For one or two people with ordinary luggage, a train or coach is cheaper than a pre-booked car on every route below, often by more than £50. The car earns its fare in a narrower set of cases: six people going to Brighton, a group going to Heathrow when the alternative is rail through London, a landing after the last train, or an address a long way from any station. It rarely wins on time into London. Every fare and quote here was checked on 2026-09-27 and can change, so confirm the price before you travel.
How the examples are built
- Train and coach prices are adult walk-up fares per person: contactless pay-as-you-go for London and Heathrow, and paper Off-Peak to Anytime singles for Brighton, where tapping a bank card is not accepted. Cheaper advance fares exist on some of these routes and are not shown.
- Car prices are fixed whole-vehicle quotes published by independent private-hire firms. Airport Cars Gatwick, the airport’s official firm, quotes only on request, so it cannot be compared here.
- Luggage is one large case per person. The saloon quotes we found cover two large cases, so four or six people need an estate, MPV or minibus.
- Children, Railcards and group tickets are not modelled. A Railcard cannot be applied to contactless pay-as-you-go, so a household holding one may do better with paper tickets than these totals suggest.
Victoria
| People | Southern, off-peak | Southern, weekday 06:30–09:30 | Gatwick Express | Pre-booked car |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | £10.70 | £19.20 | £24.00 | from £131, saloon |
| 2 | £21.40 | £38.40 | £48.00 | from £131, saloon |
| 4 | £42.80 | £76.80 | £96.00 | £131–£174, larger car needed |
| 6 | £64.20 | £115.20 | £144.00 | up to £174, six-seat MPV |
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The train wins at every group size. Six people on the Gatwick Express, the dearest rail choice, still spend less than the top car quote, and on Southern off-peak they pay a little over a third of it. The car is slower too: the firms allow 50 to 60 minutes off-peak and 70 or more at rush hour, against 32 minutes on a midday Southern train. What the car buys is the last mile: from Victoria you may still need a taxi or the Tube with every case. Full comparison at /gatwick-to-victoria/.
St Pancras
| People | Thameslink, off-peak | Thameslink, weekday 06:30–09:30 | Pre-booked car |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | £10.70 | £19.20 | £78–£126, saloon |
| 2 | £21.40 | £38.40 | £78–£126, saloon |
| 4 | £42.80 | £76.80 | £138, five-seat MPV |
| 6 | £64.20 | £115.20 | £162, six-seat MPV |
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The MPV prices are one firm’s fares for the St Pancras to Gatwick direction, so treat them as a guide. This is the route where a car makes least sense. Thameslink runs direct in 44 to 66 minutes, while the car quotes allow 70 to 105, and the airport’s own average for a car to King’s Cross is 1 hour 45 minutes. Four people travelling at the morning peak still keep £61.20 by taking the train. Details at /gatwick-to-st-pancras/.
Heathrow
| People | Coach, lowest online fare | Rail via Farringdon | Pre-booked car |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | £14.90 | £23.10–£31.70 | £62–£108, saloon |
| 2 | £29.80 | £46.20–£63.40 | £62–£108, saloon |
| 4 | £59.60 | £92.40–£126.80 | saloon covers two cases only; larger car not priced |
| 6 | £89.40 | £138.60–£190.20 | £168, six-seat MPV with six cases |
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The £168 figure is one firm’s price for the Heathrow to Gatwick direction. The coach is the cheapest at every size and not much slower than a car: 65 to 75 minutes on the timetable against 45 to 70 for the car, whose time depends on the M23 and M25. The rail comparison is where the surprise sits. Once there are two of you, a saloon can cost less than two peak rail fares, and for six people the MPV undercuts the peak rail total by £22.20 while sparing you the platform change at Farringdon. For a group, rail via the Elizabeth line is the worst value of the three. See /gatwick-to-heathrow/.
Brighton
| People | Train, Off-Peak to Anytime | Brighton cab firm, pick-up at Gatwick |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | £9.90–£11.50 | £70, saloon |
| 2 | £19.80–£23.00 | £70, saloon |
| 4 | £39.60–£46.00 | £75, estate |
| 6 | £59.40–£69.00 | £90, multi-seater for five to eight |
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The car prices are one Brighton firm’s guide prices, which it says may change; they include parking and up to 30 minutes’ waiting at the airport. At six people the gap shrinks to between £21 and £30.60 for the whole group, and the car takes everyone to the door rather than to Brighton station. The train is quicker on paper, 30 to 33 minutes against the airport’s 45-minute average for a car, but the car’s time stretches when the A23 is busy. For a large group heading well away from the station, the difference is worth paying. See /gatwick-to-brighton/.
When the car wins
- The trains have stopped. After the 23:55 Southern there is no direct train from Gatwick to Victoria until 05:38, and the last rail connection to Heathrow leaves at 22:36. Thameslink to St Pancras ran roughly hourly overnight on the weeknight checked, but on the weekend night checked engineering work removed the direct service. A pre-booked car does not depend on a timetable.
- The address is nowhere near a station. The train fare stops at the terminus; add the onward taxi and the gap narrows.
- A family with a lot to carry. Luggage trolleys are not allowed on the platforms at Gatwick station, so every case has to be wheeled or carried from the concourse, then again at any change of train.
- Groups of four or more to Heathrow or Brighton, as the tables show.
When the car loses
- Traffic. Into central London the car is slower than the train at almost any hour, and the M23 and M25 decide how long the Heathrow run takes.
- Price for one or two. For a solo traveller the cheapest car quote is at least £47 more than the cheapest train or coach on every route here.
- Extras that are easy to miss. When a firm other than the official one drops you at Gatwick, the forecourt charge of £10 for up to 10 minutes is added to your fare. One firm on the St Pancras route adds £7 for a driver who meets you inside arrivals. Ask whether a quote includes both.
Run your own numbers
The break-even calculator takes your group size and bag count and compares these fares with the car quotes for your route. Fares and quotes were checked on 2026-09-27; they change, so confirm with the operator or the firm before you book.