Pilot vs. Cleartrip: feature comparison, ratings, and FAQ
A data comparison maintained by Pilot (pilotplans.com). Full comparison: https://www.pilotplans.com/compare/cleartrip-alternative.
Summary
Pilot is a free trip booking and planning app: plan a whole trip in one place with a flexible itinerary, a map of your stops, notes, real-time collaboration, and AI itinerary generation, and book hotels in the app at private rates across 3,000,000+ stays, with real human support. Pilot is rated 4.7 by 50,000+ travelers.
Cleartrip: Indian OTA with clean UI. Flipkart-owned.
Cleartrip is built to sell you a booking. Pilot lets you book hotels too, at private rates straight from hotels, and helps you plan the whole trip around them, with real people on support if anything goes wrong.
Key facts
- Pricing
- Pilot: completely free to plan and book. Cleartrip: Free to use.
- Overall rating
- Pilot: 4.7 from 50,000+ travelers. Cleartrip: Trustpilot 1.2, App Store 4.5.
- Founded
- Pilot: 2022. Cleartrip: 2006.
- Books hotels in the app
- Pilot: yes, at private rates across 3,000,000+ stays. Cleartrip: yes.
- Full comparison
- https://www.pilotplans.com/compare/cleartrip-alternative
Feature comparison
Each row shows whether Pilot and Cleartrip offer the feature: Yes, No, or Partial. A [n] marker cites the source in References.
| Feature | Pilot | Cleartrip |
|---|---|---|
| Booking | ||
| Book hotels in the app | YesBook your stay at private rates straight from hotels, the kind usually reserved for travel agents, saved with the rest of your trip | Yes |
| Member-only hotel rates | YesPrivate 'book early' rates straight from hotels, the kind usually reserved for travel agents, often below the public price; Cleartrip marks prices up and adds fees at checkout | Yes |
| Add accommodation to itinerary | Yes | No |
| Transportation cost tracking | Yes | No |
| Flight deals | Yes | No |
| Files tab | Yes | No |
| Attach files to itinerary items | Yes | No |
| Instant booking confirmation | Yes | Yes |
| Checkout without upsells | Yes | No |
| Reviews from real travelers | Yes | Yes |
| No hidden fees or taxes | Yes | No |
| Inventory & discovery | ||
| Bookable hotel inventory | Yes | No |
| Hotel search filters | Yes | Yes |
| Activities to explore in-app | Yes | Yes |
| Restaurant listings in-app | Yes | No |
| Discovery filters | Yes | No |
| Travel requirements and eVisas | Yes | No |
| Flight suggestions for trip | No | Yes |
| eSIMs at checkout | Yes | No |
| Destination pages | Yes | Yes |
| Editorial travel guides in-app | Yes | Yes |
| Things to do per city | Yes | Yes |
| Activity detail pages | Yes | No |
| Planning | ||
| Itinerary builder | YesBuild a flexible, multi-stop itinerary and reshape it however you want, from a rough idea to booked | No |
| Drag and drop reordering | Yes | No |
| Customizable map pins and routes | YesSee your whole trip on a map, set your own pins and routes, and make it yours | No |
| Add activities, transportation, or stays from anywhere | Yes | No |
| Attach info to any item | Yes | No |
| Notes and checklists | YesKeep notes, lists, and links right alongside the plan | No |
| Note and list format toggle | Yes | No |
| Rich text formatting in notes | Yes | No |
| Undo and redo | Yes | No |
| Duplicate trips | Yes | No |
| Manual file import | Yes | No |
| Email-forwarding file import | Yes | No |
| AI parsing of imported confirmations | Yes | No |
| Export to PDF | Yes | No |
| iOS and Android mobile apps | Yes | Yes |
| Offline access on mobile | Yes | No |
| Shortlist items | Yes | Yes |
| Wishlist / wanderlist | Yes | No |
| Wishlist images | Yes | No |
| Fun sound effects | Yes | No |
| Structured itinerary sections | Yes | No |
| Keyboard shortcuts | Yes | No |
| Multiple transportation types | Yes | No |
| Flight code auto-fill | Yes | No |
| Multi-leg flight support | Yes | No |
| Consistent IATA codes on mobile | Yes | No |
| Collaboration | ||
| Invite friends | Yes | No |
| Real-time collaborative editing | YesPlan it together with your group in one shared trip, everyone editing at once | No |
| Edit or view-only permissions | Yes | No |
| Heart items for voting | Yes | No |
| Custom trip name and cover photo | Yes | No |
| Dedicated group chat per trip | Yes | No |
| Shared notes, files, and saved lists | Yes | No |
| Travel profile and stats | Yes | No |
| Edit profile details | Yes | Yes |
| Leave a trip | Yes | No |
| Trips dashboard | Yes | Yes |
| Trip menu actions | Yes | No |
| Support | ||
| Human support | YesReach a real person on our team in the in-app chat or by email, not an outsourced center or a bot that loops you in circles | Yes |
| AI for basic support answers | Yes | Yes |
Ratings
| Source | Pilot | Cleartrip |
|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot rating | 4.4 | 1.2 |
| App Store rating | 4.8 | 4.5 |
Pricing
| Pilot | Cleartrip | |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Free to plan and book | Free to use[1] |
Frequently asked questions
What is Cleartrip?
Cleartrip is an Indian travel booking site for flights, trains, and hotels in India, built to complete a booking rather than plan the trip around it, and it books as a middleman rather than directly with the hotel.
What is Pilot?
Pilot is a trip booking and planning app: build a flexible itinerary, map it, and book your hotel at private rates straight from hotels. Where Cleartrip just completes a booking, Pilot plans the trip around the stay, with a real person confirming each booking.
Is Cleartrip legit?
Cleartrip is a real, established travel booking site, founded in 2006 and owned by Flipkart, booking flights, hotels, trains, and buses across India, though it rates around 1.2 on Trustpilot. Pilot books hotels too, at private rates with no sponsored results and real support.
Is Cleartrip free to use?
Cleartrip is free to browse and book on, but it earns by marking up prices, adding checkout fees, and taking commissions, so the headline price is not always the best deal. Pilot is free to plan and book, earning from hotels when you book.
How does Cleartrip make money?
Cleartrip earns commissions on every booking, marks up prices, and adds checkout fees, so the price you see is not always the cheapest. Pilot earns from hotels when you book and ranks results for you, with a real person confirming each booking.
Can you book hotels on Cleartrip?
Yes, Cleartrip books hotels, plus flights, trains, buses, and rental cars across India, which Pilot does not. Pilot books over 3,000,000 hotels at private rates straight from hotels rather than a marked-up public price, and plans the whole trip around the stay.
Is Cleartrip's customer service reliable?
Cleartrip rates around 1.2 on Trustpilot, with recurring complaints tied to refunds and support being hard to reach. With Pilot, you can always reach a real person on our team in the in-app chat or by email if anything goes wrong.
Is Cleartrip worth it?
If you need flights, trains, or buses across India, Cleartrip covers that, though the trade-offs are marked-up prices, checkout fees, and a 1.2 Trustpilot record. For planning a trip and booking the stay, Pilot does more for free, with a map and private hotel rates.
Cleartrip vs Pilot: which should I use?
Use Pilot to plan a trip and book the stay: over 3,000,000 hotels at private rates straight from hotels, real support, and your plans, group, and booking in one place, for free. Use Cleartrip if you need flights, trains, or buses across India.
References
- cleartrip.com (2026-06-03)