Compare
Orbit alternatives for UK driving instructors
Orbit is a solid tool, but instructors look elsewhere for a few reasons: free to you because your pupils pay instead: the greater of £2.99 or 4% is added to each card booking, so a £40 lesson costs the pupil £42.99. The iPhone app is not out yet, no offline mode or GPS route recording is listed, and Making Tax Digital submission still waits on HMRC approval. The company behind it was set up in June 2026. Here is how the main alternatives compare — checked 21 October 2026.
The short answer: Lesson Diary
One plan at £9.99/mo, a native iPhone and Android app, and not a penny taken from your lesson money. Online booking, the coverage-area map, DL25-style mock tests and the pupil portal are all included.
- We never touch your lesson money — no percentage, no platform fee, ever
- One plan: online booking, the coverage-area map, mock tests and the pupil portal are all in it
- A booking page that looks like your business — your colours, logo and wording, with your reviews, pass photos and badges
- Record the GPS route of every lesson from the app, share the map with your pupil and add the miles to your mileage log
- Native iPhone and Android apps, not just a mobile website
- Works with no signal — add a lesson, pupil or payment offline and it syncs the moment you reconnect
- DL25-style mock tests marked the way the DVSA marks them — live pass or fail
- Sell a block of lessons upfront and we track the balance for you as pupils book
- Income, expenses and profit sorted by tax year and MTD quarter, with mileage worked out at the HMRC rate — no spreadsheet
- Free data migration — send us the export from your current app and we move your records across
- Export your pupils, lessons and payments whenever you want — the data stays yours
| Lesson Diary | Total Drive | GoRoadie Pro | DriveSchoolPro | MyDriveTime | Passly | DriveInstruct | Passdesk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price & terms | ||||||||
| Monthly price | £9.99/mo | £18–£26/mo (4 tiers) | £17/mo (free for PDIs) | Free until 31 Mar 2027, then a free plan or £22/mo | £19/mo solo (free for PDIs) | £14.99/mo (£8.99 per extra instructor) | £10/mo Pro (£49 School) | £19/mo solo (£49–£199 schools) |
| Free trial | Comes with a 14-day free trial, but you can start free with limited access instead — no card, no commitment | 30-day free trial | 60-day free trial | Free early access, then a 14-day trial | 30-day trial + 6-month money-back | 14-day free trial | 1-month free trial, no card | 30-day free trial, no card |
| Cut of your lesson money | £0 — we never handle pupil payments | Card fee set at sign-up, not published | 1.9% on app-raised payments | Stripe fees only, no platform cut | No card processing in the app | 1.5% flat + Stripe fees | 2% platform fee on online payments | 2.5% + 20p per card payment |
| Everything on one plan | Yes | No | Yes | Solo plan; per-instructor add-on for schools | Per-instructor discounts for schools | Yes | Yes | Plans by school size |
| Cancel yourself, anytime | Yes | Web form, ends at period end | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free data migration from your current app | Yes | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not advertised | Yes |
| Diary & scheduling | ||||||||
| Route / GPS recording | Yes — GPS route map on every lesson | Coming soon — launching soon per their site | No | No | Journey tracking mentioned; no GPS detail or export listed | No | Route planner, no GPS recording | 50 free miles, then £5 per 50 |
| Works on the web | Yes | Yes | Mobile-first, limited web | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad app | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Mobile web, no native app | Not advertised | Web app; native app coming |
| Android app | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Mobile web, no native app | Not advertised | Web app; native app coming |
| Recurring lessons | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not advertised | Yes |
| Working hours & time off | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not confirmed |
| Double-booking flagged | Yes | Not advertised | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not advertised | Yes |
| Phone calendar sync | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes | Not advertised | Yes |
| Gap alerts between lessons | Yes | Enhanced tools on higher tiers | Yes | Partly | Partly | Yes | Partly | Partly |
| Works with no signal | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Not advertised | Yes |
| Booking & getting pupils | ||||||||
| Pupils book online themselves | Yes | Ultimate (£23) and up | Yes | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Booking link & QR code | Yes | Partly | Partly | Partly | No | Partly | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Booking widget for your site | Yes | Not advertised | No | Yes | Partly | Yes | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Booking page in your colours, with your logo & reviews | Yes | Not advertised | Not advertised | Button colour & wording only | Not advertised | Not advertised | Custom link only | Team plan (£99) and up |
| Connect your own booking form (Zapier, Make or API) | Yes | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised | Webhooks from £99, API at £199 |
| Draw your coverage area on a map | Yes | No | Partly | No | No | Partly | Towns you cover, no map | Instructor regions from £99 |
| Approve, defer or decline requests | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly | Yes | Enquiry inbox | Not confirmed |
| Pupils & progress | ||||||||
| Pupil records & lesson history | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Progress notes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| DVSA syllabus tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes | All 8 categories, 27 skills | Yes | Yes | Yes | Test-aligned rubric |
| Mock tests, marked DVSA-style | DL25-style, live pass/fail | Yes | Partly | Partly | Partly | Yes | Not advertised | Theory mock only |
| Per-pupil pricing & packages | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Lesson packages | Lesson packages |
| Pupil portal | Web, no download | Branded native app | Pupil app | Web, no download | Student app | Web, no download | Web, for pupils and parents | Web, no download |
| Waiting list | Yes | School feature | Partly | Partly | Partly | Partly | Yes | Yes |
| Theory & practical test dates | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pass rates only | Yes |
| Money & admin | ||||||||
| Who has paid, who owes you | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sell a block of lessons upfront | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Lesson packages | Yes |
| Payment records & financials | Yes | Yes | Finance + tax exports | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes | Income records; expenses not advertised | Yes |
| Income, expenses & profit by MTD quarter | Yes — MTD quarters built in | Syncs to QuickBooks/Xero | Finance + tax exports | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Income records only | MTD export, Xero & FreeAgent |
| Mileage log, claim worked out for you | Yes — at the HMRC simplified rate | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not advertised | Yes |
| Export pupils, lessons & payments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not advertised | Yes |
| Automatic lesson reminders | Yes | Yes | Yes | Email (WhatsApp coming) | yes, plus SMS | Yes | Text + email | Email; texts 4p each |
| Multi-instructor / school mode | Focused on solo — no bloat | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes | Yes | School plan, up to 10 | 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 21 October 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: Total Drive, GoRoadie Pro, DriveSchoolPro, MyDriveTime, Passly, DriveInstruct, Passdesk
The other options
Total Drive
£18–£26/mo (4 tiers)Teaching aids, offline working and accounting sync. Running since 2018 with a large instructor base.
Lesson Diary vs Total Drive →GoRoadie Pro
£17/mo (free for PDIs)The longest free trial and pay-as-you-go pupil referrals. Pay-as-you-go pupil referrals, first one free.
Lesson Diary vs GoRoadie Pro →DriveSchoolPro
Free until 31 Mar 2027, then a free plan or £22/moThe deepest DVSA competency detail. Deepest DVSA syllabus tracking — all 8 categories and 27 skills.
Lesson Diary vs DriveSchoolPro →MyDriveTime
£19/mo solo (free for PDIs)Multi-car schools and trainee PDIs. Per-instructor price drops sharply for bigger schools.
Lesson Diary vs MyDriveTime →Passly
£14.99/mo (£8.99 per extra instructor)Built-in card payments and a free pupil marketplace. A free marketplace listing that can bring in new pupil enquiries, though how many people use it is not clear yet.
Lesson Diary vs Passly →DriveInstruct
£10/mo Pro (£49 School)A free marketplace listing and text reminders on a £10 plan. A free marketplace listing on driveinstruct.co.uk that can send pupil enquiries to you.
Lesson Diary vs DriveInstruct →Passdesk
£19/mo solo (£49–£199 schools)Driving schools that want one workspace for several instructors. One workspace from a single instructor up to 25, with office staff free.
Lesson Diary vs Passdesk →The Orbit alternative that takes £0 of your lesson money
One plan at £9.99 a month — no percentage, no platform fee, no tiers. No credit card required to try it.
