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Travel · head to head

Kayak vs myCWT

Kayak logo

Kayak

Travel

Travel search app comparing flights, hotels and car hire across other booking sites, owned by Booking Holdings

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
myCWT logo

myCWT

Travel

Corporate travel booking and traveller care platform from CWT

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Kayak has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Kayak it is owned by Booking Holdings, the same parent as Booking.com and Priceline, so its comparison results are not fully independent of its own group's commercial interests.; myCWT pricing is per transaction and agent touches cost several times an online booking, so a programme with low online adoption pays far more per trip than the quoted online fee implies.
  • They diverge on capability: Kayak covers Flight, hotel and car comparison, myCWT covers Online booking tool.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kayak and myCWT actually diverge.

Attributes where Kayak and myCWT differ
AttributeKayakmyCWT
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFree to users, revenue from referral commissions and advertisingquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsiOS, Android, WebWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Travel).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Kayak

  • Flight, hotel and car comparison
  • Price alerts
  • Price prediction
  • Flexible date search
  • Trip planning tools
  • Explore/anywhere search

Only in myCWT

  • Online booking tool
  • Mobile itinerary and check in
  • Hotel programme content
  • Duty of care tracking
  • Approval workflows
  • Unused ticket management
  • Reporting and analytics
  • Expense handoff

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Kayak

  • Comparing flight prices across multiple airlines and booking sites before purchasingnot myCWT
  • Setting a price alert to buy a flight or hotel once the price dropsnot myCWT
  • Searching flexible dates or nearby airports to find a cheaper farenot myCWT
  • Comparing car hire prices across rental companies for a tripnot myCWT

myCWT

  • A multinational consolidating travel across dozens of countries that needs one duty of care record and one set of negotiated air agreementsnot Kayak
  • An organisation with heavy long haul and multi sector air travel where reissues and complex fare construction need human counsellorsnot Kayak
  • A company with strict pre trip approval requirements that must be enforced before ticketing rather than reported after the factnot Kayak
  • A business standardising traveller tracking and incident messaging for security and insurance obligationsnot Kayak

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Kayak

  • It is owned by Booking Holdings, the same parent as Booking.com and Priceline, so its comparison results are not fully independent of its own group's commercial interests.
  • Some airlines opt out of listing on metasearch sites entirely, so Kayak's results are not a complete view of every available fare in the market.
  • Revenue comes from referral commissions, and prominence in results can be influenced by which suppliers pay Kayak more, not purely by lowest price.
  • The actual booking typically completes on a third party site, so problems with a booking, cancellation or refund are handled by that site's customer service, not Kayak's.
  • Displayed prices can change or fail to match by the time a user reaches the booking site, since Kayak is not always querying live inventory in real time for every listed fare.

myCWT

  • Pricing is per transaction and agent touches cost several times an online booking, so a programme with low online adoption pays far more per trip than the quoted online fee implies.
  • myCWT cannot be licensed as software on its own, so a buyer who likes the tool but wants a different servicing partner has no route to it.
  • CWT was acquired by Amex Global Business Travel, with the deal closing in July 2025, leaving genuine uncertainty about whether the myCWT platform survives long term alongside Amex GBT's own Egencia and Neo tools.
  • Hotel content is anchored on the CWT programme, so clients with strong direct hotel relationships often find their own negotiated rates displayed inconsistently against programme rates.
  • The consumer facing app trails mainstream booking apps on search speed and content breadth, which suppresses online adoption and therefore raises the average transaction cost of the programme.

Pricing, plan by plan

Kayak

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited search and price alerts
    • No subscription tier

myCWT

On request
  • myCWT within a CWT travel programme$undefined/year
    • Priced as transaction fees per booking, not per user
    • Online booking fee is materially lower than an agent touched booking fee
    • After hours, offline and complex ticketing surcharges are common

Which should you pick?

Choose Kayak if

  • You need flight, hotel and car comparison.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want price alerts.
Kayak review

Choose myCWT if

  • You need online booking tool.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want mobile itinerary and check in.
myCWT review

Questions people ask

Is Kayak or myCWT better?
Neither clearly leads. Kayak starts at Free and myCWT at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kayak or myCWT?
Kayak has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Kayak and On request for myCWT.
Does Kayak or myCWT run on more platforms?
Kayak runs on iOS, Android, Web. myCWT runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Kayak for free?
Yes. Kayak has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. myCWT starts at On request.
What is Kayak best used for?
Kayak is most often used for comparing flight prices across multiple airlines and booking sites before purchasing, setting a price alert to buy a flight or hotel once the price drops, searching flexible dates or nearby airports to find a cheaper fare, comparing car hire prices across rental companies for a trip. Of those, comparing flight prices across multiple airlines and booking sites before purchasing and setting a price alert to buy a flight or hotel once the price drops are not what myCWT is typically brought in for.
What can Kayak do that myCWT cannot?
Kayak covers Flight, hotel and car comparison, Price alerts, Price prediction, Flexible date search. myCWT covers Online booking tool, Mobile itinerary and check in, Hotel programme content, Duty of care tracking.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Kayak: Does Kayak charge a booking fee?

No, Kayak itself is free to use; it earns referral commissions from the airlines, hotels and sites it sends bookings to.

myCWT: Can I buy myCWT without using CWT as my travel agency?

No. It is delivered as part of a CWT managed travel contract and is not licensed separately.

Kayak: Do I book directly through Kayak?

Usually the booking completes on the airline, hotel or travel site's own platform after Kayak hands off the click, though some direct booking options exist for select content.

myCWT: What actually drives the cost?

Transaction fees. The gap between an online booking fee and an agent touched fee is the single biggest lever, so measure your likely online adoption before comparing quotes.

Kayak: Is Kayak owned by an airline or hotel chain?

No, it is owned by Booking Holdings, which also owns Booking.com, Priceline and Agoda.

myCWT: Does the Amex GBT acquisition affect the platform?

It creates roadmap risk. Amex GBT completed the CWT acquisition in July 2025 and already runs Egencia and Neo, so ask for written platform commitments across the contract term.

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