I benchmarked four Google Flights APIs on the same searches, and the fares matched to the dollar

#api #webdev #benchmark #travel

I sell a Google Flights API (FlightPowers), and I wanted a real answer to how it compares to SerpApi, SearchApi and HasData. So I ran the same three searches through all four in the same hour on 7 October 2026 and timed every call.

Disclosure up front: I built one of the four rows. The method, the places where mine loses and the timing of every single call are public on the benchmark page, and I'll re-run it every month.

The searches

A round trip, JFK to LHR, out 18 November, back 25 November.
A one way, TLV to BKK on 3 December.
A flexible scan, LHR to BCN, any departure from 10 to 16 November, 3 nights (seven date pairs).

One adult, economy, USD, three runs per search per API, from a VM in GCP us-central1. The time quoted is the median of the three runs, from sending the request to reading the last byte.

The results

	FlightPowers (mine)	SerpApi	SearchApi	HasData
Cheapest fare, all three searches	same	same	same	same
Round trip, both legs	3.27 s, 1 request	6.36 s, 2 requests	4.29 s, 2 requests	7.56 s, 2 requests
First round-trip price	3.27 s	2.26 s	1.98 s	5.23 s
One way	1.56 s	1.34 s	1.50 s	2.79 s
7-date scan, 7 calls in parallel	3.11 s	4.54 s	28.37 s*	15.99 s*
Whole range in one call	MCP server, bills 7	no	calendar engine, bills 1	no
Price history series	no	yes	yes	yes
Free tier	10 a month	250 a month	100, once	67 a month
Entry plan	$10 for 2,500	$25 for 1,000	$40 for 10,000	$59 for 13,333
Per 1,000 round trips with both legs	$4.00	$50.00	$8.00	$8.85

* One call took 16 to 28 seconds in two of the three runs (the median call was 1.9 s on SearchApi and 3.0 s on HasData, which ran 5 at a time on its trial account). A parallel scan waits for its slowest call.

The fares were identical

All four returned $692 for the round trip, $619 for the one way and the same lowest price on each of the seven scan dates ($93 at the bottom, leaving Saturday 14 November), with the same Google price range. The only difference was a label: SearchApi called two of the seven scan dates "high" where the other three said "typical". That makes sense, since all four read the same Google Flights results, but it means nobody should pick one of these on "better prices".

The round trip is where they differ

SerpApi, SearchApi and HasData answer a round trip with the outbound options, each priced as a round-trip total. The return flight is a second request with a departure_token, and all three say so in their docs (quoted on the page). Mine pairs both legs in one request, which is why "both legs" is one request and 3.27 s here, and why a round trip with its return flight works out at $4.00 per 1,000 against $8.00 to $50.00.

curl -X POST https://api.flightpowers.com/v1/flights/roundtrip \
  -H "x-api-key: $FLIGHTPOWERS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"from_airport":"JFK","to_airport":"LHR","departure_date":"2026-11-18","return_date":"2026-11-25","currency":"USD"}'

Where mine loses

The first price. SearchApi and SerpApi put a round-trip total on the table faster (1.98 s and 2.26 s against my 3.27 s). If you never need the return flight's details, they're quicker.
Every itinerary. With limit: 100 my round trip took 15.68 s, since each extra outbound needs its own return-leg page.
The free tier. Ten requests a month on the key. The bigger free path is the ad-supported MCP server (50 searches a day with a Google sign-in), which only helps if you use an MCP client.
Price history. The other three return a price_history series, and I return Google's band and its low, typical or high verdict only.
Date grids. SearchApi's calendar engine prices every date pair for one billed search. My one-call scan bills one request per date pair.
Billing. The other three count successful searches only. On RapidAPI every request that reaches my listing counts, one I reject as invalid included.

APIs I couldn't run

FlightAPI.io and Duffel only offer password sign-ups (I only used Google sign-ins for this), Duffel is a booking API with test data anyway, Amadeus Self-Service closed in July 2026, and Kiwi Tequila, Skyscanner and Travelpayouts need an application, an invitation or a traffic minimum. Sources for each are on the benchmark page.

If you've used any of these in production, I'd like to know which number actually made you pick one. The full table, the method and the per-call JSON are on the page :)

DEV Community