School distance, commute and affordability tools for UK families deciding where to move.
Plan your move around schools, commute and budget.
Check how far a home sits from a school, sketch a catchment radius, weigh up commute trade-offs and pressure-test affordability — all with practical, UK-focused calculators and planning guides for families deciding where to move.
Start with the school run, then the rest follows
For families, where you can live is often decided by which schools you can realistically reach. MoveRadius starts there — measuring the straight-line distance from any postcode to any school and checking it against a catchment radius — then helps you weigh the commute, moving costs and what you can borrow. Put real numbers next to each factor and compare your options calmly instead of guessing.
Free tools to compare your options
Focused calculators for school distance, postcodes, commute and budget — all free and built for the UK.
School Distance Calculator
Work out the straight-line distance between a home and a school, and check whether it falls within a chosen catchment radius.
Useful for: Parents checking school catchment areas before they move or apply.
Open calculatorFind Schools Near a Postcode
Enter a UK postcode and radius to find schools nearby, ranked by straight-line distance. Uses the official DfE register for England, with OpenStreetMap as a fallback.
Useful for: Families starting a school search from a home or work postcode.
Open calculatorSchool Radius Map
Set a school location, a home postcode and a radius to see the straight-line distance and a simple radius diagram for planning a move.
Useful for: Anyone visualising how a home sits within a school catchment radius.
Open calculatorCompare Two Postcodes
Compare two postcodes side by side for distance to a school, distance to work and estimated commute cost, with a transparent planning score.
Useful for: Families weighing two locations for the same school and workplace.
Open calculatorCommute Cost Calculator
Estimate the daily, monthly and annual cost of driving to work, with an optional public transport comparison.
Useful for: Anyone weighing up how a longer or shorter commute affects the household budget.
Open calculatorMoving Cost Calculator
Add up the typical costs of moving home in the UK, from removals and conveyancing to surveys and mortgage fees.
Useful for: Buyers and movers budgeting for the full cost of a move, not just the deposit.
Open calculatorMortgage Affordability Calculator
Get a simple estimate of how much you might borrow, your monthly repayment, loan-to-value and deposit percentage.
Useful for: Households getting a rough idea of what they could afford before speaking to a lender.
Open calculatorArea Comparison Tool
Compare up to three areas side by side using a weighted score for affordability, school distance and commute.
Useful for: Families torn between two or three locations who want a structured comparison.
Open calculatorHow MoveRadius helps
Practical, focused tools
Each calculator does one job well, with clear inputs, sensible defaults and plain-English explanations of the maths.
Honest about the limits
We show what an estimate covers and what it doesn't, and always point you to official sources for admissions, tax and lending.
Fast and private
Calculations run in your browser. There are no accounts to create and nothing to install — just open a tool and start.
Example use cases
Moving for a school place
Check how far a home sits from a preferred school and compare commute costs from different areas before you apply or move.
Relocating for a new job
Weigh up a cheaper home further out against the extra fuel, parking and time you would spend commuting each year.
Deciding between two areas
Put two or three shortlisted areas side by side and see how they balance on price, schools and commute.
Area planning across the UK
Start with your nation, then use the tools to compare a specific shortlist on school distance, commute, affordability and moving cost. Frameworks, not property prices or admissions data.
Area planning
UK Area Planning
A UK-wide framework for comparing any area by school distance, commute, affordability and moving cost — the method, the tools, and what to verify officially.
Open guideArea planning
England Area Planning
How to plan a move within England — using DfE school data where available, commute and affordability checks, and official sources to verify admissions.
Open guideArea planning
Scotland Area Planning
A framework for comparing areas in Scotland by school distance, commute and budget, with guidance on verifying placing requests and admissions locally.
Open guideArea planning
Wales Area Planning
Plan a move within Wales using school distance, commute and affordability checks, and verify school admissions with the school and local authority.
Open guideArea planning
Northern Ireland Area Planning
A framework for comparing areas in Northern Ireland by school distance, commute and budget, with guidance on verifying admissions with schools and the EA.
Open guideArea planning
Near grammar schools
How to approach moving near a UK grammar school — admissions, distance, commute and affordability — without falling for league-table shortcuts.
Open guideExample local guides
Browse schools by town
26,416 schools across 971 towns in England, Scotland and Wales, straight from each nation's official register — see what's in a town before you shortlist it.
Guides to help you decide
All guidesGuide · 9 min read
How to Choose Where to Live in the UK: Schools, Commute, Budget and Lifestyle
A practical, step-by-step framework for weighing up schools, commute, budget and lifestyle when deciding where to live in the UK.
Read guideGuide · 7 min read
How School Distance Is Measured in the UK
Understand how local authorities and schools measure distance for admissions, why straight-line distance is common, and what to check.
Read guideGuide · 7 min read
How to Find Schools Near Your Postcode
A practical, step-by-step way to find and shortlist schools near a UK postcode using official sources, plus how distance fits into admissions.
Read guideUseful first, not a content farm
MoveRadius is built to be genuinely helpful. Our calculators give estimates to support your own research — they are not financial, legal, property or school admissions advice, and they do not replace official sources. Stamp duty, lending decisions and school catchments all change, so please verify anything important before you rely on it. Read our full disclaimer for details.