Cheapest Days to Fly (Plus the Cheapest Times and Months)
The days, departure times and months that price lowest, and how to check your own route.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through one, AirfareHacks may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Affiliate disclosure
The cheapest day to fly depends on your route and season, but the pattern is steady: Tuesday and Wednesday flights tend to cost less, Saturday often does too, and Sunday costs the most. If your dates can move, this post shows what that is worth: the fare data from Google, ARC and CheapAir, a 7-step check for your own route, and what the time of day, the month and the holidays do to the price.
What is the cheapest day of the week to fly?
No single day wins on every route, but the fare data points the same way. In Google’s analysis of 5 years of Google Flights data, departing on a Monday and returning on a Tuesday or Wednesday cost about 14% less than weekend flights. On domestic trips the gap reached 20% against departing and returning on a Sunday.
CheapAir’s 2024 study of more than 917 million US domestic fares found Wednesday the cheapest day to fly, $102 below Sunday on average, with Tuesday second at $99 below.
Saturday is the day the sources split on: Google’s comparison groups it with the weekend, while the ARC and Expedia 2025 Air Hacks Report found Saturday the cheapest day to start a domestic trip, up to 17% below Sunday. For international trips, ARC made Thursday the cheapest departure day, up to 15% below Sunday. Wherever a source names the most expensive day to fly, it names Sunday.
| Source | Cheapest days | Priciest day | Size of the gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Flights fares, 5 years to 2026 | Out Monday, back Tuesday or Wednesday | Weekend, Sunday-to-Sunday widest | About 14% vs weekend; up to 20% domestic |
| ARC and Expedia, 2025 report | Saturday (domestic), Thursday (international) | Sunday | Up to 17% domestic; up to 15% international |
| CheapAir, 917 million US fares, 2024 | Wednesday, then Tuesday | Sunday | $102 (Wednesday) and $99 (Tuesday) on average |
| TSA checkpoints, 2025 (people, not fares) | Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday | Sunday | 12.9% below an average day vs 10.2% above |
Why Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday flights are cheaper
The cheap days are the quiet days. TSA’s daily checkpoint counts record how many people pass through US airport security each day. Averaged by weekday, they line up with the fare data: Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday are the 3 quietest days, and Thursday, Friday and Sunday the 3 busiest, in 2025 and again in 2026.
| Day | 2025 average screened per day | vs 2025 average day | 2026 to 21 Oct, vs average day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | 2.16 million | -12.9% | -13.0% |
| Wednesday | 2.27 million | -8.6% | -7.1% |
| Saturday | 2.27 million | -8.4% | -9.8% |
| Monday | 2.62 million | +5.6% | +4.8% |
| Thursday | 2.65 million | +6.5% | +8.6% |
| Friday | 2.68 million | +7.9% | +8.2% |
| Sunday | 2.74 million | +10.2% | +8.3% |
On an average Tuesday in 2025, TSA screened about 574,000 fewer people than on an average Sunday. These are travelers, not fares, so the table shows demand rather than prices. Still, the days fewer people want to fly are the days the fare data prices lowest.
How to pick the cheapest days for your trip
These moves are not worth the same, so work through them biggest first:
- Move the days you fly. Midweek dates saved about 14% against weekend flights in Google’s data, and ARC’s best departure days saved up to 17% against Sunday.
- Take a connection if you can. Nonstops cost about 20% more than connecting flights on average in Google’s data, a gap about as large as the day-of-week effect.
- Ignore the day you book. Booking on a Wednesday instead of a Sunday was worth about 1.4% in the same data.
If your dates cannot move, the other levers for finding cheap flights do the work instead: a nearby airport, a one-stop routing or a better booking window. If they can, the Dates view in Google Flights is the quickest way to see what a move is worth. The calendar shows the lowest total price for each day, and Dates shows which travel dates have the best fares.
Example fares, illustrative only: 1 adult, economy, nonstop round trip from Chicago O’Hare, as a late-October 2026 search might show them.
| Date pair, 7 nights | Out | Back | Round-trip fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday to Sunday | Sun 6 Dec | Sun 13 Dec | $356 |
| Friday to Friday | Fri 4 Dec | Fri 11 Dec | $338 |
| Saturday to Saturday | Sat 5 Dec | Sat 12 Dec | $309 |
| Tuesday to Tuesday | Tue 8 Dec | Tue 15 Dec | $289 |
Same airline, same 7 nights. Moving from Sunday to Saturday saves $47, or 13%, and moving to Tuesday saves $67, or 19%, close to the 20% Sunday-to-Sunday gap in Google’s data. The Tuesday departure is 47 days out, inside the 22 to 57 day range where Google’s data puts the lowest domestic fares, so it is a fare to book rather than wait on.
Find the cheapest days for your route
- Search your route on Google Flights with your ideal dates and the right number of travelers.
- Open Dates and find the cheapest departure and return pair inside the days you could travel.
- Price a Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday at each end before you settle on a Friday or Sunday.
- Open Price graph if the trip could happen in any week of the season, and compare weeks.
- Pick your dates, then sort the flights by Price and by Departure Time to see which time of day is cheapest.
- Compare the cheapest nonstop with the cheapest 1-stop option on the same dates.
- Confirm the fare on the flight itself, since calendar prices update about once every 24 hours.
What is the cheapest time of day to fly?
There is no dependable answer. We found no airline, government or fare-study data showing that early-morning or late-night departures are reliably cheaper, and on any given day the cheapest flight on a route can leave at dawn, midday or late evening.
The same goes for an overnight red-eye: sometimes it is the cheapest seat on a route and sometimes not, and part of its value can be the hotel night it saves. Once your dates are set, sorting the Google Flights results by Departure Time answers the question for your route.
Example fares, illustrative only: one-way, economy, Chicago O’Hare to Phoenix on Tuesday 8 December 2026.
| Departs | Arrives (local) | Stops | Fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:05 a.m. | 9:05 a.m. | Nonstop | $164 |
| 9:40 a.m. | 12:40 p.m. | Nonstop | $139 |
| 1:15 p.m. | 4:15 p.m. | Nonstop | $151 |
| 5:50 p.m. | 8:50 p.m. | Nonstop | $172 |
| 9:30 p.m. | 12:30 a.m. next day | Nonstop | $146 |
The 9:40 a.m. flight is the cheapest and the 6:05 a.m. costs $25 more, so the first flight of the day would have been the wrong guess here. On another day the order can flip, which is why the sort beats any rule.
What is the cheapest month to fly?
For US domestic trips, January, with February close behind. CheapAir’s 2024 study ranked January cheapest and February second, with November and July the most expensive, and a January trip saved $125 on average against a November one. TSA’s counts show the same from the demand side: July 2025 averaged about 29% more travelers a day than January.
Global fares follow a different calendar: ARC’s 2025 report, drawn from its global database, found that flying economy in August could save up to 13% and made March the most expensive month. For premium cabins it put July as the cheapest month and February as the most expensive. For a domestic trip, the US data is the better guide.
The season also changes when to book: in Google’s data, July and August trips hit their lowest fares about 21 days before departure, while trips to Mexico or the Caribbean bottomed out about 43 days ahead.
| Source | What it measures | Cheapest or quietest | Priciest or busiest |
|---|---|---|---|
| CheapAir, 2024 | US domestic fares | January, then February | November, then July |
| TSA, 2025 | Travelers screened per day | January (2.12 million), then February (2.24 million) | July (2.74 million), then June (2.73 million) |
| ARC, 2025 | Global economy fares | August (up to 13% saving) | March |
| ARC, 2025 | Global premium cabin fares | July | February |
Is it cheaper to fly on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day?
It can be, because the holiday itself is one of the quietest days of the year at US airports. TSA screened 1,559,165 people on Thanksgiving Day 2025, the lowest count of any day that year, and 2,066,118 on Christmas Day, against a 2025 average of about 2.48 million a day. Fewer travelers do not guarantee a lower fare, but they make the holiday the first date to price.
The days around the holiday are the opposite: the Wednesday before Thanksgiving 2025 drew 2,753,036 travelers, nearly 1.2 million more than Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving 2026 falls on Thursday 26 November, and on the 2025 pattern the quieter days are the holiday itself, the Friday after it and the Tuesday after the Sunday rush. Google’s data puts the lowest Thanksgiving fares about 34 days before departure, which for a trip that week lands in late October.
Christmas works the same way. Christmas Eve 2025 drew 2,236,205 travelers, while every day from 20 to 23 December and from 26 to 30 December topped 2.7 million. Christmas 2026 falls on a Friday, so on the 2025 pattern the quiet days to price are Thursday 24 and Friday 25 December.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest day to fly?
Usually Tuesday or Wednesday, with Saturday close behind, while Sunday is the most expensive. In Google's 2026 analysis, leaving on a Monday and returning on a Tuesday or Wednesday cost about 14% less than weekend flights. Check your own route in a date grid, since any route can break the pattern.
What is the cheapest day to fly internationally?
Thursday, in ARC and Expedia's 2025 report, which found Thursday departures up to 15% cheaper than Sunday ones on international trips. Google's midweek pattern, out on a Monday and back on a Tuesday or Wednesday, is worth pricing too.
Do flight prices drop at 3 a.m.?
We found no evidence that they do. Fares change often, and Google Flights says its calendar prices update about once every 24 hours, so a late-night search shows nothing special. Track the route and book when the fare fits your budget.
When should you book international flights?
About 3 months ahead: Google's 2026 analysis found international fares from the US lowest about 89 days before departure. The low range runs from 50 to 133 days out, and the price drop inside it is small, so booking early in that range costs little.
Is it cheaper to fly on Thanksgiving Day?
It can be, because Thanksgiving Day is one of the quietest travel days of the year. TSA screened 1,559,165 people on Thanksgiving Day 2025, the lowest count of the year, against 3,134,613 on the Sunday after. Fewer travelers do not guarantee a lower fare, so compare the days either side in a date grid.
What is the cheapest day to book a flight?
It barely matters. Google's 2026 analysis found Wednesday about 1.4% cheaper than Sunday, while ARC's 2025 report found Sunday the cheapest day to book, up to 8% below Friday. The day you fly moves the fare far more than the day you buy.
Keep reading
All cheap flights guides
How to Find the Cheapest Place to Fly (Flexible Destination Search)
Search everywhere at once and let the fare pick the destination.
Hopper App Review: Do Its Price Predictions and Add-Ons Pay Off?
What the Hopper app predicts, what its paid extras add to the rights you already have, and when booking direct is the better call.
Error Fares: How to Find and Book Mistake Fares
How mistake fares happen, how to tell one from a sale, how to book one fast, and what US rules and airline contracts say if the airline wants it back.