Seeing a show in London does not have to cost a fortune. The West End has nearly 40 theatres putting on everything from record-breaking musicals to intimate new plays, and there are always seats to be had at sensible prices if you know where to look. Here is our practical guide to keeping the cost down without missing out on a great night.

1. Start with our cheap tickets page

The quickest way to find a bargain is to let us do the searching for you. Our cheap tickets page gathers the best-value shows currently on sale, and you can filter by price to see everything under £30 or under £20. It is the easiest place to start when your budget matters more than seeing one particular title, and every show links straight through to live availability.

2. Book in advance

The single biggest money-saving habit is simply booking early. The lowest-priced seats for any performance tend to sell first, so the further ahead you plan, the more choice you have at the cheaper end. Leaving it late usually means the only seats left are the most expensive ones, so if you already know the show you want to see, browse what is on and book while the good-value tickets are still there.

3. Go midweek or to a matinee

Prices and availability are not the same every day. Weekend evenings are the busiest and priciest slots, while midweek performances and afternoon matinees are far quieter, so theatres often price them more keenly to fill the room. A Tuesday or Wednesday night, or a weekday matinee, is one of the most reliable ways to see a top show for less.

4. Catch a preview

Before a show officially opens, it plays a run of preview performances while the company settles the production in. Previews are the same show you would see later in the run, but tickets are usually cheaper because the press night has not happened yet. If a new production is about to open, its early performances are often the best value it will ever offer.

5. Choose a smarter seat

You do not have to sit in the stalls to enjoy a show. Every theatre has more than one price band, and seats higher up in the Dress Circle, Upper Circle or Grand Circle cost a fraction of the best seats while still giving you a full view of the stage. Restricted-view seats, where a pillar or the edge of the circle clips part of your sightline, are cheaper again and are often a genuine bargain for a show you simply want to experience. When you book, compare the price bands rather than defaulting to the most expensive one.

6. Look at long-runners and shows closing soon

Long-established shows have had years to build up their seating plans, so they tend to hold plenty of well-priced tickets across every performance. Titles like The Lion King, Les Miserables and Wicked are institutions for a reason. It is also worth checking shows that are near the end of their run, as a limited season winding down can throw up good availability. You can see what is finishing soonest using the Closing soon filter on our shows page.

7. Travel off-peak

The London theatre calendar has quieter spells, and quieter usually means cheaper. January is the classic example, when the post-Christmas lull makes it one of the best times of year to bag a deal. The summer weekday schedule can be gentler on the wallet too. If your dates are flexible, planning around the busy periods rather than through them will stretch your budget further.

8. Sign up for deals

New offers and price drops appear all the time, and the easiest way to hear about them first is to join our mailing list. Sign up on our newsletter page and we will send the latest West End deals and show news straight to your inbox, so you can move quickly when a good-value run opens up.

A note on day seats

Some productions release a small number of low-priced seats at the theatre’s own box office on the day of the performance, sold in person on a first come, first served basis. It is a bit of a gamble, the numbers are limited and it means queuing in person, but for a spontaneous, flexible theatregoer it can occasionally land you a front-row seat for very little.

Ready to find your bargain? Head to our cheap tickets page to see the best-value shows on sale right now.