How to use a VPN for cheaper flights in 2024

If you’re looking to get the best deal on an upcoming flight, your location can influence the price you’re shown while shopping. Many airlines use dynamic pricing that changes based on location, travel dates, demand, interest in the airline, and more.

The same flight can have a different price tag depending on the country where it’s purchased. To make sure you’re getting the best deal and not overpaying, you can use a VPN to get cheaper flights by changing your location.

Want to know more about how to use a VPN for cheaper flights? We’ve got the complete guide to get you started. Keep reading to find out the best VPNs for cheaper flights and how to beat the airline’s dynamic pricing.

How to use VPN to get cheaper flights

1. Pick a VPN with a global fleet of servers – we recommend NordVPN for this, now 74% OFF
2. Download and open the VPN on your device
3. Pick a server and search for your flight
4. Check and note the flight’s prices and then clear your cookies
5. Repeat this process with servers in different countries to compare prices
6. Choose the server with the cheapest flight and book your ticket!

Get cheap flight tickets with NordVPN

What causes different flight prices?

The price you see when you search for a flight is determined by several behind-the-scenes factors. Here are a few of the main influences that cause different flight prices:

• Destination’s popularity. The popularity of destinations can vary between countries due to geographical, political, or cultural reasons. The bigger the demand, the pricier the flights.
• Your location. The same flight can have different prices depending on the market. Generally, you might find more expensive price tags for flights while browsing from a wealthier country.
• The airline’s location. Individual airlines sometimes offer more favorable pricing to the market in their home country. If you want to book with a specific airline, check to see where its headquarters are and use your VPN to connect to that country.
• Your online activity. Ever searched for a flight two days in a row and found that the price increased? Your cookies may cause flight prices to go up in an effort to instill urgency and get you to purchase your seat ASAP.
• Seasons and holidays. It’s no surprise that flying around Christmas and other high-traffic holidays is more expensive. Tickets to vacation destinations may be at a peak in summer when demand is higher.
• Currency fluctuations. The value of currencies changes due to economic factors, impacting flight prices. If your currency is strong, you might pay less for a flight in a country with a weaker currency, and vice versa. Watching exchange rates can help you find cheaper flights at the right time.

Best VPNs to get cheaper flights in 2024

1. NordVPN – overall best VPN for cheaper flights
2. Surfshark – reliable VPN to book flights
3. IPVanish – secure and powerful VPN to get cheaper flights

To change the IP address for cheaper flights, you’ll need a trustworthy VPN with the right attributes. However, choosing the best VPN to book for cheap flights might seem like a daunting task, considering the amount of VPN providers on the market. This is why we tested over 30 VPN services and came up with the top 3 VPNs for cheaper flights.

1. NordVPN – best VPN to get cheaper flights in 2024

Get cheaper flights with NordVPN

With an extensive network of over 6300 servers in 111 countries, NordVPN is the perfect VPN to find the cheapest country to book flights from. In addition, it’s one of the speediest VPN providers on the market, thanks to its NordLynx protocol.

We did our research when reviewing NordVPN and found that NordVPN does its job in finding cheaper fares. In addition to finding cheap flights, NordVPN also adds extra security to your connection, and this is especially important when traveling to highly restricted countries, like China or Russia.

NordVPN subscriptions start at $3.09/month, but you can first take advantage of its 7-day free trial or a 30-day money-back guarantee, to see whether the service is right for you.

2. Surfshark – fast VPN to get cheaper flights

Get cheap plane tickets with Surfshark

With 3200+ servers spanning 100 countries, Surfshark is a great choice to search global markets and find the cheapest country to book flights from. In addition, Surfshark is perfect for protecting you from cyber threats when traveling and using public Wi-Fi.

We tested Surfshark and can confirm it is capable of changing IP addresses for cheaper flights. More so, Surfshark’s CleanWeb feature will make sure trackers are blocked, meaning booking sites will not be able to raise the prices once you revisit.

With prices starting at $2.19/month for premium subscriptions, Surfshark also gives a 30-day money-back guarantee and offers a 7-day free trial to test its services first.

3. IPVanish – security-focused VPN for getting cheap flights

Get cheaper flights with IPVanish

IPVanish offers a server network of more than 2400 servers spanning across 55 countries – that’s plenty for finding the best cheap flights. Additionally, IPVanish security features ensure you’re protected while browsing online.

We’ve reviewed IPVanish in detail and found it super easy to change your IP address and access flight information and pricing as if you were in another country. It also operates under a zero-logs policy, so your online data is protected at all times.

IPVanish premium subscription starts at only $2.19/month and you can make use of its 7-day free trial on Android and iOS devices. Besides, there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can test flight search for free.

How to get cheaper flights with a VPN

To test whether a VPN could get cheaper flight tickets, I used the Skyscanner platform to compare prices for a one-way flight from São Paulo to New York. I chose NordVPN since it’s the best VPN for cheaper flight tickets due to its vast network of over 6300 servers in 111 countries. For our experiment, I connected to servers in both the US and Brazil to observe any variations in pricing.

Here is the method I used to get cheaper flights with a VPN:

1. I first checked the flight prices on Skyscanner without using a VPN to establish a baseline.
2. I downloaded NordVPN and connected to servers in the US and Brazil.
3. Using the same flight search on Skyscanner, I recorded prices from both server locations. In the Brazilian server, the cheapest ticket was approximately $401.23 (converted from R$2,051). In the US server, the cheapest ticket came in at $424.
4. I regularly cleared cookies, cache, and browsing history to ensure previous searches didn't influence the results. Alternatively, using incognito mode can also help achieve clean results.
5. That's it! You can now enjoy your travel cheaper.

However, despite our testing teams' positive results, there are more tips and things to consider before trying our method:

• Choosing a VPN server in a developing country, the destination country, or the airline’s home country can help reduce flight prices.
• If prices increase at checkout, virtual cards instead of country-based cards can prevent this.

Get cheaper plane tickets with NordVPN

Be aware that airlines are getting better at spotting this strategy, so finding lower prices may be more challenging and only sometimes guaranteed. Success in getting cheaper flights with a VPN can vary, depending on the airline's pricing tactics and your server choice.

How do websites determine your location?

As flight prices highly depend on your location, it is important to know how booking sites determine it. Below you’ll find key factors websites take into account when determining where you’re browsing from. Knowing this, you’ll know what actions to take in order to hide your true location.

1. IP address

Your unique IP address stores your location, therefore booking websites are able to determine your location and track your actions. This way, they can increase the prices, knowing you’ve been continuously searching for the same flight.

2. Cookies

Websites use cookies to track different information – from the date and time of your visits to your IP address. Sites analyze this data to personalize the information you see. Cookies may contribute to the increased prices, due to information it stores on how many times you searched for a particular flight.

3. Wi-Fi

Google can see the location of your Wi-Fi hotspot – this allows them to match Wi-Fi router SSID to geographic location. Therefore, travel sites can track your location by checking your Wi-Fi connection.

4. Mobile tracking

When you browse on your mobile, websites can see your exact GPS location. Unless you turn the location services off on your device, websites will show you prices depending on your actual location.

5. Browser HTML5 geolocation

Most browsers have the HTML5 geolocation feature, which can tell very precise details of your location. This can only be overcome with a VPN.

6. Your payment information

When you enter your payment details, the website can know where your card comes from. For example, if you use a US-based credit card, you might see prices jump back up to those common in the US, even if you're using a VPN to show a different country. Use a payment method from the same country as your VPN to keep the lower prices you found.

6 Cheapest ways to book flights

Wondering what other hacks can help you get the cheapest flight possible? Here are a few things you can try with or without your VPN to get the best deal on your next trip.

1. Use a VPN

The first and most trustworthy method would be using a robust VPN, such as NordVPN. VPN is a private network that will help you trick ticket booking sites into helping you avoid inflated prices. By utilizing a VPN, you hide the data that airline ticket operators use to customize your ticket cost.

A VPN will not only hide your IP address but also encrypt your traffic which precludes third parties from accessing your data or seeing your activity online, thus helping you avoid targeted marketing.

Lastly, a VPN will allow you to log on via USA or Brazilian or any other servers, which might modify the price and offer better deals as compared to other countries.

2. Clear cookies, history, and cache

On some occasions, the fare will be higher after visiting the website several times; this is due to the fact that ticket operators analyze and store information about you and your browsing habits. This, in turn, will make those prices skyrocket, but there’s a quick and easy solution: you can just clear your cookies, browsing history and cache.

Clearing your cookies will prevent the website from observing your habits, tracking your location and raising their prices. You can even use Incognito mode; that way, the browser will not store your preferences and there will be nothing for the operators to analyze.

3. Wait for Black Friday flight deals or other airline sales

Keep an eye out for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Travel Tuesday flight deals. Major airlines such as Southwest, Delta, SAS, British Airways, Iberia, and Ryanair often offer exclusive discounts during these sales events.

To stay informed, monitor airlines and travel platforms leading up to the events, and sign up for newsletters and alerts. Be cautious with excessive price checking, and consider using a VPN to mask your activities for potentially better deals – try different locations for different destinations.

4. Use a flight comparison tool

There are plenty of sites out there designed to help you research and purchase flight tickets. Sites like Skyscanner, Momondo, Priceline, Kayak, or Google Flights can help you with pre-booking research. They're simple to operate; just input your travel dates and destination, and you'll see a list of available flights. You can then easily compare prices, layover times, the number of stops, etc.

Using a flight comparison site can help you choose which airline has the best route for your trip and which days or times can get you the best deal. You can make purchases directly on some of these sites, while others will direct you to the airline’s official website to make your purchase.

These sites often show the cheapest flying dates in a calendar view. To save on plane tickets, consider traveling during less popular times, such as early mornings, late nights, weekdays, and off-peak seasons. These periods typically offer lower prices compared to popular travel times like weekends or holidays.

While there are many sites to choose from, exercise caution before making your final purchase. If you buy your ticket from a third-party site offering a low price, keep in mind you’ll need to deal with this third party if any problem arises with the flight.

5. Check for error fares

Errors happen even in the most calculated environments, and ticket pricing is no exception. Error fares is one of many options to get cheap flight tickets, as many booking sites and airlines sometimes offer very low prices either due to human or automation errors.

However, such deals expire and/or are sold out quickly, so you should hurry up and snatch that opportunity up! Sites like Secret Flying, Jack’s Flight Club, or Fly4Free provide advantage by tracking error fares and will help you find exclusive deals. Bookmark these sites so you don’t forget the next time you want a workation in Bali.

6. Use airline loopholes

Some of the best tricks that will help you save money come from understanding the system and using it to your advantage; ticket operators are no exception. Here are some ways you can “hack” the system.

Hidden city. If you buy a ticket to a different city/country with a layover in your destination, sometimes it might be cheaper to buy the full trip and just not board the layover flight; however, such plane dodging can sometimes incur fines, so be sure to check your terms of contract.

Throwaway tickets. In some cases, a roundtrip ticket will cost less than a one-way ticket. However, if you plan for your stay to be longer than the roundtrip ticket allows, just throw away your return flight ticket and enjoy your vacation. Flyers frequently do not board planes, so it’s almost impossible for airlines to penalize them; however, check the terms just to be sure.

Cheapest country to book flights from with a VPN

When you’re on the hunt for the cheapest country to use with your traveling VPN, a little experimentation is needed. We tested multiple countries that tend to offer better deals when purchasing flights, here are some of the cheapest countries to book flights from:

• Mexico
• Thailand
• Malaysia
• Singapore
• India
• Sri Lanka
• New Zealand
• Hong Kong

Depending on the airline, it might offer special deals or the best prices to its home market. Therefore you can try setting your VPN to a server where the airline is based to see if any special pricing is offered.

You can also try and see whether tickets are cheaper in the destination country. Simply connect your VPN to a server in the country where you intend to go and check the prices.

What's more, it is important to know the market and the demand for flights. The higher the demand, the more pricier the tickets are likely to be. Try a country where your destination is less popular to see if prices change

Change your location with NordVPN

What to do if you can’t find cheap flights with a VPN?

Running into an unexpected issue getting your flight at the best possible price? Don’t worry, there are a few common snags you might hit when using a VPN for cheaper flights. Here are a few issues you might be experiencing:

• Your real location and IP address are visible
• Your browsing history and interest in the airline are visible
• Your device is running on out-of-date software
• You’re not using a reliable and trustworthy VPN

Luckily, you can solve many of these issues on your own. Not sure what to do? Try some of these common solutions:

• Clear the cookies, cache, and browser history
• Connect to another server
• Update and restart your device
• Upgrade to one of our recommended VPNs
• Reach out to your VPN’s customer support team

Get cheaper flights with NordVPN

NordVPN is one of the most recommended providers for the cheapest flights. It’s not only extremely secure but also has more than 5500 servers across 60 countries, allowing you to check prices from different places in the world.

cybernews® score

4.9 /5

• Great set of features
• Large server fleet
• 30-day money-back guarantee

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Does a free VPN work for booking flights?

Yes, technically, free VPNs work for booking cheap flights, but we don't recommend using them when searching for a cheap flight or any other occasion. Free VPNs may leak private information due to a lack of security features. If your VPN can’t keep your online data private, it might cause ticket prices to rise as your interest in a particular airline is recorded in your cookies. Moreso, free-of-cost VPNs come with small server fleets, resulting in a poor flight directions selection.

To get full access to a VPN service, you can always take advantage of free trials and money-back guarantees. Most premium VPN services give you a chance to test the service risk-free for over a month, so you get heaps of time to find cheaper flight tickets.

Here’s a quick overview of the free trials available from our recommended providers:

• NordVPN – try out the service, using a 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee. After that, the pricing starts from only $3.09/month.
• Surfshark – snatch a 7-day free trial, combine it with a month-long money-back guarantee, and enjoy this top-notch VPN for free for 37 days. The starting price is $2.19/month.

Try NordVPN for free

How to book cheaper flights with a VPN: video guide

Check out the video guide we prepared explaining on how to find cheap flights with a VPN, so you can get the best deals:

Is it legal to buy flights with a VPN?

Yes, it’s perfectly legal to book flights with a VPN or do any other online shopping, for that matter. There are no specific statements against using a VPN, unless specified otherwise on the booking site.

But remember, always use a reputable VPN service, like NordVPN, to keep your connection secure, especially if you’re looking for cheaper fares from one of the countries with restricted internet usage, like China or Iran.

Final thoughts

If you’re dreaming of your next vacation, a VPN can help you make it a reality by finding the best possible flight deals. Using a VPN is an essential part of your trip planning process – use it with flight comparison sites during your research phase to get the best deal out there to your destination.

To make sure your online activity is properly encrypted, we recommend choosing a top provider – NordVPN. You can research prices using thousands of servers in 111 countries until you find the lowest price for an unexpected journey. When you get there, NordVPN is just as helpful, as it protects your online data while using public or any other network.

Have you tried out our tips & tricks for cheaper flight tickets already? Tell us about your experience in the comments section below.

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