Trippi vs MileIQ vs Driversnote: Which Mileage Tracker Is Best for UK Drivers in 2026?

If you drive for work in the UK, tracking your mileage properly isn't optional — it's the difference between claiming what you're owed and leaving hundreds (or thousands) of pounds on the table each tax year. But with several mileage tracking apps on the market, choosing the right one matters.

In this post, we'll compare three popular options: Trippi, MileIQ, and Driversnote — looking at how they work, what they cost, and which one is genuinely built for UK self-employed drivers and sole traders.

How Each App Tracks Your Miles

The single biggest difference between these three apps is how they detect and record your journeys.

MileIQ and Driversnote both use GPS-based tracking. They run in the background on your phone and detect when you're driving based on speed and motion. MileIQ uses a swipe interface to classify each drive as business or personal. Driversnote offers automatic classification based on your work hours, and also sells an optional iBeacon — a small Bluetooth device you place in your car to improve detection accuracy.

Trippi takes a fundamentally different approach. Rather than tracking your location via GPS, it connects to your calendar (Google Calendar or Microsoft Calendar) and calculates mileage from the locations in your calendar events. If your meeting is in Birmingham and your base is in Coventry, Trippi works out the distance automatically using HMRC-approved rates.

This matters for two reasons. First, there's no GPS running in the background draining your battery or tracking your personal movements. Second, if your work diary already has locations attached to events, your mileage log essentially builds itself — with zero extra effort.

Pricing: What You'll Actually Pay

The mileage tracking market saw some notable price increases in 2026.

MileIQ raised its monthly subscription from $5.99 to $8.99 per month — a 50% increase that drew widespread criticism from users. That works out to roughly $108 per year (approximately £85). The free plan is limited to 40 drives per month.

Driversnote charges $11 per month for its Pro plan. The free tier allows just 15 trips per month. The optional iBeacon device is included with annual plans but is an additional cost otherwise.

Trippi costs £8 per month, or £6.66 per month when paid annually (£80/year). Paying annually gives you 2 months free. There's a full-feature 14-day free trial with no payment details required — so you can test everything before committing. Unlike the GPS-based apps, there's no per-trip limit at any tier.

UK and HMRC Focus

This is where things diverge significantly.

MileIQ and Driversnote both serve the UK market and support HMRC mileage rates. They're genuinely international products — available in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and beyond — and both have established user bases among UK drivers.

That said, both apps were originally built for the US market, and this still shows in places. Their primary websites, blog content, and onboarding flows lean heavily toward IRS rules, US mileage rates, and American tax terminology. MileIQ's site, for example, is dominated by references to IRS deductions, Schedule C filings, and US-specific rates. UK-specific guidance exists, but you may find yourself navigating past US-centric content to find it.

Trippi was designed from the ground up exclusively for the UK. HMRC's approved mileage rates (45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles, 25p thereafter) are built in from day one. Reports are generated to meet HMRC requirements. There's no US-first interface to navigate around — every screen, every calculation, and every report is designed with UK self-employed drivers and HMRC compliance in mind.

If you're a UK sole trader or self-employed professional, this distinction saves real time and reduces the risk of compliance errors.

Accuracy and Reliability

GPS-based tracking has known limitations. Shorter drives can be missed if the app hasn't fully initialised. Urban environments with tall buildings can cause signal drift. And if you forget to charge your phone or the app isn't running, those miles simply don't get logged.

Independent testing has highlighted accuracy concerns with both MileIQ and Driversnote. Some users report that MileIQ can miss shorter drives if not actively running in the background. Driversnote's accuracy improves considerably with the iBeacon accessory, but without it, users have reported discrepancies — particularly at the start of longer journeys.

Trippi sidesteps GPS accuracy issues entirely. Because it calculates distance from postcodes and addresses in your calendar, the mileage figure is consistent and repeatable. The same journey will always produce the same result. And because it pulls from your existing calendar, there's nothing to forget to switch on.

Battery Life and Privacy

GPS mileage trackers need continuous location access to work. That means your phone is constantly tracking where you are — during business hours and, in some cases, outside of them too. Both MileIQ and Driversnote track all drives by default, requiring you to then classify which were personal.

For people who value privacy, this is a meaningful concern. You're handing over a complete record of everywhere you drive.

Trippi doesn't track your location at all. It reads your calendar events and calculates distances. No GPS. No background tracking. No record of that detour to the supermarket on the way home from a client meeting.

Reporting and Export

All three apps offer exportable mileage reports. MileIQ generates reports compatible with QuickBooks and Concur, and supports HMRC rates when configured. Driversnote exports to PDF and Excel and also supports UK mileage rates. Both are functional for UK use, though you may need to adjust default settings from their US-oriented defaults to match HMRC's specific requirements.

Trippi generates HMRC-ready reports designed specifically for UK tax returns. Whether you're filing via Self Assessment or handing records to your accountant, the output is formatted to meet HMRC's expectations — including dates, destinations, business purposes, and mileage totals at the correct rates.

Quick Comparison Table

Who Should Use What?

Choose MileIQ if you want a well-established GPS tracker with a large global user base. It works well in the UK and internationally, and its swipe-to-classify interface is intuitive. Just be aware of the recent price increase and the US-centric onboarding.

Choose Driversnote if you prefer GPS-based tracking and want the option of an iBeacon for improved accuracy. It supports UK HMRC rates and exports to PDF and Excel. It's a solid choice for drivers who want a traditional mileage tracking experience across multiple countries.

Choose Trippi if you're a UK self-employed driver, sole trader, or contractor who already uses Google or Microsoft Calendar. It's purpose-built for HMRC compliance, respects your privacy, won't drain your battery, and requires virtually no effort beyond keeping your calendar up to date — which you're probably already doing. Try it free for 14 days with no payment details required.

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Trippi is a UK-built mileage tracking tool that connects to your Google or Microsoft calendar and automatically calculates HMRC-compliant mileage. No GPS. No guesswork. Just accurate records at tax time. Try it free for 14 days — no payment details required.

All competitor information in this post is sourced from publicly available pricing pages, app store listings, and independent review sites as of March 2026. We encourage readers to verify current pricing directly with each provider.