Big Bus vs Tootbus London: Which Hop-on Hop-off Bus to Pick

If you’re picking one hop-on hop-off bus in London, it usually comes down to these two.

Big Bus and Tootbus are the city’s two big open-top operators, and they cover almost the same central loop: Westminster, the South Bank, the Tower, St Paul’s, the West End. Years of pointing people at these buses on tour, and the question I get most is simply “which one?” The honest answer is that neither is a mistake. They’re built around slightly different priorities, and once you know what those are, the choice makes itself.

So let me lay it out plainly. Big Bus is the premium all-rounder, the one you take when frequency and polish matter most. Tootbus is the variety operator, the family-friendly one that tends to come in better value and does far more with its extra routes. Below is the side-by-side, then where each genuinely wins, then a straight recommendation by the kind of traveller you are.

Big Bus vs Tootbus at a Glance

	Big Bus	Tootbus
Frequency	The most frequent buses in London; short waits on the core routes	Good on the central loop; wider routes come round less often
Routes and stops	Three interlocking routes, close to 50 stops	Discovery loop plus a wider spread of themed routes
On-board guide	Live guides on the main routes	Live guides on flagship routes
Walking tours	Live guided walks included on longer tickets (Royal, Jack the Ripper, Harry Potter)	Not the focus; the range is in the bus tours themselves
River cruise	One-way Thames cruise included	Available as a river-cruise combo
Family options	Solid, but not the specialism	The widest range, including a live-guided Kids Tour
App and tech	Strong app with live bus tracking	Ticket valid on both the Tootbus and old Original Tour liveries
Price positioning	Premium end	Often better value

Where Big Bus Wins

Big Bus is the one to beat on the two things people actually notice on the day: how long you wait at a stop, and how put-together the whole operation feels.

The frequency is the headline. These are the most frequent hop-on hop-off buses in the city, and when you’re standing at a stop in the drizzle deciding whether to wait or walk, that matters more than any brochure feature. Three interlocking routes and close to 50 stops mean you can plan a day around the bus rather than around the timetable. The app is genuinely good too, with live tracking, so you can see where your next bus actually is instead of guessing.

Then there’s what’s bundled in. Longer Big Bus tickets fold in a one-way Thames river cruise and a set of live guided walking tours: a Royal walk around Westminster, a Jack the Ripper walk through the old East End, a Harry Potter film-locations walk. Take it from someone who’s led walks in this city for years, a proper guided walk is where London opens up, and having a few thrown in with your bus ticket is real added value. You do pay for all this. Big Bus sits at the premium end. But if you want the smoothest, best-supported day and the walks appeal, it earns the money.

Big Bus: Hop-on Hop-off Tour, Walking Tour and River Cruise ➝

Read the full breakdown on our Big Bus page.

Where Tootbus Wins

Tootbus is the operator I point families and repeat visitors towards, because it does more and usually costs less doing it.

The variety is the real draw. Alongside the standard Discovery loop, Tootbus runs the widest range of tours of any London operator: a live-guided Kids Tour built for younger passengers, evening and night tours, a seasonal Christmas Lights tour, and a river-cruise combo. If you’re travelling with children, that Kids Tour is a genuine point of difference rather than a marketing line. Nobody else is running a dedicated guided tour pitched at kids. This is also the eco-conscious fleet, with live guides on the flagship routes rather than a recorded track.

Worth knowing: Tootbus was formerly The Original Tour, and your ticket is valid across both liveries, so if an older-branded bus rolls up, you still hop on. The one honest caveat is frequency on the wider routes. The central loop turns up often enough, but the further-flung themed routes come round less frequently, so check the timings if a specific route is the reason you’re booking. On value, though, Tootbus is usually the stronger all-rounder, and for a lot of visitors that settles it.

Tootbus Discovery Hop-on Hop-off Tour ➝

Read the full breakdown on our Tootbus page.

The Verdict: Which Should You Pick?

There’s no single winner here, so pick by what your day actually looks like.

• First-timers doing the big sights: Big Bus. The frequency means less standing about, the near-50 stops cover everything you’ll want, and the included walking tours and river cruise turn a bus day into a proper introduction to the city.
• Families with kids: Tootbus, without much hesitation. The live-guided Kids Tour is built for exactly this, and the wider range of tours keeps everyone interested.
• Best value: Tootbus tends to come in lower while still giving you live guides and a strong central loop.
• Most coverage and frequency: Big Bus. Three interlocking routes, the most stops, the shortest waits, and the live tracking app to tie it together.
• Evenings and seasonal: Tootbus. The night and evening tours and the Christmas Lights tour give it the seasonal edge, and they’re a lovely way to see the city lit up.

If I’m honest, most people would have a good day on either. Choose Big Bus for polish and frequency, Tootbus for variety and value.

Other Operators Worth a Look

Big Bus and Tootbus aren’t the only names on the road. City Sightseeing and Golden Tours both run hop-on hop-off routes in London too, and depending on your dates and the deal, either can be worth comparing before you book. If you want the full picture across every operator, start with our hop-on hop-off comparison hub.

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