Parkopedia has two functions – one where you turn up and park, with payment by the hour, or another where you pre-book. The issue is, you have to pay £4.99 for the pre-book function. When you do, it gives you a choice of official parking or private, such as those offered by Just Park and YourParkingSpace, and we were able to find some decent prices within walking distance of the airports. But those other two apps are free, and Parkopedia has no real advantage.
Holiday Extras
- App or web: Both
- Price: Free
- Best rate LHR/MAN: around£109.95/£84.99
- Rating: 3 stars
- Contact: holidayextras.com
In terms of user-friendliness, the Holiday Extras app is good and the booking process easy, allowing functionality such as Apple Pay, for example. But the savings can’t compare with other providers for official on or off-airport parking, with the best prices for both airports higher than the top performers.
Purple Parking
- App or web: Web
- Price: Free
- Best rate LHR/MAN: around £109.95/£84.99
- Rating: 2.5 stars
- Contact: parking4you.co.uk
Purple Parking seems to use the same partners and search functionality as Holiday Extras, but is only available on a web platform with no app. As a result, it’s clunky and slower to load, which takes away the appeal of the former. It came up with exactly the same quotes as Holiday Extras, from the same providers.
Evology Parking
- App or web: Both
- Price: Free
- Best rate LHR/MAN: around £210/£350
- Rating: 1 star
- Contact: evologyparking.com
Evology’s star rating wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t advertise airport parking, but it does. In towns and cities, it’ll help you find a space, but it isn’t going to save money for holiday parking. The cheapest it found at Heathrow was a £30 day rate, and in Manchester it was an eye-watering £50.
Verdict
If cost is the most important factor, then the appeal of Just Park is that you can see photos and read others’ reviews, all the while saving a lot of money by using private parking. YourParkingSpace is almost as good, but not as clear or intuitive to use. It’s still worth a look before making a booking. If you’d rather use an approved airport parking provider, CompareTheAirportParking had the best deals.
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