For one traveler the Airlink 100 is cheaper by £1.90. That does not change up to 8 travelers.
The Edinburgh Trams is quicker: 35 min against 36 min. The Airlink 100 varies between 24 and 41 minutes.
Airlink 100: Runs all night. Edinburgh Trams: 06:30–22:52.
Priced against each other
Whole-party totals · adult fares
What each costs for the whole party, in GBP. The cheaper of the two is marked on every row.
Travelers
Airlink 100
Edinburgh Trams
Difference
1
£6
£7.90
£1.90
2
£12
£15.80
£3.80
3
£18
£23.70
£5.70
4
£24
£31.60
£7.60
5
£30
£39.50
£9.50
6
£36
£47.40
£11.40
7
£42
£55.30
£13.30
8
£48
£63.20
£15.20
Side by side
Where each one leaves you
bus · Lothian BusesAirlink 100
From
Stop A on the plaza outside the terminal, by the Edinburgh sign
To
Waverley Bridge, beside Waverley station, via Haymarket, the West End and Princes Street
Runs
All night
Journey
24–41 min
It is £1.90 cheaper than the tram to the same square and runs when the tram does not. The trade is a bus rather than a tram, and a road that slows to 41 minutes around 08:15 on weekdays.
Lothian's timetable makes the ride 24 minutes at night and early morning, 36 through most of the day and 39 to 41 in the peaks. The airport calls it "an average of 30 minutes".
It runs all night, every night, but expect up to 40 minutes between buses from 01:00 to 04:00 — timetables disagree on the exact departures. Night journeys do not run on the mornings of 25 and 26 December and 1 January.
The Princes Street set-down stop is closed "until further notice" after the fire of 9 July 2026: buses set down at Shandwick Place or Hanover Street instead, then Waverley Bridge as usual.
Paying cash on board needs the exact fare. Contactless at the door is the same £6.00 and, on the same card all day, caps at the £14.00 Network DAY — which is only worth reaching if you also return to the airport the same day.
The tram stop on the plaza outside the terminal, under a covered walkway
To
St Andrew Square, the stop nearest Waverley, via Haymarket and Princes Street; the tram continues to Leith and Newhaven
Luggage
Six luggage racks on each tram, including racks for large suitcases, by the operator's own account.
Runs
06:30–22:52
Journey
25–35 min
It costs £7.90 because the airport is its own fare zone; every other stop is the £2.40 City Zone. Only the Airport Single works here — any city ticket, a City DAY or the daily contactless cap is invalid, and the on-board fare is £10.
Buy or activate before you board: the operator has a pre-purchase policy and machine tickets must be used within 30 minutes of purchase.
If you pay by tapping a card or phone, tap off at your stop with the same card. A missed tap-off is charged as a full Airport Zone fare and does not count towards any cap; a different card tapped off is two incomplete journeys.
Journey time is 35 minutes to St Andrew Square, 32 to Princes Street and 25 to Haymarket. Since Princes Street reopened on 29 August 2026 after a fire, trams pass through it under a 15 mph limit until further notice.
The last tram from the airport is 22:52 and the first 06:30. Outside those hours the Airlink, £1.90 cheaper, is the public transport.
The tram pays for itself only by where it goes: Leith, Newhaven and the Edinburgh Gateway rail interchange. For Waverley and Princes Street the Airlink does the same job for less.
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