Pilot vs. TripIt: feature comparison, ratings, and FAQ
A data comparison maintained by Pilot (pilotplans.com). Full comparison: https://www.pilotplans.com/compare/tripit-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.
TripIt: Email-forwarding itinerary aggregator. Category pioneer. SAP Concur owned.
Both organize your trip and auto-import your confirmations. Pilot adds a flexible, free planner you can shape any way you want, and lets you book your stays at private hotel rates instead of just filing the itinerary.
Key facts
- Pricing
- Pilot: completely free to plan and book. TripIt: Free / $49/yr (TripIt Pro).
- Overall rating
- Pilot: 4.7 from 50,000+ travelers. TripIt: Trustpilot 1.9, App Store 4.8, Google Play 4.7.
- Founded
- Pilot: 2022. TripIt: 2006.
- Books hotels in the app
- Pilot: yes, at private rates across 3,000,000+ stays. TripIt: no.
- Full comparison
- https://www.pilotplans.com/compare/tripit-alternative
Feature comparison
Each row shows whether Pilot and TripIt offer the feature: Yes, No, or Partial. A [n] marker cites the source in References.
| Feature | Pilot | TripIt |
|---|---|---|
| Planning | ||
| Itinerary builder | Yes | Yes |
| Drag and drop reordering | YesDrag anything anywhere and reshape the plan however you want; TripIt files items into a fixed itinerary you can't rearrange freely | No |
| Customizable map pins and routes | YesSee your whole trip on a map, customize pins, and route between stops; TripIt doesn't have a customizable map | No |
| Add activities, transportation, or stays from anywhere | Yes | Yes |
| Attach info to any item | Yes | Yes |
| Notes and checklists | Yes | Yes |
| 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 | Yes |
| Email-forwarding file import | YesForward your confirmations and the details are pulled into your itinerary, the same auto-import people use TripIt for | Yes |
| AI parsing of imported confirmations | YesForward a booking confirmation and its details are added to your itinerary automatically | Yes |
| Export to PDF | YesExport your itinerary to PDF to share or keep offline, free; no Pro plan needed | Yes |
| iOS and Android mobile apps | Yes | Yes |
| Offline access on mobile | YesYour trip details are available offline on mobile, free, the same as TripIt | Yes |
| Shortlist items | Yes | No |
| Wishlist / wanderlist | Yes | No |
| Wishlist images | Yes | No |
| Fun sound effects | Yes | No |
| Structured itinerary sections | Yes | Yes |
| Keyboard shortcuts | Yes | No |
| Multiple transportation types | Yes | Yes |
| Flight code auto-fill | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-leg flight support | Yes | Yes |
| Consistent IATA codes on mobile | Yes | Yes |
| Collaboration | ||
| Invite friends | Yes | Yes |
| Real-time collaborative editing | Yes | Yes |
| Edit or view-only permissions | Yes | Yes |
| Heart items for voting | Yes | No |
| Custom trip name and cover photo | Yes | Yes |
| Dedicated group chat per trip | Yes | No |
| Shared notes, files, and saved lists | Yes | Yes |
| Travel profile and stats | Yes | Yes |
| Edit profile details | Yes | Yes |
| Leave a trip | Yes | No |
| Trips dashboard | Yes | Yes |
| Trip menu actions | Yes | Yes |
| Maps | ||
| Map view of itinerary | Yes | Yes |
| Add items from map | Yes | No |
| Routes tool | Yes | Yes |
| Reorder route stops | Yes | No |
| Dynamic map search | Yes | No |
| AI | ||
| AI itinerary generator | YesBuild a full itinerary in minutes with AI; TripIt organizes what you forward in but won't generate a plan | No |
| AI activity suggestions | Yes | No |
| AI planning with filters | Yes | No |
| Booking | ||
| Book hotels in the app | YesBook your stay in the app; TripIt only organizes bookings you make elsewhere | No |
| Member-only hotel rates | YesPrivate deals straight from hotels, the kind usually saved for travel agents, across 3,000,000+ stays | No |
| Add accommodation to itinerary | Yes | Yes |
| Transportation cost tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Flight deals | Yes | No |
| Files tab | Yes | Yes |
| Attach files to itinerary items | Yes | Yes |
| Instant booking confirmation | Yes | No |
| Checkout without upsells | Yes | No |
| Reviews from real travelers | Yes | No |
| No hidden fees or taxes | Yes | No |
| Budgeting | ||
| Trip budget tracker | Partial | No |
| Per-person cost split | Partial | No |
| In-trip expense logging | Yes | No |
| Group expense splitting | No | No |
Ratings
| Source | Pilot | TripIt |
|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot rating | 4.4 | 1.9 |
| App Store rating | 4.8 | 4.8 |
| Google Play rating | 4.2 | 4.7 |
Pricing
| Pilot | TripIt | |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Free to plan and book | Free / $49/yr (TripIt Pro) |
Frequently asked questions
What is TripIt?
TripIt is an itinerary organizer app. People use it to auto-organize booking confirmations into a single itinerary. It helps you organize an itinerary, but you book your stays on other sites, and some features sit behind a paid plan.
What is Pilot?
Pilot is a trip booking and planning app. You plan the whole trip in one place, a flexible itinerary, a map of your stops, and notes, and you book your hotel in the app at private rates straight from hotels, the kind usually reserved for travel agents. Where TripIt organizes a trip you book elsewhere, Pilot keeps the planning free and lets you book your stay without leaving the plan.
Is TripIt legit?
Yes, TripIt is a real itinerary organizer owned by Concur (SAP). You forward confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com, or connect Gmail or Outlook, and it parses them into a single master itinerary for your flights, hotels, and reservations. It's well established for that one job. Worth knowing: on Trustpilot, which reflects how a company treats its customers, TripIt sits at about 1.9, even though its iOS app rates higher. Pilot is a free trip planner rated 4.7 by 50,000+ travelers that does the same auto-import of your confirmations, adds a flexible planner you can shape yourself, and lets you book your stay in the app at private hotel rates, which TripIt can't do.
Is TripIt free?
TripIt has a free tier that builds a master itinerary from the confirmations you forward in. Its more useful features sit behind TripIt Pro, which costs about $49 a year, including real-time flight alerts, gate and delay notifications, and seat tracking. Pilot is completely free, with no paywall on the basics: auto-import of your confirmations, a flexible drag-and-drop itinerary, a customizable map, AI itinerary generation, offline access, and PDF export are all included. Pilot can stay free because it earns from hotels when you book through the app, not from charging you to plan.
How does TripIt work?
You forward travel confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com, or connect your Gmail or Outlook inbox, and TripIt parses each one and arranges it into a single chronological itinerary you can pull up on your phone. TripIt Pro adds flight alerts and other tracking for about $49 a year. The catch is that TripIt only organizes bookings you've already made somewhere else; it doesn't help you plan the trip and it doesn't book anything. Pilot does the same auto-import (forward a confirmation and Pilot scans it and suggests details to drop into your itinerary), then lets you actually build and reshape the plan with drag and drop, a customizable map, and AI, and book your stay in the app at private hotel rates.
How does TripIt make money?
TripIt earns from its TripIt Pro subscription, about $49 a year, and as part of Concur's broader travel and expense business. Pilot is free because it earns from hotels when you book through the app, not from charging you to plan, which is why the whole planner, including auto-import, offline access, and PDF export, stays free with no Pro tier.
Can you book hotels in TripIt?
No. TripIt organizes hotel bookings you've already made elsewhere by reading your confirmation emails, but it doesn't let you search or book hotels itself. Pilot lets you book over 3,000,000 hotels right in the app, with private deals straight from hotels, the kind usually reserved for travel agents, so the booking lives with the rest of your trip instead of on a separate site. Pilot lets you book hotels in the app; flights link out and aren't booked in Pilot.
Is TripIt worth it?
TripIt is worth a look if all you want is a passive filing cabinet for confirmations you've booked elsewhere, and you don't mind paying about $49 a year for TripIt Pro to unlock flight alerts and seat tracking. But if you want to plan the trip, not just file it, Pilot does the same confirmation import for free, adds a flexible drag-and-drop planner, a customizable map, and AI itinerary generation, and lets you book your stay in the app at private hotel rates. So before paying for TripIt Pro, it's worth trying Pilot, which is free and does more.
TripIt vs Pilot: which should I use?
Use Pilot if you want a free, flexible planner that's simple to use, auto-imports your confirmations, and also lets you book your stays at private hotel rates, all in one place, with real people to help when you need them. TripIt fits the narrow case where you only want a passive itinerary organizer for bookings you make elsewhere, you lean on its specific integrations like Apple Watch or Flighty sync, and you're happy to pay its $49 yearly Pro fee for flight alerts. For most people who want to plan and book, not just file an itinerary, Pilot does more for free.