# Forest vs Lime vs Voi: the best UK e-bike & scooter referral in 2026

> It depends entirely on where you ride. Forest pays the most (£10 each side) but is London-only and expires in 7 days. Lime (£4 each side, 60-day window) covers the most cities. Voi (£2.50 to join) reaches the most towns outside London. Pick by your postcode, not the headline figure.

Last checked: 2026-06-21. Page: https://topreferrals.co.uk/compare/forest-vs-lime-vs-voi

## Key takeaways
- Forest: £10 each side, London-only, credit expires in 7 days — the most generous if you ride central London.
- Lime: £4 each side, 60-day window, the widest big-city coverage (London plus several cities, West Midlands from April 2026).
- Voi: £2.50 to join (£5 to the referrer), the broadest reach in smaller towns — about two-thirds of England's e-scooter trials.
- Rental e-scooters need an 18+ rider with a provisional UK licence (category Q); e-bikes need no licence.

## Compared offers
- [Forest](https://topreferrals.co.uk/offers/forest) — TopScore 7.5/10. £10 free riding each side.
- [Lime](https://topreferrals.co.uk/offers/lime) — TopScore 6.9/10. £4 ride credit each side.
- [Voi](https://topreferrals.co.uk/offers/voi) — TopScore 6.2/10. £2.50 ride credit to start.

The right ride-share referral is almost never the biggest one — it is the one that works where you actually ride. Here is how the three operators on our leaderboard stack up.

## Reward, at a glance

[Forest](/offers/forest) is the most generous: **£10 of free riding each side** after a first London trip. [Lime](/offers/lime) pays **£4 each side**, and [Voi](/offers/voi) gives the new rider **£2.50** (with £5 to the referrer). On reward alone, Forest wins comfortably.

## But coverage decides it

Forest is **London-only** — around 20,000 e-bikes across 18+ boroughs — so its £10 is worthless outside the capital. Lime has the **widest big-city footprint**: London, Greater Manchester, Oxford, Nottingham, Milton Keynes, and seven West Midlands cities from 1 April 2026. Voi is the operator of the **smaller and mid-sized towns**, running about two-thirds of England's rental e-scooter trials, often as the only choice.

So the real question is your postcode. Central London rider? Forest's £10 is unbeatable. Big city outside London? Lime. A trial town where the others don't run? Voi is frequently your only option — and £2.50 you can spend beats £10 you can't.

## Expiry and effort

Watch the clock. Forest's credit **expires in just 7 days** and covers per-minute riding only (the £1 unlock still applies). Lime's coupon lasts **60 days** and covers a whole short ride including unlock. Voi publishes no universal expiry. All three need only a single qualifying ride.

## The rules that catch people out

For a **rental e-scooter** you must be 18+ with a provisional UK driving licence (category Q), because scooters run only under the DfT trial (extended to May 2028). A **rental e-bike** needs no licence. Privately owned e-scooters remain illegal on UK roads and pavements.

## The verdict

There is no single winner — there is a winner for your location. **Forest** for central London value, **Lime** for the most cities and the most forgiving window, **Voi** for everywhere else. Check which operates on your street before you sign up, and claim the one you can actually use.