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Passdesk alternatives for UK driving instructors
Passdesk is a solid tool, but instructors look elsewhere for a few reasons: priced for schools: one instructor pays £19 a month, capped at 60 active learners. There is no native iPhone or Android app yet, only a web app you add from the browser. Card payments cost 2.5% + 20p each, texts cost 4p each after the first £4 of credit, and route recording stops after 50 free miles per person unless you buy top-ups. 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 | Orbit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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) | Free (schools £8 a seat) |
| 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 | No trial needed, free to instructors |
| 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 | Pupil pays £2.99 or 4%, whichever is greater, per card booking |
| Everything on one plan | Yes | No | Yes | Solo plan; per-instructor add-on for schools | Per-instructor discounts for schools | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 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 | Pupil import (CSV or Total Drive) |
| 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 | Not advertised |
| 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 | Coming soon |
| Android app | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Mobile web, no native app | Not advertised | Yes |
| Recurring lessons | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not advertised | Not confirmed |
| Working hours & time off | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Double-booking flagged | Yes | Not advertised | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not advertised | Not confirmed |
| 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 | Not advertised |
| 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 | Yes |
| 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 | Logo, colour and name |
| Connect your own booking form (Zapier, Make or API) | Yes | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Draw your coverage area on a map | Yes | No | Partly | No | No | Partly | Towns you cover, no map | Town or postcode search, no map |
| 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 | Yes |
| Mock tests, marked DVSA-style | DL25-style, live pass/fail | Yes | Partly | Partly | Partly | Yes | Not advertised | Theory only, £2.99/mo for learners |
| Per-pupil pricing & packages | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Lesson packages | Lesson types |
| 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 password |
| 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 | Tax-year summary; HMRC filing awaits approval |
| 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 | Accountant export |
| Automatic lesson reminders | Yes | Yes | Yes | Email (WhatsApp coming) | yes, plus SMS | Yes | Text + email | Email and push, no texts |
| 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, Orbit
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 →Orbit
Free (schools £8 a seat)A free app for instructors, paid for by a booking fee on the pupil. Free for instructors, with no subscription and no card.
Lesson Diary vs Orbit →The Passdesk 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.
