We offer a comparison of DBS Driving School (Safe Driving School) and Presto Driving School, updated on 2026-04-07 12:55:44.

The table reflects CSDD statistical data and the most important information about each driving school. Below the table, we have carried out an in-depth comparative analysis — read it carefully!

	PRESTO Driving School		DBS Driving School
Year established	2012		2005

Quality of training

DBS Driving School provides training only in Latvian, while Presto provides training in Latvian, Russian, and English.

DBS Driving School operates only in Riga, while Presto Driving School operates almost throughout the whole of Latvia.

DBS teaches only 4 categories — A, AM, B and BE, while Presto teaches all categories, including those for professional driver training.

In distance learning, DBS offers only category B, while Presto offers the widest selection of distance learning products in Latvia (AM, A, A1, A2, B (LV, RU, EN), BE, C, CE, Code 95, C95, D95).

DBS Driving School does not create its own distance learning products and purchases category B distance learning from edrive.lv (Einšteins Driving School), while Presto creates its own products but does not sell them to other driving schools.

Theory

The theoretical training level of DBS Driving School is 74,36%, whereas Presto Driving School ranks 1st in Latvia among the large driving schools – 73,30%.

As students most often prefer to learn theory remotely, we invite you to look at the CSDD chart for 2025, which shows the results of distance learning platforms for all categories offered. On the chart, look for DBS under edrive.lv. The exam results of the Edrive platform reach 70%, while the results curve of Presto Driving School is positioned the highest on the chart — 78%.

Driving

The practical (driving) training level of DBS Driving School in category B is 34,51%, whereas for Presto Driving School it is 28,85%.

Service

By service, we mean the level of services included in the price. Service significantly distinguishes one driving school from another.

By entering your personal data, a contract with DBS Driving School is not concluded automatically, and it requires intensive mutual communication. A contract with Presto Driving School, on the other hand, can be concluded within 1 minute.

Presto was the first in the industry to introduce an electronic work organisation system and has been developing it for more than 10 years already. In addition, Presto exclusively offers its clients the largest collection of thematic tasks in Latvia, which will be useful in assessing your understanding of the Road Traffic Regulations and will prepare you well for the driving school and CSDD theory examination.

At Presto, you are offered fully remote payments, daily electronic instructor selection (comparison and competition), learning progress reports, an absence system, and convenient administration. A modern customer management system and call centre make it possible to serve the student much better throughout the entire training period.

DBS does not have an electronic driving system, but the driving school ensures manual, planned team-based training scheduling for the student. This can also help to gain more driving experience and psychological resilience for examinations. Only competition among instructors for your attention and money can ensure fair training conditions for you, help you avoid excessive expenses, and also save time.

You may like the possibility at Presto to recommend the school to your friends and acquaintances — from Presto, you can receive a reward of EUR 20 for each recommendation. Any socially active, communicative, and energetic person can fully cover all their driving training solely from recommendations. Recommending a good school is easy!

Promotions

Both DBS Driving School and Presto are socially responsible schools that do not create promotions at the expense of your costs and safety.

Presto Driving School supports Latvia’s large families, educational institutions, and offers its students a stable value — by far the best training content in Latvia and the system for mastering it.

Contract analysis

Before concluding a contract, Presto allows you to review all category contracts. On the DBS website, these cannot be viewed, and the client can receive them only when actually concluding the contract.

You can familiarise yourself with Presto Driving School’s category B contract before concluding it here.

DBS has managed to describe its processes in 6 contract pages, whereas Presto Driving School’s contract is somewhat shorter. We have carried out an analysis of Safe Driving School’s contract and at the end have mentioned the main differences compared with Presto.

Introduction

The contract reflects the training and work organisation processes in the driving school. As we have pointed out many times, the choice of driving school would be different if consumers read contracts before making a decision. They often contain conditions that later turn out to be an unpleasant surprise. The balance of responsibility between the contracting parties is important.

A quick, large deposit payment for driving lessons

Clause 4.1.1 of the DBS contract stipulates that the first payment for driving lessons must be made together with the first contractual payments — no later than within 5 working days from the date of issuing and receiving the invoice. This is the fastest and one of the largest advance payments on the market, taking into account the expensive price of driving lessons.

The mechanism for increasing lesson prices.

Clause 4.4 of the DBS Driving School contract gives the driving school the right to unilaterally increase the already high fee for practical driving lessons, by notifying the student thereof in writing in advance. This may be done once per calendar quarter in accordance with the changes in consumer prices for the entire group of goods and services as determined by the Central Statistical Bureau of the Republic of Latvia.

The funniest part is that clause 4.5 states that the student is familiar with and understands the procedure for calculating this inflation indicator for the entire group of goods and services. It would be reasonable to assume that 99.9% have no idea about it. Both of these clauses are especially relevant during a fuel crisis, which is not uncommon.

In the event of circumstances occurring and your mistake, money is not returned at all.

Clauses 5.1 and 5.2 of the DBS contract stipulate that the contract is terminated and the money paid is not returned if circumstances have arisen that in any way restrict the acquisition of a category B driving licence (prohibitions, medical contraindications for driving vehicles, etc.)

At Presto Driving School, you will receive your money back upon request, taking into account the commission fee of EUR 18.

Overall, the Safe Driving School contract is transparent, and it contains no hidden costs or conditions that could restrict the student.

Differences.

There are 2 unique contract-based bonuses that can be obtained only at Presto Driving School. Presto is liable for lesson cancellation by the instructor in the amount of EUR 20. Additionally, in accordance with Western practice, Presto returns money for a stage of training in the event of a justified complaint. In this matter, DBS only promises to remedy deficiencies.

Costs

We invite you to examine the main cost positions in both driving schools and calculate the approximate overall difference in costs. We indicate Presto first and then, for comparison, the DBS Driving School price.

1. Contract registration fee (EUR 20) and the theory course fee (EUR 25 - distance learning / EUR 50 - in-person) for Safe Driving School distance learning amount to a total of EUR 129, while for in-person learning they amount to EUR 230 in total.

Since 90% of you choose distance learning, for this group registration and theory will cost EUR 79 more, while for the remaining 10% who choose in-person learning — EUR 160 more. In both cases, you will pay significantly more than the market price of the product.

In distance learning, DBS Driving School is an intermediary for another provider’s distance learning platform product (edrive.lv), while its in-person programme does not differ significantly from other driving schools either in structure or in scope.

2. The first aid course (EUR 55) is EUR 30 more expensive — EUR 85.

3. Driving lessons account for 90% of the total costs at a driving school. A category B lesson at DBS Driving School costs between EUR 55 and 68, while at Presto — EUR 32 to 56. If one takes into account that the market price in Riga is EUR 45, it must be concluded that each lesson at DBS costs at least EUR 10 above that.

Against this background, the comparison of the costs of theory and driving examinations and other minor services is no longer significant, because every DBS service is considerably more expensive.

There is an opinion circulating in the market that DBS’s target audience consists of people who have been disappointed by other driving schools and who personally (or whose parents) believe that they have more difficulty with technical understanding. In their view, they need the best possible driving school that could solve this problem. DBS PR and marketing handle this demand very well, creating the illusion that only they can resolve this situation.

At both Presto and DBS, you pay for the company’s system of values, brand, philosophy, and business model, but what gets lost in translation is that there is yet another driving school — Presto — which offers exactly the same thing, but at a much lower price.

In summary — all services at DBS are more expensive than at Presto Driving School. As heavier clients come here, as well as clients whose goal is to learn to drive well rather than only to be able to pass driving examinations, everyone will need a substantially larger number of driving lessons (20+) than the minimum required by the state (10) or the average Riga statistics (25–30).

In total, in category B you will have to overpay by EUR 300 - 1500 more than at Presto Driving School. In the other training categories, you will spend proportionally less, because there are fewer theory and driving lessons.

Reviews

Reviews from Safe Driving School students can be viewed here on the website (only 3) and on the main page (only 6), which have been selected and placed by the driving school itself. This slightly reduces the credibility of the review system. DBS Facebook reviews can be viewed here, Instagram here, and here you can see Google reviews.

Reviews of Presto Driving School on the website can be read here, and they may be left only after authorisation. This is where the highest number of genuine and verifiable reviews in Latvia can be found. They can be sorted by instructors, lecturers, and driving school. Presto reviews can also be read on Instagram, Facebook, and Google.

Final conclusions

If the primary goal is to learn theory quickly, in a structured manner, and with a high level of understanding, then Presto Driving School has a slight advantage — especially in distance learning and with a broader training system.

If the main focus is to prepare as well as possible specifically for the CSDD driving examination, then at present Safe Driving School demonstrates slightly better results.

However, it should be taken into account that theory is the foundation of the entire training process — a better understanding of theory in the long term often also means easier and faster progress in driving.

In terms of service, accessibility, and system, Presto offers a more modern, flexible, and digitally advanced approach that reduces the time spent and the administrative burden on the student.

In terms of costs, Presto is significantly more accessible, while DBS positions itself as a premium solution with higher costs that do not always directly correlate with the overall benefit for all students.

If you want an optimal balance between price, quality of theory, and a modern training process, the choice leans in favour of Presto, whereas if the priority is to maximise the driving examination result regardless of cost, DBS may be the more suitable choice.

Sources:

presto.lv
www.csdd.lv
dbs.lv
autoskolas.com

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