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Travel · head to head

Skyscanner vs TripAdvisor

Skyscanner logo

Skyscanner

Travel

Flight, hotel and car hire metasearch engine that compares prices across booking sites and earns referral fees rather than selling the ticket itself

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
TripAdvisor logo

TripAdvisor

Travel

Travel reviews and booking app whose revenue comes from advertising and referral commissions to hotels and OTAs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Skyscanner because Skyscanner is not the merchant of record for most bookings, customer service, cancellations and fare accuracy responsibility sit with whichever partner site the traveller is referred to, not with Skyscanner itself.; TripAdvisor review authenticity is an ongoing, not fully solved, problem; both businesses soliciting or buying positive reviews and competitors planting negative ones have been documented issues on the platform.
  • They diverge on capability: Skyscanner covers Flight price comparison, TripAdvisor covers Reviews and ratings.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Skyscanner and TripAdvisor actually diverge.

Attributes where Skyscanner and TripAdvisor differ
AttributeSkyscannerTripAdvisor
Pricing modelFree for travellers, referral fees from booking partnersFree to browse, revenue from advertising and referral commissions

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (iOS, Android, Web), 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 Skyscanner

  • Flight price comparison
  • Flexible date and destination search
  • Hotel and car hire comparison
  • Price alerts
  • Direct booking for select flights
  • Multi-city and layover search

Only in TripAdvisor

  • Reviews and ratings
  • Price comparison
  • Viator tours and activities
  • Traveller forums
  • Travellers' Choice awards
  • Trip planning

What people use each for

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

Skyscanner

  • A traveller wanting to compare flight prices across many airlines and agents quickly before deciding where to booknot TripAdvisor
  • Someone with flexible travel dates wanting to browse the cheapest dates or destinations without a fixed itinerarynot TripAdvisor
  • A traveller wanting hotel or car hire price comparison across multiple sites in one searchnot TripAdvisor
  • Someone who wants a price alert on a specific route to book when the fare drops, before committingnot TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor

  • Researching hotel or restaurant reviews before booking a tripnot Skyscanner
  • Comparing aggregated hotel prices across multiple booking sites in one placenot Skyscanner
  • Booking a tour or activity ticket directly through Viator while researching a destinationnot Skyscanner
  • Reading traveller forum advice for a specific destination before travellingnot Skyscanner

Where each one falls short

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

Skyscanner

  • Because Skyscanner is not the merchant of record for most bookings, customer service, cancellations and fare accuracy responsibility sit with whichever partner site the traveller is referred to, not with Skyscanner itself.
  • Prices shown in comparison results can occasionally be inaccurate or unavailable by the time the traveller reaches the partner site, since prices are pulled from partner feeds that update on their own schedule.
  • Booking through a smaller, unfamiliar third-party travel agent surfaced in comparison results carries more risk around customer service quality and fare rules than booking directly with an airline or a well-known agency.
  • The referral fee business model can create an incentive to surface partners paying higher commission prominently, and Skyscanner does not publish which listed results are influenced by commission versus pure price ranking.
  • The newer direct booking option covers only some flights, so most bookings still route the traveller through a third-party partner site, meaning the core experience remains a redirect rather than a self-contained transaction.

TripAdvisor

  • Review authenticity is an ongoing, not fully solved, problem; both businesses soliciting or buying positive reviews and competitors planting negative ones have been documented issues on the platform.
  • Listing prominence and hotel ranking can be influenced by paid advertising and sponsored placement, so a top result is not necessarily the best-reviewed or cheapest option.
  • The actual hotel booking usually completes on a third party OTA or hotel site, so cancellation, refund and customer service issues are handled by that separate company, not TripAdvisor.
  • Restaurant and attraction data can be outdated in smaller or less-visited destinations, with permanently closed businesses sometimes still listed.
  • As a review aggregator whose revenue depends partly on the businesses being reviewed, the same structural tension applies here as with other review-and-advertising platforms.

Pricing, plan by plan

Skyscanner

Free
  • SkyscannerFree
    • Free to search and compare for travellers, no subscription or comparison fee charged
    • Revenue comes from referral or affiliate fees paid by airlines, agents and hotel sites on completed bookings
    • Skyscanner does not hold the payment or booking relationship for most results, the partner site does

TripAdvisor

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited browsing, reviews and price comparison

Which should you pick?

Choose Skyscanner if

  • You need flight price comparison.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want flexible date and destination search.
Skyscanner review

Choose TripAdvisor if

  • You need reviews and ratings.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want price comparison.
TripAdvisor review

Questions people ask

Is Skyscanner or TripAdvisor better?
Neither clearly leads. Skyscanner starts at Free and TripAdvisor at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Skyscanner or TripAdvisor?
Skyscanner starts at Free and TripAdvisor at Free.
Does Skyscanner or TripAdvisor run on more platforms?
Both run on iOS, Android, Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Skyscanner for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Skyscanner best used for?
Skyscanner is most often used for a traveller wanting to compare flight prices across many airlines and agents quickly before deciding where to book, someone with flexible travel dates wanting to browse the cheapest dates or destinations without a fixed itinerary, a traveller wanting hotel or car hire price comparison across multiple sites in one search, someone who wants a price alert on a specific route to book when the fare drops, before committing. Of those, a traveller wanting to compare flight prices across many airlines and agents quickly before deciding where to book and someone with flexible travel dates wanting to browse the cheapest dates or destinations without a fixed itinerary are not what TripAdvisor is typically brought in for.
What can Skyscanner do that TripAdvisor cannot?
Skyscanner covers Flight price comparison, Flexible date and destination search, Hotel and car hire comparison, Price alerts. TripAdvisor covers Reviews and ratings, Price comparison, Viator tours and activities, Traveller forums.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Skyscanner: Does Skyscanner sell the ticket or hotel room?

For most results, no. It compares prices and refers the traveller to the airline, agent or hotel site to complete the actual booking and payment; it has recently added direct booking for some flights only.

TripAdvisor: Are TripAdvisor reviews verified?

No, they are user-submitted and not independently verified, though TripAdvisor runs fraud detection systems to catch some fake or paid reviews.

Skyscanner: How does Skyscanner make money if it is free to use?

It earns referral or affiliate fees from airlines, travel agents and hotel booking sites when a comparison click leads to a completed booking on their site.

TripAdvisor: Does TripAdvisor charge for bookings?

Browsing and reviews are free; TripAdvisor earns money through advertising and referral commissions when users book through linked OTA or hotel sites, or directly through its own Viator tours.

Skyscanner: Is Skyscanner the same kind of company as Booking.com or Expedia?

No. Those are merchants of record that process payment and hold the booking directly, earning commission or package margin. Skyscanner is a metasearch comparison layer that mostly refers travellers elsewhere to book.

TripAdvisor: Is ranking purely based on review quality?

No, sponsored placement and paid advertising can affect prominence in results alongside review-based ranking.

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