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Compare Two Postcodes

Weighing up two locations for the same school and job? Compare them side by side on distance, commute cost and your own affordability figures, with a transparent planning score.

How to compare

Enter two postcodes, plus an optional school, workplace and budget. We look up coordinates with postcodes.io and compare distances and commute cost. Distances are straight-line, so real driving distance and cost will be higher. We never use property data you haven't entered yourself.

A planning score, not advice

The MoveRadius score blends only the factors you enter, each mapped to a simple 0–100 band, so it is a structured way to compare — not financial, property or admissions advice. Straight-line distances understate real journeys, and any property figures are the ones you typed in. Always verify with official sources and a qualified professional. See our data sources.

How we calculate this

Distances use the Haversine straight-line formula between postcode coordinates from postcodes.io. Commute cost uses fuel only: litres = miles ÷ mpg × 4.54609, doubled for the return trip, multiplied by your fuel price, days per week and 46 working weeks a year.

The planning score maps each factor you provide — school distance, commute cost, and your own budget-versus-estimate ratio — to a 0–100 band, then blends them with default priority weights. Only the factors you enter count, and the weights are renormalised across them. It is a planning score, not advice.

Compare like with like

When you are torn between two postcodes for the same school and job, the only fair comparison measures both the same way. This tool does exactly that: the same school, the same workplace and the same commute assumptions applied to each postcode, so the difference you see reflects the locations rather than inconsistent data.

What the planning score is — and isn't

The MoveRadius score is a structured way to combine distance, commute cost and your own affordability figures into a single number out of 100. It is deliberately simple and transparent, and it only uses what you enter. It is not advice, and it cannot account for everything that makes a place right for you — schools' admissions rules, the feel of a neighbourhood, or live market prices. Use it to structure the decision, then verify the detail. Our guide to comparing two areas walks through the wider process.

Frequently asked questions

What does the comparison actually measure?

Straight-line distance from each postcode to a school and to a workplace, and an estimated monthly driving cost from your fuel price and economy. It then blends the factors you provide into a planning score out of 100.

Do you use real property prices?

No. We never pull in property data. If you want affordability reflected in the score, you enter your own budget and a property estimate for each postcode — those figures stay in your browser.

Why are the distances shorter than a real journey?

They are straight-line ('as the crow flies') distances. Real driving and walking routes are longer, so treat the commute cost as a comparison aid between the two postcodes rather than an exact bill.

Is the planning score advice?

No. It is a transparent way to compare two options on the factors you supply, each scored against a simple band. It is not financial, property or admissions advice, and it cannot tell you whether you will get a school place.