CHI - STL

$49 Find Cheap Flights from Chicago to St. Louis

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Chicago to St. Louis departing on 5/12. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to St. Louis

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Chicago to St. Louis, as well as popular online travel agencies
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Chicago to St. Louis, as well as popular online travel agencies
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41,299,237 searches in the past 7 days on KAYAK

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Everything you should know

Cheapest round-trip
$181
Typical prices: $344-$257
Frontier
Fri 5/8Sun 5/10
ORD - STL • 1 stop
Cheapest non-stop
$187
Typical prices: $561-$317
Southwest
Wed 5/27Fri 5/29
MDW - STL • Non-stop
Advice from real travelers
AI-powered summary based on content written by travel experts. AI can make mistakes.
Choose Basic Economy on American for carry-on only.
Midway's compact terminal eases quick departures.
Expert advice
Expert advice
Expert advice
Expert advice
Top airlines
Cheapest • from $181 (round-trip)
Best reviews • 8.0 score
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
+1
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
Nonstop flights
You can fly direct with American Airlines, Southwest and United Airlines. Average duration is 1h 24m
Direct flights
Direct flights
+1
+1
Direct flights
Direct flights
+1
Top routes
Cheapest • 28% average savings
Most popular
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
Avoid delays
Most punctual • 88% on-time
Best time • Fewest delays
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
Top layover airports
Cheapest • Avg $191 (round-trip)
Shortest trip • 3h 47m (one-way)
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
When to book
in advance
Our data shows that travelers who book at least 4 weeks in advance save around 55% compared to booking last minute.
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
When to travel
Cheapest • 43% price drop
Most popular
Good to know
Good to know
+1
+1
Good to know
Good to know
+1
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We hope you love your trip to St. Louis!
Flight Deals
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Expert advice
Flight Deals

Cheap Flights from Chicago to St. Louis (CHI-STL)

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from Chicago to St. Louis that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent round-trip flight deals from Chicago to St. Louis

Fri, May 8 - Sun, May 10
Frontier Logo
5:30 pm - 12:21 am
ORD
-
STL
6h 51m
1 stop
Frontier Logo
4:19 pm - 11:13 pm
STL
-
ORD
6h 54m
1 stop
$181Frontier
Sat, May 2 - Mon, May 4
Frontier Logo
6:00 am - 11:19 pm
MDW
-
STL
17h 19m
2 stops
Frontier Logo
8:23 pm - 11:09 am
STL
-
MDW
14h 46m
1 stop
$182Frontier
Sat, May 2 - Mon, May 4
Frontier Logo
8:00 am - 11:19 pm
ORD
-
STL
15h 19m
1 stop
Frontier Logo
8:23 pm - 7:55 am
STL
-
ORD
11h 32m
1 stop
$182Frontier
Sat, May 2 - Mon, May 4
Frontier Logo
9:14 am - 11:19 pm
MDW
-
STL
14h 05m
1 stop
Frontier Logo
8:23 pm - 11:09 am
STL
-
MDW
14h 46m
1 stop
$183Frontier
Sat, May 2 - Mon, May 4
Southwest Logo
10:30 am - 4:15 pm
MDW
-
STL
5h 45m
1 stop
Southwest Logo
9:40 pm - 10:45 pm
STL
-
MDW
1h 05mnonstop
$185Southwest
Wed, May 27 - Fri, May 29
Southwest Logo
10:15 am - 11:30 am
MDW
-
STL
1h 15mnonstop
Southwest Logo
5:40 am - 6:50 am
STL
-
MDW
1h 10mnonstop
$187Southwest
Thu, May 7 - Tue, May 12
Delta Logo
10:59 am - 4:15 pm
MDW
-
STL
5h 16m
1 stop
Delta Logo
8:53 am - 6:33 pm
STL
-
MDW
9h 40m
2 stops
$189Delta
Mon, May 11 - Tue, May 12
Delta Logo
5:19 pm - 9:09 pm
ORD
-
STL
3h 50m
1 stop
Delta Logo
6:21 am - 1:01 pm
STL
-
ORD
6h 40m
2 stops
$189Delta
Thu, May 7 - Thu, May 14
United Airlines Logo
1:01 pm - 2:32 pm
ORD
-
STL
1h 31mnonstop
United Airlines Logo
8:30 pm - 10:01 pm
STL
-
ORD
1h 31mnonstop
$191United Airlines
Sat, May 2 - Mon, May 4
American Airlines Logo
7:02 am - 8:27 am
ORD
-
STL
1h 25mnonstop
American Airlines Logo
8:03 pm - 9:40 pm
STL
-
ORD
1h 37mnonstop
$193American Airlines
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for Chicago to St. Louis flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from Chicago to St. Louis to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

How much is a round-trip flight from Chicago to St. Louis?

This analysis is based on the cheapest round-trip price found on KAYAK in the last 12 months by searching for a flight from Chicago to St. Louis departing in May.

What is the cheapest Chicago to St. Louis flight route?

Data is based on round-trip flight searches on KAYAK over the past month.

The cheapest return flight from Chicago to St. Louis costs $167 on the route between Chicago Midway Airport (MDW) and St. Louis (STL). Over the past month, this route was, on average, 28% cheaper than other Chicago-St. Louis routes. The most popular route is between Chicago O'Hare Intl Airport (ORD) and St. Louis (STL).

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from Chicago to St. Louis?

The average price of all round-trip flights from Chicago to St. Louis clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.

If you are looking for a flight deal from Chicago to St. Louis, look for departures on Saturdays and avoid leaving on a Monday, as it's usually the priciest day. When flying back from St. Louis, Thursday is the cheapest day to fly and Saturday is the most expensive.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Chicago to St. Louis?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from Chicago to St. Louis, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from Chicago to St. Louis is December, where tickets cost $217 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are January and February, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $609 and $550 respectively.

Can I save money by flying with a layover from Chicago to St. Louis?

The average round-trip price for all non-stop flights, flights with one layover, and flights with two layovers for the route found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

No, with an average price for the route of $387, prices are generally cheapest when you fly direct.

How far in advance should I book a flight from Chicago to St. Louis?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from Chicago to St. Louis, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below average price on the flight from Chicago to St. Louis, you should book around 4 weeks before departure, which saves you about 55% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 12 weeks before departure.

Expert advice

Expert advice for your flight from Chicago to St. Louis

 
AI-powered summary based on content written by travel experts. AI can make mistakes.
KAYAK teamed up with top travel experts to share the best tips for your journey.
Our travel experts
Stefanie Waldek

Stefanie Waldek

Expert on United Airlines, ORD and MDW

Stefanie Waldek is a freelance space, travel, and design writer based in Saratoga Springs, NY. Her words have appeared in Space.com, Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Architectural Digest, and House Beautiful, among other publications. An expert in aviation and expedition cruising, Stefanie is frequently up in the air or on the sea, likely en route to Antarctica or the Arctic.

Blane Bachelor

Blane Bachelor

Expert on Southwest

Blane Bachelor is a journalist and editor specializing in travel and aviation who writes regularly for top global outlets. Born and raised in Florida, Blane has worked and lived in four countries, including the Netherlands, where she’s currently based with her family. Her favorite way to get to know a new destination is by running or riding a bike around town – or hearing a spooky ghost story about local history. She will always choose the window seat.

Harriet Baskas

Harriet Baskas

Expert on American Airlines

Harriet is an award-winning journalist who is happiest in an airport or an unusual museum. Her stories about airports, air travel, and the business of travel have appeared on NBC News, CNBC, USA TODAY, The Points Guy and other outlets. She is the creator of the StuckatTheAirport.com blog and the author of nine books. When not out on the road or exploring the latest airport amenities, she’s home in Seattle getting ready for the next adventure.

Yulia Denisyuk

Yulia Denisyuk

Expert on STL

Yulia is a freelance journalist who’s dispatched from 90+ countries. Her work focuses on cultures, adventure trips and air travel, appearing in NatGeo, NYT, CNTraveler, and more. For past assignments, she’s stayed with nomads in Mongolia and learned the art of Imigongo in Rwanda. She’s based in Chicago; in winter she often questions that decision.

Good to know

Low seasonDecember
Cheapest flight$49
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 43% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 45% increase in price.
Flight from Chicago Midway Airport to St. Louis

When to book flights from Chicago to St. Louis

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from Chicago to St. Louis based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated round-trip price
KAYAK looks at all historical flight data for each date to provide a predicted price for one-way trips or round-trips with a duration up to 40 days. While we try to provide actual minimum prices for each date, some prices are predictions and actual prices may differ.

FAQs for booking flights from Chicago to St. Louis

  • What is the cheapest flight from Chicago to St. Louis?

    In the last 3 days, the lowest price for a flight from Chicago to St. Louis was $49 for a one-way ticket and $181 for a round-trip.

  • Do I need a passport to fly between Chicago and St. Louis?

    No, a passport isn't needed to fly from Chicago to St. Louis. However, local authorities might ask for an official ID.

  • Which airports will I be using when flying from Chicago to St. Louis?

    Chicago is served by 2 major airports and there is only 1 main airport in St. Louis. You will leave Chicago from one of these airports: Chicago Midway or Chicago O'Hare Intl. You will be arriving at Lambert-St Louis.

  • Which airlines offer Wi-Fi service onboard planes from Chicago to St. Louis?

    Only American Airlines offers inflight Wi-Fi service on the Chicago to St. Louis flight route.

  • Which aircraft models fly most regularly from Chicago to St. Louis?

    The Canadair (Bombardier) Regional Jet CRJ-550 is the aircraft model that flies most regularly on the Chicago to St. Louis flight route.

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from Chicago to St. Louis?

    oneworld, and Star Alliance are the airline alliances operating flights between Chicago and St. Louis, with oneworld being the most commonly used for this route.

  • On which days can I fly direct from Chicago to St. Louis?

    There are nonstop flights from Chicago to St. Louis on a daily basis.

  • Which is the best airline for flights from Chicago to St. Louis, Southwest or United Airlines?

    The two airlines most popular with KAYAK users for flights from Chicago to St. Louis are Southwest and United Airlines. With an average price for the route of $361 and an overall rating of 8.0, Southwest is the most popular choice. United Airlines is also a great choice for the route, with an average price of $502 and an overall rating of 7.4.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Chicago to St. Louis?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from Chicago to St. Louis.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from Chicago to St. Louis?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to St. Louis from Chicago is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from Chicago to St. Louis?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly to St. Louis with an airline and back to Chicago with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Chicago to St. Louis?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to St. Louis from Chicago up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

KAYAK’s top tips for finding a cheap flight from Chicago to St. Louis

  • Looking for a cheap flight? 25% of our users found flights on this route for $198 or less one-way and $384 or less round-trip.

Prefer to fly direct from Chicago to St. Louis?

 
Direct data is based off flight results for the next 60 days. Find direct flights from all airlines flying direct from Chicago to Lambert-St Louis.
Find which airlines fly direct from Chicago to Lambert-St Louis Airport, which days they fly and book direct flights.

Direct departures

Chicago to Lambert-St Louis

Monday

American Airlines,Southwest,United Airlines

American Airlines,Southwest, +1 more

Tuesday

American Airlines,Southwest,United Airlines

American Airlines,Southwest, +1 more

Wednesday

American Airlines,Southwest,United Airlines

American Airlines,Southwest, +1 more

Thursday

American Airlines,Southwest,United Airlines

American Airlines,Southwest, +1 more

Friday

American Airlines,Southwest,United Airlines

American Airlines,Southwest, +1 more

Saturday

American Airlines,Southwest,United Airlines

American Airlines,Southwest, +1 more

Sunday

American Airlines,Southwest,United Airlines

American Airlines,Southwest, +1 more

See more direct flights

Direct returns

Lambert-St Louis to Chicago

Monday

American Airlines,Southwest,United Airlines

American Airlines,Southwest, +1 more

Tuesday

American Airlines,Southwest,United Airlines

American Airlines,Southwest, +1 more

Wednesday

American Airlines,Southwest,United Airlines

American Airlines,Southwest, +1 more

Thursday

American Airlines,Southwest,United Airlines

American Airlines,Southwest, +1 more

Friday

American Airlines,Southwest,United Airlines

American Airlines,Southwest, +1 more

Saturday

American Airlines,Southwest,United Airlines

American Airlines,Southwest, +1 more

Sunday

American Airlines,Southwest,United Airlines

American Airlines,Southwest, +1 more

See more direct flights

Reviews of the top 4 airlines serving from Chicago to St. Louis

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Chicago to St. Louis. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Chicago to St. Louis? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.0
SouthwestOverall score based on 4327 reviews
8.1Boarding
7.0Food
8.0Comfort
8.6Crew
7.5Entertainment
Airline reviews

The flight was okay. The pilots did an amazing job and kept us updated on the flight. The flight attendants were okay. They found time to be chatty with each other rather than focus on the guests. One of the attendants was a little less warm when asking about my bag I had on my lap that I was using during latter part of the mid- flight. Mind you, it was not the departure descent. I’m respectful to each and every attendant, it was the tone in her voice reminding me to place my carryon bag on the floor. I hope to have a better experience next time.

10.0 ExcellentMechelle, Apr 2026
MCI - PNS
Read more Southwest reviews

The flight was okay. The pilots did an amazing job and kept us updated on the flight. The flight attendants were okay. They found time to be chatty with each other rather than focus on the guests. One of the attendants was a little less warm when asking about my bag I had on my lap that I was using during latter part of the mid- flight. Mind you, it was not the departure descent. I’m respectful to each and every attendant, it was the tone in her voice reminding me to place my carryon bag on the floor. I hope to have a better experience next time.

The entire travel day was a disaster from beginning to end. Woke up at two in the morning to make it to San Juan airport in time for a 5:30 am flight to Milwaukee which connected in Baltimore. Massive delays lead to me missing original connection out of Baltimore. Sixteen hours of delays/rebooking/layover time later, arrived in Milwaukee to find that only one of two checked bags made it there (despite the fact that Southwest brought another 737 jet to San Juan to fly us out to our original Baltimore connection—-not squeezed into another booked flight). The flight from Baltimore to Milwaukee was barely half full, so there was no logical reason to ship my bags out of Baltimore on a different flight to Chicago to then ship to Milwaukee. Southwest decided that my bags should not have been on the same connecting flight I WAS ON to Milwaukee, and then proceeded to accidentally leave my larger bag with the important items in Chicago. Terrible logic and support all around. Extremely angered and disappointed with SW. What a clownish operation your company has become!

It was as expected and I was grateful for the wheel chair help and ease of use.

One of the best airlines for fast boarding, on time arrivals, and top notch service!

The new seat assignment thing is wierd. If you don’t pay for a seat they always assign you a middle seat regardless of how many people are on the flight. Idk… the new company that bought Southwest is trying to make it more profitable, but I’m just not seeing it. The flight attendants aren’t having as much fun anymore. It just feels like the airline is slowly dying. IMO. We shall see if Southwest is the next Toy’s R Us.

Terrible. Even though there’s assigned seating now, they are still the slowest boarding airline of anyone.

The Air hostess were very rude on my flight from Houston to Austin . Their regular communication itself felt a they are shouting at people.

Communication about the delayed flight was poor. We were told to move gates three times but that was bad information. We went from gate 128 to gate 126 and then to gate 123 and back to gate 126. Communication about the delay was bad. Ended up being 1 1/2 hour late getting home.

Plane was late. Zero service for 2+ hour flight and it was not that bumpy.

It was good from LAX to Phoenix, But the connection in Phoenix to Tulsa was not that great. The staff on both flights were great. The choice of free entertainment was ok nothing to brag about. The 45 min delay because of some electrical issue wasn't great from Phoenix to Tulsa. We sat there with hardly any air, The seat I had was between windows so the side of the plane pushed in on you. My being a bigger man it then made the seating area uncomfortable. The seats on the plane had no power to connect to recharge your phone or anything. I would recommend that they should look into a slot or clamp to hold your phone to enjoy while watching the entertainment choices hands-free. Also make it possible to raise the inner seat by the window be able to raise the arm rest up to make more room for larger people to set more comfortably. I would also say other then that stop price gouging the airfare or nickel and diming everything. Not fair for people having to fly for emergencies and be paying for higher prices due to the season or holidays. Your making your money either way and the cost of flying is still going to be the same regardless if there's 100 people or 200 people.

Poor communication, flight was delayed for preventable reasons. I missed my connection.

No meal service to the back of the plane as it started late or was too slow to get it out before it was time to land.

Terrible, if possible won't be flying again anytime soon!

Efficient boarding and early departure. Very smooth flight. Early arrival in ATL. Great flight.

Smooth and easy boarding, comfortable for the entire 5 hour flight, and the seat back entertainment was great! I appreciated all the features, from location info and maps, movies, the ability to connect with Bluetooth headphones, and good selection of movies. Food was good, normal airline snacks (I didn’t purchase anything)

Awful. No counter attendants. No dinner offered due to delays.

This trip did not start off well. The inbound flight was delayed about 20 minutes. Then, after initial onboarding, the passengers had to deplane due to a mechanical problem. That took about 30 minutes to fix and be cleared. Then, reboarding was chaotic. It took a long time to sort passengers and two passengers on standby were ticketed but there was no seat. So, they had to deplane. One of the flight crew was trying to help passengers figure out a place to put their carry-on bags and that took more time. In the end, our scheduled 10:30 am departure did not actually take off until about 12:05 pm CST. The flight itself was long but we got to Houston. Some passengers missed their connecting flights and had to rebook. Not the best of flights I've had.

Airport terminal was outdated, flight was on a small jet with no wifi

We were delayed for about an hour from taking off due to traffic control procedures at the destination airport. But once in the air, the flight went well. The crew members were great and provided cabin service despite moderate turbulence during much of the flight.

Short flight, but no drink/snack service. The flights both going and coming were delayed.

Delays experienced in boarding/take off due to incoming plane delayed. However, the boarding time/depart time in the app was significantly delayed in providing these updates. Usually not updated until an hour after we should have already boarded. Poorly managed.

Moved to earlier flight which unexpectedly had maintenance issues initially indicated as quick fix to ultimately plane changes. Moved back to original flight, also delayed. In all cases customer updates and communication very unclear, no updates on drivers for delays.

We called Kayak for a change due to the TSA situation in Atlanta. What we got was a canceled return flight (in error) and we had to find the mistake. Not happy with Kayak who blamed it on AA.

Typical AA - late by 90+ mn. Gate changed twice... Changed the departure time 6 times No explanation, no communication on reasons for delay I travel with AA twice a year... and it is consistently very poor.. I will continue to use AA only when i have to.

The gate got changed several times and the flight was delayed over an hour. Awful experience

American continues to decline in their customer service and its beyond disappointing.

It was an older plane. First Class was not especially roomy or comfortable. It was a short flight so there were no meal but they did offer mixed nuts which used to be normal but now is rare. Crew member was very polite and professional.

Small plane, poor meal choices for first class, bad terminal and boarding experience at LAX

Flight to Tampa was delayed taking off due to plane arriving late but no other issues

As previously stated the delay I experienced flying from Wichita to Chicago caused a host of issues. When I finally was able to be booked on the last remaining American flight from Chicago to Cincinnati, the gate changed four times with the last change occurring very near the scheduled boarding time. While I didn't have a problem moving from gate to gate, I did notice and make note of others that had mobility issues and had to move each time for the gate change.

Both were great flights with wonderful pilots! It was not fancy, very simple. But boarding was super easy and the flight was smooth. Pick up in DFW was at corporate terminal which was the only confusing part for uber but if you call the uber driver and drop a pin they come right to it.

Totally great experience. Would definitely travel with them again. Thanks.

Both my fights got cancelled. Said mechanical issues but on flight tracker the flights came in and left! We were lied to!!

Was very impressed they called to confirm he would be on the flight. Great customer service!

We had a wonderful flight due to the care of our experienced pilot and copilot and the magnificent air views from our comfortable seats. What excitement to be in such a small plane with such magnificent around us.

Multiple time changes, then we left earlier than we were told.

Communication could be better but the staff and crew were over the top friendly and helpful, The flight itself was smooth.

flight was cancelled literally at 10pm the night before an early morning flight with hardly any time to reschedule. Will never book with kayak again.

My flight was cancelled 12 hours before takeoff. I was not able to reschedule another flight to make connections and had to cancel the entire trip. The ticket that was supposed to replace the cancelled flight had no boarding pass and I was unable to get one at the airport so I was denied access to the rescheduled flight. I was refunded but I missed my daughter's birthday.

I had a family emergency and couldn’t make the flight, and they wouldn’t let me cancel/refund it (a *month* ahead of time), were especially difficult with me on the phone, and wouldn’t let me even so much as reschedule the flight or get credit.

Everything you need to know for your flight from Chicago to St. Louis

Information on your arrival and departure airports

Compare transportation modes for Chicago to St. Louis

Transportation modeAverage priceAverage duration
Flights$4281h 15m
Trains$815h 00m
Buses$997h 08m