Best ExploreTrip Alternative to Find Cheap Flights
Find the smartest way to grab cheap flights! Discover an ExploreTrip alternative that sends exclusive airfare deals up to 90% off, perfect for anyone wanting stress-free savings.
By Amir
Published: a minute ago • 10 min read
Travel should feel easy, affordable, and even a little bit exciting. But with flight prices swinging up and down every day, how do you trust you’re really getting the best flight deal? Sticking to old-school search engines can mean endless refreshing and disappointment. Discover the best ExploreTrip alternative to find cheap flights in 2025.
Discover The Best ExploreTrip Alternative to Find Cheap Flights - RatePunk
Why You Need to Beat the "Search Fatigue"
Let’s be honest. Trawling through flight search engines, toggling flexible dates, and comparing 15 tabs feels overwhelming. Even savvy travelers lose out when they miss fast-changing flash sales.
Here’s what travelers face:
- Roundtrip airfares fluctuate by as much as 40% within a few days.
- Only 17% of people actually grab the lowest-priced fare after searching for hours.
- Manual flight-hunting can eat up more than three hours per trip.
Wouldn’t it be better if those jaw-droppingly cheap flights just landed in your inbox with zero effort?
What Sets This ExploreTrip Alternative Apart?
Here’s why smarter travelers love getting flight deals by email:
- Guaranteed up-to-date deals. No more missing out while you sleep; new price drops trigger instant alerts.
- Personalized options. Pick your destination, departure window, and how often you want to be pinged.
- Mistake fare magic. Spot rare “error fares” that can slash hundreds off tickets.
- No wasted hours. All your free time goes to planning the fun stuff.
- Global reach. Get deals from more than 100 destinations and 4 departure airports at once.
- Simple sign-up. All you need is just your email and your favorite airport.
How Email Flight Alerts Work (With Stats!)
The magic is in automation:
- Fare trackers monitor flight APIs and global data feeds around the clock.
- Algorithms compare thousands of combinations and trigger alerts when threshold prices are met.
- Average savings per user can hit as high as $500 on a single round-trip when acting promptly.
- Flight alert signups have climbed by 79% per month in 2025.
- Peak-season and last-minute specials are always included in deal notifications.
Why "Search Engines" Alone Can't Keep Up
Many sites and reviews talk about using tons of search engines, great in theory, but in practice, alerts outpace refreshing browser tabs.
- Real-time price changes: Airlines update fares 24/7, and the cheapest seat may appear for just minutes.
- No single flight search service covers all deals; many rely on outdated caches, missing flash discounts.
- Booking at the “right moment” is a myth: Data shows Sunday bookings are about 1.3% cheaper, but deals now move so fast, speed matters more.
Travelers who wait or keep checking back often miss out, while those on alerts get the win.
Why Data-Driven Flight Alerts Are the Smartest Choice
- Save up to 90%, Catch wild last-minute and flash deals before the public even knows about them.
- Automated and intelligent, Set preferences and let technology scan 24/7 on your behalf.
- More choices, less work, Pick from hundreds of airports, airlines, and destinations.
- Easy to get started, Just sign up, select your airport, and relax.
Pro Tips for Getting the Cheapest Airfare (in 2025!)
- Be flexible on dates, weekdays, especially Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, still often offer lower fares.
- Sign up for alerts with multiple airports, major cities have at least 2–3 possible departure options.
- Book fast, the best deals go fast, sometimes within minutes.
- Don’t rely on one search engine, pairing alerts with a quick final cross-check can add peace of mind.
Best ExploreTrip Alternative to Find Cheap Flights
1) 🥇RatePunk 🥇 - Best ExploreTrip Alternative to Find Cheap Flights
RatePunk is a travel technology platform designed to help travelers save time and money by finding the best deals on flights and hotels. Based in Vilnius, Lithuania, and founded in 2022, RatePunk offers a suite of tools, including a browser extension, mobile app, and flight deal subscription service, all aimed at simplifying the booking process and securing exclusive discounts.
Key Features:
1) Flight Deals Subscription:
- RatePunk’s flagship product, RatePunk Flights, delivers personalized flight deals directly to your inbox, with savings of up to 90% on tickets. Users select their preferred departure airports, and RatePunk’s AI-powered system scans the internet 24/7 to uncover hidden fares and exclusive offers not always found on platforms like Google Flights or Skyscanner.
- Deals are tailored to user preferences, covering over 100 destinations, including peak season, holiday, short-haul, long-haul, weekend breaks, and last-minute flights. For example, users have reported roundtrip deals like New York to Los Angeles for $200 (vs. $600) or Paris for $378.
- The Flights Dashboard provides dynamic sorting options (e.g., by price difference or percentage drop) and an AI deal score to evaluate offer quality.
2) Hotel Price Comparison Extension:
- RatePunk’s free browser extension (available for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox) automatically compares hotel prices across major booking sites like Booking.com, Expedia, Priceline, and Agoda when you browse. It pops up to display the lowest available rates, ensuring you never overpay.
- Additional features include price drop notifications, rebooking alerts for free-cancellation hotels, and cashback rewards (up to 7%) on eligible bookings. The extension has reportedly saved users over $19 million by identifying savings as high as $3,000 per stay.
- Unique tools include a one-click Airbnb price negotiator, access to zero-margin booking sites, and VPN-based price checks for better rates in other countries.
Mobile App:
The RatePunk app mirrors the web experience, offering intuitive deal browsing with categories like Trending, Romantic, Beach, or Business. It includes advanced filters, AI deal scores, and seamless access to all premium features with a subscription. The app is free to download on iOS and Android, with recent updates as of June 2025.
User Experience and Reviews:
- Positive Feedback: Over 50,000 users have praised RatePunk for its ease of use and significant savings. Travelers have shared stories of booking dream trips to destinations like Thailand, Hawaii, and Bali at steep discounts (e.g., Bali for $400 less than usual). The platform’s personalized alerts and user-friendly interface are frequently highlighted.
- Criticism: Some users report that basic membership deals may not always outperform manual searches on other aggregators, and there are occasional concerns about unclear pricing for add-ons or subscriptions. RatePunk addresses this with a 14-day money-back guarantee and responsive customer support at hi@ratepunk.com.
Legitimacy and Credibility:
- RatePunk is a legitimate company with a 4.2-star rating from 670+ reviews and coverage in major outlets like Forbes, The Washington Post, and The Telegraph.
- While some skepticism exists about overly aggressive marketing or “too good to be true” claims, scam checks (e.g., Scamadviser) confirm ratepunk.com as reliable, with a valid SSL certificate and a domain active since 2022.
Why Choose RatePunk?
RatePunk stands out for its AI-driven deal curation, seamless integration into existing booking habits, and focus on both flights and hotels. It’s ideal for budget-conscious travelers, frequent flyers, or anyone looking to save without spending hours comparing prices. While not every deal is groundbreaking, the platform’s transparency, free tools, and money-back guarantee make it a low-risk option for smarter travel planning.
Discover Our
- Hotels
Ranking | Platform | Description |
| 2 | Momondo | Momondo is a powerful travel metasearch engine that excels at finding the lowest fares by aggregating prices from hundreds of airlines and booking sites, often securing the best or second-best prices in comparisons. Key features include detailed filters (like baggage fee inclusion), 13 sorting options, fare insights with price trends and buying advice, a "Mix & Match" for combining one-way tickets from different airlines, visual price graphs, and the ability to search "anywhere" for cheapest destinations. It's ideal for flexible travelers but may require booking on separate sites and can be slower for last-minute searches. |
| 3 | Skyscanner | Skyscanner is a user-friendly metasearch tool that scans thousands of flights to uncover cheap deals, tying for top spots in low-fare rankings with features like "Explore everywhere" for global cheapest destinations, inclusion of nearby airports, star ratings for booking sites, and price alerts. It offers calendar views for flexible dates, multi-city searches, and sorting by best/cheapest/fastest, but has mediocre filters, doesn't show baggage fees upfront, and directs users to external sites for booking, great for broad inspiration but less for detailed filtering. |
| 4 | Google Flights | Google Flights is a fast, intuitive metasearch engine powered by ITA Matrix, renowned for its price graphs, date grids, and trends (labeling fares as low/typical/high) to predict the best booking times, plus region-wide searches for affordable spots and email alerts for drops. It shows extra fees, aircraft details, and a price guarantee on select U.S. flights with refunds if prices fall, including Southwest Airlines fares first, perfect for data-driven users, though it doesn't handle bookings directly and can be inconsistent on the absolute lowest prices. |
| 5 | Kayak | Kayak is a robust travel aggregator that compares prices across airlines and sites, featuring Hacker Fares (mixing one-way tickets for savings), a calendar view for cheapest dates, "anywhere" searches for budget destinations, AI-powered Ask Kayak for tips, and price alerts. It offers filters for best/cheapest/fastest flights, displays fare details and aircraft info, but bookings occur off-site, excellent for flexible plans and combining with hotels/cars, though it may miss some niche deals. |
| 6 | Skiplagged | Skiplagged specializes in uncovering hidden-city fares (booking with layovers and exiting early for savings), often finding strong deals on direct flights with a simple interface, price graphs for alternate dates, and sorting by duration/price. It includes filters and displays ticket flexibility, but risks airline penalties for skiplagging, lacks a full calendar view, and directs to potentially questionable OTAs, best for adventurous budget hunters willing to navigate caveats. |
| 7 | CheapOair | CheapOair is an OTA dominant in last-minute fares, frequently finding the best prices with features like price calendars, alternate date/airport options, fare alerts, and a Price Match Guarantee within 24 hours. It bundles flights with hotels/cars, shows baggage/aircraft details, but can be slow, glitchy with pop-ups, and charges booking fees, solid for urgent trips despite occasional erratic advance pricing. |
| 8 | Priceline | Priceline is a versatile OTA with Express Deals for up to 50% off (opaque bookings revealing details post-purchase), color-coded calendars for price comparison, filters including low-cost carriers, and a 24-hour Price Match Guarantee/free cancellation. It displays extra fees, aircraft details, and ticket flexibility, but no rewards program and middle-of-the-road on last-minute fares, great for bundle savings with hotels/cars. |
| 9 | Hopper | Hopper is a mobile-first app using AI to predict price drops and advise on booking times, potentially saving up to 40%, with color-coded maps/calendars for cheapest dates, flight ratings (cheapest/fastest/best), and price freeze options. It offers alerts for specific trips and displays fare details, but has limited filters, poor customer service, and is app-only, ideal for tech-savvy users seeking predictive insights. |
| 10 | Expedia | Expedia is a comprehensive OTA with One Key rewards (earn/redeem points across travel), flexible date buttons, calendar views, and bundles for flights/hotels/cars/cruises. It shows extra fees, aircraft details, ticket rules, and allows earning airline miles, but may charge fees and limit elite status perks, reliable for all-in-one planning with strong search filters. |
| 11 | Orbitz | Orbitz is an OTA with Orbitz Rewards (earn 1-2% back as Orbucks for hotels), calendar views for pricing, price assurance within 24 hours, and filters for flights/hotels/cars/vacations. It displays fees, aircraft info, and flexibility, but may add booking fees, strong for loyalty perks and bundling, especially via app for higher rewards. |
| 12 | Hotwire | Hotwire is an OTA excelling in package deals (flights + hotels for savings), with Hot Rate opaque flights revealing details post-booking, 24-hour low price guarantee/cancellation, and filters. It shows fees and aircraft details but misses some low-cost carriers and has sub-par filters, best for combo bookings despite potential fees. |
| 13 | Travelocity | Travelocity is an OTA with price guarantees (refund if lower fare found in 24 hours), flexible date calendars, filters for flights/hotels/cruises, and free 24-hour cancellations on most airlines. It displays fees, aircraft, and rules, but may charge fees and prices can fluctuate, dependable for straightforward bookings with solid guarantees. |
| 14 | Kiwi.com | Kiwi.com is a unique OTA for flexible itineraries, comparing flights to trains/buses, powerful filters (including self-transfer guarantees), and finding cheap last-minute options on some routes. It offers alternate airports and multi-modal travel but has inconsistent fares and customer service issues, suited for adventurous, multi-leg trips. |
| 15 | Booking.com | Booking.com, primarily a hotel site, also aggregates flights with filters, calendar views for cheaper dates, and bundles for cars/taxis/activities. It sorts by best/cheapest/fastest but lacks detailed baggage/ticket info upfront and directs off-site for some bookings, convenient for hotel-flight combos with multilingual support. |
Discover The Best ExploreTrip Alternative to Find Cheap Flights - RatePunk
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