Pre-Booked, Black Cab or Uber to Gatwick? We Priced 18 Real Routes
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Most comparisons of black cabs, Uber and pre-booked minicabs are written about London in general. They tell you a meter runs in traffic and an app surges at peak, which is true and not especially useful when you have a flight at seven.
Gatwick is a specific problem. It is 28 to 32 miles from central London, on the wrong side of the river from most of the city, and reached almost entirely by motorway. That distance changes which option wins, and by how much.
So here are the actual numbers, route by route.
The Three Options Are Not Three Versions of the Same Thing
Before the fares, the distinction that explains them.
A black cab is a hackney carriage. It is the only one of the three that can be hailed or taken from a rank without booking. Fares are set by a regulated meter - the operator does not choose the price, and the meter charges by time as well as distance.
An Uber is a private hire vehicle. Tapping the button is the booking, which is what makes it lawful. The price is calculated at the moment you request it, based on how many other people are requesting one.
A pre-booked transfer is the same legal category as Uber but priced differently: a quote agreed in advance that does not change afterwards.
The real question is not which is cheapest in the abstract. It is who carries the cost when a 30-mile journey goes badly - and on the Gatwick run, it usually does.
Gatwick Fares Compared: 18 Routes, Real Numbers
Fixed fares and black cab figures below come from our own booking data across 359 postcode districts - the Gatwick fare table by postcode and vehicle type carries every individual figure if your area is not listed here. Uber figures are typical observed prices without surge and should be treated as indicative; unlike the other two columns, nobody can publish a fixed Uber price, because there isn't one.
From | Pre-booked (fixed) | Black cab | Uber (typical, no surge) |
|---|---|---|---|
Redhill, Reigate | £47 | not served | £55–£75 |
Sutton, Carshalton | £51 | £84 | £60–£85 |
Croydon | £53 | £93 | £60–£90 |
Bromley | £53 | £113 | £65–£95 |
Kingston, Epsom | £56 | £106 | £65–£95 |
Crawley, Horsham | £57 | not served | £60–£85 |
Wimbledon, Battersea, Fulham | £62 | £103 | £70–£100 |
Hayes, Uxbridge | £62 | £193 | £80–£120 |
Richmond | £63 | £123 | £75–£110 |
Westminster, South Kensington | £69 | £103 | £70–£105 |
West End, Covent Garden | £69 | £144 | £75–£115 |
Soho | £69 | £136 | £75–£115 |
City, Liverpool Street | £69 | £161 | £80–£120 |
Camden | £69 | £187 | £80–£120 |
Heathrow Airport | £70 | £123 | £85–£130 |
Islington | £75 | £183 | £80–£120 |
Canary Wharf, Shoreditch | £77 | £203 | £85–£130 |
Enfield | £91 | £227 | £95–£140 |
Across the full dataset of 330 comparable journeys, a metered black cab averages 2.27 times the fixed fare, with a median difference of £98.
The pattern in the table is geographic rather than about distance alone. Enfield, Uxbridge and Canary Wharf show the widest gaps because a Gatwick journey from north or east London crosses the entire city before it starts heading south, and a meter charges for every minute of the crossing. South London sits closest because the A23 runs straight down.
Push the distance further and the comparison stops being a comparison at all. On a genuine long-distance run - Gatwick to Bath is around 120 miles and two and a half hours - no driver will run a meter for the journey and no app will hold a price for it. Beyond roughly 60 miles, pre-booked is not the cheaper option so much as the only one that exists.
The Option That Doesn't Exist Where You'd Most Expect It
Look again at the first and sixth rows.
Redhill, Reigate, Crawley and Horsham have no black cab fare - because black cabs do not serve them. In our data, all twenty RH postcode districts return no metered fare to Gatwick. So do all nine SL districts covering Slough and Windsor.
These are the towns physically closest to the airport. Black cabs are licensed by local authority and concentrate where street-hailing demand is dense; across most of Surrey and West Sussex, that market does not exist.
If you are in an RH postcode, the comparison above has two columns, not three. That is worth knowing before you assume you can sort it out on the day - our Crawley to Gatwick fares and pickup times set out what the pre-booked option actually involves from the largest of those towns.
When Uber Makes Sense - and When It Doesn't
Uber is competitive on the Gatwick run more often than people assume, and the table shows why: on short southern routes the figures sit close together.
Where it works: off-peak, from south London, with light luggage and no fixed deadline. From Croydon or Sutton at £60 to £90 it is within a few pounds of a fixed fare.
Where it stops working is the part the table cannot show. The price you see is the price at that moment. Gatwick's arrivals pattern is lumpy - aircraft land in clusters, and several hundred people reach arrivals within minutes of each other, all opening the same app. That is precisely when the multiplier applies.
The same is true in reverse for early departures. A 4am booking for a 6am flight is made when supply is thinnest.
The structural issue: an app price is set when you request the car, not when you plan the journey. If your flight lands 90 minutes late, you are not holding a price at all - you are holding an intention to buy one later, at whatever it costs then.
When a Black Cab Makes Sense
The honest answer is: less often on this route than on most, but not never.
From Westminster and South Kensington the gap is £69 against £103 - real, but £34. From Sutton it is £51 against £84. South London is where a meter is most competitive, because a Gatwick run from there goes straight down the A23 without crossing the city first.
If you are standing at a rank in Victoria with hand luggage and no hard deadline, getting in is a defensible choice.
Where it stops being defensible is north and east. From Camden it is £69 against £187. From Canary Wharf, £77 against £203. From Enfield, £91 against £227. Those journeys cross the whole of London before they start heading south, and the meter charges for every minute of it.
Black cabs do keep one genuine advantage: every licensed London black cab is wheelchair accessible by law, which is not true of the other two.
Which to Choose
Your situation | Best option |
|---|---|
In Surrey or West Sussex (RH, SL postcodes) | Pre-booked - there is no metered alternative |
North or east London | Pre-booked - the gap is £110 to £140 |
South London, off-peak, hand luggage | Any of the three; the numbers are close |
Arriving on a flight | Pre-booked - it is the only one that tracks your landing |
4am or 5am departure | Pre-booked - thinnest supply, highest app pricing |
Three or more passengers | Pre-booked - one fare, not three tickets |
Standing on a street right now | Black cab - the only one you can legally hail |
Wheelchair access required | Black cab - guaranteed by law |
What the £10 Drop-Off Charge Does to All Three
Gatwick raised its terminal drop-off fee from £7 to £10 on 6 January 2026, the largest single increase recorded at a UK airport. It covers ten minutes at the forecourt.
How each option handles it differs. A fixed-fare operator should have it inside the quote - ask, and ask about parking and waiting while you are at it. A meter adds it at the end. An app itemises it separately, which is why the final charge sometimes exceeds the estimate you accepted.
Whichever you use, the charge is being paid. The question is only whether you knew about it when you agreed the price.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Uber cheaper than a pre-booked taxi to Gatwick?
Occasionally, off-peak from south London, where the figures sit within a few pounds. It is rarely cheaper at peak arrival times or for early-morning departures, when app pricing rises with demand and a fixed fare does not.
How much is a black cab from London to Gatwick?
Between £84 and £227 depending on where in London you start, with a median around £170. The equivalent fixed fares run £47 to £91.
Can I get a black cab from Crawley or Redhill to Gatwick?
Generally no. All twenty RH postcode districts in our data returned no black cab fare. Black cabs are licensed locally and concentrate where street-hailing demand exists.
Which is best for an early morning flight from Gatwick?
A pre-booked transfer. Black cabs are scarce at 4am outside central London, and app pricing is at its highest when supply is thinnest.
Does the £10 drop-off charge apply to all three?
Yes. The difference is whether it is included in the price you agreed or added afterwards.