Head-to-head
Booking.com vs Expedia
Booking.com
70
Winner
Booking.com
Expedia
65
Booking.com has a slight edge for its perceived better deals and broader accommodation options, but both apps struggle with consistent customer service and accurate booking information.
Full reviews: Booking.com · Expedia
Booking.com and Expedia are both popular travel booking apps, offering a wide range of accommodations and travel services. While Booking.com is praised for its deals and diverse choices, it faces significant criticism regarding booking accuracy and customer support. Expedia, though also offering good prices, is frequently criticized for its customer service and app glitches.
Head to head
Booking.com Booking.com users appreciate the wide choice of accommodations and the ability to book entire trips, including flights and extras R2R34. Many find it useful for finding the best booking options and specific types of stays like homes R14R34. The app also offers a free cancellation option, which is valued by users R60. However, some users note that the save function for properties could be improved to allow selection of existing lists, similar to Airbnb .
Expedia Expedia is noted for offering good prices on reliable airlines and a wide range of travel arrangements and destinations . Users find it easy to navigate and appreciate having everything at their fingertips . However, some users report issues with specific features, such as the map view not working or the inability to select half-board options for hotels .
Booking.com Many users find Booking.com easy to use and navigate, with some calling it the 'easiest app to book from' R11R38R42R52. The app helps users save time and displays booking options clearly R14. However, some users experience login errors and issues with customer support chat functionality within the app .
Expedia Expedia is generally considered easy to use and navigate, with users appreciating its intuitive interface . However, the app is frequently reported to be glitchy, laggy, and prone to freezing during searches . Some users also report issues with the app stopping searches or not progressing past the first screen .
Booking.com Booking.com faces significant criticism regarding the reliability of its bookings and the accuracy of information. Users report confirmed reservations being denied by hotels R1, rooms being cancelled by Booking.com without user request R1, and double bookings R19R23. There are also complaints about misleading hotel ratings and descriptions R45, and issues with car services not being assigned drivers . Some users also report being charged in foreign currency despite prices shown in USD, leading to foreign transaction fees .
Expedia Expedia users also report issues with reliability, including hotel rooms being canceled without notification R103 and misleading information about hotel amenities like air conditioning . Some users mention that hotel descriptions can be accurate, but services like room cleaning might not be provided as expected . There are also reports of unexpected charges appearing on credit cards .
Booking.com Many Booking.com users praise the app for offering great deals and being one of the cheapest options available R11R36R38R56. Users appreciate finding good value for hotel stays and even extending stays due to good deals R36. However, some users complain about hidden fees and taxes not being included in the initial prices shown R3.
Expedia Expedia is often lauded for offering good prices, with users stating they find it much cheaper than booking directly through hotels . The app also offers a rewards system where users can earn cash towards future stays . However, a recurring complaint is that prices shown initially often increase significantly at checkout R78R100. Some users also report being misled about trip insurance costs .
Booking.com Customer service is a major pain point for Booking.com. Numerous users report horrible, rude, and unhelpful customer service R27R35R49. Issues include difficulty resolving problems like double charges R41, cancellation fee disputes , and refunds for fraudulent listings or canceled flights . Some users mention agents putting decisions in property owners' hands, and a lack of response to messages . While some long-time users report positive experiences with problems being solved quickly , the overwhelming sentiment is negative.
Expedia Expedia also receives widespread criticism for its poor and terrible customer service R61R70. Users report spending entire days trying to get assistance, being unable to get help when flights are canceled, and difficulty obtaining refunds R61. Agents are described as incompetent, and users struggle to get a live person to talk to . The virtual assistant is also noted as unhelpful .
Pick Booking.com if
You prioritize a wide selection of accommodations and generally good deals, and are comfortable with potentially needing to be persistent with customer service if issues arise R2R11R34R38.
Pick Expedia if
You are looking for competitive prices on flights and hotels, appreciate a rewards program, and are willing to navigate potential app glitches and customer service challenges .
Evidence note: Both apps have a high lifetime rating, but recent reviews for both show a significant skew towards negative experiences, particularly concerning customer service and booking reliability. The free-to-download nature means many users are likely to express frustration without a financial investment, but the issues cited are fundamental to booking services.
Frequently asked
Do Booking.com and Expedia have good customer service?
Are the prices shown on Booking.com and Expedia final?
What reviewers actually said
Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.
- [R2] Booking.com Booking App: I’ve been using that for many years, it’s a great app for choice my stances in different cities around the world! I recommend to every travels !
- [R34] Booking.com Perfect Travel companion: Booking is a perfect travel partner. Why stay in a hotel when you can stay in a home. I can book whole trips, flights, rooms, extras whatever I need. I can also rent hotel rooms but for me having my own space and knowing what’s around makes Booking my travel partner. No issues with the app or the way it works. Never offline.
- [R14] Booking.com Useful app to save time and display the best booking options: Good app. It finds the best place for you
- [R60] Booking.com My go to for Europe: Great selections and love the free cancellation option!
- [R11] Booking.com Easy bookings: Always easy to use and always find great deals on hotel stays
- [R38] Booking.com Easy: Best prices and easy to navigate, even a old man like me with little experience online lol
- [R42] Booking.com The best: Easiest app to book from ❤️
- [R52] Booking.com My go to app for hotels: Simple and easy to use. Never any issues
- [R1] Booking.com They spam and you lie about reservations: I had a reservation that was confirmed and when I called the hotel they denied that they have ever confirmed the date change to booking. Booking kept telling me it’s a system delay and I am all good. Issue # 2 - we had 2 rooms booked about month before and booking decided they will cancel one of the rooms. Hotel told me that they received email from bookin
- [R19] Booking.com Double booked: Unbelievably double booked. The undoing process was painful. No refund for two weeks. Horrible experience.
- [R23] Booking.com Do not download: Worst app to book do not recommend!! There have been several times booking over booked rooms and when we showed up they never had the room available. And the app never refunded us our money. So if you have problems with anything they will not contact you.
- [R45] Booking.com Don’t trust them about hotels: Don’t trust them about hotels. Just paid $500+ for an apparently trashy 2 star hotel that was marketed as 8.7/10 on booking.com. Made our stay in Venice a misery. Don’t trust booking.com. Go on Google instead
- [R36] Booking.com Can’t Beat It!: One of the cheapest options in the area! Very nice place. The pools were awesome… don’t see lazy rivers at hotels much anymore- my kids loved it, and of course the slide!Such a good deal we decided to extend our stay and stay an extra night just because we could beat the deal. FREE breakfast too… that alone save my family of 5, $50+!
- [R56] Booking.com Always the best prices: I’ve loved the deals, the ease of use, it’s a one stop shop!
- [R27] Booking.com Terrible rude customer service: I’ve been using booking for all my travel for several years and the representatives I spoke with today were some of the rudest, could not care less to accommodate or help at all. If I missed my flight and had to stay with my kids at an airport for several days, they would not have seemed to care at all to go one bit out of their way to attempt to not make that happe
- [R35] Booking.com Horrible customer service: We used booking.com quite often for our son’s wrestling tournaments and never had an issue until now. When booking the hotels, I find them by typing in the location that his tournaments are at so I know the hotels are close. This time, the hotel booked was over an hour away. When searching the name of the location, the exact same hotel pops up, but with the location need
- [R49] Booking.com No customer service: Worst customer service ever
- [R41] Booking.com Double charged: I paid for my reservation through Booking.com, but the hotel charged me again when I checked in. I contacted Booking.com’s customer support right away, and they were unable to resolve the issue or offer any real assistance. Being charged twice for the same reservation is unacceptable. This has been a very frustrating experience, and I expected much better customer service.
- [R61] Expedia Poor customer service: I am extremely disappointed with the support I received from Expedia. What turned out to be a simple issue could likely have been resolved with a single phone call to Saudia, yet I spent an entire day trying to get assistance from your support team. Unfortunately, this is not the first time I’ve experienced this. I had a very similar situation a couple of years ago, and I u
- [R70] Expedia Customer: Horrible customer service
- [R3] Booking.com Convenient if you avoid the sinister scammy parts: If you book a vehicle, it includes “insurance.” This is Booking.com’s “service” and it entirely independent from the rental company. This “insurance” is not usually honored and requires a police report. you are essentially wasting your money and will need to buy insurance again with the actual company. Additionally, the prices they show do not inc
- [R78] Expedia Stop price gouging please :): The site itself is intuitive and easy to use but the prices and price jumps are ridiculous all companies use our data and raise prices accordingly. Your website will tell me one price and I will go to checkout and the price is vastly different
- [R100] Expedia Gives you one price but always is higher in the end: The past few times I went to book it gives you one price but when you check out it always seems to go up by a lot had good luck before but now it’s just a joke
- [R103] Expedia Junk: I don’t know what’s going on with this site anymore but I booked a hotel room and when I got there the room was canceled for no reason I was never given and email or message telling me
Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store