$130 Find Cheap Flights from San Francisco to Houston

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from San Francisco to Houston departing on 4/18. 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 Houston

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from San Francisco to Houston.
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from San Francisco to Houston.
Travelers love KAYAK
41 299 237 searches in the past 7 days on KAYAK

Save 23% or moreCompare multiple travel sites with one search.

Track pricesNot ready to book? Create a price alert for when prices drop.

Bundle and saveSave money when you bundle your flight + hotel.

Filter your dealsChoose cabin class, free Wi-Fi and more.

Everything you should know

Cheapest round-trip
$274
Typical prices: $331-$538
Frontier
Sun 4/5Fri 4/17
SFO - IAH • 1 stop
Cheapest non-stop
$309
Typical prices: $401-$607
United Airlines
Fri 4/17Sat 5/2
SFO - IAH • Non-stop
Advice from real travelers
AI-powered summary based on content written by travel experts. AI can make mistakes.
SFO's curbside check-in aids families with luggage.
Use rideshare apps at IAH for quick city access.
Expert advice
Expert advice
Expert advice
Expert advice
Top airlines
Cheapest • from $274 (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 3h 57m
Direct flights
Direct flights
+1
+1
Direct flights
Direct flights
+1
Top routes
Cheapest
Most popular
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
Avoid delays
Most punctual • 91% on-time
Best time • Fewest delays
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
When to book
in advance
Our data shows that travelers who book at least 4 weeks in advance save around 7% compared to booking last minute.
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
Start a new search
KAYAK searches 100s of sites at once to find you the best travel deals.
We hope you love your trip to Houston!
Flight Deals
Booking Insights
Expert advice
Flight Deals

Cheap Flights from San Francisco to Houston (SFO-HOU)

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

Sun, Apr 5 - Fri, Apr 17
Frontier Logo
10:06 pm - 9:54 am
SFO
-
IAH
9h 48m
1 stop
Frontier Logo
9:33 am - 9:39 pm
IAH
-
SFO
14h 06m
1 stop
$274Frontier
Fri, Apr 17 - Mon, Apr 20
Frontier Logo
4:59 pm - 8:38 am
SFO
-
IAH
13h 39m
2 stops
Frontier Logo
10:17 pm - 1:52 pm
IAH
-
SFO
17h 35m
1 stop
$275Frontier
Thu, May 21 - Sun, May 24
Frontier Logo
12:52 pm - 9:10 pm
SFO
-
IAH
6h 18m
1 stop
Frontier Logo
6:30 am - 11:42 am
IAH
-
SFO
7h 12m
1 stop
$276Frontier
Fri, Apr 24 - Mon, Apr 27
Frontier Logo
10:28 pm - 12:53 pm
SFO
-
IAH
12h 25m
1 stop
Frontier Logo
6:45 am - 3:44 pm
IAH
-
SFO
10h 59m
2 stops
$277Frontier
Wed, Sep 9 - Mon, Sep 14
American Airlines Logo
6:07 am - 1:41 pm
SFO
-
HOU
5h 34m
1 stop
American Airlines Logo
8:35 pm - 12:14 am
HOU
-
SFO
5h 39m
1 stop
$283American Airlines
Tue, Aug 18 - Wed, Aug 19
American Airlines Logo
11:50 pm - 8:21 am
SFO
-
HOU
6h 31m
1 stop
American Airlines Logo
8:25 pm - 12:08 am
HOU
-
SFO
5h 43m
1 stop
$317American Airlines
Tue, Apr 7 - Tue, Apr 14
American Airlines Logo
11:59 pm - 9:26 am
SFO
-
HOU
7h 27m
1 stop
American Airlines Logo
12:42 pm - 5:39 pm
HOU
-
SFO
6h 57m
1 stop
$328American Airlines
Thu, May 7 - Thu, May 7
Southwest Logo
5:25 am - 3:45 pm
SFO
-
HOU
8h 20m
1 stop
Southwest Logo
6:40 pm - 12:10 am
HOU
-
SFO
7h 30m
1 stop
$349Southwest
Thu, May 7 - Thu, May 7
Southwest Logo
5:05 am - 1:55 pm
SFO
-
HOU
6h 50m
2 stops
Southwest Logo
6:40 pm - 12:10 am
HOU
-
SFO
7h 30m
1 stop
$354Southwest
Tue, Apr 14 - Thu, Apr 16
Southwest Logo
9:15 pm - 10:50 am
SFO
-
HOU
11h 35m
2 stops
Southwest Logo
8:10 am - 1:45 pm
HOU
-
SFO
7h 35m
2 stops
$359Southwest
Booking Insights

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

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

What is the cheapest San Francisco to Houston flight route?

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

The cheapest return flight from San Francisco to Houston costs $272 on the route between San Francisco (SFO) and Houston George Bush Intcntl Airport (IAH). It is also the most popular route.

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

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

When flying from San Francisco to Houston, you should consider leaving on a Thursday and avoid Mondays if you are looking for the best rates. For your return to San Francisco, you’ll find the best rates on Fridays and the most expensive ones on Mondays.

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

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from San Francisco to Houston, 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 San Francisco to Houston is January, where tickets cost $333 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and November, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $485 and $444 respectively.

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

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from San Francisco to Houston, 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 San Francisco to Houston, you should book around 4 weeks before departure, which saves you about 7% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 25 weeks before departure.

Expert advice

Expert advice for your flight from San Francisco to Houston

 
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
John Walton

John Walton

Expert on IAH

Independent aviation journalist John Walton took his first flight at eight weeks old and hasn’t stopped travelling since. A world-renowned expert in airlines and the passenger experience, he writes in depth on aviation, is a resident expert on travel in Japan and France, and offers a uniquely queer perspective on travelling the world.

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

Cheapest flight$130
Flight from San Francisco to Houston George Bush Airport

When to book flights from San Francisco to Houston

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

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

    In the last 3 days, the lowest price for a flight from San Francisco to Houston was $130 for a one-way ticket and $274 for a round-trip.

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

    Yes, you’ll need a passport to travel to Houston from San Francisco.

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

    We unfortunately don’t have that data for this specific route.

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

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

  • What is the most popular layover when flying to Houston from San Francisco?

    Denver is the most popular layover city among KAYAK users traveling from San Francisco to Houston.

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

    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 San Francisco to Houston.

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

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

    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 Houston with an airline and back to San Francisco with another airline.

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

    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 Houston from San Francisco up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

Prefer to fly direct from San Francisco to Houston?

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

Direct departures

San Francisco to Houston

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

Houston 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

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

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from San Francisco to Houston. 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 San Francisco to Houston? 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 4318 reviews
8.1Boarding
8.6Crew
7.5Entertainment
8.0Comfort
7.0Food
Airline reviews

I elected to pay for the upgrades and found very little difference

6.0 GoodChris, Mar 2026
DAL - SAT
Read more Southwest reviews

I elected to pay for the upgrades and found very little difference

The new seating arrangement is so over priced for what you get.

Snacks are always pretzels. Why can't you also offer peanuts ?

Flight was hours late, unable to sit next to spouse, I have had so much better experiences. Substantially better, only saving grace was that it was a short flight.

An entire day of delays. Cost lots of money. Meals and a hotel.

Only downside was the legroom and seat width, which is always a problem unless I spend more for a premium seat.

Great flight but super high price. Glad it was a business trip and not personal

On time. Friendly staff. Took to long to pre bord all the specialty groups. Cramped small plane

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

No delays and arrived to destination 30 min early. Staff was super friendly.

Another late night flight and MORE men belligerently drinking and yelling. I had to move from first to economy because they were so obnoxious and disruptive. Crazy to go from a cozy chair to cardboard when you were supposed to be in first. Delta allows was too much drinking which leads to belligerent behavior.

I was in first class and literally the men behind me were so aggressively loud I moved myself to economy. This has become so common on Delta - people using audio without headphones, and men on 12am / late night flights drinking and yelling to talk to each other which prevents anyone around them from resting. Pretty crazy to have to move from first to economy (poorer service, less comfort...). Wild wild. Looking into other airlines.

Flight was delayed by 3-hours and their fix was… complimentary pretzels.

The crew, and fellow passengers, were super gracious and kind. There seemed to be plenty of bin space even though the plane was full. It’s nice to get a glass of wine with dinner in Premiere seating, and there was a lot of food.

Delta flights recently are always delayed AND at jfk tney get the gates further away (need To walk 20’ to get to them/all the way at the end of the terminal). Not sure whats happening but price doesnt match experience!

Everything I mentioned earlier - the airbus was more comfortable indeed and the experience was further enhanced.

The plane was an older model, so it wasn’t as comfortable as others. The flight attendants were not helpful during onboarding. It was a full flight so there was chaos finding space for baggage.

Awesome! On time flight, early arrival, and a complimentary upgrade!

Only freetext wifi was available in flight; browsing WiFi required payment. Since the seats had no in flight entertainment, Delta should revisit this policy on this longer flight.

Delta One is extraordinary. I fly business when somebody hires me. I just wonder why there is such a chasm between business class and the insanely inhumane and nonsensical coach. The seats are not large enough to fit even my tiny wife. We fly 10% of what we did because we don’t want to pay 5-10 k but for $400 it’s unbearable. It seems like the accountants took over and made stupid decisions. Screw in 20 extra seats and make it so unbearable that people fly 90% less. Just put the damn price up and put some proper chairs in. But business, yay.

Seats are uncomfortable. This has been a trend in the industry for decades. Trying to fit more seats on each plane to increase profits at the expense of the passenger.

Staff were good. My seat was in need of repair, but for a short flight was not problematic. Usual basic snack and drink setup that you'll find on any US carrier. Over, a decent, basic flight.

Complimentary light meal would be appreciated. But great flight crew service on all legs

Flight delayed for more than 16 hrs and no effort was spent to provide an alternate

it was a very short flight so my expectations were low.

Very disappointing given gate agent behavior. Filed a formal complaint with United.

Terrible. No customer service, no food, no drinks on a 6 hour premier economy booking.

The flight crew where really good. Better then the crew from BNE to SFO

left on time, reasonable boarding process arrived early luggage came out quickly

I boarded flight UA#1318 at Sacramento International Airport going back to Houston TX. The flight was scheduled at 5:10am. I was able to check in virtually using the United Airlines app. When I entered the airport, there was no one outside assisting with checked bags as it was for Delta Airlines. Immediately upon entering, there was a LONG, EXTREMELY LONG line to the kiosks to get boarding passes. I stand in line to get boarding passes then had to move to ANOTHER EXTREMELY LONG line to get my bags checked in. While standing in this line, we noticed an agent taking customers to 3 at a time to her station to check their bags in. Lucky for me, she called me back, checked my bags for me and I was on my way. I then encountered another long line at the TSA check and to avoid I ending up having to sign up for CLEAR to bypass it. So glad, I did.,...Both of my flights were great with no issues, butthe check in progress at Bush Airport was so much smoother. Check-in at SMF airport needs to be anaylzed and corrected. Do better United, I know you can....thanks

Where do I start!! I was delayed with my flight from Dallas to Tampa. On the way back from Tampa to Dallas the flight was delayed over 4 hours+. I was put on another flight that was also delayed but not as long. Traveling on American Airlines is becoming exhausing.

Dloght delayed by 2.5 hrs . Common theme in my last four american floghts

The flight attendants and the service is getting worse by the day.

They are rarely on time! Very hard to plan your travels when flights or connections keep getting delayed.

The worst Airline ever. They centered my second flight and leave me in NY. They don’t have any representatives at the airport and they don’t respond to calls. Basically I got stuck. I will never purchase through there again.

The chicken wrap was tiny ($13 for what looked like a 1/3 of a normal wrap?) and disgusting.

Mediocre would be best description. Food bland. Seat biz class uncomfortable to sleep. Crew never dimmed lights completely in an overnight flight to Europe. Would avoid AA if possible.

Massimo, flight attendant was very authentic, attentive - wonderful. Food/wrap was just okay.

We flew in first class. The crew did not offer drinks before the flight took off, but they treated us well during the flight. The food was excellent. There was actually too much food served, but it was nice to have all the options.

I booked an aisle seat and was given a middle. At 6'4" 230lbs, it is not ideal to fly in the middle row for myself and passengers.

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

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

It was ok. It was expensive to check 2 bags ($75.00 per bag), and then it took a long time to wait for shuttle to take us from one terminal to the terminal where the plane was taking off at LAX. And all of this for a flight where we had to pay for any food or drink that was not water.

When I wanted to check in 3 hours prior to boarding time, the employees mentioned “a little over an hour delay” so I waited for an hour then I went to go look for food in the terminal and most people from that flight were in the same area looking for food. Finally I decided after food to check to see if it’s anytime closer and now it’s 2 mins until boarding closes?! What are you kidding me? I didn’t receive anything via sms about boarding now nor via email or on the intercom. I luckily made it through, barely, and then there’s no room for my carry on mind you I’m in the very first row so I had to place my purse in one further row back and my carry on sections down. Not sure who pays for better seats to get your stuff placed all over the plane but that was the worst experience I’ve ever had flying with anyone.

This airline sucks. They offer low rates then charge you for everything, the app does not work well, the seats are the most uncomfortable. Maintenance issues on the flight, and you still have to sit through their credit card commercials. People are nice enough but does not make up for overall poor experience.

baggage clamed had to wait over a hour and half for all people on my flight it was terrible

My flight was canceled I was promised a reginf still not received.

The confirmation # CK8GNW and my name was not recognized/in Frontier system. I was able to check in on Frintier app so i went to the Frontier ticket agent, at time they told me that my name/ confirmation did not show up as a purchased ticket. I had to purchase a new ticket that cost $289.00 one way.

Cancelled flight after I arrived at airport after 75 min drive and parking. Next flight was 4 days in the future. Had to scramble and buy a much more expensive flight on another carrier.

I liked the turn-style feature at gate 209B at LAX. Very efficient process. The gate staff also made several, clearly directed announcements so I felt very informed.

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

Information on your arrival and departure airports