---
title: "Skyscanner Live vs Indicative Prices"
description: "Compare Skyscanner Flights Live Prices and Indicative Prices across freshness, use case, latency, booking confidence and rate limits."
slug: "skyscanner-live-vs-indicative-prices"
translationKey: "compare-skyscanner-live-vs-indicative-prices"
locale: "en"
type: "comparison"
category: "flight"
tags: ["skyscanner","live-prices","indicative-prices","flight-api","freshness"]
publishedAt: "2026-09-26"
updatedAt: "2026-09-26"
reviewedAt: "2026-09-26"
sources:
  - title: "Skyscanner Flights Live Prices"
    url: "https://developers.skyscanner.net/docs/flights-live-prices/overview"
  - title: "Skyscanner Flights Indicative Prices"
    url: "https://developers.skyscanner.net/docs/flights-indicative-prices/overview"
  - title: "Skyscanner Rate Limits"
    url: "https://developers.skyscanner.net/docs/getting-started/rate-limits"
---
Live and Indicative APIs do not provide the same pricing confidence. Live Prices queries supply partners for a concrete search context; Indicative Prices provides cached lowest-price signals for browse and discovery use cases.

## Comparison

| Dimension | Live Prices | Indicative Prices |
|---|---|---|
| Freshness | Real-time partner search | Cached |
| Skyscanner docs | Current best prices | Last-seen lowest price |
| Cache age | Create can return a fast cached subset before polling completes | Prices can be up to 4 days old |
| Use case | Bookable flight search | Browse, SEO, flexible date/destination |
| Workflow | create + poll | single search |
| Booking confidence | Higher | Lower / estimate |
| Standard rate limits | Create 100/s,100/min; Poll 100/s,500/min | 100/s,500/min |

## Live workflow

```text
/create
 -> fast initial subset
 -> sessionToken
 -> /poll
 -> fuller live result set
 -> itinerary refresh if needed
```

Measure time to first result separately from time to completion.

## Indicative workflow

The indicative cache stores lowest prices seen from traveler/supply searches by route/date. It is not an exact bookable price.

It fits month calendars, destination inspiration, SEO price ranges and budget exploration.

## Anti-pattern

Do not present indicative price as:
- checkout price,
- guaranteed fare,
- bookable offer.

## Product architecture

```text
Low intent discovery -> Indicative
High intent search   -> Live
Selected itinerary  -> Refresh
Booking handoff      -> Agent/provider
```

## Observability

Track indicative cache age, live time-to-first-result, live time-to-complete, indicative→live delta, live→refresh delta and landing-price mismatch.