RDU - SFO

$149 Find Cheap Flights from Raleigh to San Francisco

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Raleigh to San Francisco departing on 6/21. 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 San Francisco

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Raleigh to San Francisco.
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Raleigh to San Francisco.
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Everything you should know

Cheapest round-trip
$284
Typical prices: $420-$292
Frontier
水 7/1木 7/9
RDU - SFO • 1 stop
Cheapest non-stop
$349
Typical prices: $535-$346
United Airlines
金 5/8日 5/10
RDU - SFO • Non-stop
Advice from real travelers
AI-powered summary based on content written by travel experts. AI can make mistakes.
RDU offers free Wi-Fi for 48 hours to stay connected.
Use BART from SFO for cost-effective city transfers.
Expert advice
Expert advice
Expert advice
Expert advice
Top airlines
Cheapest • from $284 (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 United Airlines. Average duration is 6h 02m
Direct flights
Direct flights
+1
+1
Direct flights
Direct flights
+1
Top layover airports
Cheapest • Avg $201 (round-trip)
Shortest trip • 7h 44m (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 39% compared to booking last minute.
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
When to travel
Cheapest • 7% price drop
Most popular
Good to know
Good to know
+1
+1
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KAYAK searches 100s of sites at once to find you the best travel deals.
We hope you love your trip to San Francisco!
Flight Deals
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Flight Deals

Cheap Flights from Raleigh to San Francisco (RDU-SFO)

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from Raleigh to San Francisco 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 Raleigh to San Francisco

水, 7月 1 - 木, 7月 9
Frontier Logo
12:26 pm - 12:27 am
RDU
-
SFO
15h 01m
1 stop
Frontier Logo
11:52 pm - 12:47 pm
SFO
-
RDU
9h 55m
1 stop
$284Frontier
月, 5月 4 - 日, 5月 10
Frontier Logo
7:45 pm - 10:41 am
RDU
-
SFO
17h 56m
2 stops
Frontier Logo
10:15 pm - 12:24 am
SFO
-
RDU
23h 09m
1 stop
$285Frontier
木, 4月 30 - 日, 5月 3
Frontier Logo
9:49 pm - 9:13 am
RDU
-
SFO
14h 24m
1 stop
Frontier Logo
6:00 am - 9:04 pm
SFO
-
RDU
12h 04m
1 stop
$286Frontier
月, 5月 4 - 金, 5月 8
Frontier Logo
7:18 pm - 7:48 pm
RDU
-
SFO
27h 30m
2 stops
Frontier Logo
12:52 pm - 12:28 pm
SFO
-
RDU
20h 36m
1 stop
$287Frontier
水, 8月 26 - 火, 9月 1
Multiple Airlines Logo
5:45 pm - 11:14 pm
RDU
-
SFO
8h 29m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
11:52 pm - 12:35 pm
SFO
-
RDU
9h 43m
1 stop
$288Multiple Airlines
水, 8月 26 - 火, 9月 1
Alaska Airlines Logo
5:45 pm - 11:14 pm
RDU
-
SFO
8h 29m
1 stop
Alaska Airlines Logo
7:05 am - 6:05 pm
SFO
-
RDU
8h 00m
1 stop
$289Alaska Airlines
水, 8月 5 - 日, 8月 9
Frontier Logo
1:20 pm - 10:57 pm
RDU
-
SFO
12h 37m
1 stop
Frontier Logo
11:52 pm - 12:47 pm
SFO
-
RDU
9h 55m
1 stop
$290Frontier
木, 4月 30 - 月, 5月 11
Multiple Airlines Logo
10:38 pm - 5:34 pm
RDU
-
SFO
21h 56m
2 stops
Multiple Airlines Logo
9:56 pm - 9:08 pm
SFO
-
RDU
20h 12m
1 stop
$292Multiple Airlines
火, 5月 12 - 木, 5月 14
Frontier Logo
12:59 pm - 7:34 pm
RDU
-
SFO
9h 35m
1 stop
Frontier Logo
7:06 pm - 8:04 am
SFO
-
RDU
33h 58m
2 stops
$296Frontier
金, 5月 15 - 火, 5月 19
Multiple Airlines Logo
12:33 pm - 7:34 pm
RDU
-
SFO
10h 01m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
6:16 am - 4:45 pm
SFO
-
RDU
7h 29m
1 stop
$297Multiple Airlines
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for Raleigh to San Francisco flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from Raleigh to San Francisco to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

How much is a round-trip flight from Raleigh to San Francisco?

This analysis is based on the cheapest round-trip price found on KAYAK in the last 12 months by searching for a flight from Raleigh to San Francisco departing in July.

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from Raleigh to San Francisco?

The average price of all round-trip flights from Raleigh to San Francisco clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.

If your flying dates are flexible, you should consider flying to San Francisco on a Thursday, as we generally find the cheapest rates on that day for this route. On the other hand, Monday is the most expensive day to fly from Raleigh to San Francisco. For your return ticket, we recommend flying on a Wednesday and avoiding Mondays for the best deals.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Raleigh to San Francisco?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from Raleigh to San Francisco, 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 Raleigh to San Francisco is July, where tickets cost $371 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are March and February, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $437 and $431 respectively.

Can I save money by flying with a layover from Raleigh to San Francisco?

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 $445, prices are generally cheapest when you fly direct.

How far in advance should I book a flight from Raleigh to San Francisco?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from Raleigh to San Francisco, 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 Raleigh to San Francisco, you should book around 4 weeks before departure, which saves you about 39% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 14 weeks before departure.

Expert advice

Expert advice for your flight from Raleigh to San Francisco

 
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
Jessica Macdonald

Jessica Macdonald

Expert on RDU

Currently based in Scotland after living in South Africa and the United States, Jessica has been writing travel and aviation content for more than 10 years. She regularly contributes to Travel + Leisure and TripSavvy, and has had work published by Condé Nast Traveller and The Independent. She has traveled to more than 50 countries across six continents.

Blane Bachelor

Blane Bachelor

Expert on SFO

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.

Good to know

Low seasonSeptember
Cheapest flight$149
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 2% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 3% lower on average.
Flight from Raleigh to San Francisco

When to book flights from Raleigh to San Francisco

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from Raleigh to San Francisco 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 Raleigh to San Francisco

  • What is the cheapest flight from Raleigh to San Francisco?

    In the last 3 days, the lowest price for a flight from Raleigh to San Francisco was $149 for a one-way ticket and $284 for a round-trip.

  • Do I need a passport to fly between Raleigh and San Francisco?

    No

  • Which airports will I be using when flying from Raleigh to San Francisco?

    Raleigh airport is called Raleigh-Durham and the only airport in San Francisco is San Francisco.

  • Which airlines offer Wi-Fi service onboard planes from Raleigh to San Francisco?

    JetBlue, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Air Canada, and Delta offer inflight Wi-Fi service on the Raleigh to San Francisco flight route.

  • Which aircraft models fly most regularly from Raleigh to San Francisco?

    The Boeing 737 MAX 8 is the aircraft model that flies most regularly on the Raleigh to San Francisco flight route.

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from Raleigh to San Francisco?

    oneworld, SkyTeam, and Star Alliance are the airline alliances operating flights between Raleigh and San Francisco, with oneworld being the most commonly used for this route.

  • On which days can I fly direct from Raleigh to San Francisco?

    There are nonstop flights from Raleigh to San Francisco on a daily basis.

  • Which is the best airline for flights from Raleigh to San Francisco, Southwest or Delta?

    The two airlines most popular with KAYAK users for flights from Raleigh to San Francisco are Southwest and Delta. With an average price for the route of $388 and an overall rating of 8.0, Southwest is the most popular choice. Delta is also a great choice for the route, with an average price of $355 and an overall rating of 7.9.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Raleigh to San Francisco?

    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 Raleigh to San Francisco.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from Raleigh to San Francisco?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to San Francisco from Raleigh 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 Raleigh to San Francisco?

    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 San Francisco with an airline and back to Raleigh with another airline. Booking your flights between Raleigh and SFO can sometimes prove cheaper using this method.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Raleigh to San Francisco?

    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 San Francisco from Raleigh 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 Raleigh to San Francisco

  • Looking for a cheap flight? 25% of our users found flights on this route for $269 or less one-way and $419 or less round-trip.

Prefer to fly direct from Raleigh to San Francisco?

 
Direct data is based off flight results for the next 60 days. Find direct flights from all airlines flying direct from Raleigh-Durham to San Francisco.
Find which airlines fly direct from Raleigh-Durham Airport to San Francisco Airport, which days they fly and book direct flights.

Direct departures

Raleigh-Durham to San Francisco

Monday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Tuesday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Wednesday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Thursday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Friday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Saturday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Sunday

United Airlines

United Airlines

See more direct flights

Direct returns

San Francisco to Raleigh-Durham

Monday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Tuesday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Wednesday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Thursday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Friday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Saturday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Sunday

United Airlines

United Airlines

See more direct flights

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from Raleigh to San Francisco

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Raleigh to San Francisco. 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 Raleigh to San Francisco? 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 4330 reviews
8.0Comfort
8.1Boarding
7.0Food
8.6Crew
7.5Entertainment
Airline reviews

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

4.0 Okaysangeetha, Apr 2026
AUS - SJC
Read more Southwest reviews

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

Boarding was easy. The seats are small and fairly uncomfortable

The problem with the seat assignments is that there were a lot of rows in the front that were empty but my row at the back was full. Just not so pleasant.

No food or entertainment, just a quick 40 minute flight. A little bumpy due to Santa Ana winds but pilot has no control over that. Good flight and landing!

Good but I prefer choose your own seat. With the new assigned seats they should board from the back I see no advantage to this new boarding. Just like every other airline

Mediocre. Boarding is now unpleasant. The employees, once friendly and nice, are now regularly speaking sternly to passengers, badgering them to do things right so they can take off on time and gate check bags because they don't have enough overhead bin space. The pretzel snack was crushed flat and broken into even smaller pieces, which happens frequently lately. Drink service was suspended before they reached my row.

The charges were ridiculous for an hour flight and the turbulence was very scary.

3 hour delay. Had to change plans and was still delayed.

The flight crew was extremely rude and especially not helpful when our flight was delayed.

The boarding and seat assignment system no longer works for me, but I know it is being replaced. Otherwise, I am good with the overall experience.

While they turned off most cabin lights to allow people to sleep, I was bothered by how bright the side lights still were. It was still quite bright for me in a window seat, when I wish I could have slept!

One of the flight attendants was a little cranky. I appreciated the free wifi and plug to charge my laptop

WiFi didn’t work most of the time. The usb chargers would work only occasionally for 5 mins and wouldn’t charge after that. Had to keep trying repeatedly at each of the seats in the row.

The crew bent over backwards to thank us for flying and make us comfortable. The food service was quick and efficient. The Captain communicated and said goodbye and thank you as we departed. They really stood out!

Generally on time departures and arrivals, clean planes, sky miles membership provides great benefits (complimentary upgrades, etc).

my mom urmila patel needed a wheelchair which was not available on the curbside. she needed to walk almost 50 meters inside (at the risk of falling) and then had to wait in line to get a wheelchair (this is not ok). Once obtained she had to seat in it for 30-45 minutes for someone to take her in thru the checkin process (which was fairly smooth and easy). the lady who helped her with her checkin process was very courteous and helpful

Staff at the check-in counter were friendly, happy and helpful. They tagged our bags and sent us to “bag drop off” but were not very clear about where that was. The airport was busy we headed off in what we thought was the right direction until a gentleman waved us down and actually came after us. He was the baggage handler for Delta and recognized our “deer in the headlights “ look-he brought us to the right area (which was marked as the Southwest Airlines Drop Off) and sent us on our way. Wonderful guy, low key and working with a big smile on his face. Loved it. Loved him.

Arlene was a great flight attendant. I also liked how one of the other flight attendants gave us a heads up about snacks and asked everyone to remove their headphones when it was their turn to order. Good idea.

I haven’t flown economy in over 20 years but it was not bad. Room by my feet for my bag and seat was roomy enough. Surprised in a good way.

The cabin temperature was nice and cool. The wifi was not working.

Checking in united could not figure out my star alliance gold. Baggage did not get marked priority and didn't receive boarding passes. When got to SFO lounge personal fixed everything Immediately

Flight left on time, arrived early, pleasant staff provided water, coffee, etc. access to bathrooms was reasonable and were well maintained. blankets were available, lots of entertainment options. LUGGAGE SERVICE WAS GREAT. I got my one checked bag quickly and was able to make a bus connection for a 2 hour bus ride saving me from waiting another 1.5 hours.

Wonderful in-seat entertainment with seatback screens and huge selection of quality movies. The ability to bluetooth connect headphones was amazing.

Horrible service no Wi-Fi connection on both leg of the flight and they are refusing to fix bad service

I will never fly ANA again. They lost one of my large pieces of checked luggage, the heaviest one with the most valuable items in it, and they said they will not send me an email unless they can't find it, even though the paper they gave me to track the status of my lost luggage requires a code from an email they are supposed to send me so I can do baggage tracing. They claim to be an international airline, but they also insist on calling a Japanese telephone number to confirm where to send the lost baggage if they find it. It is impossible to find an actual contact email address for customer support on their website, and their AI chatbot is unhelpful, directing you to a webpage that says it is for contact information but does not have any actual email addresses or phone numbers listed on it. My seat in economy did not recline at all, even though I was not sitting in an exit row nor the very back row. I had to sit in the fully upright position for over ten hours of international travel. Awful experience overall.

Overall we had a good experience during our flight from San Francisco to Houston.

the whole trip was smooth, and as comfortable as flying is these days. flight crew was friendly and very courteous and helpful.

First class ticket gets you a choice of chips or nuts. . Just like economy Southwest. Also no screen in the seats. This is first class???!

Flight arrived 30 min early and bag was waiting at the baggage pickup. United Club HNL was one of the nicest in the system

Yet another flight in which beverage and snack service was skipped. Other that that, firmly mediocre. Landed early, to gate late due to congestion at the gates. Airline's fault or airports fault: unknown.

To have arrived on time and not 3 hours late after having already spent $100 to change to an earlier flight, only to arrive back home close to the original flight time.

American Airlines is a miserable experience. It is predictably miserable, in the sense that every time I fly American, I brace myself for the certainty that it will be unpleasant and uncomfortable. But it is unpredictable in the sense that I never know if the flight will be on time or delayed nine hours (both happened to me this week). I never know if I will be able to sit in the seat that I selected when I purchased the ticket or if I will be told by Customer Service (!!!) that I must relocate from first class to a seat in the back of the aircraft with no explanation (both happened to me this week). Will the food be frozen and half defrosted, or scalding hot? Will the drinks be warm? Will the flight attendants be surly and mean? Will the toilets be cramped and foul? Will the seats be narrow and uncomfortable? Will there be a real electric outlet at the seat, or just an unreliable USB-2 port? Will there be enough seats in the boarding lounge or just a few? Will the boarding process be smooth and efficient, or will the gate agents mess it up and delay it needlessly for 30 or 40 minutes? Will the catering and cleaning crew be prompt or will they take an extra 30 minutes? Will the brakes on the aircraft work properly, or will the pilot delay takeoff for four hours while the ground crew attends to what can only be described as routine maintenance that should have been done the night before? I've eexperienced every one of these unpleasant things this year, 2026. The only thing I can reliably count on is that American will find a new way to make the experience of flying as miserable as they possibly can.

Wifi was spotty. Tray table was very dirty when I sat down.

The WiFi would not connect enough for me to do my actual work. It permaspooled, disconnected, said it was connected, then wouldn't open an email... it was frustrating. I am not a tall person, 5'4" - and I felt cramped with little room to reach into my bag under the seat in front of me. I feel sorry for anyone taller than me having to fly. the one positive thing I will add, is the overhead bins are roomy enough to manage more bags than other carriers.

Buying ticket from kayak instant booking was a huge mistake, never to be repeated again! The Kayak didn’t book the tickets directly, it handed it off to a third party Underpricer, that booked a code shared American Airlines flight operated by Cathay Pacific!! When managing the booking American Airlines would recognize the itinerary but wouldn’t let me do anything stating, the flight is operated by Cathay Pacific so go to their website. Cathay Pacific would recognize the itinerary, neither by reservation ID or ticket number…asking to reach out to the third party Underpricer….calling Underpricer resulted in no help like seat requests, mileage number or upgrade request, 15hr layover accommodation voucher guidance…so net in net avoid booking through three layers of intermediaries

Going non stop to lax like I paid for. Not stopping in MCI for gas. Too long of delays

Delayed for mechanical and no updates on what was happening and how long the delay might be.

A first class seat should fit a fat person, and this doesn't. The trays in the armrest are less functional than an ordinary tray in the back of the seat.

The experience at checkin for my American Airlines flight from Sacramento to LAX was very good including the assistance I received in getting my bags checked in and boarding passes printed. Was pleasantly surprised the my bags were checked through all the way to my destination at Clark International Airport in Angeles, Philippines.

Smooth flight. From the early boarding and all were on board before departure time and arrived early in ONT. Great crew. Thank you!!!!

They didn’t offer a water, even after I asked

They switched our terminal 3 times and we were delayed for four plus hours!!!

It was an early flight and most people napped/slept and the crew let us which was nice.

The crew acted like they had never done this and kept barking passive aggressive orders at people. + the security line + the delay + sitting on the tarmac for 2 hours + none of the apps or signage updating with correct times

More inflight connection. And leg space is horrible. And the paying for baggage I'd ridiculous!!!

My flight was originally from SAT to MCO connecting from MCO to ORD. We got diverted to ATL and than Frontier staff there was sooo un helpful first they said they couldn’t give us any accommodation since our flight first got delayed that cancelled and now it’s 221am and I am still in ATL since they said they need to create a new flight my final destination is ORD and I have been delayed twice and cancelled. With no real help the frontier app didn’t work no email updates over all such a horrible experience

There's no seats that lean back with little leg space i wad uncomfortable the entire flight. Your charges for extra baggage is despicable and costly!!

Remind customers of the need to have passport or new ID for boarding.

Flight was canceled. Most upsetting was message from Kayak, stating that the flight was canceled and click with Kayak for details regarding rebook, refund details. THERE'S NO INFORMATION PROVIDED BY KAYAK EXCEPT THAT FLIGHT IS CANCELED. AND NOW THIS SURVEY TO FIND OUT HOW WAS THE FLIGHT !!!!!!!

The flight never took off and we spent 7 hours at the airport

Everything you need to know for your flight from Raleigh to San Francisco

Information on your arrival and departure airports