Ryanair Fares Explained: Basic vs Regular vs Plus vs Flexi Plus vs Family Plus

Published: 22 August 2026

I booked Basic for a work trip to Porto last year because it was £11 cheaper than Regular, then spent £34 at the booking-confirmation screen adding a seat, and another £9 two days later adding the overhead bag I’d forgotten I’d need. £43 in add-ons to save £11 on the headline fare. I could have just booked Regular in the first place and had both included for less than what I ended up paying piecemeal.

That’s the trap with Ryanair’s fare bundles — five names, five different combinations of bag, seat and boarding, and the airline’s own comparison page doesn’t always make the differences obvious at a glance. Get one detail wrong, particularly on the Plus fare, and you either overpay for something you didn’t need or turn up at the gate missing something you did. I’ve checked every inclusion below against Ryanair’s fare bundle page directly, because a few guides I’ve read still have the Plus fare wrong.

For the bag dimensions behind all of this, see the Ryanair Baggage Allowance guide. Everything else about the airline lives on the Ryanair hub.

Ryanair fares compared at a glance

The free 40 x 30 x 20 cm personal bag comes with every fare, Basic included — that’s Ryanair’s one genuinely free allowance, no weight limit attached, and it hasn’t changed since the size increase on 4 September 2025. Nothing else on that table is universal. Bundle prices move by route, date and how full the flight is, the same way every Ryanair add-on does, so I’m not going to pretend there’s a fixed price gap between Basic and Regular — check the fare comparison in the booking flow for your actual dates. What doesn’t move is what each fare includes, and that’s the part worth getting right before you click.

Basic: the fare that includes nothing but the seat

Basic is the price you see in the search results and the ad. It gets you on the plane and nothing else. The free personal bag comes with it, same as every fare, but seat selection isn’t included — you either pay to choose one during booking, or you take whatever Ryanair assigns you for free when online check-in opens. No priority boarding, no checked bag, no overhead cabin bag.

It’s the right fare for a genuinely minimal trip: hand luggage only, no strong opinion on where you sit, and a route that isn’t heaving on the day you’re flying. Add a seat and you’re most of the way to Regular’s price anyway, so work out what you actually need before assuming Basic is the cheaper option — sometimes it isn’t once you’ve added back what you wanted.

Regular: the fare most people should compare everything else against

Regular includes a free standard seat and Priority & 2 Cabin Bags as standard — that’s the 10kg overhead bag (55 x 40 x 20 cm) on top of the free personal bag, plus the priority boarding queue at the gate. No checked bag.

This is the fare I default to for anything longer than a weekend. You get the bigger cabin bag without buying it as a separate add-on, you get a seat without gambling on the random check-in assignment, and you skip the standard boarding queue on the flights where it actually matters. For what the priority queue and the overhead bag are worth on their own, I’ve written a full breakdown in Ryanair Priority Boarding: Is It Worth It? — worth reading if you’re deciding between Basic-plus-add-ons and Regular outright, because the maths isn’t always what you’d expect.

Plus: checked baggage, not priority — the fare most guides get wrong

Plus includes a free standard seat and a 20kg checked bag. That’s it. No priority boarding. No 10kg overhead cabin bag — your only cabin allowance on Plus is the free 40 x 30 x 20 cm personal bag, same as Basic.

I’ve seen this one written up incorrectly more than once, usually as “Plus includes everything Regular does, plus a checked bag” — it doesn’t. Plus swaps the overhead cabin bag and priority queue for hold luggage instead. If you need to check a bag anyway — skis aside, this is your everyday 20kg checked-bag fare — Plus can work out cheaper than buying Regular and adding a checked bag on top. But if what you actually wanted was the bigger cabin bag or the priority queue, Plus doesn’t give you either, and you’ll be buying Priority & 2 Cabin Bags as a separate add-on if you want it. Check Ryanair Fees 2026: The Complete List of Every Charge for what that add-on costs before assuming Plus has you covered.

Flexi Plus: the fare for people who might change their mind

Flexi Plus includes Priority & 2 Cabin Bags (the personal bag plus the 10kg overhead bag), a reserved seat in any seating category rather than just standard, and Airport Security Fast Track where the airport offers it. On top of that, Flexi Plus lets you change your flight to a different date, time or route without paying the standard flight change fee — you still cover any fare difference between your original booking and the new flight, but the £45-£60 change fee itself is waived.

This is the fare for a trip you’re not 100% locked into yet, or for anyone who wants Fast Track without paying for it as a standalone extra. If your plans are fixed and you don’t care which seat category you’re in, Regular gets you most of the same baggage benefit for less.

Family Plus: a baggage bundle, not a priority bundle

Family Plus gives each group member a small personal cabin bag and a 10kg checked bag, adds one 20kg family bag checked at the bag drop desk, and includes free seats for children under 12. It does not include priority boarding, and it does not include the 10kg overhead cabin bag — those stay separate add-ons even on this fare.

This is, by a distance, the most common confusion across every Ryanair guide I’ve read, this site’s own Priority Boarding piece included in an earlier draft. If you’ve booked Family Plus assuming your family also has priority boarding, you haven’t — you’ll need to add Priority & 2 Cabin Bags on top if you want to skip the queue or bring the bigger cabin bag for anyone in the group.

Time Saver: the sixth option that doesn’t make the headline list

Time Saver isn’t one of the five fares Ryanair markets on the main comparison page, but it shows up on plenty of routes and it’s worth knowing about. It includes Priority & 2 Cabin Bags, reserved seating in the front rows (rows 1-5, until those sell out), and Fast Track where available. No checked bag included. Think of it as Flexi Plus’s seating swapped for guaranteed front rows instead of any-category choice, without the fee-free flight change benefit.

Which Ryanair fare should you actually book?

Hand luggage only, short trip, don’t care where you sit — Basic. Add a seat only if you specifically want one; otherwise let the free random assignment do its job.

A week or more away, need the bigger cabin bag — Regular. Free seat and the 10kg overhead bag included, without paying for Priority as a bolt-on. See best cabin bags for Ryanair for what actually fits in the free bag, and best 10kg priority bags for Ryanair for the overhead-bag options once you’ve got Regular’s allowance.

Checking a bag anyway, don’t need priority — Plus. You’re getting 20kg of hold luggage and a free seat for less than adding a checked bag to Regular in most cases, but only if the checked bag is genuinely what you need.

Plans might shift, or you want any-seat choice and Fast Track — Flexi Plus. The fee-free flight change is the real value here, not the seat category.

Travelling as a family with kids under 12 — Family Plus, and budget separately for priority if you want it. Don’t assume the family bundle covers boarding order.

Want to guarantee a front-row seat and don’t mind the fixed rows — Time Saver, where it’s offered on your route.

Whatever you land on, the Ryanair Cabin Bag Size and Baggage Allowance guide covers what the gate sizers actually enforce for the free personal bag and the 10kg overhead bag, regardless of which fare got you there.

Ryanair fares FAQ

What’s the cheapest Ryanair fare?

Basic. It includes only the free 40 x 30 x 20 cm personal bag — no seat selection, no priority boarding, no checked bag. Everything else is a paid add-on.

Does the Regular fare include a free seat?

Yes. Regular includes a free standard seat as well as Priority & 2 Cabin Bags, which adds the 10kg overhead cabin bag and the priority boarding queue. It doesn’t include a checked bag.

Does the Plus fare include priority boarding?

No. Plus includes a free standard seat and a 20kg checked bag, but no priority boarding and no 10kg overhead cabin bag. Your only cabin allowance on Plus is the free personal bag, same as Basic.

What’s the difference between Plus and Regular?

Plus swaps Regular’s 10kg overhead cabin bag and priority queue for a 20kg checked bag instead. Both include a free standard seat. Pick Regular if you want to carry more onboard; pick Plus if you’re checking a bag anyway.

Does Family Plus include priority boarding?

No. Family Plus is a baggage and child-seating bundle — a cabin bag and 10kg checked bag per group member, one 20kg family bag, and free seats for children under 12. Priority boarding and the 10kg overhead cabin bag are separate add-ons even on this fare.

What do you get with Flexi Plus that you don’t get with Regular?

Flexi Plus adds reserved seating in any seat category rather than just standard, Airport Security Fast Track where available, and the ability to change your flight without paying the standard change fee (you still pay any fare difference). Both fares include Priority & 2 Cabin Bags.

Is there a Ryanair fare with front-row seats included?

Time Saver includes reserved seating in the front rows (1-5) along with Priority & 2 Cabin Bags and Fast Track where available. It isn’t listed among Ryanair’s five headline fares but does appear on many routes.

Can I add a checked bag to the Basic or Regular fare?

Yes — checked bags in 10kg, 20kg and 23kg tiers can be added to any fare as a separate purchase. See Ryanair Fees 2026: The Complete List of Every Charge for current prices.

Which Ryanair fare is best value for a family with young children?

Family Plus, if you’re checking bags for everyone anyway — the per-person 10kg allowance plus the shared 20kg family bag usually beats buying checked bags individually. Budget separately for priority boarding if boarding order matters to you, since Family Plus doesn’t include it.

The bottom line

Basic gets you a seat on the plane and the free personal bag, full stop. Regular adds a free seat and the bigger cabin bag. Plus swaps that cabin bag for a checked one. Flexi Plus and Time Saver both bundle priority with different seating perks. Family Plus is baggage for the whole group, not a boarding-order upgrade. Match the fare to what you’re actually carrying and how fixed your plans are, not to the name that sounds most premium — Plus and Family Plus both sound like upgrades from Regular and neither one includes what Regular does for boarding and cabin baggage.

For the fee list behind every add-on mentioned here, see Ryanair Fees 2026: The Complete List of Every Charge, or head back to the Ryanair hub for everything else about flying with the airline.