Goibibo vs ixigo vs Skyscanner: A Detailed Comparison for Smart Travelers

The wide-scale availability of online travel platforms has limited the sky. 

Think of a destination, and you are there. Forget the concept of distance. It no longer matters as epitomised by travel platforms. However, does every travel agency walk the talk? 

This is what we will figure out in this detailed comparison involving Goibibo, Ixigo, and Skyscanner. 

An introduction to Goibibo, ixigo and Skyscanner: What are they?

Goibibo

An Indian online travel aggregator and a subsidiary of MakeMyTrip, Goibibo offers efficient travel solutions for booking flights, hotels, trains, buses, and cabs. Travellers usually recall it based on discounts, cashback and bundled deals it offers. Irrespective of being heavily focused on the Indian market, Goibibo also makes available international bookings for travellers. 

Ixigo

ixigo is a technology company heavily focused on the India market landscape (though provides booking options for international flights as well). It allows Indian travellers to book flights, trains, buses, and hotels smartly. The travel company leverages AI, Machine Learning and data science led innovations to help travellers in the "next billion user" segments plan, book, and manage their trips. 

Good for travellers who want to plan ahead and make comparative analysis of available transport options. 

Skyscanner

It is basically a metasearch engine or global travel search engine for travellers to compare prices for flights, hotels, car rentals in real-time for the best deals. It collaborates with numerous travel providers for inventory of flights, accommodations and car hire options and helps the travellers find the best booking deals. 

Goibibo vs ixigo vs Skyscanner: Price and Deals Comparison

• Goibibo - It makes available competitive pricing for flights, hotels, and buses tied to heavy discounts and promotions. Travellers usually find coupon codes, bank offers, and cashback deals. 
• ixigo - It exercises more of a data-driven approach featuring fare prediction, suggesting whether you should book now or wait for prices to drop later. Good for you if you are flexible with timing.
• Skyscanner - Being a metasearch engine, it doesn't sell tickets directly. What it helps you with is facilitating a comparison process across airlines and booking websites, until you select a deal. Then the website redirects you to a third-party site where you can give a final touch to the booking process. 

Bonus Tip: Do not fall for the cheapest price displayed. It is not always the best deal. Consider factors like cancellation policies, service fees, reliability. 

Goibibo vs ixigo vs Skyscanner: User Experience & Interface

• Goibibo - The travel platform has earned a reputation for offering hassle-free and quick booking processes, thanks to its simple, and easy to complete website interface.
• ixigo - It provides a positive, user-friendly experience to travellers, mostly praised for its clean, intuitive UI in flight and train booking. Insights like price trends and alternate routes provided by it helps travellers make informed decisions. 
• Skyscanner - The flight aggregator is praised for being a user-friendly search tool, price alerts, and its ability to curate cheap routes by comparison across 80 billion daily prices. However, a traveller's booking experience may vary depending on the provider, considering the metasearch engine redirects users to a third-party booking platform.

Verdict - Goibibo is ideal for quick booking, ixigo for making informed booking decisions based on price trends and alternate routes. Skyscanner is your platform if you need to make a broad comparison on prices and deals on booking flights, etc.

Goibibo vs ixigo vs Skyscanner: Customer Support and Trust

• Goibibo - The platform offers direct customer support as travellers directly use its platform for bookings. However, based on its 1.1 rating on TrustPilot, the reliability of its customer support and overall credibility of the platform is highly questionable, with many users reporting problems with booking processes and cancellation of confirmed bookings without notice. Problems related to delayed or partial refunds or difficulties in obtaining refunds also question its trustworthiness.
• ixigo - In terms of customer support rating (3.2) by TrustPilot, the platform is praised for friendly, proactive, and supportive customer service in resolving booking related issues of travellers. 
• Skyscanner - Skyscanner is rated 4.4  at TrustPilot validating the quality and trustworthiness of its customer support services. The company is also praised for the accuracy of prices and recommendations.

Verdict - Based on the quality parameters associated with customer support and reliability, Goibibo falls short on expectation. On the other hand, ixigo ranks second, and Skyscanner is on top. However, this verdict is based on data by TrustPilot, which is based on reviews by users. This means, the quality of the customer support service by these platforms may vary depending on the circumstances and experience they go through. 

Goibibo vs ixigo vs Skyscanner - Comparison Based on Use Cases

Based on the comparative analysis among Goibibo, ixigo and Skyscanner so far, we conclude that they are respectively different in catering to the needs of travellers. The noticeable difference is that while Goibibo and ixigo are online travel agencies, Skyscanner is a metasearch engine or a travel ally, allowing travellers to compare prices based on curated data from hundreds of airlines and OTA sites.

From this standpoint, Skyscanner is surely an ideal recommendation for travellers who are flexible with time, to grab the best deals on their bookings. So, if you wish to find the cheapest flights, use Skyscanner. Also, the platform has been rated excellent based on rave reviews by customers at TrustPilot. Also, the platform is ideal for booking international flights.

Goibibo may be your choice if you are looking for cost-saving discounts and cashback deals, but may be required to exercise caution based on its poor rating on TrustPilot in terms of customer support. You can trust it for domestic travel booking, though it also offers international flight bookings.

ixigo is your go to platform for planning and tracking prices. It commands better customer support ranking than Goibibo on TrustPilot. 

What to consider when choosing an OTA or travel platform?

• Pricing transparency: Ensure that the platform displays the total cost upfront. Be alert of the deal that seems unusually cheaper. Review the final payment page before confirmation.
• Direct booking vs third-party redirects - Platforms like Goibibo allow direct booking while Skyscanner allows redirection to a third party provider. The latter one may offer more price options while the first one may offer best support.
• Cancellation & Refund policies - Mind the refund policies first, check free cancellations or flexible fare options, and understand the refund timeline of the specific platform.
• Customer support - Understand whether the platform offers 24/7 customer support, and you are given a clear way to contact it. Understand who will handle your issue, the platform or third party?
• User experience & convenience - Does the platform allow easy navigation? Can you  search and compare options? What about the checkout process? Is it smooth?

Winding Up

In our comprehensive analysis, declaring a conclusive winner is somewhat difficult, considering no travel company can give you  hundred percent service satisfaction for your booking related needs. 

As a metasearch engine, Skyscanner saves your time in cross-checking best airline pricing using curated data from hundreds of sites and OTAs. 

On the other hand, ixigo is known for flexible booking features, and Goibibo for bundled travel deals. For smart travellers, using a combination of these factors means getting the best results in terms of making an informed decision to choose the right platform in alignment with needs. 

Goibibo vs ixigo vs Skyscanner - FAQs

Which platform is the cheapest among Goibibo, ixigo and Skyscanner?

Based on our comparative analysis, the conclusive winner offering the cheapest booking option depends on the route and travelling, among other factors. Try Skyscanner as it displays the lowest base fares, while Goibobo gets you a cheaper deal after discounts. 

Is Skyscanner safe to use?

With 4.4 rating on TrustPilot, Skyscanner definitely gives complex to most OTAs around the globe in terms of safe booking experience. However, the ultimate quality measure for its service excellence may vary, because the platform redirects you to a third-party platform to conclude your booking. That experience determines the kind of booking experience you go through. Better check the credibility of the provider you are redirected to via Skyscanner.

Does ixigo charge extra fees?

The official website of ixigo states that there is a nominal charge above the usual fare for the free cancellation service. However, most users on Reddit claim that the platform charges extra fees, including service fee, convenience fee, and payment gateway charges.

Which platform is best for refunds?

Goibibo has a poor rating on TrustPilot showing that the platform is not up to the mark based on handling problems related to customer services, hidden charges, and slow processing times. However, we do not claim availability of such information casting a doubtful validation of the platform's handling refunds. It depends on the experiential interaction of travellers with Goibibo. 

How does Skyscanner work?

Skyscanner is not an OTA. It is free-to-use a metasearch engine for travellers to search thousands of airlines and hotel providers to compare prices. As far as safe booking is concerned, that depends on the third-party provider a traveller is redirected to. 

How to cancel a booking through ixigo?

The platform offers free cancellation on all new flight bookings via its 'Assured' fares. To get a full refund, opt for the free cancellation option when booking. Refer to the full refund window table for timelines regarding refund and cancellation. The refund will be initiated shortly after.