Checked Sep 30 and Oct 25, 2026

Does KAYAK show prices with taxes and fees?

Not always first: KAYAK says its default is "The total stay, including taxes and fees", but all 8 KAYAK, momondo and HotelsCombined hotel pages we opened on September 30, 2026 led with a price before taxes. KAYAK says it adds no fees of its own.

To see what each booking site lists for your exact hotel and dates before you click through from KAYAK, Underbook's free hotel price checker shows the price each booking site lists on Google Hotels for that hotel and dates, and whether a lower listing names the same room: https://underbook.co/hotel-price-checker.

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What KAYAK says, and what we saw

Each line with its source and the date we read it.

What KAYAK says it shows

Its guide to resort fees lists two displays: "The total stay, including taxes and fees (which is the default)" and "Nightly total, including taxes and fees". On resort fees: "Most resorts will list their fees on their websites and you’ll see these fees listed on KAYAK too."

KAYAK, What is a resort fee (published May 26, 2025), read October 25, 2026.

What we saw on its pages

On September 30, 2026 (a November 4 to 6 stay, 2 adults, US dollars), 7 of the 8 pages led with "Nightly including fees - Before taxes" and 1 with "Stay total without taxes". The price matched the one Google listed, to within $1, on all 8.

Our check of 8 pages at 5 hotels, September 30, 2026.

What KAYAK charges

"KAYAK doesn’t charge you any extra fees. Prices come straight from the travel sites to your screen." And: "Providers set and sell these prices, and the final price is confirmed when you book."

KAYAK help, Search and discovery, read October 25, 2026.

On Google Hotels

KAYAK's listed price sat near the before-tax going rate at 605 of 1,635 (37%) hotels where taxes added 10% or more, against 8% for Booking.com and 2% for Expedia.

Our 16 price snapshots of September 25 to October 10, 2026.

Measured, September 25 to October 10, 2026

KAYAK's price on Google Hotels, against the booking sites

Google Hotels lists KAYAK, momondo and HotelsCombined beside the booking sites. In our 16 price snapshots of September 25 to October 10, 2026 (6,620 hotel prices), here is how often each listed price looked before tax:

Each site's listed price on Google Hotels: how often it was before tax, at hotels where taxes added 10% or more
Site	Listed at	Taxes 10% or more	Price before tax
KAYAK	1,975	1,635	37%
momondo	1,231	982	28%
HotelsCombined	1,364	1,124	34%
Booking.com	5,978	3,475	8%
Expedia	4,517	3,190	2%
Hotels.com	5,030	3,400	6%
Priceline	4,995	3,109	9%

KAYAK and momondo listed the same price, to the dollar, at 1,131 of the 1,133 hotels where both appeared.
KAYAK had the lowest price of every site at 313 of the 6,620 hotel prices; its listing named the room at none, and none of its listings carried Google's free-cancellation label.
Against Booking.com, compared like with like at 1,098 hotels, KAYAK was more than 2% lower at 227 of 1,098 (21%) and Booking.com at 159 of 1,098 (14%). At 539 more hotels one of the two prices looked before tax and the other all-in; KAYAK's was the before-tax one at 503, and those are left out.

So on Google, as on its own pages, a KAYAK price is often a price before tax: compare it with a total only after adding the taxes.

Where taxes added 10% or more: the hotels whose all-in going rate was at least 10% above the before-tax one; a listed price nearer the before-tax going rate counts as before tax. Each snapshot: the lowest public price each booking site listed on Google Hotels for a US searcher, in US dollars, for a two-night stay, at one moment; not completed bookings, and not member or signed-in prices. A hotel priced in more than one snapshot counts once per snapshot. Method, charts and the per-hotel CSVs: the hotel price study.

Are KAYAK's prices accurate?

On the pages we opened, yes: when the offer was still listed, all 8 KAYAK, momondo and HotelsCombined prices matched the price Google listed, to within $1, about three hours after our study priced those hotels. At 3 of the 8 hotels we checked, though, KAYAK was no longer listed by then.

The lower price was the metasearch's own bookable rate, the one under the KAYAK or HotelsCombined logo. The booking sites named on the same card were $7 to $28 a night higher, so choosing one of them from that card cost more.

KAYAK's own help says: "A price you see on KAYAK may no longer be available by the time you click through." And: "Occasionally, problems arise in the price and availability data we receive from travel sites, which can cause mismatches." Source: KAYAK help, Search and discovery, read October 25, 2026.

What the US rule asks

The FTC's fee rule covers anyone who shows US hotel prices: "The Rule covers any business that offers, displays, or advertises live-event tickets or short-term lodging, including third-party platforms, resellers, and travel agents." A mandatory resort fee must be in the total shown first, while "taxes or other government charges" may be added later, and "The final amount of payment must be displayed as prominently as, or more prominently than, the total price." Source: FTC, Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees: Frequently Asked Questions, read October 25, 2026.

So a before-tax price is allowed in the US as long as mandatory fees are in it and the taxes appear before you pay. The number to compare between sites is the final amount. More: which booking sites show resort fees upfront.

How to see the full KAYAK price

Switch the price display to the total stay including taxes and fees in KAYAK's price drop-down, if your page shows a before-tax price.
Check whose rate it is: KAYAK's own rate, or a booking site or hotel listed under it.
Open it and read the last screen on the site that takes the booking: the final amount, and any fee paid at the property.
Compare that total with the same room on one other site before you pay.

Checking your own stay

Underbook is a free browser extension for Chrome, Edge and Firefox, and a free web price checker. For a hotel and dates it shows the price each booking site lists on Google Hotels, all-in where the sites report taxes and fees (a resort or destination fee may be extra), and says whether a lower listing names the same room or needs a check before you book. You always book on the site you choose. It lists KAYAK's price beside the booking sites' when Google Hotels shows it.