Updates

Share The Article

Last Updated 8 mins ago

It’s nearly impossible to imagine a time when we traveled without our smartphones, giving us the world at our fingertips and making everything from trip planning to currency conversion a million times easier. 

In today’s world, the internet and smartphone apps are central to almost everything we do around traveling, from booking accommodation to checking our flights. 

Any traveler knows that sinking feeling you get when you are out and exploring a new place, and suddenly your phone is warning you that it has a low battery, with no charging area in sight. 

Hopefully, the seasoned traveler will carry a battery pack with them for times like this.

While there are some OG’s who will refuse to travel with anything other than a paper map and a hopeful attitude, it’s obvious that travel and tech are so intertwined for modern travelers.

Nowadays, there are even artificial intelligence assistants that can help you plan a trip, although the effectiveness of this remains to be seen. 

Data and research website PYMNTS has compiled their Travel App Rankings, which rank travel apps by a variety of factors, including the number of downloads, monthly average users, channel coverage, and user sessions both by number and length.

Using these data points, an average score was assigned to each app on a scale of 1-100

Top 5 Travel Insurance Plans For 2023 Starting At $10 Per Week

Note: the apps studied for this list are predominately travel apps, and whereas there are other apps, such as maps, weather, translators, and xe.com, that any traveler should (and likely does) have, they are not included in this study.

Another factor to take into account with this report is that it doesn’t include company-specific apps, such as your preferred airline or hotel chain.

Any astute traveler will obviously want to have these on their phones in preparation for their trip, and nowadays, with many boarding passes being only available through apps, they are crucial to traveling. 

Key Takeaways:

Tying for number one as the most used travel apps are the big ones: Airbnb, Booking, and Hopper all have the top score with an average ranking of 100 points out of a possible 100.

The popularity of these apps doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, and Hopper -whose main job is to help travelers book things at the right time to save money – has been jumping (hopping?) the charts lately, moving up to the top this month. 

Coming in next is the second most popular rental property site, Vrbo, with a high score of 95 points. It’s followed by Hotels.com and the popular metasearch engine Skyscanner tying for the number 3 spot both with a score of 91 points each. 

In the 4th spot is Kiwi.com which has moved up from last month and currently has a popularity score of 77 out of a possible 100 

The number 5 spot is KAYAK, which calls itself the worlds leading travel search engine. KAYAK scored 75 points, putting it just ahead of Tripadvisor, which landed at number 6 on the list of most popular travel apps right now. 

Spots 7 to 10 went to a variety of travel apps designed to help the user with different things. Tracking flights is made easy by FlightAware, which comes in at number 8, and hikers love Alltrails, which moved up the list this month by 5 points, tying it with HostelWorld for the number 9 spot. 

Viator, an app that connects travelers with excursions, experiences, and day trips, comes in at number 9. Its popularity is likely driven by travelers looking for connection and culture in their trips. Rounding out the top 10 is Couchsurfing, which has risen to the spot after hovering below the top 10 for months.

The jump is surprising as the concept of couch surfing is not nearly as popular as it was back in the late 2000s. Perhaps it’s making a comeback due to the rising cost of accommodation and increasing added fees that travelers are faced with these days.

Here Is The Complete List Of The Top 20 Travel Apps Right Now:

Traveler Alert: Don’t Forget Travel Insurance For Your Next Trip!

↓ Join Our Community ↓

The Travel Off Path Community FB group has all the latest reopening news, conversations, and Q&A’s happening daily! 

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR LATEST POSTS

Enter your email address to subscribe to Travel Off Path’s latest breaking travel news, straight to your inbox

This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com