Google Flights vs. Swoodoo - a comparison

The search engine giant has also been attacking the German flight search market with "Google Flights" since 2013. However, our comparison with "Swoodoo" shows that "Google Flights" still leaves a lot of room for improvement ...

Performance: "Google Flights" significantly faster than "Swoodoo"

If time was money, "Google Flights" would definitely be the better choice:

• The flights are displayed directly on "Google Flights".
• All changes in the flight search (e.g. date) are implemented within a second and you will receive a new list of cheap flights.
• On the other hand, the flight search with "Swoodoo" sometimes takes 20 seconds and longer.

Prices: "Swoodoo" is cheaper than Google in the test

We tested the prices of "Google Flights" and "Swoodoo" on a total of 20 routes. With 15 offers, "Swoodoo" had the cheapest flight or at least the same price as "Google Flights". The newcomer only managed 11 cheaper offers (or at the same price) in the test.

• It was noticed positively, however, that you get a tip on "Google Flights" on which date you could fly even cheaper. However, we did not include this in our test.
• The tested routes with the cheapest price and search engine at a glance:

1. Berlin - Los Angeles: "Swoodoo" with 598 euros.
2. Berlin - Beijing: "Swoodoo" with 386 euros.
3. Berlin - Paris: "Swoodoo" with 44 euros.
4. Berlin - Saint Petersburg: tie with about 103 euros.
5. Berlin - Amsterdam: "Swoodoo" with 61 euros.
6. Berlin - Madrid: "Google Flights" with 80 euros.
7. Berlin - Frankfurt: "Swoodoo" with 106 euros.
8. Frankfurt - Moscow: "Swoodoo" with 110 euros.
9. Frankfurt - New York: tie with 418 euros.
10. Frankfurt - Rome: "Google Flights" with 98 euros.
11. Frankfurt - Brussels: tie with 127 euros.
12. Frankfurt - Mexico City: "Google Flights" with 644 euros.
13. Frankfurt - Tokyo: "Swoodoo" with 466 euros.
14. Frankfurt - Hamburg: "Google Flights" with 126 euros.
15. Hamburg - Lisbon: tie with around 125 euros.
16. Hamburg - Warsaw: tie with about 96 euros.
17. Hamburg - Kiev: tie with about 83 euros.
18. Hamburg - Munich: "Google Flights" with 88 euros.
19. Munich - Kingston: "Swoodoo" with 825 euros.
20. Munich - Reykjavik: "Swoodoo" with 260 euros.

"Google Flights" runs out of fuel? The cheapest planes ...

... you will not always find it with the search engine giant. But why? There are two main reasons for this in our test:

• "Google Flights" does not list some low-cost airlines such as "EasyJet" at all or only with the entry "Price unknown". For example, on the "Berlin - Paris" route, there is a price difference of 61 euros - more than double the price of "EasyJet".
• In addition, the search approaches of the two providers differ. "Swoodoo" delivers almost all results via other flight portals such as "airline-direct" and "Expedia".
• The flight search from "Google" gets the prices directly from the airlines. That's why "Google Flights" is not always the cheapest.

Conclusion: A flight search is not enough

"Swoodoo" was able to win our test, but the short result shows: You won't always find the cheapest flights with the winner of the quick test, with some inquiries Google was cheaper. Therefore, it is best to use both or a third party to save one or two euros.

Read tip: In our quick check "Are Google flights cheaper?" "Google Flights" was ahead.