To help you choose the best driving school among all options, we compared Gross Driving School and Presto Driving School by reviewing the most important and essential factors needed for making a decision and compiling them in one place. This comparison of driving schools was updated 2026-03-11 16:11:07.

	Presto Driving School		Gross Driving School
Year founded	2012		1994

History

Presto Driving School was founded in 2012, while Gross Driving School was founded in 1994. Gross became popular thanks to its marketing activities with free theory course coupons, while Presto gained recognition by introducing a digital system in the driver training industry in 2016 and becoming the leader in theory exam statistics over the past 7 years.

Training quality

Gross Driving School provides training in LV and RU, while Presto Driving School offers training in LV, RU, and EN.

Gross Driving School is based in Riga and Daugavpils, while Presto Driving School operates throughout Latvia.

Gross teaches only 3 categories — A, B, and BE — while Presto Driving School teaches all categories, including professional driver training.

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

Gross Driving School does not create its own distance learning products and purchases category B distance learning from macam.lv (Credo Autoprieks), while Presto Driving School develops its own products but does not sell them to other driving schools.

Theory

Based on combined public CSDD data for distance and in-person theory training, we see that at Gross Driving School 71,35% students pass the state theory exam on the first attempt. The result of Presto Driving School in this area is the best among the 20 largest driving schools in Latvia, with 76,49% students passing on the first attempt.

On its website gross.lv, Gross Driving School states: “92% of students pass the exam on the first attempt, which is the highest rate in the country.” This is far from the truth, and the CSDD theory exam result is not even among the top 10 largest driving schools in Latvia.

Since most students study theory through distance learning, we suggest looking at CSDD statistics that separately show video-based training results. Gross uses the online platform macam.lv, and its results are rather average. Presto Driving School offers video training exclusively on its own website, and as shown in the chart below, Presto’s results are the highest among all platforms.

Driving

Gross Driving School’s results in the category B exam show that 36,93% students passed it on the first attempt. The result of Presto Driving School is 29,85% students.

The category A exam result at Gross is 14,29%. The small number of category A students also indicates that there is little demand for this training at Gross Driving School. In contrast, Presto Driving School is in demand, and 29,63% students passed this category on the first attempt.

The percentage of Presto Driving School students who passed the BE category exam is 66,67%. At Gross, 0.00% students passed the exam. Gross is also not a popular driving school for this category.

Conclusions

Theory results at Gross Driving School are lower than at Presto Driving School when evaluating both in-person and distance learning together as well as distance learning separately. In practical training, we see that only category B works reasonably well for Gross, while the other categories are not the school’s strong side. It is expected that the gap in theory results will continue to grow, while the difference in driving results will decrease.

Service

Gross Driving School has a digital customer service system, but it includes only a few digital features. The gross.lv website does not have a customer profile, but by entering personal data it is possible to pay for the theory course and register as a client when applying (the contract is not concluded automatically), as well as pay in the “Payment” section for the driving lesson deposit for categories A and B, the theory exam, and missed lessons.

The shortcomings of the service are clearly indicated by the note on the website next to each instructor: “Apply for driving lessons – through the driving school administrator by phone 200 95 007”, as well as clause 1.9 of the contract appendix stating that absences can be viewed in CSDD rather than on the driving school’s website. Overall, during training you will still have to spend considerably more time and money communicating with administration than at Presto Driving School.

Presto Driving School was the first in the industry to introduce an electronic work organisation system and has been developing it for more than 10 years. In addition, Presto Driving School exclusively offers its clients the largest collection of thematic tasks in Latvia, which helps evaluate understanding of traffic regulations and prepares students well for the driving school and CSDD theory exams.

At Presto Driving School you will find fully remote payments, daily electronic instructor selection (comparison and competition), training progress reports, an absence system, and convenient administration. A modern customer management system and call centre allow much better service for students throughout the entire training period.

Gross Driving School does not offer an electronic driving booking system and also emphasizes assigning each student to a single instructor. In practice, this means that the instructor pays the driving school a fixed amount to obtain a client. In Latvia this ranges from EUR 40–240, while in Riga it ranges from EUR 100–240.

According to the Gross contract, this driving school may be one of the record holders with EUR 225. The school allows instructors to receive cash income from the very first lesson (see the Contract Analysis section). Students do not realize that they begin driving training at Gross with a disadvantage — money that the instructor will want to recover with interest by artificially extending the driving training (see the Reviews section and review negative feedback about Gross).

Training with only one instructor will lead to longer driving training and increase the number of required lessons. You will have to wait until the instructor becomes available for training (busy, sick, etc.). This will affect your costs (see the Costs section).

The free choice of instructors in the electronic driving system of Presto Driving School ensures healthy competition between them. Only instructor competition for your attention and money can provide fair training conditions and help avoid excessive expenses while also saving time.

At Presto Driving School you may like the option of recommending the school to your friends and acquaintances — you can receive a reward of EUR 20 for each referral. Any energetic, sociable and communicative person can fully cover their driving training simply through referrals. Recommending a good school is easy!

Promotions

Gross Driving School has been offering various promotions for years, every day without exception. Usually these include the theory course, the client registration fee and recently also cheaper driving lessons. Unfortunately, you have not been lucky enough to find this “super-profitable” offer — it is simply the price at which Gross Driving School evaluates its product on a daily basis.

If we analyse the price dumping for driving lessons involving Gross, Mustangs and BAVA, then in the case of Gross the driving training is indicated starting from EUR 14. However, if we look at instructor prices, we must conclude that there is not a single instructor with such a low price. Instructors from Daugavpils with a price of EUR 15 certainly would not refuse students from Riga. Moreover, this is not a promotional price but the market price.

On the gross.lv website the full price of a driving lesson (2 academic hours) is deliberately not displayed, but only half of it, in order to confuse the consumer. In addition, most instructors display prices for 60 minutes, which is not an industry practice at all. Such a system benefits only the instructors themselves, as it helps mask a higher price.

The client does not realize that they are not comparing the same volume of service and also receives significantly less practice during the lesson. It is no coincidence that the market has determined that, considering the time spent by both parties, it is more beneficial for the client to dedicate 90 minutes to a lesson (2 academic hours × 45 minutes) rather than 60.

Overall, Gross pricing policy tries to present the driving school as the cheapest and most accessible by dumping the price of starting training. However, its main trick lies in classic data manipulation. A low service price very rarely corresponds to low total costs (see the “Costs” section below).

Presto Driving School does not run promotions at the expense of your costs and safety. Presto has a support program for educational institutions that all schools in Latvia can apply for. It provides a free distance learning product for all school applications. Presto Driving School offers a 100% discount on the theory course — only the registration fee must be paid.

Presto Driving School has never relied on loud marketing promotions that typically reduce the consumer’s benefit. As a socially responsible driving school it supports various groups in society that need it most (large families, students).

During the Tuesday evening live shows on social networks, new clients who sign a contract receive study books (EUR 23) as a gift, providing real value in reducing the overall cost of training.

Contract Analysis

Presto Driving School allows you to review contracts for all categories before signing, while Gross does not provide such an opportunity. You can review the Presto Driving School B category contract before signing here, while the Gross Driving School contract can only be obtained and reviewed upon request (if you are lucky).

Introduction

A contract clearly shows the maturity of a driving school. It reflects the learning process, work organization, and the balance of responsibility between the contracting parties. As we have noted many times before, the choice of a driving school would be different if consumers read contracts before making a decision. They usually contain provisions that later turn out to be an unpleasant surprise.

Gross has managed to describe its processes in 3.5 pages of contract text, including its appendix. The Presto Driving School contract is slightly longer. We conducted an analysis of the Gross Driving School contract and outlined the main differences compared to Presto Driving School at the end.

Double registration fee.

Clause 2.2 of the Gross contract states that the registration fee at the driving school is EUR 30, but clause 2.3 again requires the same fee: “At the moment of signing the contract the student must pay the driving school for theoretical training, registration at the driving school and in the CSDD register EUR 40.” If you sign such a contract, Gross Driving School has every right to request these payments at its discretion.

Very fast and large payment of the driving deposit (advance) and driving exam.

Clause 2.4 of the contract states that within 1 calendar week from the start of training the student must pay an advance of EUR 225 for driving lessons, and clause 2.4.1 requires EUR 45 for the driving school driving exam. Therefore the total payment amounts to EUR 260. By the way, a repeated driving exam costs EUR 35, already conditioning you for multiple attempts.

Considering that from the perspective of total costs it is cheapest to first pass the theory and only then start driving training, EUR 260 represents a significant financial burden even before starting driving lessons and is therefore very disadvantageous.

The driving deposit at Presto Driving School (advance payment for driving lessons) must be paid within 3 weeks and amounts to EUR 150. Further payments for driving lessons are made when needed, based on actual usage, meaning the financial burden during the training process is significantly more accessible than for Gross students.

Accelerating driving training.

Clause 4.2.5 of the Gross contract states that the student is not allowed to take the driving school or state exams if the required payments have not been made, the largest of which is the driving lesson deposit. Clause 5.1.5 forces you to take driving lessons no less than twice per week, while clause 5.1.10 requires the first 10 driving lessons to be completed within 1 year. At the same time, the training rules specify that during the first year only theory studies are mandatory.

This effectively forces you to take driving lessons during the theory training period, which in turn increases the number of driving lessons you will need (see Presto Driving School open days).

Contradiction

Although clause 2.4.3 of the Gross contract states that one lesson includes 2 academic hours, 25% of Gross instructors conduct lessons lasting 60 minutes. Therefore Gross is unable to track its own manipulations.

Illegal

Clause 2.4.5 of the contract reveals that the student must pay the remaining amount in cash or by transfer directly to the instructor for the driving lesson, which represents the difference between the advance paid to the driving school and the instructor’s lesson price.

Although clause 4.2.1 of the Gross contract claims that training is conducted according to Cabinet Regulation No. 358 “On training of vehicle drivers and driver training programs,” it clearly violates clause 36.1 of these regulations, which states that payment for all services related to training (including driving training) must be made by the trainee (only) to the driving school. Presto Driving School has clarification from CSDD, the initiator of the regulation, regarding this clause because its incorrect interpretation has continued for almost 10 years.

Considering that the instructor is an individual entrepreneur (self-employed person or company) providing services to the driving school under a business contract, the driving school and the instructor are two separate parties. Gross even requires signing two separate contracts (with the driving school and with the instructor) in an attempt to avoid responsibility, yet the essence is clear: a licensed person trains a driving school student under a specific legal framework.

Why did CSDD initiate and establish such a procedure? To ensure that the driving school maintains full control over the training process, separates individual training from driving school clients, and promotes tax compliance.

Therefore regardless of the payment method to the instructor (cash with receipt or bank transfer), it will be illegal. Possible consequences of such training include cancellation of the instructor’s license and the training process during a CSDD or police inspection. Most such training is not even registered in the CSDD training application. This distorts training statistics and leads to incorrect decisions at the national level regarding road safety improvements. From the consumer’s perspective, no complaints can be filed to the driving school or CSDD regarding unregistered training.

The contract allows such illegal activity. It is clear that the driving training model of the driving school is built not in the interest of clients but in the interest of the driving school and driving instructors. In order to recover the payment from the client (see above), the instructor is illegally allowed to start charging money directly from the client. Additionally, unregistered income increases the driving school’s popularity among instructors, ensuring them profitable opportunities.

The next attempt by the driving school is more expensive.

Since clause 2.7 of the contract states that the fee for repeating the theoretical training course, if the training is not completed within 1 year, is EUR 50, it can be concluded that this is the real price of the course, not EUR 125 as initially indicated by Gross.

Expensive early termination fee.

Unlike many other large driving schools in Latvia, Gross does not state that paid money will not be refunded, but according to clause 2.10 it will retain EUR 30 to cover administrative expenses.

Presto Driving School also ensures refunds of advance payments at any time, but charges a significantly lower commission fee of EUR 18.

Separate contract. Uncertainty.

Clause 5.1.7 of the contract reveals that before completing theoretical lessons you must sign a contract with a GROSS driving instructor for practical driving training. Gross is the only driving school in Latvia, at least among the 10–20 largest ones, that places such a burden and risk on its clients. Considering that according to Cabinet Regulation No. 358 the driving school is responsible for the training process as a whole, such a procedure has no real basis. Clause 36 of the regulations states that training must be conducted on the basis of a written contract between the trainee and the driving school, which also determines the order of driving training. Therefore the legal procedure is not followed here either.

Differences.

The Presto Driving School contract is slightly longer but better structured, providing extensive information about electronic processes within the driving school and ensuring a balanced responsibility between the parties (responsibility for cancelled lessons, refund options, structured process descriptions).

Unique bonuses based on the contract and available only at Presto Driving School are two: Presto compensates EUR 20 if a lesson is cancelled by the instructor, and also refunds money for a training stage in case of a justified complaint (Western practice).

Costs

We suggest reviewing the main cost components in both driving schools and calculating the approximate difference in total expenses.

1. The contract registration fee (EUR 30) at Gross is EUR 10 higher than at Presto Driving School (EUR 20). Therefore, the “free” theory has much less significance.

2. The theory course for distance learning and in-person classes at Gross Driving School has a single price — EUR 10, while at Presto Driving School it differs: distance learning — EUR 25, in person — EUR 60. Since 90% of you choose distance learning, for this group the theory will cost EUR 15 more, while for the remaining 10% it will cost EUR 50 more. You will receive a weaker and less engaging product with lower exam results and a potential need to retake the exam multiple times.

3. The first aid course (EUR 55) costs the same.

4. The medical certificate (in Riga — EUR 38) is EUR 5 higher — EUR 43.

5. The traffic rules book is sold only by Presto Driving School — EUR 23.

6. Gross does not have an electronic driving system — there is no competition between instructors, meaning the student is effectively “sold” to the instructor — + EUR 100–225 (additional driving lessons).

7. At Gross the start of driving lessons is accelerated in various ways (large driving deposit), which leads to studying theory during practice — + EUR 50 (additional driving lessons).

Considering the official state exam statistics, differences in training quality, driving lesson statistics in Riga and Daugavpils, the different driving organization system at Gross, learning theory during practice, and limited practical opportunities, you will overpay up to EUR 350 more for the B category compared to Presto Driving School and significantly extend your training time.

Reviews

The review section on the Gross Driving School website can be found here. Anyone can add reviews without registration, therefore their authenticity cannot be verified. The driving school also has Instagram, Facebook and two Google profiles — Google reviews, Google reviews.

Meanwhile, reviews for Presto Driving School can be read on its website here, and they can only be submitted after authorization. This ensures truthfulness, reliability and authenticity, which can be verified by contacting the reviewers through social networks. This is the largest collection of truthful and verifiable reviews in Latvia. They can be sorted by instructors, lecturers and the driving school. Presto Driving School reviews can also be read on Instagram, Facebook and Google.

Conclusion

Comparing Gross Driving School and Presto Driving School by the most important factors — theory exam results, training offer, organization of the learning process and service capabilities — it is clear that the two schools take significantly different approaches to driver training. Gross Driving School has a long history and strong marketing traditions, but its offer focuses mainly on a few categories and limited use of digital solutions. Presto Driving School, on the other hand, offers a wider range of categories, several distance learning products and a modern electronic system that allows students to organize their learning process more flexibly.

Analyzing official exam results and the organization of the training system shows that Presto Driving School demonstrates higher theory exam results and provides a more centralized training process, which may be more convenient and transparent for students. Gross Driving School still maintains a more traditional model with greater dependence on individual instructors and administrative communication.

Therefore the choice between these driving schools will largely depend on the student’s priorities. If a wide range of categories, digitally organized training and high theory exam results are important, the logical choice will be Presto Driving School. Meanwhile, for those looking for a classic driving school model with a long history and mainly focused on B category training, the approach offered by Gross Driving School may also be suitable.

Sources:

presto.lv
www.csdd.lv
www.gross.lv
autoskolas.com

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