Total Drive alternative for multi-instructor driving schools
By Anthony Davies · Last updated 28 Oct 2026
If you run a school with several instructors and want a Total Drive alternative, DriveBest is one option: one flat price of £399 per school per year, a whole-school diary and payments into your school's own Stripe account. Total Drive is still the better fit if you want instructor and pupil apps, a branded pupil app or done-for-you data import.
DriveBest is our product, so read this page with that in mind. We've tried to be fair: every Total Drive fact below comes from Total Drive's own website, checked on 27 Oct 2026.
Who is this page for?
It's for owners and office admins of UK driving schools running roughly three to 10 cars. If you're a solo instructor, Total Drive or another instructor app will probably suit you better than a school system.
To be clear about which product we mean: this is Total Drive the driving-instructor app (totaldrive.co.uk), not the cloud-storage product with a similar name.
What does Total Drive cost a driving school?
Total Drive's price list asks you to "Choose School Size" (the selector runs from 1 to 15), then shows a price for each of four plans: Basic, Ultimate, Pro and Elite. The table below shows those prices as published on totaldrive.co.uk/instructor-software-pricing/, checked 27 Oct 2026.
| Plan, as labelled by Total Drive | School size 1 | School size 2 to 9 | School size 10 to 15 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic (Total Drive: "Award-winning App - Incl. VAT") | £18 | £12 | £11 |
| Ultimate (Total Drive: "Plus Online Booking - Incl. VAT") | £23 | £17 | £16 |
| Pro (Total Drive: "Plus Teaching Aids - Incl. VAT") | £24 | £18 | £17 |
| Elite (Total Drive: "Complete Package - Incl. VAT") | £26 | £20 | £19 |
Source: Total Drive pricing, as published on totaldrive.co.uk/instructor-software-pricing/, checked 27 Oct 2026. The same page also says: "30 day free trial. Cancel anytime." Total Drive's driving-school page says: "Use Total Drive for 3 months and if you don't want to carry on, we will give you your money back."
We haven't turned these into yearly totals for a school. For an exact figure for your school size, ask Total Drive for a quote.
What does DriveBest cost by comparison?
DriveBest is £399 per school per year.
Price isn't the only difference, because the products aren't like for like. Total Drive includes an instructor app and a pupil and parent app, and some plans add online booking and teaching aids. Our separate guide to driving school software costs puts every published UK price side by side.
When is Total Drive the better choice?
Stay with Total Drive if your instructors rely on its instructor app, if your pupils and parents use the branded pupil app, or if you want the supplier to import your lessons and diary for you. Those are real strengths, and switching isn't worth the disruption if they matter most to you.
Total Drive is also a good fit if you:
- want online booking and teaching aids in the same product (Ultimate, Pro and Elite plans);
- run a franchise and want instructors to keep their own financial records private (Total Drive says owners and staff can't see instructors' financial records);
- want optional in-app card payments where, Total Drive says, instructors receive 100% of the lesson price the next day.
DriveBest gives you a School CRM for the office and an instructor app.
What does DriveBest do differently for a school owner?
DriveBest is built around the school, not the individual instructor. The office sees one whole-school diary, while each instructor gets access to the pupils and lessons assigned to them.
| Total Drive (checked 27 Oct 2026) | DriveBest | |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | Price per plan, by school size (as published) | £399 per school per year |
| Whole-school view | Owners and staff can view instructors' diaries and allocate pupils | Whole-school diary; instructors see only their assigned pupils and lessons |
| Payments | Optional in-app payments to instructors | Pupils pay into the school's own connected Stripe account |
| Owner view of payments | Instructors' financial records are private to them | The school sees payments and separate prepaid hours |
| Apps | Instructor app and pupil and parent app | School CRM and instructor app |
| Branding | Pupil app branded with your colours and logo | Your school's branding on the School CRM and instructor app |
| Pupil terms | Not checked | Digital terms, with the pupil's AGREED reply recorded |
| Moving your data in | Total Drive imports pupils, profiles, lessons and diary for new schools | You import pupils, upcoming bookings, opening balances, prepaid hours and enquiries from CSV or Excel; no direct connection, no automatic migration |
You can read how pupil terms work in digital terms.
How do you switch from Total Drive to DriveBest?
You export your data from Total Drive, import your pupils, upcoming bookings, opening balances, prepaid hours and enquiries into your DriveBest account from CSV or Excel, then invite your instructors. There's no direct connection to Total Drive and no automatic migration, so your lesson history and past payments stay in your old system.
- Export before you cancel. Download your pupils, upcoming bookings, opening balances, prepaid hours and enquiries from Total Drive as CSV or Excel. Check Total Drive's own help pages for how to do this. Keep a copy of lesson history and payment records too, because they aren't transferred.
- Note prepaid hours. List every pupil who has paid for hours they haven't used yet, so you can check them against your prepaid hours import.
- Import your data. Use the importer in your DriveBest account to bring in pupils, upcoming bookings, opening balances, prepaid hours and enquiries from CSV or Excel. Each is checked before import; then check the imported records.
- Invite your instructors. Instructors aren't imported. You invite each one from the Instructors page using "Invite staff", and they see only the pupils you assign to them.
- Send pupil terms. Use digital terms so each pupil's agreement is recorded.
- Pilot, then cut over. Pilot one instructor's upcoming work, check money and hours against Total Drive, then agree a cutover time. Keep Total Drive and an unchanged copy of your export until you've checked the imported records.
Free assisted setup for our first 10 schools. We'll get you set up on a guided call. You import your pupils, upcoming bookings, opening balances, prepaid hours and enquiries into your DriveBest account from CSV or Excel using our importer, and we walk you through each check before import. There's no direct connection to Total Drive and no automatic migration. You invite your instructors from the Instructors page using "Invite staff". Your pupils' data goes straight into your own account; you don't send it to us. The full steps are in switching to DriveBest.
How do you cancel a Total Drive subscription?
Cancel through Total Drive itself, following its own help pages and terms. We haven't confirmed Total Drive's cancellation steps or notice period, so we won't describe them here.
- Total Drive help centre: totaldrive.freshdesk.com
- Total Drive terms: totaldrive.app/info/terms.pdf
- Total Drive contact page: totaldrive.co.uk/contact-us
Do it last. Export your data and keep your records before you cancel, then check your final payment date so you aren't paying for two systems longer than you need to.
Frequently asked questions
Does DriveBest have an instructor app?
Yes. DriveBest has a School CRM for the office and an instructor app, and you set your school name, logo and colours once for both.
How much does DriveBest cost?
£399 per school per year. Total Drive's prices, by plan and school size, are in the table above, so you can compare them for your own school.
Can you move our data from Total Drive?
There's no automatic migration and no direct connection to Total Drive. You export your data from Total Drive and import your pupils, upcoming bookings, opening balances, prepaid hours and enquiries into DriveBest from CSV or Excel, each checked before import, then invite your instructors from the Instructors page using "Invite staff". For our first 10 schools, we'll guide you through the full import on a free setup call. Historic lessons and payment transactions aren't transferred.
How do I cancel my Total Drive subscription?
Through Total Drive, using its help centre, terms or contact page. Export your data and keep your lesson and payment records first.
Ready to see it with your own data?
Try DriveBest or Get a demo. Start with a 14-day free trial without card details. To compare more apps first, see our guide to driving instructor apps compared for school owners.
Sources
- Total Drive pricing: https://totaldrive.co.uk/instructor-software-pricing/ (checked 27 Oct 2026)
- Total Drive for driving schools: https://totaldrive.co.uk/driving-school-software/ (checked 27 Oct 2026)
- Total Drive card payments: https://totaldrive.co.uk/take-card-payments/ (checked 27 Oct 2026)
- Total Drive home page: https://totaldrive.co.uk/ (checked 27 Oct 2026)
- DriveBest pricing and features: https://drivebest.app/pricing and https://drivebest.app/product.json (checked 27 Oct 2026)
- DriveBest home page: https://drivebest.app/ (checked 27 Oct 2026)
- DriveBest switching guide: https://drivebest.app/docs/switching-to-drivebest (checked 27 Oct 2026)
- DriveBest pupil terms guide: https://drivebest.app/docs/digital-terms (checked 27 Oct 2026)