App to track flight prices

Stop refreshing your browser. That flight to Tokyo isn't going to get cheaper because you searched for it seventeen times in an hour. Some people think the airline's algorithm might even bump the price up because it sees you repeatedly searching.

You're fighting a machine. You need a machine on your side.

That's what flight price tracking apps do. They watch the fares for a route you want and send you an alert when the price changes. They use past data to guess if prices will go up or down, helping you figure out the best time to book.

The Big Two: Google Flights and Hopper

You have a lot of options, but two names come up the most: Google Flights and Hopper.

Google Flights is probably the best all-around tool. It's a website, not an app, and it's simple and fast. You can track prices for specific dates or, if you're flexible, choose "Any dates" to get a notification when the price for your route drops over the next few months. Its price history graphs are great for seeing if you're actually getting a deal. The only catch is that it doesn't show Southwest Airlines fares.

Hopper is a phone app that says it can predict prices with 95% accuracy up to a year out. It uses a color-coded calendar—green for cheap, red for expensive—to make finding the best dates easy. Its best feature is "Price Freeze." For a small fee, you can lock in a fare while you finalize your plans. If the price goes up, you pay the frozen rate; if it drops, you pay the lower price.

Other Apps Worth a Look

Don't ignore the other big names. They often have their own tricks that can save you money.

Skyscanner is good at finding deals on over 1,200 airlines, including a lot of budget carriers that other sites miss. Its "Everywhere" search is perfect if you care more about the price than the destination. You just put in your home airport, and it shows you the cheapest places you can fly.

KAYAK has been around forever. It has tons of filtering options, so you can search by airline alliance or even aircraft type. But its most useful feature is that it checks if booking two separate one-way tickets on different airlines is cheaper than a normal round-trip.

How to use them right

Just downloading an app won't magically save you money.

It was 4:17 PM on a Tuesday when I finally booked a flight for my brother's wedding. I’d been tracking it for weeks using a couple of different apps. I saw the price drop by $70, got the push notification, and booked it right there from the passenger seat of my friend’s 2011 Honda Civic. The price went back up less than an hour later. That’s what these tools do for you.

Start by setting alerts for your trip across multiple apps. Don't just track one set of dates; if you can be flexible by a day or two, set alerts for those dates as well since a mid-week flight is often cheaper. And consider nearby airports, which can sometimes offer big savings.

The key is to let the apps do the work. Once your alerts are set, you can stop searching and wait for a deal to come to you. When you get that notification, be ready to act. The best fares don't last long.