Gravel grids vs loose gravel: which is best for your driveway?

Updated 6 November 2026 · By the Gravel Driveways team

Short answer: Loose gravel over a compacted sub-base is the cheapest way to build a gravel driveway and works well on flat, lightly used drives. Gravel grids cost more, typically £20 to £50 extra per square metre, but they stop stones migrating and rutting, make the surface firmer to walk and wheel on, and are the better choice for slopes, busy drives and drives that meet a pavement.

Gravel grids vs loose gravel: which is best for your driveway?

Side-by-side comparison

	Loose gravel	Gravel grids
Typical extra cost	None	£20 to £50 per m²
Rutting and potholes	Can develop over time	Largely prevented
Gravel spreading	Common, especially near the road	Stones held in cells
Walking, wheelchairs and buggies	Harder going	Firmer and easier
Slopes	Gravel drifts downhill	Much more stable
Maintenance	Regular raking and top-ups	Less raking, fewer top-ups

When loose gravel is right

Flat drives with light use
Large rural drives where cost per square metre matters most
Drives set well back from the road

When gravel grids are right

Sloping drives
Drives used by several cars every day
Drives next to a pavement or road
Homes where someone uses a wheelchair, walker or buggy
Turning areas where tyres twist and scuff the surface

What goes under both

Grids are not a substitute for a proper base. Both loose gravel and grid systems need a dug-out area, a compacted sub-base sized for the vehicles using it, and a membrane to separate the stone from the soil and keep weeds down.