Hopper App Review: Are The Travel Deals Legit?

As a fellow traveler myself, I've fallen in love with travel deals sites and providers that help you cut costs on that expensive flight ticket you need for your trip.

While there are many ways to find cheap travel deals online, I find it can be overwhelming sometimes to decide on the one for you to use!

Just like our review of Momondo or Thrifty Traveler, I'd like to make sure travelers know what they're signing themselves up for when they're looking at cheap flights online. After all, with the tremendous amount of cheap flight offers out there, it's easy to get caught with some that aren't real or are straight-up scams.

One provider, in particular, that’s frequently mentioned in the travel circles is Hopper app. Hopper has made its name in the travel industry, but is it any good? Find out what my take is on this well-known app!

What Is Hopper?

Hopper is a travel app that uses data and AI to help you find the best time to book flights, hotels, and rental cars. It predicts when prices will rise or drop, so you can book when rates are at their lowest.

The Hopper app was created in 2015 by Frederic Lalonde, an ex vice president at Expedia. Based in Montreal and Boston, Hopper has since received over 20 million downloads. You can download the app on both iOS and Android devices.

What makes Hopper stand out is its price prediction feature. Instead of just showing current prices, it tells you whether to book now or wait. You can also "watch" trips and get notified when prices drop. The Hopper app saves an average of $50 on domestic flight and $120 on international flights per user, ranking #1 travel app in over 35 countries.

It’s basically like having a deal-savvy friend keeping an eye on things for you!

Let's find out more on how it works exactly.

How Does Hopper Work?

If you've seen Hopper’s ads lately, you might be wondering: how is it finding flights cheaper than I can?

Turns out, Hopper uses a mix of machine learning, data analytics, and historical pricing trends to predict when flights, hotels, and even rental cars will go on sale. It looks at patterns like seasonal demand and previous price drops, then makes predictions with what it claims is up to 95% accuracy.

When Hopper spots a good deal, you’ll get a notification so you can book right away. I especially liked seeing the price trends laid out on a calendar—makes it easier to plan ahead and avoid overpaying.

I'm also able to see its price projection charts on a calendar format to be informed of it's predicted pricing fluctuations throughout the near future.

How to Use Hopper App

Hopper Flights

Flight prices are unpredictable, and Hopper tries to help take the guesswork out of it.

Just enter your departure city, destination, and travel dates. Hopper scans a bunch of flight prices and shows you a color-coded calendar that makes it easy to spot the cheapest days to fly. They actually make it pretty easy!

If you're not ready to book, you can "watch" the trip, and Hopper will alert you when prices drop or when it's a good time to book. They say their predictions are 95% accurate up to a year in advance—not bad if you like to plan ahead.

Hopper Hotels

Once flights are sorted, Hopper can help with accommodations too. Just pop in your destination and dates, and Hopper will look for deals that match your preferences—whether you’re going for something luxurious or budget-friendly.

It’ll even tell you if you should book now or wait based on price trends. Like with flights, you can set up a watchlist for hotels and get alerts if rates drop.

Top Features: Summarized

Here are a few of Hopper’s most useful features that can make trip planning a bit easier:

Booking Options: Hopper started with flights but now covers hotels, car rentals, and even vacation homes—so you can manage most of your trip in one app. That puts it in the same lane as apps like Expedia, Skyscanner, and SnapTravel.

Price Freezing: Seen a deal but need time to confirm plans? Hopper lets you freeze the price for 24 hours with a small deposit. It gives you a bit of breathing room before committing, especially if you're waiting on friends to confirm.

Carrot Cash: Hopper has its own rewards system. When you book through the app, you earn Carrot Cash you can use toward future travel. Occasionally, they’ll even match what you load into your wallet, giving you extra credit to spend. They seem to push this a lot, which could be helpful if you plan on sticking with one platform. Me personally, I like to price shop, so I don't really get to use this to its full advantage.

Login Gifts & Daily Deals: If you like checking in for deals, Hopper sometimes drops little rewards just for opening the app. I’ve seen deals like over $100 off select international flights. It’s a fun little bonus if you’re flexible and always travel-curious.

Highlights: Hopper's flights search

Hopper is best known for flights — in fact, I'd say it's the best feature Hopper offers. You type in where you want to go, and it shows a color-coded calendar of the cheapest (and priciest) days to fly. Super helpful if your dates are flexible.

Once you pick dates, Hopper tells you whether to wait or book. You can also set alerts and get notified of price changes.

In my experience, Hopper’s predictions were pretty solid. I got an alert about a $120 drop on a flight I was watching—and sure enough, it happened that same day.

That said, it’s not perfect. There were times Hopper told me to wait, and prices ended up going up instead.

They’ve also added a "Price Freeze" feature. It lets you lock in a price for a few days without booking. Handy if you’re still confirming plans—but it comes with a small fee.

Is Hopper Legit?

Simply put, yes, Hopper is definitely legit. In fact, I was delighted to learn Hopper is an accredited accredited travel agency, which means that the app contains privacy, trust and security measures that makes sure your data and personal information is safe.

I find that if you're traveling on a very tight budget, Hopper can be a great app to scan for cheap flights and hotels.

That being said, many online comments have indicated it’s an app best used to see what the best rates are, and then to book directly with the airlines or hotels themselves. This protects you should anything happen where you need to contact customer service, or should any other difficulties arise. I have also done this a couple times which I'll touch on a bit further down.

And remember there's plenty of other travel deal sites you can check out to expand your options when finding cheap flights.

What Are People Saying About Hopper?

Hopper's app features and how it works all sounds great, but is it actually a great tool or do they fall short, just like all of the other apps out there?

With the service only being provided on mobile apps, it’s important to look at what Hopper's customer service is like before you dive headfirst into purchasing a flight or a week in a hotel through them.

Generally, Hopper is widely positively perceived by millions of its users to be a trusted app available for budget travelers. They'll help you analyze pricing trends so you're able to book the cheapest deals to destinations across the world at your fingertips.

I've discovered that Hopper's not without its flaws, though.

If you have any concerns or problems, you must make any requests directly through your booking on the app. That is the only way to contact the support team directly. This means that you essentially have to make a purchase to speak with anyone, which I find a bit unsettling.

Do note that if you purchase a flight through a low-cost carrier, you’ll need to contact them to manage your bookings.

What Are The Hopper Complaints About?

Hopper reviews have an average rating of 3.3 stars out of 5 from over 2,400 users in public review platforms.

The majority of Hopper reviews either receive an excellent review, or a bad one, so it seems that customers have had very polarizing experiences.

I admit, there have been more positives than negatives for me, but it's fair to paint the entire picture.

I'm going to dive into some of the negative experiences some travelers have with Hopper so you can decide for yourself.

Price Freeze Issues

One recurring complaint Hopper receives has to do with the prize freeze feature on Hopper.

Several Hopper reviewers commented that despite paying a deposit to freeze their fare at the low rate they wanted, they were ultimately charged more after returning to pay the remainder of the fare.

In my opinion, this is something that feels a bit like a bait and switch. I would prefer to have total confidence in this feature.

Carrot Cash & Low Fares

If these Hopper users then requested a refund, they were only offered Carrot Cash, rather than the money itself.

Carrot Cash is Hopper's internal reward system, with 1 Carrot Cash being equivalent of 1 USD. The downside to getting Carrot Cash instead of real money back is that you'll only have the option to reuse that money within their app and nowhere else.

Another recurring complaint is that Hopper doesn’t offer the lowest fares available and that they won’t price match if you were to find a cheaper fare elsewhere after already booking through them. I tried to contact customer service in this situation and discovered this was the case and it certainly made things very disappointing.

I have even noticed some hidden fees popping up so the fare is actually more expensive than I thought it would be. Many reviewers recommend cross-checking Google Flights, or airlines directly to see how their fares compare, and I would co-sign that recommendation.

Customer Service & Cancellation Policy

Other Hopper reviews also speak to poor customer service, especially in regards to canceled flights.

Unfortunately, Hopper maintains a strict third-party and respects all stringent cancellation policies set by airlines or hotel booking providers out there. This also sometimes mean no cancellation for flights and hotel bookings.

It's not they aren't polite, it's just seems sometimes they just can't help you.

Limited Options on Flights

Another downside to using Hopper is that while Hopper's been expanding their platform to encompass most of the travel booking functionalities like stays and rentals, Hopper still does not have all of the flights available for booking on their app.

This means that you'll sometimes find yourself leaving the app just to go back to square one on looking for the right flights with the right deals to book from.

Price Prediction and Fluctuations

While Hopper maintains a 95% accuracy on deal predictions, there's still a chance that predicted fares may not drop. In fact, some users have also seen a rare increase in price while hopper predicted a decrease.

I must stress though that Hopper does not guarantee best prices as it uses technology and prediction algorithms. So while frustrating, this is not a totally unexpected possibility.

Is Hopper Worth It?

While I may have seemed to be back and forth a bit, I wanted to give a full picture of the app. Overall, I definitely think Hopper is worth a try.

Based on the Hopper app reviews, the app has an average rating of 3.8/5 stars on the Google Play Store and 4.8/5 stars on Apple's App Store at the time this blog was written.

The Hopper app functions similarly to their website, offering travel deals up to 40% discount on flights, hotels, and rental services.

You'll also be able to receive personalized recommendations, helpful information on airports and hotels, and compare prices based on specific filters, and even flight tracking features.

However, as I mentioned prior, the Hopper app reviews often mention the lack of a great system for customer support. You can find reviews saying how inconvenient it was to contact customer support through email and receive responses from different agents.

Re-booking is often through email as well, which decreases many users' experience with the app.

Other issues mentioned in Hopper's app reviews are unfavorable travel packages and bugs.

So, is the hopper app just right for you? Sadly, you'll have to make that leap on your own. I think that they're definitely an option any traveler should consider. While there have been many negative app reviews on Hopper, the general consensus is that the app is super helpful and there is certainly a way to use the app as a tool and not the end all be all option.

Out of all the best travel deal sites out there, Hopper remains great at the core of what it does: finding cheap flight deals, hotel deals, and car rental deals.

Given that Hopper is free on both platforms, I recommend you giving it a try!

My Rating: 3.6/5

Pros:

• Easily search flight & hotel deals
• Push notifications for routes or dates
• Easily monitor and navigate on app
• Price freeze with non-refundable deposit

Cons:

• Hard-to-reach customer service
• Not available on desktop
• Fare offered not always the lowest
• No actual cash refunds

General FAQs About Hopper

How Does Hopper’s Price Drop Guarantee Work?

Hopper's Price Drop Guarantee is a feature that allows users to get a refund of the difference if the price of their booked flight or hotel drops before their trip starts.

Once you've made a booking, Hopper monitors prices 24/7. If they find a lower price, they'll automatically refund the difference to your account.

How Accurate is the Hopper App?

Hopper claims that its pricing is 90% accurate.

That being said, Hopper's accuracy largely depends on its complex predictive algorithms which analyze large amounts of data to forecast flight and hotel prices.

While it generally does a good job, predicting price trends in the travel industry isn't always foolproof. Reviews have been largely positive, with users finding the app helpful in planning and saving money on their trips.

What is Hopper Carrot Cash?

Carrot Cash is Hopper's loyalty program. Users can earn Carrot Cash through various activities like inviting friends to use the app or participating in certain promotions.

Carrot Cash can be used towards future bookings made within the Hopper app.

How Do You Call Hopper Customer Service?

Hopper primarily offer customer service through in-app messaging and via email. They didn't provide a direct customer service phone line.

How Do You Get a Refund From Hopper?

Refund policies on Hopper depend on the rules of the airline or hotel you've booked with. If eligible for a refund, you can request it directly through the app.

In the case of cancellations due to extraordinary circumstances, Hopper will work with the provider to try and get you a refund or credit.

What Are Hopper Alternatives?

There are several alternative apps and services to Hopper, such as Skyscanner, Kayak, Google Flights, and Dollar Flight Club.

These services also offer flight tracking and price prediction tools. The best choice depends on your specific needs and preferences.

Does the Hopper App Support Multiple Currencies?

Yes, the Hopper app does support multiple currencies. You can change your currency preference in the app's settings.

This allows for a more personalized and convenient experience for users around the globe.

Pair Cheap Flights & Planning With Pilot!

Hopper is a useful app to research flight fares and nightly hotel rates.

Based on reviews and user experience though, it is best to use it purely as research, and to then go book directly with providers. Sometimes booking with third-party vendors can be a risk, and Hopper is no exception.

Whether you decide to use Hopper for your next trip or not, you should definitely think about using a trip planner. Why not try Pilot?