs for carry-on luggage. If you are looking to save as much money as you can, this is valuable information to have before you book.
Get alerts for last-minute deals. This is ideal if you are flexible in your travel plans and are in the position to take advantage of deals for last-minute getaways as and when they appear on the marketplace. You will be able to take advantage of some surprisingly good deals for dream destinations, which the app will alert you to.
Check for airlines you can earn frequent flyer miles on. If you are a member of a frequent flyer scheme with an airline and would prefer to book your flights with their partners, Google Flights Explore can highlight the appropriate airline partners based on your membership scheme, during your search.
Check the deals which are offered on other sites. If you come across an offer on an Online Travel App or website, before you commit to a purchase, you can take advantage of Google Flights' search engine to see if the same seats are available cheaper elsewhere.
Check the comfort level on your flights. Make sure you are getting your money's worth when you book by checking the Google Flights App for information such as chair size and leg room. If you book an incredibly cheap flight without checking the specifics, you could find yourself experiencing a great level of discomfort during your journey.
You can get alerts for Flash Sales and even Flight Fare Mistakes. Using Google Flights, you can set up alerts on certain travel paths so that when a flight dips below a certain price, you will have the opportunity to quickly make a purchase before they rise again. For holiday trips, Google's own data on when fares bottom out is in our guide to when to book Thanksgiving and Christmas flights.
Google Flights Cost
There is no charge to use Google Flights, and you can search without signing in. Sign in to a Google Account (also free) when you want to track prices and get email alerts.
Google Flights Safety
Google Flights is one of the largest and most reliable ways you can search for a flight. The search engine is huge and there is a vast amount of information that feeds into the search engine's results. The Google Flights Explore data is constantly being updated, so it is rare that you will find that the prices shown are outdated.
By pulling information from an incredibly wide range of sources, the chances are you will get better information and a more reliable deal by using Google Flights Search over individual travel agencies, OTAs, or by just checking a few airlines directly.
Using the Google Flights App to Save Money
Head to the Google Flights website.
- Input your departure place and your destination.
- Select what type of ticket you want, whether one-way, multi-stop, round trip, etc.
- Then choose the number of seats you want.
- Select which class of seat you want to travel in.
- Select your trip dates on the calendar.
You will then be presented with your results which you can then filter by categories such as cost, time of flight, travel time, and even the estimated CO2 emissions of the flight.
Buying Through Google Flights
When you book your flights using the Google Flights App, you will not be buying directly from Google. Instead, your transaction will be with the airline provider you have selected. Google acts as an intermediary and isn't a party in the transaction itself.
Canceling a Flight Booked From Google Flights
If you booked your flights through Google Flights, you will not be able to arrange a cancelation or refund through the application. You will instead need to contact the airline from whom you bought the ticket.
Carbon Emissions on Google Flights
Google Flights shows an emissions estimate for each flight, lets you sort results by emissions, and has an Emissions filter that shows only flights with lower-than-typical emissions for the route. Google calculates its estimates using the information provided by third-party airlines. So, you can make sure you are being as environmentally friendly as possible when you plan your travel.
Bonus Google Travel Tips
Google Travel is more than just Google Flights and they offer a suite of tools to help you with your booking and planning your trip.
- Plan things to do at your destination in Google Travel by using the find things to tab.
- Find a sweet deal for your hotel using Google Travel to find hotel deals.
- Google Travel even has listings of vacation rentals similar to Airbnb or Vrbo.
Summary of How to Use Google Flights to Save Money
The next time you are looking to book a flight, the Google Flights App is a powerful search tool that can help you to find the cheapest and most suitable flights for your trip. The service is free to use, and you are likely to find better options than the ones presented to you on OTA sites or by just checking the major airlines.
Google Flights Search has plenty of helpful features that will enable you to find the flights which will save you money. These include being able to set a Google Alert on a specific flight destination so you can immediately be made aware when an affordable flight is available for you to snap up!
Updated October 20, 2026: using Google Flights to save money.
