You have a few choices for Stansted airport parking if you decide you want to drive to the airport to catch your flight. There are three different types of parking service available at the airport and you pay more the less time you want to spend getting to and from stansted airport terminal.

The long stay is the cheapest option but the long stay car parks at stansted are some way from the terminal and the bus journey takes about 20 minutes  so with the time it takes to park then make your way to one of the bus stops follwed by waiting for one of the fairly frequent buses and the journey to the terminal you should allow 40 minutes to an hour to your journey for the parking at stansted and travel to the terminal. Currently charging around £8.90 for 24 hours parking.

The mid stay car parks at stansted are more expensive but just 10 mins or so from the airport terminal. Frequent bus services and the short journey time mean you can probably allow around 30 minutes for parking and the journey to the stansted terminal building. Currently charging around £12.50 for a 24 hour stay.

The short stay car parks are very convenient but also very expensive. The short stay car parks at stansted airport are located right in front of the terminal building  and you can park and be in the terminal in just 5 minutes if you walk reasonably briskly. The car parking services at stansted charge you for the convenience and you can hardly find a parking sport before your ticket has clocked up a couple of pounds in charges. If you are collecting friends or family from the airport you can expect to pay several pounds in short stay car park charges no matter how quickly you collect them. If the flight is delayed for a significant amount of time you might do well to drive off to the services on the M11 which is only a mile away and wait there for an hour or two. It will save you money and the coffee is cheaper too.

The final official option is for valet parking at the short stay car parking area.  This is a very expensive option and while the service appears to be excellent you are paying a premium for the service. Currently around £50 for a 24 hour stay.