N9 night busorPiccadilly line?

The short answer

For one traveler the N9 night bus is cheaper by £4.15. That does not change up to 8 travelers.

The Piccadilly line is quicker: 50 min against 1 h 22. The N9 night bus varies between 79 and 89 minutes.

N9 night bus: 23:43–04:45. Piccadilly line: 05:00–23:30.

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	N9 night bus	Piccadilly line	Difference
1	£1.75	£5.90	£4.15
2	£3.50	£11.80	£8.30
3	£5.25	£17.70	£12.45
4	£7	£23.60	£16.60
5	£8.75	£29.50	£20.75
6	£10.50	£35.40	£24.90
7	£12.25	£41.30	£29.05
8	£14	£47.20	£33.20

Side by side

Where each one leaves you

N9 · Transport for LondonN9 night bus

From: Terminal 5 and Heathrow Central Bus Station
To: Green Park in 79 minutes, Piccadilly Circus in 82, Charing Cross in 86
Luggage: A London bus. There is a luggage rack by the door and no guarantee of space on a full one.
Runs: 23:43–04:45
Journey: 79–89 min

It only exists at night. Between 04:45 and 23:43 there is no N9, and this is the only option here that runs in the small hours at all.

It is slow: 82 minutes to Piccadilly Circus against the Express's 15 to Paddington. You are trading an hour for £24.25.

It runs every night of the week, unlike the Night Tube, which runs on Friday and Saturday nights only.

N9 night bus: price for every party size

Check the N9 route and times with TfL

Piccadilly · Transport for LondonPiccadilly line

From: Underground stations at Terminals 2 & 3, Terminal 4 and Terminal 5
To: Every Zone 1 station without a change, including Piccadilly Circus and King's Cross
Luggage: No stated limit, but it is a tube train and the Piccadilly line has no racks.
Runs: 05:00–23:30
Journey: 50 min

It is the slowest of the three trains at about 50 minutes, and it stops everywhere. What it buys is £20.10 kept and a fare that counts towards your daily cap.

There is no off-peak fare on this journey. Landing at a quiet hour saves you nothing, which is not true of any other Zone 6 station.

The Night Tube runs on Friday and Saturday nights only, and not to Terminal 4.

Piccadilly line: price for every party size

Check the fare with TfL

This compares two of 19 options. See all of them ranked for your party size

N9 night busorPiccadilly line?

Priced against each other

Side by side

The other comparisons at Heathrow