Wondering if Skyscanner reviews are good or bad? Find out if this flight search engine is a legitimate way to find and book cheap flights worldwide in our review roundup.
We analyzed thousands of real user reviews from a variety of sources online, from app stores and Trustpilot to Reddit.
Overall, we found that Skyscanner reviews tend to be very positive and lots mention specific features that help users find the best flight prices to destinations around the world.
What Is Skyscanner?
- Skyscanner is a robust, accurate flight search engine
- You book directly with the airline or OTA
- Excellent search features with price alerts
Before we take a look at some of the most helpful and honest Skyscanner reviews, we need to talk about what Skyscanner is and how it works.
Skyscanner is a flight search engine – think Google for flights (sorry, Google Flights). It is not a flight booking site or service.
People use Skyscanner to find the best flight prices for their trip but don’t actually pay Skyscanner for the plane tickets. For many, that’s a safer and more trustworthy way to handle the transaction.
Once you’ve found the flight you want for the price you want, Skyscanner steps aside and directs you to the airline or online travel agency (OTA) to book your flight directly with them.
Tons of people use Skyscanner and it’s known for showing accurate flight prices and seat availability, which stands out among other flight search engines and booking sites.
You can toggle Skyscanner search results to see the best, cheapest, or fastest flights as well as searching by your preferred departure and return times.
Skyscanner tracks flight prices over time to show users the dates and months that may be cheaper to book flights.
They pack useful features into the website and app, like the Everywhere search feature that lets you browse flights to cities around the world just by adding your departure airport and preferred travel dates.
The calendar view in search lets you see the cheapest dates and months to fly at a glance. You can choose up to 6 destinations and view airfare prices for different nearby airports.
If there’s a small change you can make to your trip to save money – like traveling a little sooner, later, or arriving at a different airport, Skyscanner notifies you.
And if you haven’t nailed down the exact dates of your trip yet, you can leave the dates open-ended to get an idea of the time that’ll be cheapest for you to fly.
Are Skyscanner Reviews Good?
Skyscanner app icon on phone screen with logo on blurry background Los Angeles, California, USA 11/26/2019/Postmodern Studio/Shutterstock
- Overall reviews: 4.6 stars from 1,340,500+ reviews
- Apple App Store: 4.8 stars with 404,600+ reviews
- Google Play Store: 4.7 stars with 920,300+ reviews
- Trustpilot: 4.4 stars with 15,600+ reviews
Skyscanner reviews are, for the most part, very good (4 stars) to excellent (5 stars). Skyscanner gets 4.6 out of 5 stars on average when we tallied up over 1,340,500 reviews.
This means most users leave Skyscanner (the app and website) 5 star reviews, followed by 4 star reviews.Users are very satisfied with Skyscanner as a flight search engine.
We did an unbiased Skyscanner review of our own hereand named it the best website to book flights after it earned a perfect 20/20 score with our criteria.
Our tests found that Skyscanner’s flight search algorithms manage to show the cheapest flight prices more often than any other flight search engine.
Frommer’s, another trusted name in travel, ranked Skyscanner as the #1 flight price aggregator because it located the cheapest airfare 13 out of 28 times.
That’s on par with Hopper and Kiwi and much better than Google Flights, Kayak, and Skiplagged.
Most Helpful Skyscanner Reviews
Skyscanner company website with logo close up New York, USA 9/29/2020/Postmodern Studio/Shutterstock
Sometimes, the best way to find out if an app or website like Skyscanner is legitimate is to dig deep into the reviews.
We’ve rounded up user reviews from 3 trustworthy sources online to see how real users rate Skyscanner. Check out honest user reviews from the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Trustpilot below.
With an overall rating of 4.6 stars, Skyscanner reviews are mostly positive and filled with users’ descriptions of their favorite features.
Reviews also praised Skyscanner’s customer service and the accurate, cheap flight prices they were able to find on the website and app.
4 & 5 Star Reviews
“Always the first thought that comes to my family and me, when looking for flights. It comes from 11 years of positive experience of booking with the help of Skyscanner. Thanks a lot once again.” -5 stars from Elvis Pereira on Trustpilot
“Very competitive rates and the app is easy to navigate. I like getting updates sent to my phone home screen when there is a price drop. I like how the details of each flight are given and it is noted if a self transfer must occur between airports. the self transfer actually saves you quite a bit of money on flights with one or more stops.” -5 stars from Josh Nichols on Google Play Store
“I use this app to find the best prices for flights and it’s great. I love that I can subscribe to flights and be alerted when the price changes. However…if I subscribe to more than one flight the notification becomes generic and I have to open the app to see which flight changed. Keep up the great work! This app is powerful.” -5 stars from Rock Star on Apple App Store
“Fantastic customer service, Neil is a legend! …I had an almost immediate response from Neil at Skyscanner, who was reassuring, professional and competent and made me feel instantly reassured…Within 24 hrs I received an apology from MyTrip, a goodwill gesture of some financial compensation.” -5 stars from Naomi Zeraati on Trustpilot
“Never fails to help me find the cheapest and best flights. For how often I travel alone and for short periods of time this is GREAT! Just remember that there’s a reason why buying from 3rd parties is cheaper, always check add-on prices like baggage or seating.” -5 stars from Presley Indo on Google Play Store
“Great and useful app. It has a lot of different airlines available to you, including Jet Blue, Spirit, Frontier, United, Delta, American, etc. that I’ve seen so far. I’m not sure if they have Alaska as I haven’t looked at enough flights to fully be aware…The date of departure and arrival get lost a bit, and it’s not entirely intuitive when you’re trying to sort out what’s what.” -4 stars from Christianissimo on Apple App Store
“It’s easy to search, easy to book. But sometimes, if you don’t book with the airline and accident happens (need a change of schedule). It is a nightmare to communicate with travel agency. Skyscanner itself is amazing but bare in mind that Skyscanner is not liable for the travel agency it has searched, or any dissatisfactory service the agency provided.” -5 stars from Blake on Trustpilot
“Very intuitive, simple, planning a trip is much more easier with this app. would be great to also have trains and blablacar inside, to compare everything at the same time. The option from XXXXX to “everywhere” allows to spot last minute flights at a great price.” -5 stars from Marcelo Veloso on Google Play Store
“Good search options available on screen.Fairly easy to use. Good filtering to customise searches. One of the best sites for travel tickets. Unfortunately, some filters reset after each search, eg no of stops. Does not give luggage allowances at initial stages.Charts and monthly price graphs not always available.” -4 stars from M. Hussain on Trustpilot
“Very good app overall to get a sense of prices and find a good deal. Filters help a lot to screen out nonsensical flights. But it would be very beneficial if one could select checked baggage and factor that into the price. Often times the prices don’t match and I rarely travel with hand luggage only. Also a possibility to have a timeline graph of the changing prices would be informative.” -4 stars from Anonymous on Google Play Store
“Amazing job and support from Ellie and Skyscanner team. I am really grateful to her, in a few days she resolved an issue I had for 4 months regarding a ticket refund from a travel agency. Ellie efficiently and promptly resolved the matter and in a few days I had my money back. Thank you Ellie and Skyscanner team.” -5 stars from Alejandra Gomez on Trustpilot
Non-Rated Skyscanner Reviews
Skyscanner logo on phone screen stock image in West Bangal, India 8/21/2021/sdx15/Shutterstock
Not all reviews online use the typical 5-star rating system. We found lots of non-rated Skyscanner reviews that are still very helpful in seeing which features users like or dislike the most.
These non-rated reviews and recommendations uncovered a lot of “tricks” and tips for using the app and website in the most effective way.
Overall, these non-rated reviews brought up these points repeatedly:
- Skyscanner is a legitimate flight search engine
- Flight price and seat info is accurate on Skyscanner
- People love the Everywhere feature to find/book cheap flights
- People love that Skyscanner lets you book directly with the airline
- Skyscanner does a good job removing spammy search results
“Have always used Skyscanner as my search engine for flights. Never had an issue with them because once you choose your flight and price they redirect you to the travel company selling the ticket.” –Reddit user u/goldandcranberry in r/solotravel
“Skyscanner is the best for booking flight tickets. I got to book tickets multiple times for the prices shown on the website. Never had any problems. Just that you need to be quick in booking those tickets.” -Reddit user u/shashankchintalapati in r/hyderabad
“Skyscanner is great for finding cheap flights but ALWAYS select the “book with the airline” option. Some of the other providers suck and you’ll have direct contact should they cancel a flight or change something.” -Reddit user u/Literary_Hype_Man in r/shoestring
“Skyscanner is essentially just a search engine for flights. They aren’t responsible if the company you book the flights with isn’t legit or has issues, but if a company becomes known for having issues or scamming people they remove them from the search options.” -Reddit user u/pezant90 in r/solotravel
“I’ve used it domestically in the US. Always exactly what they say. Price is accurate, seat is accurate. Overall it’s my go-to for easy comparison.” -Reddit user u/catmom6353 in r/shoestring
“I’ve used them well over 50 times, and while sometimes they are displaying a price that doesn’t exist once you follow the booking link (due to a spammy third-party seller advertising there, not part of Skyscanner), the vast majority of offers are legit.” –Reddit user u/godless-life in r/solotravel
“I use the Skyscanner ‘Everywhere’ option alongside the ‘whole month ‘ when I search and it lets you view the cheapest locations to fly to and you can see if any are close to your desired destination. The ‘whole month’ part lets you see a calendar view of the month with the prices on each day. Sometimes it’s hundreds of £ or $ cheaper to fly a day or two or three difference to your original planned date.” –Reddit user u/adventurewerths in r/travelhacks
“More flight and airline sites need to have this “Everywhere” option on search. Sometimes we don’t know where we want to go yet and this helps us decide.” -Reddit user u/travellingfoodie in r/travelhacks
Things to Consider
You’ve seen Skyscanner reviews from real users on sources around the web – what else should you know about this flight price aggregator and search engine?
Here are some helpful tips and considerations to keep in mind.
- Skyscanner almost always shows the cheapest airfare. The key word here is almost. While pricing tests and reviews indicate you’re very likely to find the cheapest flight prices here, it won’t show you the lowest price every single time. When Skyscanner prices are higher, it’s only by $10-$15, however.
- Skyscanner won’t increase prices the more you search. While other flight search engines start raising the airfare when they detect you’re searching a lot, Skyscanner doesn’t. They don’t use cookies so there’s no bread crumb trail of flight searches that end up increasing the prices you’ll see – something that the New York Times found airlines actually do.
- There’s an app for mobile usage.Users appreciate that there are 2 ways to use Skyscanner: The app and website. The app is available on the Apple and Google Play app stores and is continually updated with new features. Reviewers enjoy the simple search experience on both the app and website.
- Try the Everywhere search feature.If you’re not sure where you want to head next, the Everywhere search feature is awesome. You can set your departure airport and choose open-ended dates to get destination suggestions around the world with flight prices that help you decide where you want to go.
- Skyscanner flight prices include taxes. While there are some extra fees that aren’t included in the prices you’ll see on Skyscanner (like baggage fees, though they always link you to the airline’s fee page), they always include taxes in the prices you’ll see. Other flight search engines and booking services usually don’t do this, so users appreciate it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Woman holding iPhone with Skyscanner on the screen and luggage Alanya, Turkey 6/12/2020/DenPhotos/Shutterstock
Still have some questions about Skyscanner reviews and how trustworthy this flight search engine is? Take a look at the most frequently asked questions about Skyscanner on the web to learn more.
Is Skyscanner a reliable site?
Skyscanner is the most reliable flight search engine we've found, and other online reviews and travel sites like Frommers agree.
Skyscanner shows the cheapest flight prices more often than other flight aggregators and sends you to the airline or online travel agency so you can pay for and book your flight directly with no middle man.
Should I book via Skyscanner?
We do recommend booking via Skyscanner since the website and app will both direct you to the airline or online travel agency advertising the low airfare price you see.
Since you give your payment information and handle the booking directly through the airline or OTA, it's totally safe to click to book via Skyscanner.
Is it better to book directly with the airline or Skyscanner?
Skyscanner connects you directly with the airline or online travel agency advertising the airfare prices you'll see in your search, so you won't even have to make the choice between booking direct or booking with Skyscanner.
Skyscanner is a flight search engine, not a flight booking service. They pull the airfare prices from all over the world and show them to you.
When you're ready to book, they link you to the airline or OTA directly for payment and booking.
Can you book a flight directly with Skyscanner?
A small number of flights you may see in your search results are open to book directly with Skyscanner, but most are booked directly with the airline or online travel agency.
If you see "Book on Skyscanner" after clicking on a flight you're interested in, you'll know you have the option to book through the site or app. For most flights, you'll see the option to book with the airline.
Is it cheaper to go through Skyscanner or airline?
Skyscanner search engines check the latest airline pricing and online travel agencies constantly with updates every 24 hours to bring you the lowest possible flight prices.
While the airline's website may not show certain price drops, Skyscanner detects them and can result in you getting a lower price than you would when searching and booking directly from the airline.
Do Skyscanner Reviews Mean It’s the Best Flight Search Engine?
Overall, Skyscanner reviews average 4.6 out of 5 stars across different review sources online. It’s named the best flight search engine by multiple travel sites, including Frommer’s.
Reviews cover the wide range of pros users like about the Skyscanner app and website, like the robust search capabilities, access to the cheapest flight prices, and accurate pricing and seat information.
Unlike other flight aggregators and search engines that track cookies and start increasing airfare prices the more you search, Skyscanner doesn’t use cookies and shows you the best price, no matter how many times you search or how many price alerts you set up.
And since Skyscanner doesn’t require you to book through their website or app and instead links you directly to the airline or online travel agency offering the airfare rate you’ve chosen, it only adds to their trustworthiness.
Skyscanner does seem to be the best flight search engine and has an excellent reputation online with seasoned travelers who want the best airfare and most accurate pricing in their searches.