Ryanair sells the cheapest seat fare in Europe more often than any other carrier, then claws back the gap with check-in fees, gate-bag charges, secondary airports an hour from city centres, and a boarding-pass workflow that punishes anyone who forgets a step. Travellers searching for Ryanair alternatives usually want one of two things: the same low base fare without the friction, or a slightly higher fare on a flight that lands somewhere useful. We compared seven apps that solve both problems in different ways.
The list covers two direct rivals on the same routes, a bundled-holiday option that includes baggage, a Mediterranean specialist, and three search apps that scan every budget carrier at once.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Bags included | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wizz Air | Central and Eastern Europe | Free app | No, add-on | Discount Club membership |
| easyJet | Primary airports across Europe | Free app | No, add-on | Free 15kg carry-on with seat |
| Vueling | Spain and Mediterranean network | Free app | Add-on | Flight-pass subscriptions |
| Jet2 | Package holidays with baggage | Free app | Yes, 22kg | 22kg checked bag standard |
| Skyscanner | Comparing every budget carrier | Free app | N/A (search) | Flexible-date heatmap |
| Kayak | Bundles flight, hotel, car | Free app | N/A (search) | Hacker fares and Trips inbox |
| Hopper | Predicting price drops | Free app | N/A (search) | Price freeze and prediction |
Why people leave Ryanair
Add-on fees often double the headline fare. A £19.99 seat to Faro turns into £75 once you add a 10kg cabin bag, a chosen seat, and the priority boarding that lets you bring the bag onboard at all. Threads on r/ryanair document the same pattern across destinations.
Secondary airports add an hour or two each way. Beauvais for Paris, Hahn for Frankfurt, Girona for Barcelona, and Charleroi for Brussels are all 60–90 minutes from the city by coach, which can erase the price gap with easyJet or Jet2 once the transfer cost is factored in.
Boarding-pass charges punish small mistakes. Forgetting to check in online or losing the QR code at the gate triggers a £55 reissue fee. Users on Reddit have reported being charged even after a documented app crash.
The cabin-bag policy is the strictest in Europe. Only a small “personal item” (40 × 20 × 25 cm) is free. Anything larger needs Priority Boarding or a paid cabin bag, both upsold late in the booking flow.
Customer service responses are slow. Chat tickets routinely take seven to ten days, and refund decisions on cancelled flights skew towards vouchers rather than cash.
Which Ryanair alternative should you pick
- Wizz Air for the cheapest base fares on Central and Eastern Europe routes.
- easyJet for landing at primary airports without paying business-class money.
- Vueling for the best Spain and Mediterranean coverage.
- Jet2 when the trip is a package and a 22kg bag matters.
- Skyscanner for comparing every budget carrier on a flexible date.
- Kayak for bundling flight, hotel, and car in one search.
- Hopper for predicting whether to book now or wait.
Stay on Ryanair when the trip is short, hand-luggage-only, and lands at an airport the city actually uses. On those bookings nothing beats the headline fare.
1. Wizz Air, cheap Central and Eastern Europe flights
Wizz Air flies more routes into Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, and Saudi Arabia than any other low-cost carrier in Europe, often with a base fare that beats Ryanair by a few pounds on the same dates. The app handles seat selection, bag add-ons, and the optional WIZZ Discount Club (£24.99 a year, ~£10 off every flight for the member plus one companion). Boarding passes are stored offline.
Ryanair vs Wizz Air: similar fare structure, similar add-on pattern, but Wizz wins on Eastern European city pairs and on Gulf routes Ryanair doesn’t serve.
Where it falls short: on-time performance lags Ryanair on shoulder-season routes, and disruption rebooking through the app is slower than the call centre. Cabin-bag rules are nearly as strict.
Pricing: free app. Base fares from £14.99 on short routes, £39+ on Gulf routes. Discount Club from £24.99/year.
Switching from Ryanair: install Wizz Air for any Central or Eastern European trip and compare the same date pair side by side. Discount Club pays for itself in 3-4 flights.
Bottom line: the right pick for anyone flying east of Vienna.
2. easyJet, primary-airport budget flights
easyJet flies into Gatwick, Luton, Manchester, Edinburgh, Paris CDG, Amsterdam Schiphol, Geneva, Milan Malpensa, and a long list of other primary airports Ryanair largely skips. The base fare is usually £5-15 higher than Ryanair, but the included one cabin bag (under-seat) and the ability to fly to the airport that actually serves the city often close the gap once a coach transfer is priced in.
Ryanair vs easyJet: easyJet’s fares are slightly higher, the airports are closer, and the cabin-bag allowance is more generous before paid upgrades kick in.
Where it falls short: delays on UK-based summer schedules have been a recurring issue. Seat-selection costs spike on premium dates.
Pricing: free app. Standard fares from £29 one-way on UK-Europe routes. Hold bag from £6.99, Up Front seats from £10.99.
Switching from Ryanair: install easyJet and re-search every booking that uses a Ryanair secondary airport. On Paris, Frankfurt, Brussels, Milan, and Barcelona the door-to-door cost is often lower.
Bottom line: the right pick when the airport matters as much as the fare.
3. Vueling, Spain and Mediterranean network
Vueling runs the densest network across Spain (Barcelona hub, plus strong Madrid, Bilbao, Seville, Palma, and Valencia coverage) and adds direct flights into Italy, Greece, France, and Portugal. The Avios partnership lets British Airways Executive Club members earn and burn miles on Vueling fares, which is unusual for a low-cost carrier.
Ryanair vs Vueling: tighter Spain coverage on Vueling, especially for inter-island flights to the Balearics and Canaries. Comparable fares before add-ons.
Where it falls short: disruption handling can be slow during peak summer at Barcelona El Prat. The Basic fare excludes seat selection and a checked bag.
Pricing: free app. Basic fares from €19.99 inside Spain, €39+ to Italy and Greece. Optima fare from €59 with seat and 23kg bag.
Switching from Ryanair: install Vueling for any flight within Spain or to Mediterranean leisure destinations. The Avios redemption option adds value for BA cardholders.
Bottom line: the right pick for Spain and the western Mediterranean.
4. Jet2, package holidays with baggage included
Jet2 isn’t trying to undercut Ryanair on the bare-seat fare. It bundles a 22kg checked bag, return airport transfers, and an ATOL-protected hotel into one price, then deposits the lot for £60 per person. Most package holidays end up only slightly more expensive than a Ryanair flight plus bag, plus transfer, plus the same hotel booked directly.
Ryanair vs Jet2: Ryanair wins on hand-luggage-only city breaks. Jet2 wins on weeklong beach trips where bags, transfers, and a hotel are needed anyway.
Where it falls short: flight-only Jet2 fares aren’t always cheaper than easyJet. The route network is narrower than Ryanair’s, especially in Eastern Europe.
Pricing: free app. Flight-only fares from £45 one-way to Mediterranean destinations. Package holidays from ~£300 per person for a week.
Switching from Ryanair: install Jet2 the moment a trip needs a hotel, a 22kg bag, and a transfer. The bundle is often cheaper than booking each piece separately.
Bottom line: the right pick when the trip is a packaged beach week, not a city break.
5. Skyscanner, search across every budget carrier
Skyscanner compares Ryanair, Wizz Air, easyJet, Vueling, Eurowings, Jet2, and most legacy carriers in a single search, with a flexible-date heatmap that highlights the cheapest departure in a month at a glance. The Everywhere search ranks destinations by lowest current fare from any home airport, useful when the date is fixed and the destination is open.
Ryanair vs Skyscanner: Skyscanner is a search engine, not an airline, so it surfaces Ryanair too. Use it to confirm Ryanair is actually the cheapest before booking.
Where it falls short: booking happens on the airline’s site, so add-on fees still apply afterwards. Some OTAs surfaced in results have poor refund records.
Pricing: free app, no booking fees on direct airline bookings.
Switching from Ryanair: install Skyscanner first, every time. The flexible-date view often shows a cheaper alternative carrier on the same route within a 24-hour window.
Bottom line: the search step before every booking, regardless of which carrier wins.
6. Kayak, bundles flight, hotel, and car
Kayak runs the same multi-airline search as Skyscanner but with stronger hotel and car-rental inventory inside the same app. Hacker Fares stitch two one-way tickets from different carriers when that’s cheaper than a return, and the Trips inbox auto-imports confirmation emails so the whole itinerary lives in one place.
Ryanair vs Kayak: Kayak surfaces Ryanair where Ryanair is the cheapest, and surfaces alternatives where they’re not. Stronger than Skyscanner if a hotel and car are also needed.
Where it falls short: the budget-airline coverage outside Europe and North America is patchier than Skyscanner.
Pricing: free app, no booking fees on direct supplier bookings.
Switching from Ryanair: install Kayak for any trip that combines flight + hotel + car. The Trips feature alone saves rifling through email for confirmations.
Bottom line: the right pick when flight + hotel + car all need booking together.
7. Hopper, price prediction and freeze
Hopper predicts whether a fare will rise or fall over the coming weeks and posts a wait-or-book recommendation per route. Price Freeze locks a fare for up to 14 days for a small deposit, which is genuinely useful when payday is a week away and the fare looks soft. The hotel side now covers most major European cities.
Ryanair vs Hopper: Hopper isn’t an airline. It tracks fares across carriers including Ryanair, and signals whether the current price is a good one.
Where it falls short: the Carbon-FairFly add-on and “VIP support” upsells are aggressive. Some users have flagged unclear refund handling on Price Freeze.
Pricing: free app. Price Freeze deposit varies by route (typically £6-15). Hotel bookings earn Carrot Cash for future redemption.
Switching from Ryanair: install Hopper a month before any flexible booking and set price alerts. Lock the fare with Price Freeze if the prediction says prices will rise.
Bottom line: the right pick for fare-curious travellers who book a month or more ahead.
How to choose
Pick easyJet if the secondary-airport tax on a Ryanair booking is starting to feel ridiculous and the trip already needs a small bag. The fare difference is usually £10-25, which is gone by the time the coach from Beauvais to Paris is paid for.
Pick Wizz Air for anything east of Vienna, plus the Gulf and Saudi routes Ryanair doesn’t fly. If the same city pair flies four times a week with Wizz, the schedule alone makes it the obvious choice.
Pick Jet2 when the trip is a beach week with a 22kg bag and a hotel. The packaged price is hard to beat once the components are added up.
Pick Skyscanner first, every time. It’s a free search, and it stops Ryanair from being the default just because nobody checked.
Stay on Ryanair for hand-luggage-only city breaks to cities Ryanair actually flies near. London-Dublin, Manchester-Berlin, Stansted-Madrid: the price gap is real and the inconvenience is small.
FAQ
Is Wizz Air cheaper than Ryanair? Wizz Air is often cheaper on Eastern European routes (Budapest, Warsaw, Bucharest, Sofia), comparable on Western European city pairs, and usually pricier on UK-Spain. Compare both on the exact dates before booking; the gap moves week to week.
Is easyJet better than Ryanair? On hidden fees and primary-airport access, yes. On headline fare, Ryanair usually wins. The honest answer depends on whether the trip needs a checked bag and whether the destination airport is close enough to the city for the lower fare to actually be lower.
What is the cheapest Ryanair alternative? Wizz Air matches or beats Ryanair on Central and Eastern Europe. On Western European routes, the cheapest fare moves between Ryanair, easyJet, and Vueling depending on day and season; Skyscanner is the fastest way to check.
Can I avoid Ryanair fees? Mostly, by travelling hand-luggage-only with the free 40×20×25 cm bag, checking in online before arrival at the airport, and skipping seat selection. Anything beyond that, the fees add up quickly.
Does Ryanair have an alternative for Eastern Europe? Wizz Air is the direct rival, with deeper coverage of Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Georgia, and Saudi Arabia. LOT Polish Airlines fills gaps Wizz doesn’t fly. For Russia and former-CIS routes, options are now limited to legacy carriers.
Is there a free alternative to Ryanair? All seven apps in this list are free to install. The fares aren’t free, but the apps themselves don’t charge a subscription.
