Guide
Best Driving Instructor Apps in the UK — Compared for 2026
You teach from the car, not a desk, so this guide is about the app you will actually use. It compares six UK driving instructor apps on diary and day-to-day usability, pupil management, lesson progress, the mobile experience, booking, payments and business admin, offline support, and price. Lesson Diary publishes this comparison and is one of the apps included; features and prices should be checked against each provider’s current information before choosing.
Last updated: 27 August 2026
Best for
Best for independent ADIs
Lesson Diary — one plan with the diary, online booking, mock tests and the pupil portal included, built for a solo instructor.
Best for multi-instructor schools
MyDriveTime or Total Drive — both lean towards larger schools and multi-car set-ups.
Best for offline working
Total Drive and Lesson Diary both keep working with no signal; GoRoadie and Passly do not.
Best for online booking
Lesson Diary — pupils book themselves from a link or QR code, with a coverage-area map and an approval inbox.
Best for built-in card payments
Passly — it takes card payments in-app at 1.5% plus Stripe fees; Lesson Diary tracks payments but does not process them.
Best value
DriveSchoolPro is free while in early access; among paid options Lesson Diary is one flat monthly plan.
The shortlist
-
1. Lesson Diary
£9.99/moOne plan with the diary, online booking, mock tests and pupil progress on the phone — and it works offline too.
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2. GoRoadie Pro
£15/mo (free for PDIs)Mobile-first, with a pupil app learners recognise.
Lesson Diary vs GoRoadie Pro → -
3. Total Drive
£18–£26/mo (4 tiers)Native apps for instructor and pupil, plus offline mode.
Lesson Diary vs Total Drive → -
4. MyDriveTime
£19/mo solo (free for PDIs)Instructor and student apps, established since 2014.
Lesson Diary vs MyDriveTime → -
5. Passly
£14.99/mo, drops to £8.99 laterWorks in the phone browser, but there is no native app.
Lesson Diary vs Passly → -
6. DriveSchoolPro
Free until 31 Mar 2027, ~£22/mo expected afterBrowser only — no app to install yet.
Lesson Diary vs DriveSchoolPro →
Compare the shortlist
The rows that decide this question. For the full feature-by-feature matrix, compare all driving instructor software.
| Lesson Diary | GoRoadie Pro | Total Drive | MyDriveTime | Passly | DriveSchoolPro | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price & terms | ||||||
| Monthly price | £9.99/mo | £15/mo (free for PDIs) | £18–£26/mo (4 tiers) | £19/mo solo (free for PDIs) | £14.99/mo, drops to £8.99 later | Free until 31 Mar 2027, ~£22/mo expected after |
| Free trial | Comes with a 14-day free trial, but you can start free with limited access instead — no card, no commitment | 60-day free trial | 30-day free trial | 30-day trial + 6-month money-back | 14-day free trial | Free early access, then a 14-day trial |
| Diary & scheduling | ||||||
| Works on the web | Yes | Mobile-first, limited web | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad app | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Mobile web, no native app | No |
| Phone calendar sync | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly |
| Works with no signal | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Booking & getting pupils | ||||||
| Pupils book online themselves | Yes | Yes | Ultimate (£23) and up | Partly | Yes | Yes |
| Approve, defer or decline requests | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes |
| Pupils & progress | ||||||
| Mock tests, marked DVSA-style | DL25-style, live pass/fail | Partly | Yes | Partly | Yes | Partly |
| Pupil portal | Web, no download | Pupil app | Branded native app | Student app | Web, no download | Web, no download |
| Money & admin | ||||||
| Who has paid, who owes you | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Export pupils, lessons & payments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
A note on fairness. We build Lesson Diary, and it is one of the tools on this page — so read the comparison with that in mind. Every rival figure was checked on 27 August 2026 against each company’s own website. Prices and plans change; if you spot something out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it.
Sources: GoRoadie Pro, Total Drive, MyDriveTime, Passly, DriveSchoolPro
The app you’ll actually run from the car
Diary, DL25 mock tests and pupil progress on your phone. Try the web version free, no card required — the app unlocks at £9.99 a month.
