On this page (6 sections)
The cheapest official car parks
Among the airport's own car parks, the two cheapest are JetParks and Long Stay. JetParks is the airport's own off-airport park and ride and is positioned as one of its cheapest options; Long Stay is the cheapest of the on-terminal-site car parks. Both are pre-book only, both run a free shuttle every 15 minutes, and both suit a trip of several days. JetParks has a 7-day minimum stay and Long Stay a 5-day minimum.
Exact prices move constantly. Stansted prices its car parks dynamically, and the airport's own pages currently show more than one set of "from" figures for the same products, so there is no single fixed rate to quote. As a guide, the cheapest official car parks start from somewhere around £60 to £70 for 8 days when booked well ahead, with JetParks usually the lowest. Prices are lowest booked ahead, so check the live quote on the official parking site. For a short stay rather than a holiday, the cheapest of the five Short Stay car parks is the Blue zone, furthest from the terminal.
Booking ahead is the biggest saver
Whatever car park you pick, the largest saving comes from booking early rather than from the car park you choose. The airport states you can save up to 80 percent by booking in advance, and the gate price for arriving without a booking is far higher: Mid Stay, for example, is from around £69.99 pre-booked against roughly £360 on the day, and a 4-day Short Stay is "from £268 on the day". JetParks and Long Stay cannot be booked at the gate at all, so leaving it late does not just cost more, it removes the cheapest options entirely.
The pricing works like airline fares: the cheapest spaces sell first and the rate climbs as the date nears. The practical move is to book as soon as your dates are fixed. A standard booking can be cancelled free up to 72 hours before arrival, so you can lock in a low early rate and still pull out if plans change. Waiting almost never lowers the price.
Off-airport park and ride
Separate from the airport's own car parks, several independent operators run park and ride sites on the roads around Stansted, booked through comparison platforms such as Holiday Extras, SkyParkSecure, ParkBCP and Purple Parking rather than on the airport's site. Lead-in prices start in the region of £6 to £8 a day on the cheapest dates, though these are dynamic and date-dependent, and the airport does not list or endorse any of them.
Are they cheaper than the airport? Sometimes. Which? has found across UK airports that official parking is not always the best or the cheapest, and that some off-site providers are better rated and cheaper. But the gap is inconsistent, and an off-airport site adds a separate shuttle leg. The honest position for a budget traveller is that pre-booked Long Stay or JetParks is the safe cheapest baseline, and an off-airport park and ride is worth checking mainly for the specific dates where it undercuts them. Compare both for your exact dates, and book only through a reputable platform and a Park Mark accredited operator. One caution: an off-airport price is never an official Stansted rate, however the listing is presented.
Cheap without getting scammed
The lowest price on the page is sometimes the one to avoid. "Cheap" should mean the cheapest legitimate option, not a rogue operator undercutting the market by parking cars somewhere they should not.
Two rules keep you safe. First, book official airport parking only through stanstedairport.com, which the airport states is the only place to book it, or use a reputable comparison site and a Park Mark accredited operator. Park Mark is the UK police-backed Safer Parking standard, and all official Stansted car parks hold it; for an off-airport operator, treat it as one signal among several and also check for staffing, CCTV, fencing and recent reviews, because Which? notes the scheme is changing and some good car parks no longer show the logo.
Second, treat cheap meet and greet as the main risk. The airport itself discourages booking with several named third-party operators after a high volume of complaints, and it is working with Trading Standards and the police. Press and police have documented unofficial Stansted firms leaving customers' cars on country lanes and residential streets near the airport, where more than 60 vehicles were vandalised in one incident, and in another a customer's car turned up in a hit-and-run more than 20 miles away with thousands of pounds of damage. A meet and greet price well below the market usually means the car is parked on a public street, not in a secure compound. If you do use a keys-handed-over service, photograph the car, the mileage and the fuel before you hand the keys over, and pay by credit card. The Meet & Greet page covers the official service and the warning in full.
The cheapest option may be no car
The cheapest parking is sometimes no parking. If you do not strictly need the car at the airport, a week of even the cheapest car park can cost more than two train or coach fares for a solo traveller.
The Stansted Express reaches London Liverpool Street in about 48 minutes, from £9.90 for an advance single booked roughly three months ahead. National Express coaches start from around £7 one-way, with central London stops a little more, and run 24 hours a day. For a car-optional trip, add up the parking cost against two fares before you book a space. The ways to get to and from Stansted page compares every option on price and time.
How to get the cheapest, step by step
The whole page in order, as a sequence to follow.
- Book as early as you can. This is the biggest single saver, worth far more than the choice of car park, because pricing is dynamic and the cheapest spaces go first.
- Compare the cheapest official car parks for your dates. Start with JetParks and Long Stay, the two cheapest official products.
- Check a reputable off-airport park and ride too. On some dates it undercuts the airport; on others it does not. Only a real comparison for your dates settles it.
- Book official-only or through a reputable, Park Mark accredited operator. A far-below-market price is a red flag, not a find.
- If you hand over keys, protect yourself. Photograph the car, mileage and fuel, and pay by credit card.
- Lock a refundable early rate. Free cancellation up to 72 hours before arrival means an early booking carries little risk.
- Consider the train or coach. If the car is optional, compare a week of parking against two fares.
The parking hub has the full side-by-side of every car park, and the parking FAQs page covers the quick lookups.