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Honest comparison

DL25 vs Total Drive, side by side.

Total Drive is the dominant UK driving-instructor diary. It's a solid product but it's now £21 a month and it doesn't do the DL25 test report. Here's where DL25 fits and where it doesn't.

Pricing accurate as of June 2026. Comparison written by a working UK ADI, last updated 1 June 2026.

TL;DR

Both run your diary. Only one writes the DL25.

DL25

£10 / month

Or £100/yr (two months free). Free to start, no card.

  • Diary, booking page, reminders, pupil portal
  • Test reports, signed branded PDFs, WhatsApp share
  • DVSA readiness scoring + AI pre-test summary
  • Built by an ADI, for ADIs
  • One price, every feature, no add-ons
Start free
Total Drive

£21 / month

Up from £10 a couple of years ago. No annual plan.

  • Established UK diary product
  • Native iOS & Android apps
  • Theory test integration
  • No DL25 test report (paper still needed)
  • No WhatsApp share
Not affiliated with Total Drive. We respect what they've built · this page is just to help instructors compare.

The full breakdown

Feature for feature.

Sourced from each product's public marketing and current documentation. Spot something wrong? Tell us.

Feature
DL25
Total Drive
Price (monthly)
£10/mo
£21/mo
Annual plan
£100/yr (2 months free)
Not offered
Free to start, no card
Yes
No (trial only)
Drag-and-drop diary
Yes
Yes
Recurring weekly / fortnightly lessons
Yes
Yes
Block-out time (holidays, school run)
Yes
Yes
Conflict / double-booking detection
Yes
Yes
Public booking page (pupils book you)
Yes · /book/your-name
Yes
Approve booking requests
Yes · one tap
Yes
Automated 24h email lesson reminders
Yes · included
Yes · add-on
Custom-hour reminder
Yes
Limited
Missed-lesson notifications
Yes
Yes
Pupil portal (web, magic link)
Yes · no password
Limited
Waiting list with priority
Yes
Limited
Pupil payment tracking
Yes · Stripe + manual
Yes · add-on
Block-of-10 lesson packages
Yes
Yes
DVSA-accurate DL25 test report
Built in
No · separate paper
Branded PDF with your school name
Yes
No
Saved instructor signature on PDFs
Yes
No
WhatsApp share of test report
Yes · one tap
No
DVSA syllabus progress + readiness %
Yes · 26 competencies
Yes
AI pre-test readiness summary
Yes
No
Install as an app (PWA)
Yes · iOS, Android, desktop
Yes · native apps
Works through signal drops
Yes · service worker cache
Patchy reports
Unlimited pupils & reports
Yes
Yes
Built by a working UK ADI
Yes
No

"Limited" means the feature exists in Total Drive but as a paid add-on or in a more restricted form than DL25's equivalent.

When to pick which

Which one is actually right for you?

Pick DL25 if:

  • You still hand-write the DL25 after every test
  • You want the diary, booking page and reminders without an add-on bill
  • You'd rather pay ten quid than twenty-one for the same basic toolkit
  • You like that the person building it actually teaches driving
  • You're fine with a web app you install to your home screen, not a separate native app

Pick Total Drive if:

  • You already use it and the friction of switching outweighs the £132/yr saving
  • You specifically need their theory test integration
  • You want a native app from the App Store rather than a PWA
  • You don't care about producing your own branded DL25 PDFs

Thinking of switching?

You can run both side-by-side for a month while you check it works for you. DL25 is free to set up, free to add pupils, and free until you actually run a DL25 report or use the booking page. Cancel any time, no notice period.

Need a hand getting your pupil list across? Email us and we'll pull it in for you.

Save £132 a year. Get the DL25 too.

Free to start, no card. If it doesn't save you ten minutes a test day, don't subscribe.

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