Since 2014, Transport for London (TfL) has charged identical fares whether you tap an Oyster card or a contactless bank card at the yellow card readers. The per-journey cost is the same. The daily cap is the same. The weekly cap is the same.
The choice between Oyster and contactless comes down to four practical factors: your bank's foreign transaction fees, the Oyster deposit, convenience and what happens if something goes wrong mid-journey.
Every TfL journey is charged based on the zones you travel through. Zone 1 covers central London. Zone 6 covers the outer boundary including Heathrow.
Key single journey fares (peak, Oyster or contactless, 2026):
| Route | Zones | Peak Fare | Off-Peak Fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central London to Central London | 1 | £2.80 | £2.80 |
| Zone 1 to Zone 2 | 1-2 | £3.40 | £2.80 |
| Zone 1 to Zone 3 | 1-3 | £3.90 | £3.10 |
| Zone 1 to Zone 6 (Heathrow) | 1-6 | £6.40 | £6.40 |
| Bus anywhere in London | Any | £1.75 | £1.75 |
Peak hours: Monday to Friday 06:30 to 09:30 and 16:00 to 19:00.
All bus journeys cost £1.75 at any time with Oyster or contactless. Cash is not accepted on London buses.
The cap system is one of London's most visitor-friendly features. Once you reach the daily cap, all further journeys that day are free.
Zone 1-2 daily cap: £8.50. After four Zone 1-2 journeys in a day, you pay nothing more.
Zone 1-6 daily cap: £14.90. Covers unlimited Zone 1-6 travel including Heathrow in a single day.
Monday to Sunday weekly cap: £40.70 (Zone 1-2). After 40.70 in a Monday to Sunday week, all further journeys are free. The weekly cap applies automatically; you do not buy a weekly travelcard separately.
Important for visitors: The weekly cap runs Monday to Sunday, not from the day you first travel. If you arrive on Thursday and leave the following Tuesday, your week resets on Monday. You do not accumulate a full 7-day cap benefit unless your stay aligns with the Monday to Sunday window.
Enter your journey zones and number of trips per day to see whether Oyster or a contactless bank card gives you the best total cost. The calculator applies daily and weekly caps automatically so you see your true transport spend.
Calculate London FaresFind London Transport SchedulesOyster card deposit: £7 refundable. Claim the refund at any Tube station ticket office or at tfl.gov.uk/oyster when you leave London. The refund goes back to the registered payment card.
Oyster card top-up: Add credit at any station machine, Oyster App or registered online. Minimum top-up: £5. The card holds up to £90.
Register your Oyster card at tfl.gov.uk/oyster and set auto top-up. When your balance falls below £5, TfL automatically adds £20 from your registered card. This eliminates the experience of being stranded at a gate with an insufficient balance.
Auto top-up is particularly useful for extended stays where manual top-ups become inconvenient.
TfL sells a pre-loaded Visitor Oyster card for £3 (including the standard £7 deposit). Available at tfl.gov.uk/visitor-oyster-card before you travel and at Heathrow terminals on arrival.
The Visitor Oyster card works identically to a standard Oyster card. The advantage is ordering it before you travel so it arrives at your home address. You step off the plane with a working London transit card already in your wallet.
A 7-day Travelcard (Zone 1-2) costs £40.70 per week. It covers unlimited travel 24 hours a day for 7 consecutive days from the activation date.
When the travelcard wins: If you are in London for exactly 7 consecutive days and make at least 5 journeys per day, the travelcard and the weekly Oyster cap cost identically.
The travelcard offers one advantage: you activate it on the day you choose, not on Monday. If you arrive on a Wednesday, your 7-day travelcard runs Wednesday to Tuesday, giving you a full 7-day cap window regardless of the calendar week.
Buy a 7-day travelcard at any staffed ticket office or machine, or load it onto your Oyster card.