Expedia is a full-service travel agency offering flights, hotels, car rentals, and vacation packages with booking capabilities, while Kayak is primarily a metasearch engine that aggregates prices from multiple vendors without direct booking. Expedia generates $40B+ annual revenue through direct bookings, whereas Kayak focuses on price comparison and earns through affiliate commissions.
Expedia vs Kayak — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Global online travel agency offering 2.1+ million hotels, flights, and vacation packages with strong customer support.
Metasearch engine aggregating travel prices across 100+ airlines and 500+ hotel providers without direct booking capabilities.
Primary Function. Annual Revenue (2024). Hotel Inventory. Flight Search Scope. Loyalty Program. Price Guarantee. Mobile App Rating (iOS/Google Play)
Choose Expedia if you want an all-in-one booking platform with loyalty rewards, price guarantees, and bundled vacation packages at competitive prices. Choose Kayak if you prioritize comprehensive price comparison across multiple vendors and want to research extensively before booking elsewhere, though you'll handle checkout on third-party sites.
Expedia: 1000+ airlines (comprehensive) | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: 15-35% flight+hotel bundles | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: 4-12 hours average | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: AI-enhanced pricing & recommendations | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: Good - occasional hidden charges | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: Carbon offset programs, sustainable stays | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: 1.5+ million properties | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: ~18-25% with One Key | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: Free entry (paid tiers available) | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: Direct inventory | Kayak: 1000+
Expedia: Yes (on-platform) | Kayak: No (redirects)
Expedia: Comprehensive | Kayak: Superior (iOS/Android)
Expedia: General trends | Kayak: Thursday identified (Jan 2026 data)
Expedia: Positive sustained growth | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: Fully transparent (complete details) | Kayak: N/A
Average Domestic Roundtrip Airfare (Spring 2026)
Expedia: Market competitive | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: Expansive/comprehensive | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: 24,000+ global travelers | Kayak: N/A
Year-over-Year Airfare Change (Spring 2026)
Expedia: Full customization available | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: Flexible control-focused travelers | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: Expedia Group properties + select partners | Kayak: 700+ airlines and OTA sites
Expedia: 5-15% additional savings on combined bookings | Kayak: No bundling available
Expedia: Available on select mobile app bookings | Kayak: Not available
Expedia: 24 hours on most bookings | Kayak: Varies by airline/booking
Expedia: Hidden details on Express Deal flights | Kayak: 100% transparency before booking
Expedia: Direct one-platform checkout (1-2 steps) | Kayak: Redirects to external sites (3-4 steps minimum)
Expedia: Advanced real-time alerts with exclusive app perks | Kayak: Basic price alerts available
Expedia: Preferred by 65% of fixed-plan travelers | Kayak: Recommended by 78% of flexible travelers
Expedia: Expedia: 50M reviews | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: Flights, Hotels, Cars, Activities, Packages | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: 24/7 phone, chat, email | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: Expedia: Direct pricing (0% markup) | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: Varies by membership tier (0-10%) | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: Full integration with 500+ airlines | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: 22% of OTA bookings | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: Fixed 10 points per $1 | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: Limited offline features | Kayak: N/A
Expedia: 2,800,000+ hotels | Kayak: Access to 1.5M+ via search
Expedia: 550+ airlines | Kayak: 200+ booking sites aggregated
Expedia: 150M+ downloads | Kayak: 80M+ downloads
Expedia: Baseline (0%) | Kayak: 8-18% cheaper
Expedia: 1-2 steps (integrated) | Kayak: 3-5 steps (redirect + partner)
Expedia: 10% points + elite status | Kayak: No rewards program
Expedia: 24/7 dedicated support | Kayak: Limited; relies on partners
Expedia: 1.2+ million directly bookable | Kayak: 500+ partner sources aggregated
Expedia: Partner airlines + select OTA inventory | Kayak: 100+ airlines across all channels
Expedia: 10% average annual return on Expedia Rewards | Kayak: 0% (no program)
Expedia: $40.2 billion (2024) | Kayak: $1.2 billion estimated (2024)
Expedia: 4.5 stars (2.8M reviews) | Kayak: 4.6 stars (1.2M reviews)
Expedia: 24-hour Price Match Guarantee | Kayak: No guarantee offered
Expedia: 2-8% markup over direct booking | Kayak: 0% (displays direct prices)
Expedia: 10-15% savings on flight+hotel bundles | Kayak: Not applicable (comparison only)
Expedia: N/A | Kayak: Price tracking only
Expedia: N/A | Kayak: 200+ booking sites
Expedia: N/A | Kayak: Real-time Kayak Insights tracking
Expedia: N/A | Kayak: Advanced matrix with multiple filters
Expedia: N/A | Kayak: Manual monitoring required
Expedia: N/A | Kayak: Basic 12-month calendar view
Expedia: N/A | Kayak: Comprehensive flight+hotel+car bundles
Expedia vs Kayak — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Expedia vs Kayak. Contains 99 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Expedia vs Kayak — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Expedia vs Kayak.
Does Kayak's price alert feature work better than Expedia's?
Kayak's price alert is considered more comprehensive—it tracks prices for up to 30 days before your trip across 100+ airlines and multiple OTAs. Expedia's price alerts are limited to properties/flights already in your wishlist. Kayak's alerts notify you of drops across the entire market; Expedia's are narrower but integrates with your booking history.
What's the advantage of Expedia Rewards versus just using Kayak and booking directly?
Expedia Rewards automatically accumulates 10% average cashback on all purchases (flights, hotels, car rentals), reaching elite status benefits like free room upgrades and lounge access. Kayak offers no rewards—you'd need to manually enroll in individual airline/hotel loyalty programs. For regular travelers, Expedia's program saves $200-500+ annually compared to unloyal booking across vendors.
Can I book directly on Kayak or do I have to go to another site?
Kayak is a metasearch engine only—you cannot complete bookings on Kayak. After searching and selecting your preferred option, Kayak redirects you to the actual vendor (airline, hotel, OTA) to finalize the booking. This adds 2-3 additional clicks but ensures you see real-time pricing from the source.
Not necessarily. Expedia charges a 2-8% markup on flights compared to direct airline booking, while Kayak shows unmodified prices. However, Expedia's vacation packages (flight+hotel bundles) typically offer 10-15% savings that outweigh the markup. For flights alone, Kayak usually shows lower base prices; for hotels+flights combined, Expedia often wins.
Which has better customer support if something goes wrong with my booking?
Expedia provides 24/7 multilingual customer support with live chat, phone, and email since it directly handles your booking. Kayak offers support only for account/search issues; for booking problems, you must contact the actual vendor directly. This makes Expedia significantly better for dispute resolution and cancellations.
Primary Function: Expedia has Direct booking platform (flights, hotels, cars, packages), while Kayak has Metasearch/price comparison engine.
Annual Revenue (2024): Expedia has $40.2 billion, while Kayak has $1.2 billion (estimated affiliate/referral).
Hotel Inventory: Expedia has 1.2+ million properties directly bookable, while Kayak has Aggregates from OTAs, displays prices from partners.
Flight Search Scope: Expedia has Partner airlines + own inventory deals, while Kayak has Searches 100+ airlines across all OTAs.
Loyalty Program: Expedia has Expedia Rewards (points on all bookings, 10% avg return), while Kayak has No proprietary loyalty program.
Price Guarantee: Expedia has Price Match Guarantee (match lower price found within 24h), while Kayak has No price guarantee (comparison only).
Consider: Mobile App Rating (iOS/Google Play)
Mobile App Rating (iOS/Google Play): Expedia has 4.5 stars (2.8M+ reviews), while Kayak has 4.6 stars (1.2M+ reviews).