What padel actually costs per person
Court hire is quoted per court. Work out what your share is before you book.
Padel prices confuse people coming from squash or the gym, because the number on the booking page is for the whole court, not for you. A £60 peak slot sounds expensive until you remember it is a doubles game and four people are paying.
Padel is priced per court, not per person. Local off-peak rates start around £30 a court; peak indoor evenings run well above that.
Local rates to plug in
| What you are booking | Typical court rate |
|---|---|
| Off-peak outdoor, Padel Tree Finchley | from £30/hr |
| Peak outdoor, Padel Tree Finchley | up to £40/hr |
| Off-peak indoor, North London | from around £40–£45/hr |
| Peak indoor evening | £100+/hr at the top end |
Rates as published September 2026 — see the padel courts page for the source and check date behind each venue.
Why the peak/off-peak gap matters more than the venue
The spread between an off-peak Tuesday morning and a 7pm Thursday at the same club is larger than the spread between the cheapest and most expensive venue in the area at the same time of day. Run the numbers both ways in the calculator above and the difference is usually two to three times per player.
Practical implications:
- Flexible schedule: padel is one of the cheaper ways to get two hours of court sport a week in North London. A four-ball on off-peak outdoor courts comes in under £8 a head.
- Weeknight-evening only: it is not a cheap sport, and a squash club membership will often beat it on cost per hour — see the squash membership calculator.
- Playing as a two: a singles-style knock on a padel court doubles your cost per head instantly. Find two more players; the venue WhatsApp groups exist for exactly this.
What the calculator does not include
Racket hire is a separate field because most local venues do not offer it — Padel Tree Finchley expects you to bring your own. Balls are usually your own too, and a tube lasts several sessions. A first racket is worth buying rather than borrowing once you are playing weekly; round shape and soft core is the standard starting point.
Booking platform fees, block-booking discounts and membership tiers are also excluded. Several local clubs sell ten-hour bundles at roughly 20% off, which is worth checking if you have settled on a regular slot.
More padel tools
This page does one job: split a court fee. For the rest — court finders, price comparisons and other padel calculators across the UK — Padel Index tools collects them in one place.
Finding the courts
Local venues, court counts and booking platforms are on the padel courts in North London page, and the borough view is on padel courts in Barnet.