A difference can arise from the country version of the site, the currency, fees or a promotion; often prices are identical. Check the same option from two or three locations and compare the final price under identical conditions.
What the price depends on
The booking price depends on the fare, fees, demand and availability. A change in the amount after connecting a VPN does not by itself prove a dependence on the country of connection.
An IP address is a network address by which a site can roughly determine the location of the connection. A VPN replaces it with the address of its server, but the site version may persist in your account or browser settings.
| Factor | What may change | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| IP country and site version | Available offer, display currency | Which version of the site you opened |
| Account and purchase history | Personal or club price | Whether you are logged in, whether a subscription is required |
| Currency and conversion | Amount after recalculation | The exchange rate and conversion fee |
| Taxes and services | Final price | All mandatory payments |
| Demand and availability | Available fare or room category | Whether the same option is still there |
Personalised pricing
Personalised pricing is setting a price based on data about how much a particular buyer is presumed willing to pay. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in its statement on personalised pricing, describes the use of purchase history and online behaviour for such estimates. Its materials do not prove that a specific airline or hotel changes the price because of your IP.
In the FTC study's preliminary findings, location is considered as one of many signals. Your account and purchase history may matter more than your IP; there is no universal ratio of their influence. A VPN does not remove the information from your profile.
Cookies are a website's records in your browser, such as a session identifier or the selected currency. Clearing them helps make the test conditions comparable. The possible effect of clearing them on the price needs to be checked separately.
Compare prices on identical terms
Check prices first without a VPN, then with a connection from two or three locations. Do not rely on a single cheapest country for all routes. For the first comparison, the United Kingdom, the destination country and one more available location will do.
- Note the dates, the number of guests or passengers, and children's ages
- Choose the same room, property or flight
- Keep identical cancellation, meal, baggage and change terms
- Open a clean session without logging into an account for each check
- Set a single display currency, for example pounds sterling
- Go all the way to the final total without confirming the purchase
- Save screenshots showing the price, terms and time of the check
Use a separate browser profile and delete site data between checks. After clearing, set the currency and search parameters again. Note the country version of the site at each step.
For comparison, you can use CitadelVPN: the service lists more than 40 locations. Choose two or three and repeat the identical search, recording the results in a table. The number of locations does not guarantee a discount or access to the booking site.
| Location / site version | Dates and guests / passengers | Fare and cancellation | Currency | Total with fees | Logged in | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No VPN / state the version | Fill in | Fill in | GBP | Fill in | No | Fill in |
| Location 1 / state the version | Same | Same | GBP | Fill in | No | Fill in |
| Location 2 / state the version | Same | Same | GBP | Fill in | No | Fill in |
Run the checks one after another, then repeat in reverse order. If the original price has also changed, the available fares may have been updated. A persistent difference shows the available offer, but does not yet prove an IP-based markup.
Compare prices on identical terms
Compare currency and fees
Compare the display currency with the charge currency. A price in pounds in the search results does not always mean payment in pounds. Compare the seller's rate with your card's rate and fees.
Paying in the local currency lets you decline the seller's conversion, but its benefit depends on your card's terms. According to Your Europe's guidance on prices and payments in the EU, a hotel offering a currency conversion must disclose the markup relative to the European Central Bank reference rate. For flights, all unavoidable and foreseeable fees must be included in the final price from the start of the booking; optional extras require your consent.
Before comparing, check:
- For a hotel: the cost of the entire stay, taxes and mandatory on-site payments
- For a flight: unavoidable fees and an identical set of selected extras
- For accommodation via a platform: the total for the whole period on the last step before payment
For example, if one search shows a per-night price and another the whole stay, convert both amounts to the full period. In such a case, the apparent saving may disappear.
Consider EU rules
EU rules prohibit charging an EU buyer a higher price solely because of their nationality or country of residence. For services provided on the spot, such as hotel accommodation and car hire, such a buyer must have access to the same prices as locals. However, different prices on country versions of a website are not prohibited in themselves.
These rights do not automatically apply to every UK booking. A server's IP does not change your nationality or place of residence. If a fare depends on residency, the buyer's actual details are what matter.
Do not state a false country of residence for the sake of a price. Before paying, check whether you meet the fare's conditions.
Frequently asked questions
Can airlines set prices by country of residence?
Article 23(2) of EU Regulation No 1008/2008, as adopted, provides for access to publicly available fares for flights from EU airports without discrimination by nationality or place of residence. In the UK version, this provision was removed on 31 December 2020; it does not follow from this that any pricing practice is permitted.
Can a site redirect me to a different country version?
Automatic redirection without explicit consent is prohibited for websites and buyers covered by the relevant EU rules. The chosen version must remain accessible. These rules cannot be taken as universal for all websites worldwide.
Has the FTC banned personalised prices?
The FTC has not declared all personalised prices unlawful. In the statement published for comment in August 2026, the commission indicated that the undisclosed collection or use of personal data for pricing could violate US law. This is neither a general ban nor a UK rule.
Choose by the final price
Choose the offer that remains cheaper after checking the currency, mandatory fees and fare conditions. It is enough to compare the original connection and two or three VPN locations, then repeat the checks. If the amounts match, a saving for this search is not confirmed.
Before buying, check the website's address: a VPN does not protect against phishing, fake pages or credential theft. Whether it is safe to book and pay with a VPN is covered on the home page.