San Francisco to Chicago runs about 28 times a day, with the first departure around 06:06 and the last around 20:37. One passenger pays between €221.98 and €232.01, every fee included, depending on the operator and the way you travel. The fastest door to door is 7h 26m over 3,073 km, on services run by 4 operators across 1 mode.
What one seat costs
The spread between the cheapest and dearest typical fare on this corridor, across 4 operators and 1 way of making the journey. The operator sets the price on the day.
Typical fares · Priced for 6 October 2026
€221.98 to €232.01
- 246%Moves across the booking window
When it runs, leaving San Francisco
No operator has filed a timetable for this direction yet, so the first and last departure below follow the pattern of the corridor. Read them as the shape of the service day rather than as times to turn up for.
- 06:06First departure
- 20:37Last departure
- 28Services per day
- 100%Run direct
Fares by date
What this journey usually costs, by departure date. It shows which days run dearer.
Typical fares
- about €640.88Fri18
- about €573.03Sat19
- about €515.80Sun20
- about €361.22Mon21
- about €371.25Tue22
- about €391.90Wed23
- about €486.89Thu24
- about €355.32Fri25
- about €364.17Sat26
- about €342.34Sun27
- about €293.96Mon28
- about €285.11Tue29
- about €306.94Wed30
- about €354.14Thu1
- about €278.03Fri2
- about €287.47Sat3
- about €269.18Sun4
- about €230.24Mon5
- about €221.98Tue6
- about €236.14Wed7
- about €299.27Thu8
Based on what this route has cost recently. The operator sets the price on the day, and the live fare is confirmed when you book.
The flight gets you into Chicago. It does not get you a bed, and neither do we.
A room in Chicago for the night the flight gets in
Sort by distance from Chicago Union Station and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.
Search Chicago on Booking.comOr compare on Expedia
Partner links. We do not sell accommodation. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
When to book San Francisco to Chicago
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €244.4090 days
- €185.4060 days
- €214.3145 days
- €247.9430 days
- €299.2721 days
- €354.1414 days
- €486.897 days
- €515.803 days
- €640.881 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 60 days ahead, at €185.40.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and dearest lead time is 246 percent. The dearest point is €640.88, 1 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 60 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 60 days ahead. You are inside that window.
This corridor, specifically
Facts that apply to San Francisco to Chicago and to no other route on the site.
Clocks
2 hours ahead on arrival. The clock moves even though you do not.
The shape of it
3,073 km
2,983 km as the crow flies, 3% further by the route services take. The bearing runs east.
Who lives at each end
827,526 → 2,664,452
Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.
How we know
0/2
2 of these connections were inferred from service-area overlap rather than observed in a timetable. We would rather say so.
The route
What the journey looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 3,073 km against 2,983 km in a straight line, a detour of 3 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
Who runs this route
The flight gets in hours before any room is ready. Holding a bag is not what we sell.
Left luggage near Chicago Union Station
Most of the points near Chicago Union Station open before the first train and shut after the last one.
Check Chicago on StasherOr try Bounce
Partner links. We do not run these networks. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.
Questions about San Francisco to Chicago
The questions people actually ask about this journey, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from San Francisco to Chicago?
The fastest journey from San Francisco to Chicago takes 7h 26m door to door, of which 4h 17m is spent moving, on the flight. Most services take around 7h 46m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.
How much does it cost to travel from San Francisco to Chicago?
The cheapest fare from San Francisco to Chicago is €221.98, as of 17 September 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €396.92. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from San Francisco to Chicago?
The cheapest way from San Francisco to Chicago is by flight, at €221.98 for one passenger on 6 October 2026. That journey takes 7h 27m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.
When should I book San Francisco to Chicago?
Fares from San Francisco to Chicago bottom out around 60 days before departure, at €185.40. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the dearest lead time is 246 percent, measured on 17 September 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for San Francisco to Chicago?
Tuesday is the cheapest day to depart from San Francisco to Chicago, at €285.11. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of 17 September 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for San Francisco to Chicago?
February is the cheapest of the next 5 months to travel from San Francisco to Chicago, at €189.53 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs services from San Francisco to Chicago?
No operator record names San Francisco to Chicago directly. American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines publish service areas covering both ends and may serve it, so we list them as possible operators rather than confirmed ones.
Is there a direct service from San Francisco to Chicago?
Every service we sell from San Francisco to Chicago is direct, with around 28 departures a day and a fastest journey of 7h 26m door to door. No connection is needed, so there is no missed connection risk to plan around on this corridor.
Which station or terminal do services from San Francisco to Chicago use?
Services from San Francisco to Chicago by flight leave from San Francisco SFO and arrive at Chicago ORD. Allow about 3h 10m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from San Francisco to Chicago?
0 of the 4 operators we sell from San Francisco to Chicago allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance on this page are real and come from open data. Where a corridor has a filed timetable the departure times are real too, and ferry fares are the prices the operators publish themselves.
Derived from service area No carrier record names this exact pair. The operators listed publish a service area covering both places at a distance their mode plausibly carries people, which is evidence that the corridor is served and not evidence of a specific service. Pages state which, because presenting the two as the same thing would be dishonest.
Where no operator publishes a fare for a corridor, the price here is our own estimate, worked out from the real distance and the real operator through a fare curve that follows lead time, day of the week and season. It tells you roughly what the journey costs. It is not a seat anyone has agreed to sell, and the payment step will not take it.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for San Francisco to Chicago on 17 September 2026: 3073 km of route against 2983 km in a straight line, 28 services a day, 4 operators a cheapest fare of €221.98, and 7h 26m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
Being on the water gives Chicago a set of days out that do not start at a station. We do not sell those either.
Day trips out of Chicago and across United States
Day trips that leave Chicago in the morning and cover a good part of United States by evening.
See Chicago on GetYourGuideOr browse Viator
Partner links. We do not sell tours or tickets. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.
The two ends, compared
San Francisco reaches 127 places in 31 countries on services we hold, over distances from 24 to 13,585 km. Chicago reaches 268 places in 41 countries, from 41 to 12,539 km.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving San Francisco
- 127Places you can leave for
- 31Countries
- 54Operators
Arriving in Chicago
Leaving Chicago
- 268Places you can leave for
- 41Countries
- 77Operators