Kiwi.com vs Google Flights: Where Should You Book Flights?

Kiwi.com vs Google Flights: if you want cashback on a flight, book on Kiwi.com, since only Kiwi.com has a page with us. Google Flights is a search tool that sends you on to an airline or travel agency, so it has no cashback of its own. Both can be useful in the same trip: Google to look around, Kiwi.com to book. Fares move daily, so we describe the route and the rules rather than a price. Status October 2026.

Cashback: where it applies

Kiwi.com has a page with us: Kiwi.com at daily cashback. You see the rate in force and any deals there before you book. Google Flights is not one of our shops. Its own help page says that clicking Select usually takes you to the airline or a travel agency to finish the booking, so the cashback question is decided by where you end up and how you got there.

Booking a flight on Kiwi.com with cashback, step by step

1. Look at fares anywhere you like, Google Flights included. Note route, dates and the final amount.
2. Open the Kiwi.com shop page with us. Turn the ad blocker off and shut any voucher or comparison windows.
3. Click through to Kiwi.com and enter the same route there.
4. Choose the ticket type and extras, then pay in the same session.
5. A pending entry appears in your free account, and the trip confirms it later.

If you reach Kiwi.com by clicking through from Google Flights, the booking did not start on our shop page. Then no pending entry appears. Starting over from the shop page costs two minutes and keeps the cashback possible.

Cases where Kiwi.com cashback is lost

• You cancel the booking or ask for a refund. Kiwi.com handles cancellations in your account under refunds and cancellations, and that order loses its cashback.
• You skip the flight without cancelling. Kiwi.com says an unused ticket is not refunded by itself, and we pay cashback on completed trips.
• You book the same flight through the airline, a travel agency or a Google link.
• The ad blocker swallowed the click, so nothing was recorded.
• A code from another site replaces the tracking from our shop page.

How the two differ in short

What they are. Google Flights compares offers from more than 300 airlines, travel agencies and aggregators and hands you over to the seller. Kiwi.com is the seller: according to its help centre it makes the reservation with the airlines for you and then manages it.

Combinations. Kiwi.com says its search combines separate flights when that is cheaper than a carrier connection. Google Flights shows such offers too, in its Cheapest tab and marked as separate tickets booked together. Google itself notes that self-transfers mean collecting and rechecking baggage and checking in again.

Changes. On Google you change or cancel with the airline or agency, because Google cannot do it for you. At booking time Kiwi.com asks you to pick from three ticket types: Saver, Standard or Flexi. Saver cannot be changed, Standard and Flexi let you change once and pay only the difference, and changes are possible up to 48 hours before the trip.

Price display. Google says the price shown includes VAT and airport taxes, while baggage or card fees may come on top, and offers a bags filter. On Kiwi.com you see baggage and extras in the booking steps before you pay.

Tools. Google Flights offers a calendar, a price graph and price tracking by email. Kiwi.com has price alerts and an app.

Who should pick what

You want cashback: use Kiwi.com through the shop page. Google Flights can still be your research window.

You like to keep options open: Google Flights lets you watch a route without committing. Once you decide, check whether the seller is one we list and start from our page.

You might have to change plans: compare the ticket types on Kiwi.com before paying. A cancelled trip earns no cashback in any case.

You fly with checked bags: switch on the bags filter on Google and look at the baggage lines on Kiwi.com, so you compare like with like.

Our recommendation

Kiwi.com is the one to book if cashback matters to you, and the rest of the trip can be planned with Google Flights alongside. Price the same dates in both and look only at the total you would really pay.