Airport Parking vs Taxi Calculator
Compare on-airport parking, off-site park & ride, a return taxi and the train or coach — side by side, for your trip length and party size — to find the genuinely cheapest way to get to the airport.
Estimate only. These are estimates based on the figures you enter, not live prices. Parking, taxi and train fares change often — check current rates before you travel.
Cheapest for this trip
For a 7-day trip with 2 travelling, Train / coach works out cheapest at £40.
| Option | Per person | Total |
|---|---|---|
On-airport parking (drive-up) | £88 | £175 |
On-airport parking (pre-booked) | £42 | £84 |
Off-site park & ride | £28 | £56 |
Taxi / private hire | £40 | £80 |
Train / coachCheapest | £20 | £40 |
Pre-booking on-airport parking instead of paying the drive-up rate saves £91 on this trip.
That's more than double the drive-up price — booking ahead is one of the easiest savings on this list.
- Always pre-book on-airport parking online — turning up and paying the drive-up rate can cost 2-3x more for exactly the same car park.
- Off-site park & ride is often the cheapest parking option, but factor in the shuttle bus time — allow at least 20-30 minutes extra each way.
- For a group, split the taxi fare between everyone travelling — a single return fare shared 3 or 4 ways can beat driving and parking.
- Watch for drop-off fees at the terminal — many UK airports now charge £5-7 just to pull up and drop someone off, even if you're not parking.
How this comparison works
On-airport parking and off-site park & ride are priced per day, so their total scales with how long your trip lasts — a longer trip makes parking relatively more expensive compared with a taxi or train, which are one flat return fare regardless of how many days you're away. This calculator totals each option for your actual trip length and party size, so you can see which genuinely works out cheapest rather than just comparing headline daily rates. The pre-booking callout highlights one of the simplest savings available: on-airport car parks routinely charge 2-3x more for drive-up customers than for the same space booked online in advance.