The fare for a taxi from Gatwick depends on three things: where you're going, how many of you are travelling, and whether the price is locked at booking or runs on a meter. This guide covers current fixed fares for the routes we book most often, plus an honest comparison against the Gatwick Express and Uber for anyone weighing up the alternatives. Prices were last reviewed and updated in May 2026.
Gatwick taxi prices at a glance
Quick reference for our most-booked routes. All figures are pre-booked fixed fares for a standard saloon, per vehicle (not per person).
| Destination | Distance | Saloon fare | Time | Per head, group of 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crawley | 6 miles | £25–£35 | 15–20 min | £7–£9 |
| Croydon | 17 miles | £55–£75 | 35–50 min | £14–£19 |
| Brighton | 27 miles | £60–£80 | 35–55 min | £15–£20 |
| Central London | 28–30 miles | £65–£90 | 45–70 min | £16–£23 |
| Victoria Station | 26–28 miles | £65–£85 | 45–65 min | £16–£21 |
| Guildford | 28 miles | £65–£85 | 40–55 min | £16–£21 |
| Eastbourne | 40 miles | £80–£110 | 55–80 min | £20–£28 |
| Reading | 60 miles | £145–£185 | 75–105 min | £36–£46 |
| Oxford | 85 miles | £200–£260 | 100–130 min | £50–£65 |
| Heathrow Airport | 45 miles | £120–£160 | 60–90 min | £30–£40 |
For an exact confirmed quote from your specific postcode, use the fare calculator.
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The headline £65 to £90 range for Central London hides a real gap by postcode. Croydon at 17 miles is £55 to £75. Canary Wharf at 42 miles is closer to £95 to £125. Where you're actually going matters more than whether the destination counts as "central".
Victoria is the most-requested London destination because it's the Gatwick Express terminus and the obvious comparison point. The 26 to 28 mile run takes 45 to 65 minutes off-peak. Solo travellers are usually better off on the Express at £19.90. Two of you sharing a saloon at £75 total breaks roughly even with two Express tickets once you factor in onward Tube fares from Victoria. Three or four passengers makes the taxi the cheaper choice.
Paddington runs about £5 to £8 above Victoria because the route adds a few miles through west-central London. It's the destination of choice for anyone connecting onto the Heathrow Express, the Elizabeth Line or Great Western trains heading west.
| Area | Postcodes | Distance | Saloon | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croydon | CR0, CR2, CR9 | 17 miles | £55–£75 | 35–50 min |
| Brixton, Streatham | SW2, SW16 | 22 miles | £58–£80 | 38–58 min |
| Victoria, Westminster | SW1 | 26 miles | £65–£85 | 45–65 min |
| Mayfair, Soho | W1 | 28 miles | £68–£88 | 48–68 min |
| Paddington, Bayswater | W2, W9 | 30 miles | £70–£92 | 50–72 min |
| Hammersmith, Fulham | W6, SW6 | 30 miles | £70–£90 | 50–70 min |
| Euston, King's Cross | NW1, WC1, N1 | 32 miles | £75–£98 | 52–75 min |
| Islington, Shoreditch | N1, EC2 | 35 miles | £80–£105 | 55–80 min |
| Canary Wharf, Greenwich | E14, SE10 | 40–45 miles | £92–£125 | 65–92 min |
South East destinations
Gatwick sits in West Sussex, which means it's the natural London airport for a wide belt of Sussex, Surrey and Kent. Most of these journeys are shorter and cheaper than the equivalent run from Heathrow.
Brighton at £60 to £80 is the busiest non-London route. The A23 keeps it predictable: 27 miles, 35 to 55 minutes. Crawley is the cheapest fare we run at £25 to £35 — the airport is essentially Crawley's neighbour, and most jobs are 15 to 20 minutes door to door. Guildford in Surrey runs £65 to £85; the A281 cuts across country to the M23 and avoids the M25 sections that get clogged at peak times.
For Sussex coast destinations, expect £55 to £75 for Worthing and £80 to £110 for Eastbourne. Kent destinations like Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells run £65 to £88 depending on route and time of day. For the route page covering your specific town, see the main Gatwick transfer page.
| Town | County | Distance | Saloon | MPV-6 | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crawley | West Sussex | 6 miles | £25–£35 | £35–£48 | 15–20 min |
| Horsham | West Sussex | 15 miles | £40–£55 | £52–£72 | 25–38 min |
| Croydon | South London | 17 miles | £55–£75 | £72–£98 | 35–50 min |
| Worthing | West Sussex | 20 miles | £55–£72 | £72–£94 | 30–45 min |
| Brighton | East Sussex | 27 miles | £60–£80 | £78–£104 | 35–55 min |
| Sevenoaks | Kent | 27 miles | £65–£84 | £85–£109 | 40–58 min |
| Guildford | Surrey | 28 miles | £65–£85 | £85–£111 | 40–55 min |
| Tunbridge Wells | Kent | 30 miles | £68–£88 | £88–£114 | 42–60 min |
| Maidstone | Kent | 38 miles | £80–£105 | £104–£137 | 50–70 min |
| Eastbourne | East Sussex | 40 miles | £80–£110 | £104–£143 | 55–80 min |
| Portsmouth | Hampshire | 55 miles | £130–£168 | £169–£218 | 70–95 min |
| Southampton | Hampshire | 65 miles | £155–£198 | £202–£257 | 80–108 min |
Long-distance fares
A direct taxi from Gatwick to a university town or business hub usually wins on stress rather than price. Reading at £145 to £185 covers a 60-mile run via the M4 and M25. Oxford at £200 to £260 covers 85 miles via the M40. For a group of four with luggage, both work out comparable to taxi-train-taxi sequences once you account for the extra time, the changes, and the inevitable luggage trolleys.
| Destination | Distance | Saloon | Time | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 60 miles | £145–£185 | 75–105 min | M23 / M25 / M4 |
| Oxford | 85 miles | £200–£260 | 100–130 min | M23 / M25 / M40 |
| Cambridge | 85 miles | £200–£258 | 105–135 min | M25 / M11 / A11 |
| Bristol | 130 miles | £280–£360 | 145–185 min | M25 / M4 west |
| Birmingham | 140 miles | £295–£370 | 155–200 min | M23 / M25 / M40 |
| Manchester | 240 miles | £480–£600 | 280–330 min | M25 / M1 / M6 |
Inter-airport transfers
Connecting between London airports is one of the few use cases where a taxi clearly beats every alternative. The Gatwick to Heathrow run at £120 to £160 covers 45 miles in 60 to 90 minutes, with no luggage drags through Victoria or Paddington. For passengers with same-day connections, that consistency matters more than fare.
| Route | Distance | Saloon | MPV-6 | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gatwick ↔ Heathrow (LHR) | 45 miles | £120–£160 | £156–£208 | 60–90 min |
| Gatwick ↔ London City (LCY) | 50 miles | £130–£175 | £169–£228 | 70–95 min |
| Gatwick ↔ Luton (LTN) | 80 miles | £175–£225 | £228–£293 | 95–130 min |
| Gatwick ↔ Stansted (STN) | 90 miles | £195–£255 | £254–£332 | 105–140 min |
| Gatwick ↔ Southend (SEN) | 75 miles | £170–£215 | £221–£280 | 90–120 min |
Prices by vehicle type
After distance, vehicle type is the biggest variable. The table below shows what each category adds above the standard saloon, using the Central London route as the reference point.
| Vehicle | Passengers | Luggage | Central London fare | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard saloon | 1–3 | 2 large + 2 hand | £65–£85 | Solo, couples |
| Estate | 1–4 | 4 large + 2 hand | £75–£100 | Families, extra bags |
| Executive saloon | 1–3 | 2 large + 2 hand | £90–£130 | Business, premium |
| MPV 6-seater | 4–6 | 6 large cases | £88–£118 | Groups of 5–6 |
| 8-seater minibus | 7–8 | 8 large cases | £115–£155 | Large groups |
| Mercedes V-Class | 4–6 | 6 large cases | £120–£165 | Executive groups |
Per-head, larger vehicles win for groups. A solo saloon at £75 is £75 per head. Two passengers in the same saloon split it at £37.50 each. Four passengers makes it £19 each. Six passengers in an MPV at £100 work out at around £17. For seven or eight in an 8-seater, the per-head rate drops to £14 to £20 — the lowest available across any London airport transfer option. See our 6-seater guide and 8-seater minibus page for the full group fares.
Taxi vs Gatwick Express vs Uber
The cheapest option from Gatwick to London depends entirely on group size and final destination. There's no single right answer, so here's how the maths actually works.
The Gatwick Express runs every 15 minutes to Victoria in 30 minutes flat at £19.90 per person. Southern Rail runs more often, takes a bit longer, and costs £8 to £14 with an off-peak advance ticket to London Bridge, Victoria or St Pancras. A pre-booked taxi takes 45 to 70 minutes to most central postcodes and goes door to door.
| Option | Solo cost | Group of 4 total | Per head | Door to door? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-booked saloon | £75 | £80 | £20 | Yes |
| Gatwick Express + Tube | £25–£35 | £100–£140 | £25–£35 | No |
| Southern Rail off-peak | £8–£14 | £32–£56 | £8–£14 | No |
| Uber, no surge | £60–£75 | £60–£75 | £15–£19 | Yes |
| Uber, 1.8x surge | £108–£135 | £108–£135 | £27–£34 | Yes |
Uber sits in an awkward middle. At standard rates it's the cheapest car-based option. Surge pricing is the catch: when several large flights land at once (which is the rule rather than the exception at Gatwick), the multiplier kicks in, and the same journey can land at £110 to £150. You don't know which version of Uber you're getting until you open the app at baggage reclaim. A pre-booked fixed fare removes that variable.
For real-time train timetables, see National Rail. For airport-specific transport information, the Gatwick Airport site is the official source.
North Terminal vs South Terminal
Same fare from either terminal. There's no surcharge based on which side of the airport your driver pulls up at. What matters is telling us your terminal and flight number when you book, so the driver positions correctly and we monitor the right inbound flight.
North Terminal handles easyJet (the airport's largest operator), Wizz Air, Norwegian and TUI. The standard meeting point is the Costa Coffee in the arrivals hall. South Terminal is British Airways long-haul, Emirates, Turkish Airlines and several charter carriers. Driver waits in the arrivals hall near the main exit with a name board.
If you arrive at the wrong terminal — the airline occasionally changes terminals at short notice — the inter-terminal shuttle takes 2 to 3 minutes and runs every few minutes. We track flight changes and reposition automatically.
Early morning and late-night fares
No overnight or early morning premium. A 3am pickup carries the same confirmed fare as the same route at midday. A late-night arrival on a delayed long-haul gets the same price as a 4pm collection.
This isn't universal across the industry. Some operators add a 10 to 25 percent supplement before 6am or after 11pm, and a few apply Christmas Day and bank holiday surcharges. If you're getting a quote from anyone for an early-morning or late-night booking, the question to ask is: "Is that the final figure, or does it change at the time I'm actually travelling?"
Getting the best Gatwick fare
Three things genuinely matter, and most of the booking advice you'll read overcomplicates it.
Book in advance. 24 to 48 hours minimum, longer for peak weekends, school holidays and Christmas. Same-day bookings cost the same on most routes but availability tightens, especially for early-morning departures.
Pick the right vehicle. A saloon for two with normal luggage is fine. Don't book an MPV unless you actually need it — bigger isn't safer, just more expensive. If you have one extra suitcase that won't fit a saloon boot, an estate is the cheaper upgrade.
Confirm the fare is fixed. Some quotes are starting prices that get revised at booking. Ask explicitly: is this the final, all-inclusive total? If the answer is anything other than yes, get a different quote.
Common questions
How long does the journey take from Gatwick to Central London?
45 to 70 minutes off-peak. Add 15 to 25 minutes during morning rush hour or Friday evenings. The M25-M23 junction is the usual bottleneck.
Can I pay the driver directly?
Yes. Card, contactless and cash all accepted. Many corporate clients prefer to pay on a saved card or invoice account rather than handle payment in transit.
What happens if my flight is delayed?
The driver tracks the inbound flight from departure. If you land late, we adjust automatically — no premium for the additional waiting time within standard limits.
Are child seats included?
Yes, and free of charge. Tell us the child's age at booking and the appropriate seat is fitted.
Can I cancel after booking?
Yes, free of charge up to 24 hours before pickup. Cancellation inside 24 hours may incur a charge depending on whether the driver has already been dispatched.
Do you cover all six London airports?
Yes — Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted, Luton, London City and Southend, plus inter-airport transfers between any pair.
Gatwick route pages
Dedicated pages for the most-booked towns and cities, with confirmed fares and journey notes specific to each route.
Sussex and Surrey: Bexhill · Bognor Regis · Chichester · Crowborough · Dorking · Eastbourne · Epsom · Guildford · Hailsham · Hastings · Heathfield · Leatherhead · Lewes · Littlehampton
Kent: Battle · Canterbury · Dover · Folkestone
Long-distance: Bath · Birmingham · Bournemouth · Bristol · Cambridge
Related guides:
- Gatwick airport taxi transfer — full terminal guide
- 6-seater MPV taxi to Gatwick — group fares
- 8-seater minibus hire to Gatwick
- Executive chauffeur service
- Heathrow airport taxi transfer
