$140 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 1/12. 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 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.
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Everything you should know

Cheapest round-trip
$269
Overall average: $390
United Airlines
Thu 1/8Mon 1/12
SFO - IAH • Non-stop
Cheapest one-way
$140
Typical prices: $146-$328
Southwest
Mon 1/12
SFO - HOU • 1 stop
Our travelers' advice
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
United Airlines
Cheapest • from $269 (round-trip)
Southwest
Best reviews • 7.9 score
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
+1
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
Top routes
SFO-IAH
Cheapest
SFO-IAH
Most popular
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
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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

Thu, Jan 8 - Mon, Jan 12
United Airlines Logo
11:59 pm - 5:45 am
SFO
-
IAH
3h 46mnonstop
United Airlines Logo
9:33 pm - 11:59 pm
IAH
-
SFO
4h 26mnonstop
$269United Airlines
Fri, Mar 6 - Wed, Mar 11
Frontier Logo
8:53 am - 9:34 pm
SFO
-
IAH
10h 41m1 stop
Frontier Logo
6:00 am - 7:14 pm
IAH
-
SFO
15h 14m1 stop
$270Frontier
Fri, Jan 2 - Mon, Jan 12
Frontier Logo
6:24 am - 10:37 am
SFO
-
IAH
26h 13m1 stop
Frontier Logo
6:45 am - 12:24 am
IAH
-
SFO
19h 39m1 stop
$271Frontier
Wed, Jan 14 - Tue, Jan 20
Alaska Airlines Logo
7:57 am - 4:55 pm
SFO
-
IAH
6h 58m1 stop
Alaska Airlines Logo
7:00 am - 9:25 pm
IAH
-
SFO
16h 25m2 stops
$272Alaska Airlines
Mon, Feb 9 - Thu, Mar 19
Frontier Logo
6:15 am - 12:33 am
SFO
-
IAH
16h 18m1 stop
Frontier Logo
10:41 am - 7:30 pm
IAH
-
SFO
10h 49m1 stop
$273Frontier
Mon, Feb 23 - Thu, Feb 26
Southwest Logo
3:20 pm - 10:25 am
SFO
-
HOU
17h 05m1 stop
Southwest Logo
5:25 am - 9:55 am
HOU
-
SFO
6h 30m1 stop
$276Southwest
Fri, Jan 9 - Mon, Jan 12
United Airlines Logo
4:19 pm - 11:59 pm
SFO
-
IAH
5h 40m1 stop
United Airlines Logo
5:25 am - 7:49 am
IAH
-
SFO
4h 24mnonstop
$279United Airlines
Thu, Jan 29 - Sun, Feb 1
Southwest Logo
8:15 am - 3:30 pm
SFO
-
HOU
5h 15m1 stop
Southwest Logo
5:55 am - 11:50 am
HOU
-
SFO
7h 55m1 stop
$284Southwest
Thu, Jan 29 - Mon, Feb 2
Delta Logo
11:40 am - 10:33 pm
SFO
-
HOU
8h 53m1 stop
Delta Logo
5:04 pm - 11:25 pm
HOU
-
SFO
8h 21m1 stop
$289Delta
Fri, Mar 6 - Wed, Mar 11
American Airlines Logo
11:59 pm - 9:44 am
SFO
-
HOU
7h 45m1 stop
American Airlines Logo
10:14 am - 2:59 pm
HOU
-
SFO
6h 45m1 stop
$324American Airlines
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 $285 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 Sundays 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 $350 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and November, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $480 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 1 week before departure. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 23 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.
Airports
SFO

SFO offers curbside check-in for United, Delta, and Southwest, making it convenient for families and those with lots of luggage.

IAH

For quick city access, use rideshare apps like Uber or Lyft from IAH's designated pickup points at Terminals A, B, and C.

Our travel experts
John Walton

John Walton

Expert on IAH

John Walton

John Walton

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.

Read more
Blane Bachelor

Blane Bachelor

Expert on SFO

Blane Bachelor

Blane Bachelor

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.

Read more

Good to know

Cheapest flight$140
Flight from San Francisco to Houston Hobby 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 $140 for a one-way ticket and $269 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.
7.9
SouthwestOverall score based on 4250 reviews
8.6Crew
8.1Boarding
7.5Entertainment
8.0Comfort
7.0Food
Airline reviews

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

10.0 ExcellentIlevba, Nov 2025
DCA - DAL
Read more Southwest reviews

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

Everything a cheap airline should be at normal airline rates.

Full cans of soda would be nice. A choice between two snacks would be appreciated.

Tried watching free movie and it kept freezing so I couldn’t finish.

I was re-booked onto another flight because my original flight was delayed and I would have missed my connector. I ended up in the “C” group after paying extra to be in the “A “ group on the original flight. At least if you’re going to re-book people, re-book them into the same group.

As always, the entire Southwest experience was wonderful, from online booking to flight to baggage retrieval. Very grateful.

The weather could have been better. There was a 40 minute ATC delay in SFO because of marine fog and a micro cell storm delayed landing and take-off at Nashville. The gate was changed 5 minutes from boarding from gate B3 to gate C23 at Nashville airport.

Was good. I miss the free 2 checked bags. That was part of what made Southwest special

The cabin was quiet for the redeye flight. The area was clean. The staff was great. The 787 Max was in good condition. Drawbacks were that the seat widths were tight for some passengers. The seat padding was at best average and for a long flight uncomfortable.

Multiple delays and gate changes. Arrived at final destination 6 hours late. All rental cars had been taken.

No lunch on a x-country flight scheduled for 10:50 am departure, arrived 5+ hrs later. That requires a black box label before you pay for the tickets. Worst, when I checked in online, it's specifically said that lunch was served on his flight for economy Plus passengers.

Our flight from SFO to MSP was right on time on 11/15/2025. No delays. As we approached MSP at about 8 pm, we circled in the air until 8:40 pm so I don't call that efficient for MSP. I think the captain should announce the delay and why. (as if we all don't know that we are just circling around the area, slowing down, speeding up, slowing down.) Thank you. Marilyn Fischer

Staff were friendly and happy. Delta could make sure passengers that don't have the app know of changes. Without Kayak I would not have known about the change of gate or the delay. Kayak was faster to notify me.

The flight used a B767 with a very old interior from before 2014. The entertainment system did not work at all during the flight despite attempts to reset the system. It was like they flew this route just to be competitive.

Delayed flight (1hour) plus a long layover after an overnight flight with no backup plane available.

Lounge in Lagos is terrible, food on board from Lagos to Atlanta was horrible. Only bright spot the cabin crew were awesome.

Flight delayed for two and half hours and then canceled altogether due to mechanical issues. No mechanic onsite to fix so had to send one from LAX.

My husband upgraded our seats and I don't know if it was due to the type of planet was or if they didn't upgrade our seats. We were supposed to be in I believe comfort seats and they were just as tight as any other seat- no leg room and we are very tall people but at least it wasn't extremely cold. My husband did put in a complaint about our seating because he paid extra and if we would have known that the space and the tightness would have been the same, we just would have gotten the emergency row emergency row seats that we normally get. We love Delta but both our flights coming home we're not good. Oh I forgot to mention that on our flight to Hawaii our luggage wheels got broke and we had to purse new luggage on vacation then we never had this problem so we didn't know protocol and reported it after we got home only for them to tell is we only had 24hrs to report the damage. Not sure what was going on with Delta this vacation trip.

Crew was excellent. Comfort seats not as nice as other kinds of planes.

It was a great flight and the stewards and stewardess were all kind and accommodating!! The seats were comfortable and entertainment screen excellent!

Older aircraft, no meal, only food was for purchase. Not impressed United.

Not pleasant trip cross country when the entertainment and WiFi system not working. No entertainment for entirety of route. Staff was rather nonchalant in that they dismissed the problem due to age of plane. It would have been nice to know this up front so I could have come prepared to read or download movies before boarding Coincidentally or not, there was a similar issue with the entertainment system on my previous flight I took on my fist leg of the trip. There are no seat TVs, so you must rely on the app when it works. United can do better. Also, what use it it to pay for boarding group 2 when half of the passengers are in the same line as you?

Premium Plus is a really good idea for longer flights

I was in first class. The outlets at my seat did not work. The plane was shabby and run down. I had prepurchsed a day subscription for internet that was not redeemable. I had to repurchase the internet for my flight and then it didn’t work anyway. Quite disappointed in what was supposed to be the launch of a great vacation.

Stuck on tarmac for two hours plus a 5.5 hour flight. Rude flight attendant. And no meals, not even for purchase!

I learned that seating towards the end of plane that a line forms for the restroom and people use your chair as a hand railing, bumping your seat consistently. I was seated in the aisle. I think that next time if I am towards the back row I would want to sit in the middle or window seat.

United sent me a mileage plus number last year but that number is invalid so I can’t use it to check into flights or collect mileage. There is human to speak about the problem, only computers who keep asking me if I am using the correct email. It’s so frustrating and I cannot resolve it.

Everything was great. Only thing that could’ve made it better was buy on board options for hot food, but the snacks were decent. The flight attendants were great. I had no complaints. I was able to make it to my destination safely

Horrific. They missed my connecting flight to San Diego. I didn’t get there until Monday at 9am when I had a mandatory court settlement conference scheduled at 6am since we had parties on the east coast. This caused many issues. All because United apparently forgot to hold the doors open until my flight landed that only had a 10 minute delay. This was the last flight to Southern California. So I couldn’t even rent a car to finish the trip. United cannot be trusted when traveling on specific days and times since weather didn’t have anything to do with the delays.

Very comfortable (upgraded to business class). The audio on my screen didn’t work, but I managed to play the audio through my phone while watching the screen.

The boarding was as always, the crew tried their best but not enough. The food was a disaster I had dietary restrictions that were half met because the company did not loaded the food for the flight. The entertainment screen was fine but content was not and also they removed the free messaging option from the flight and they charged 30 dollars for that crappy bandwidth. This flight is not worth the cost and the company is going down on quality.

A little late at the start but all worked out well.

I liked the humor of the captain and crew on the flight from Flagstaff to Dallas. They were humorous.

After arriving in Dallas, the aircraft taxied for an unusually long time and was unable to park at the gate, which caused a significant delay and made me miss my connecting flight. I then had to wait in a very long line to be rebooked, and I was told that no hotel or meal accommodations would be provided. What is even more unacceptable is that my luggage was mishandled and has still not been located. My suitcase contains important medications that I urgently need, and I have been unable to access them due to the airline’s mishandling. This situation has caused me considerable stress and inconvenience, and I need this issue to be resolved immediately.

I appreciated that it was on time, safe and professional. I didn’t like that I wasn’t in a place where I had a window at my window seat. It would have been nice to know that in advance. If it was mentioned in the ticketing, I didn’t notice it.

I have a gluten allergy so didn't have any food

Baggage handling poor. Second time this has happened. My bag went to San Francisco instead of Fiji. No apology. Luckily Nadi airport staff are fantastic. My bag arrived in Fiji the next day.

Wish a flight with more than 2 hours with some snack rather than just cookie/biscuit.

Flight delayed and missed connection. Rescheduled flight cancelled after 6 hrs wait. Rerouted thru ORD, flight cancelled, overnight stay in ORD. Still in the air on new flight!

Delayed delayed delayed and no offer for food or vouchers

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.

Worst airline experience. They were rude and kept changing our seats and/or giving our seats away so our family didn’t get to sit with each other. Almost everyone we dealt with at both airports with this airline was rude. The app kept giving us wrong information making things take longer. Dealing with them before TSA can take close to an hour…longer than I’ve ever had to deal with before. Never using this airline again.

The seats were awful, hard plastic covered in sheet vinyl. The airline tries to scam you into paying extra to get seat together when the flight wasn’t full. They were going to separate a family with young children but my wife who had a row to herself gave up her seat so the young mom could be with her young boys. I’m never giving this airline my money again.

It was a short flight so no food or entertainment….

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

Information on your arrival and departure airports