Flight Price Comparison Data: We Compared 1,703 Flights Across 57 Booking Sites

We compared prices for the same flights across 57 different booking sites. 10 routes, US domestic and transatlantic, over 1,700 flights total. The numbers were surprising.

The same economy seat on a JFK to Paris flight was $313 on one site and $20,943 on another. Same plane. Same date. Same cabin.

That is an extreme case, but the pattern held everywhere. On average, the price difference for the same flight across different booking sites was about $970.

Here is what we found, and what it means if you are booking a flight anytime soon.

The price depends on where you search

Of the 1,703 flights we looked at, most were listed on multiple booking sites. For those flights, the gap between the cheapest and most expensive listing averaged $2,668. The typical (median) gap was $970.

The biggest gaps were on transatlantic routes, but even domestic flights regularly had $200-$800 spreads for the exact same seat.

Why does this happen? Each booking site shows a different fare class. One site displays the cheapest economy bucket. Another shows a flexible fare. A third shows a premium economy price. The aircraft and departure are identical — the fare class is what changes.

Booking direct is not always the best deal

There is a common belief that booking directly with the airline gets you the best price. The data tells a different story.

American Airlines had the cheapest price about 25% of the time. It also had the most expensive price about 25% of the time. Delta: same pattern.

Overall, third-party booking sites had an average price of $422 versus $452 for booking directly with the airline. That is about $30 cheaper going through a third-party site.

This does not mean airlines are trying to overcharge you. They just show a mix of fare classes, and the cheapest available bucket is not always the one displayed first on their own site.

The takeaway: always compare. No single source wins every time.

Flying midday saves you about $112

This one is simple. Across all routes and dates, when you depart makes a real difference to what you pay.

• Midday (10am-2pm): $390 average
• Evening (6pm-9pm): $502 average
• Difference: $112, or about 29%

The reason is straightforward. Business travelers book evening flights so they can work a full day before heading to the airport. That drives demand and prices up. The midday window is the quiet zone — airlines discount it to fill seats.

If your schedule has any flexibility, a midday departure is one of the easiest ways to save.

One layover saves money. Two do not.

You might expect flights with more stops to be cheaper. That is only half true.

• Nonstop: $445 average
• One stop: $363 average (saves $82)
• Two or more stops: $457 average (more than nonstop)

One connection gets you the discount. Airlines use connecting itineraries to fill seats on hub routes, so they price them lower. But two or more stops usually means a complex routing that costs more, not less.

If you can handle one layover, it pays off. If you are seeing options with two stops, they are not the budget option — skip them.

Book about a month ahead

How far in advance you book matters, but not in the way most people assume.

• 1 week out: $478
• 2 weeks: $395
• 1 month: $374 (the sweet spot)
• 45 days: $635 (holiday demand spike)
• 60 days: $365

The 45-day spike in our data lines up with Thanksgiving travel. Outside of holiday windows, about 30 days is the best balance between price and availability.

The common advice to book 6-8 weeks out still holds, but booking a month out works almost as well. Last-minute (1 week) is where you really get hit.

Same airports, different direction, $75 apart

This one surprised us. Same two airports, but the price depends on which way you are flying.

• JFK to LAX: $369 average
• LAX to JFK: $444 average

That is a $75 difference for the same route in reverse. It comes down to demand — more people fly west for vacation and east for business, and the pricing reflects that.

If you are booking a round trip and have flexibility on your starting city, check both directions separately. You might find it cheaper to fly out from the other end.

The full dataset

We published all the data on Kaggle as a public dataset under CC BY 4.0:

• 18,299 rows — one per flight and booking site combination
• 10 routes, 6 departure dates, 24 airlines, 57 booking sites
• Columns include route, departure time, airline, booking provider, price, whether it is a direct airline booking, and more

Download it, run your own numbers, tell us what you find.

Data was collected on October 6, 2026, covering departures from October 13 to December 5, 2026. We used our flight comparison tool to run the searches and cleaned the results to remove ads and sponsored placements.

The full dataset is on Kaggle under CC BY 4.0 — cite it, chart it, or check our working.