Learning to drive is a milestone for many young people, but it often comes with a hefty price tag.
The cost of getting a licence has increased significantly over the last few years and has forced thousands to make large financial sacrifices or ask friends and family for support.
In order to help learners with their financial planning, we took a deep dive into the true cost of learning to drive in the UK, breaking down all the factors that contribute to the total cost.
In addition to analysing the cost of driving lessons in major cities up and down the country, we compare these to local average salaries of 18 to 21-year-olds to reveal just how much they will need to put aside to cover the cost.
In addition, we also surveyed motorists to explore attitudes around driving without a full valid licence, and the reasons why someone might take this risk.
How much does it cost to get a pink licence in the UK?
There are various costs to consider when calculating the total figure for obtaining a driving licence in the UK.
Firstly, learners must get a provisional licence before they can apply to convert it to a full driving licence. They will also need study material to revise before their theory exam.
The driving lessons themselves take up the biggest chunk of the total cost. While there is no mandatory minimum amount of practice time before someone can take the practical test, the DVLA recommends 45 hours of lessons with an instructor and 22 hours of private practice.
It is important not to forget that while professional driving instructors may cover the cost of insurance for their clients, learners who are practicing privately with friends or family will need to purchase their own learner driver insurance policy.
Combining all the costs above brings us to the total cost of getting a pink licence in the UK, which stands at just over £2,050.
This is the breakdown of all costs that feed into the calculation:
- Cost of driving lessons: £1,757 (based on an average of £39 per hour)
- Learner driver insurance: £150 (the average learner spends £150 with Dayinsure)
- Cost of practice test: £75 (weekend & evening tariff)
- Cost of provisional license: £34 (online)
- Cost of theory test: £23
- Cost of textbook for theory test: £15
Grand total: £2,054
What are the biggest financial barriers to learning how to drive?
Our research shows the cost of driving lessons is by far the biggest contributor to the high prices of getting your driver’s licence – and half of our survey respondents agree (50%)
Another concern was raised around the cost of learner driver car insurance, with one fourth (27%) citing this as the biggest barrier.
However, in our research the actual cost of insurance only accounted for 7% of the total cost.
If you want to reduce your learner driver insurance bill, make sure to check out our temporary insurance page. Our flexible policies can cover you from one day right up to five months, depending on your needs, and can be arranged in minutes.
Few respondents also expressed concerns about the cost of borrowing/renting a car to drive in (7%) and the cost of the theory and practical driving tests (5%).
Which city has the cheapest driving lessons?
You might be wondering whether you can make some savings by practicing in another city close by where driving lessons are cheaper.
The good news it can indeed make a difference where you practice, and this can even reduce costs by as much as £10 per hour.
Overall, we determined that the national average cost for a driving lesson in the UK is currently at £39 per hour.
However, it’s worth noting that this figure will vary depending on where you live, whether you pay for any package deals with discounts, and which day and time you get picked up to practice.
These are the cheapest UK cities to have your driving lessons:
1.Birmingham – £34.15 per hour
2.Sheffield – £35.50
3.Leeds – £35.78
4.Manchester – £36.11
5.Newcastle – £36.95
The cheapest place to have your driving lessons, according to our research, is Birmingham. This was closely followed by the northern cities of Sheffield and Leeds, both hovering around the £35 mark.
Topping off the cheapest cities is Newcastle, coming in at ‘just’ £36 an hour.
Which city has the most expensive driving lessons?
Perhaps surprisingly, Edinburgh takes the top spot for the most expensive price per hour, at over £45.
The Scottish capital was followed closely by Bristol (nearly £44), and Norwich at £41.50. Glasgow, another Scottish city, also made it into the top five at fourth place and an average cost of £41.40.
While London usually tops the league tables in terms of cost of living, it doesn’t appear to be the most expensive place to have your driving lessons. Hiring an instructor for an hour in the British capital should set you back around £41.
These are the most expensive UK Cities to have your driving lessons:
1.Edinburgh – £45.65
2.Bristol – £43.80
3.Norwich – £41.50
4.Glasgow – £41.40
5.London – £41.00
How much of their monthly salary do young people have to keep aside for driving lessons?
While it’s useful to know which cities have the lowest driving lesson costs per hour overall, we wanted to go further.
That’s why we have explored how much of a young person’s net salary will need to be put aside to cover these in different parts of the country.
The results are eye-opening, as in all major cities that we looked at, young adults would need to sacrifice at least a quarter (25%) of their hard-earned monthly salary to cover driving lessons.
Learners in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, and the Southern town of Bristol are especially feeling the pinch.
Covering the cost of two driving lessons a week by themselves would set 18–21-year-olds back by more than £350, amounting to a staggering third (33%) of the average local monthly salary.
Coming in joint second place, young adults in Glasgow and London need to set aside 30% of their average monthly income to cover the cost of driving lessons.
Drivers in the North of England benefit from lower lesson costs, and generally slightly higher average salaries for 18–21-year-olds.
According to our research, Manchester is the best place to learn for young adults who are self-funding their driving licence costs, with a one of the highest average take-home salaries (£1,166) in this age range, and one of the lowest costs per driving lesson (£36).
This means that learners here spend ‘just’ 25% of their monthly take-home salary on driving lessons. Manchester was followed by the Northern cities of Leeds and Sheffield (both also 25%).
These results highlight the dilemma which thousands of young people face every year, as they need to choose between dedicating a significant chunk of their income towards driving lessons or even ask friends and family to help cover the rising costs.
How many Brits would risk driving without a full valid driving licence?
With the rising costs of learning to drive and car affordability in general, we also wanted to find out how many Brits would drive without holding a valid licence, and what their reasons would be for doing so.
The good news is that two in three respondents said they would never drive without a full licence under any circumstance (65%).
Yet this leaves around one in three (35%) who would take the risk. One in five (19%) answered ‘Yes – but only in an emergency’.
Meanwhile, 16% said they would potentially drive without a licence, but only for a local/short journey.
However, when it comes to learner drivers, this figure is much higher. Over half (52%) of learners would get behind the wheel without a valid licence, with one in three (30%) confessing this would only be ‘in an emergency’ situation.
This leaves over one in five (22%) learners that would consider driving locally on their own before obtaining their licence.
Driving without a licence is a serious offence and can lead to 3-6 penalty points and a £1,000 fine.
You could also face a driving ban which will be imposed after you have passed your driving tests.
Can a learner drive a car without a full licence?
In conclusion, our study shows the financial difficulties which young drivers will inevitably face when they begin their journey towards their first pink licence.
A significant number of Brits also say they are ready to risk being caught driving without a valid license, but this is not worth the risk, especially when there are legal alternatives available for private practice with friends and family.
So, can a learner drive a car on the road without having a full licence? Yes, learner drivers who hold a provisional driving licence legally can drive on the road.
In fact, it’s a great way to get some private practice in before your official practical test.
However, learners must adhere to a strict set of conditions before getting on the road to ensure they stay within the law:
- Insurance: To drive any car at any time, whether you are learning to drive or have a full driving licence, you must have car insurance. Our learner driver insurance offers a cheap and flexible way to get covered.
- Time: You can only drive between 6am and midnight if the vehicle is not your own.
- Car: The car must be in a safe and legal condition.
- L plates: These should be displayed on the front and rear of the vehicle
- Supervision: You must be accompanied by a driver. The driver must be aged between 25-75 and hold a full current GB driving licence (for the type of vehicle they are supervising in – manual or automatic) for at least the last 3 years.
It’s important to note that your learner driver insurance ceases the moment you pass your test (meaning you’ll need new insurance to drive back from the test centre).
At Dayinsure, we specialise in getting learner drivers the right cover that suits their specific needs. Explore our flexible, cost-friendly options by getting a quote and start practicing for your driving test today.
Sources & Methodology
Sources
- Survey of 2,000 UK adults – conducted in January 2025
- Dayinsure internal data – pulled January 2025
- Average 18–21-year-old salary obtained from: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/earningsandhoursworkedukregionbyagegroup
- Take-home salary was calculated using https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/tax-calculator/
- The average costs of driving lessons in the UK were obtained from the websites of 10 driving instructors in major cities in the UK, found via https://finddrivinginstructor.dvsa.gov.uk/DSAFindNearestWebApp/findNearest.form?lang=en and Google searches
- The cost of getting a provisional licence was sources from: https://www.gov.uk/driving-licence-fees
- The cost of textbook to support theory test was sourced from: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Official-DVSA-Theory-Test-Drivers/dp/0115541241/ref=asc_df_0115541241?mcid=85cb17b742533ca89bec72f582a56d67&th=1&psc=1&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697287135296&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6658642441568665229&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046299&hvtargid=pla-2346605158047&psc=1&gad_source=1
- The cost of theory and practical tests was sourced from: https://www.gov.uk/driving-test-cost
- The recommended / average number of hours of lessons and private tuition was sourced from: https://readytopass.campaign.gov.uk/driving-skills/track-progress-learning/#:~:text=How%20many%20lessons%20you%20need,practice%20to%20pass%20their%20test
Methodology
- To work out the least affordable areas, the average cost per hour was multiplied by 8, using this as a basis for the average number of lessons in a month (2×1 hour lesson a week) to estimate an average monthly cost. This was then compared to the average salary for 18–21-year-olds in the area. A percentage was calculated from the average net monthly salary and average monthly driving lesson cost.
