Travel · pricing
Kayak pricing
Kayak publishes a single tier. Below is what it costs, what it covers, and how that compares with the travel tools listed alongside it.
As of 1 September 2026, Kayak pricing is free. Figures are the vendor's list prices as recorded on this page's last check; the vendor's site is the final word.
- Entry price
- Free
- Model
- Free to users, revenue from referral commissions and advertising
- Tiers
- 1
- Free tier
- Yes
Kayak plans, side by side
Every published tier in ascending order of price, with the number of features each one lists. An absence here means the record does not itemise it, not that the tier lacks it.
| Plan | Price | Features listed | Step up from the tier below |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 2 | Entry tier |
Where Kayak stops being free
Free, Free
- Unlimited search and price alerts
- No subscription tier
No paid tier on record
Kayak lists a free tier and no priced tier above it in the record we hold.
What the product covers
The full Kayak feature record, grouped as the catalogue groups it. This is the product as a whole; the record does not map every feature onto a specific tier.
Other
- Flight, hotel and car comparison
- Price alerts
- Price prediction
- Flexible date search
- Trip planning tools
- Explore/anywhere search
People bring Kayak in 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. If that is not the job you are buying for, the alternatives to Kayak are worth a look before you commit to a tier.
How that compares in Travel
Too few travel tools in this directory publish a starting price to quote a meaningful median, so the table below is a like-for-like list rather than a ranking.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Rated | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kayak (this page) | Free | Free to users, revenue from referral commissions and advertising | - | |
| myCWT | On request | quote | - | vs Kayak |
| Didi | Free | Free app, pay per ride with dynamic pricing | - | vs Kayak |
| Expedia | Free | Free for travellers, commission and package margin | - | vs Kayak |
| Skyscanner | Free | Free for travellers, referral fees from booking partners | - | vs Kayak |
| Booking.com | Free | Free for travellers, commission charged to listed properties | - | vs Kayak |
| Sabre Red 360 | On request | quote | - | vs Kayak |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry, they are not reviews hosted on Softwr. How each figure is used is set out on the Kayak badges page.
Before you pay for Kayak
Three things this page cannot tell you, and all three change the bill. The record carries a price and a billing period but not the unit - per-seat and flat-rate pricing are indistinguishable in this data, so a five-person team may be looking at five times the figure above. It carries no annual rate, so any discount for paying yearly is not something this page can quote. And it carries no trial length.
What it can tell you is the shape of the ladder: a single tier at Free. Because there is a free tier, the cheapest way to answer the rest is to use it before paying anything.
Kayak runs on ios, android, web, and is published by Kayak Software Corporation (Booking Holdings) of Stamford, Connecticut, United States. The full record is on the Kayak review, and the rest of the category is under best travel tools.
Kayak pricing questions
- How much does Kayak cost?
- Kayak publishes a single tier, Free, at Free.
- Does Kayak have a free plan?
- Yes. The Free tier costs nothing and covers unlimited search and price alerts, no subscription tier.
- Which travel tools can I use without paying?
- 5 of the 8 travel tools listed alongside Kayak have a free tier: Didi, Expedia, Skyscanner, Booking.com, Grab.
- What am I actually paying for with Kayak?
- The record lists 6 features across 1 area: other. In practice it is brought in 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.
- Does Kayak charge per user?
- The record carries a price and a billing period for each of its 1 tiers, but not the unit that price is charged in. Per-seat and flat-rate billing look identical in this data, so check the vendor's page before budgeting for a team.
- Are these Kayak prices current?
- They are what the catalogue entry holds, refreshed when the entry is. Vendors change pricing without notice and nobody at Softwr re-verifies each tier by hand, so treat this as a structured summary and the vendor's own pricing page as the authority.
- What should I compare Kayak against before paying?
- The closest travel tools in this directory are myCWT, Didi, Expedia, Skyscanner. Each has a side-by-side comparison with Kayak covering price, platforms and features.