Padel has gone from niche to everywhere in the space of a few years. In fact, if you have not tried the sport, where have you been hiding?
According to the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), a million people in Britain now play, up from just 15,000 in 2019, and there are over 1,800 courts across the country. With more than 10 million more saying they want to give it a go. You can see the full figures here.
With so many people ready to try their hand at a bandeja or a globo, we hear one question a lot: what is this actually going to cost me?
The short answer is less than you think. Here is what you can expect, from your first session as a complete beginner through to playing every week as an absolute padel master.
Court hire: the main cost
This is where most of your money goes. The price a club advertises is for the whole court for an hour, not per player. And since padel is always doubles, four of you split it.
Here is the number to remember. An average off peak game works out at around £7 a head, based on a court costing roughly £27 an hour. That is your answer to anyone who reckons padel is pricey. It is less than most gym day passes, and you get a proper hour of fast, social sport for it.
Where it gets interesting is location and timing. Off peak slots, weekday mornings and quiet afternoons, are often 30 to 50 percent cheaper than a Saturday night. And the city you play in makes a big difference too.
Court prices by city
A study of 360 UK clubs by Playskan found court hire ranging from £8 an hour at the cheapest regional venues all the way up to £100 at the flashiest London courts. London is the obvious outlier at around £48 an hour. Everywhere else, you get more for your money. Here is how the averages stack up, with the per person cost once you split a court four ways.
| City | Average per hour | Per person (split 4) |
|---|---|---|
| London | £48 | £12 |
| Manchester | £40 | £10 |
| Leeds | £37 | £9.25 |
| Birmingham | £33 | £8.25 |
| Edinburgh | £27 | £6.75 |
| Bristol | £26 | £6.50 |
| Torquay | £20 | £5 |
The pattern is pretty clear. The cheapest padel is almost always outdoor courts outside the city centres, booked midweek. Get your timing right and you can more than halve what a peak London slot would cost. Even in London, off peak games start around £20 an hour, which is bang on the average for most other cities anyway.
Rackets: your one real purchase
Your racket is the only bit of kit that costs anything worth mentioning, and it is a one off. According to Padel Manual, a budget racket runs £40 to £70, and a solid mid range one £80 to £150. For most beginners, somewhere around £90 to £120 is the sweet spot. It will happily last you a year or more while you find your feet.
You can spend £300 plus on a premium racket, but honestly, do not. Those are built for technique you have not developed yet. Start cheap and upgrade when your game demands it, not before.
Not sure padel is for you yet? Hire a racket for your first couple of games. Most clubs rent them for £3 to £5, and some throw them in free for beginners. Once you are hooked, and you will be, then buy. Our equipment guide covers what to look for in a first racket.
Balls, shoes and the small stuff
Everything else is small change. A tube of three balls is £5 to £6, and they last three to five sessions before they go soft. Buy a case and split it with your regular group and they work out cheaper still.
Overgrips need swapping every few sessions and cost a few quid a pack. All in, most regular players spend £10 to £15 a month on this kind of stuff.
Shoes are optional to start. Trainers will do for your first games. Once you are playing regularly, proper padel shoes (£40 to £60 for a budget pair) grip the surface far better and save your ankles.
Lessons and coaching
You do not need lessons to start. But they are the quickest way to stop flapping at the ball and actually improve.
Group coaching is £15 to £25 a head for an hour or so. Private lessons are £40 to £70 an hour. Best of all, most clubs run a beginner “try padel” session for £10 to £15 that bundles in court time, racket hire and a bit of coaching. It is the cheapest way to find out if you love it.
If you want to get good fast, a six to eight week block of weekly group sessions usually lands at £120 to £180. Cheaper per hour than booking private lessons one at a time, and you will meet a few hitting partners along the way.
Pay and play or join a club?
Most UK clubs let you just book and play, no membership needed. That suits anyone playing once a week or less, and it lets you try a few different venues without committing.
If a club does offer membership, it is usually £25 to £50 a month for cheaper court rates and priority booking. And that booking priority is the real prize. Members often get 10 to 28 days notice to grab slots, against three to six days for everyone else. That is the difference between landing a peak Friday game and missing out completely.
Play twice a week at the same club and a membership pays for itself in a couple of months. Some gyms like David Lloyd bundle padel into a wider membership too, around £85 to £150 a month, though that only adds up if you are using the gym as well.
So is padel actually expensive?
Put it next to other ways of staying active and padel comes out looking good. A weekly game is roughly £40 to £60 a month for your share of court hire, plus the odd tube of balls.
| Activity | Typical monthly cost |
|---|---|
| Padel (once a week) | £40 to £60 |
| Mid range gym membership | £30 to £50 |
| Tennis at a private club | £80 to £150 |
| Golf club membership | £100 to £200 |
Padel sits below tennis and well below golf, about level with a gym. The difference is you are getting a fast, social, four player game out of it rather than a lonely half hour on a treadmill. Sure, it costs more than going for a run. But running does not come with a post match drink and a group chat full of rematch demands.
The bottom line
A complete beginner can get on court for under £15, racket and all, by picking an off peak slot or a try padel session. Play weekly at an average club and you are looking at £40 to £60 a month, plus a one off £60 to £120 for a racket.
So padel is far more affordable than most people assume. And here is the kicker: the more you play, especially with a regular group, the cheaper each game gets.
Ready to get on court?
If reading this has you itching to play, good. Now is the time.
Padel is the fastest growing sport in the country, and it is not hard to see why. It is easy to pick up, ridiculously good fun, and you will be having proper rallies within your first session. No expensive kit, no need to be sporty, no lessons required. Just three mates and a court.
Find somewhere local with our padel court finder, round up a doubles partner, and book your first game. The trickiest part is getting four diaries to line up. Everything after that is just fun.
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