Are these booking sites legit?
These sites are real businesses, and most bookings go through fine. The differences are who you are actually paying, what happens when you need to change or cancel, and whether a person answers when the hotel or airline says there is no booking.
Ranked
How we score- 1Trip.comBest overallMost honest pricingBest refund recordLarge, real online travel agency with strong review scores; watch for pre-selected add-ons at checkout and read the refund rule on cheap rates.60 /100
- 2TrivagoFree hotel price-comparison site, not a seller: you book and pay on another site, so check that site and the 'more deals' list before you click.54 /100
- 3Booking.comThe biggest hotel marketplace; prices now show hotel fees up front, but when a property cancels, Booking.com support is slow.52 /100
- 4ExpediaLargest US online travel agency and BBB-accredited; fine for simple bookings, but changes and refunds can mean long support chats.52 /100
- 5CheapOairBig, real US flight agency with low headline fares; plan on agency cancellation fees, paid seat add-ons and long phone queues if anything changes.47 /100
- 6eDreamsReal online travel agency built around its paid Prime membership; regulators in Italy and Australia have acted against how Prime is sold, so check checkout for a pre-selected subscription.44 /100
- 7Kiwi.comReal agency that stitches separate tickets into cheap self-transfer routes; the savings are real, but so is the risk, and refunds often default to Kiwi credit.44 /100
- 8AgodaBig Asia-focused hotel site, often cheapest; pay in the hotel's currency yourself and call the hotel before you fly.42 /100
- 9PricelineReal, BBB-accredited discounter; Express Deals are cheap but non-refundable, and reviewers report fees and refund fights.40 /100
- 10Super.comReal discount hotel site with low prepaid rates; untick the Super+ membership at checkout and expect little flexibility if plans change.40 /100
- 11Budget Air (BudgetAir.com)Dutch-run flight agency that issues real tickets, but its own $50 to $100 per person change and cancel fees and slow refunds make it a poor choice if plans may move.39 /100
- 12HotwireReal Expedia-owned discounter whose Hot Rate mystery deals are cheapest, but non-refundable, with very poor reviews on fees and service.37 /100
- 13BooksiMost pricing complaintsPrepaid discounted resort packages, often tied to a sales presentation; refunds only within 7 days, and resort fees and taxes come on top.35 /100
Side by side
| Company | Price | Claims | Delivery | Policies | Support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trip.com | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 60 |
| Trivago | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 54 |
| Booking.com | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 52 |
| Expedia | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 52 |
| CheapOair | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 47 |
| eDreams | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 44 |
| Kiwi.com | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 44 |
| Agoda | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 42 |
| Priceline | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 40 |
| Super.com | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 40 |
| Budget Air (BudgetAir.com) | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 39 |
| Hotwire | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 37 |
| Booksi | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 35 |
Each check is scored 1–5, where 3 is average for booking sites. Open a company to see the reason and sources behind every score.











