Google Flights

Pros

• Fast and intuitive user interface compared to competitors.
• Powerful 'Explore' map allows searching by country or region for destination inspiration.
• Robust price tracking with email alerts and historical price data.
• Flexible date tools and filters for specific arrival times or open-jaw itineraries.
• Ability to filter out specific countries or regions from search results.

Cons

• Displays cached or outdated pricing data occasionally, leading to price jumps at checkout.
• Includes 'sketchy' third-party online travel agencies (OTAs) that may post misleading prices.
• Sometimes fails to scrape data from specific airlines even when flights are publicly available.
• Map interface can be inconsistent, occasionally showing grayed-out routes or confusing navigation.

Caveats

• Prices may not be live; always verify the final fare on the airline's official website.
• Third-party booking links provided by the tool vary significantly in reliability.
• Ensure the passenger count is consistent when transitioning from Google to an airline's site to avoid pricing errors.

Best for

• Travelers with flexible dates looking for the absolute lowest fare.
• Monitoring specific routes for price drops over several weeks.
• Visualizing flight options and costs across an entire continent or country.

Avoid if

• You are looking for a platform to handle the actual booking process (direct booking is preferred).
• You need 100% real-time accuracy for every budget carrier, as some scraping gaps exist.