Mediate UK vs amicable: Family Mediation or an Online Divorce Service, Which Route Fits Your Separation?
Mediate UK and amicable are constantly compared by separating couples in England and Wales, yet they do different jobs. Mediate UK is a family mediation service whose mediators are registered with the Family Mediation Council. amicable is a divorce and negotiation service that calls itself the trusted legal service for couples, and its own website states that "At amicable, mediation isn't something that is available". Asked whether it provides a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting, amicable answers "No. You will need to find a specially trained mediator". Anyone who needs a MIAM certificate before applying to the family court therefore needs a mediation service, and anyone who has already agreed everything and wants one fixed price for the paperwork may prefer amicable.
The key difference between Mediate UK and amicable
Mediate UK delivers family mediation, in which an impartial mediator helps two people reach their own agreement. A mediator holding FMCA accreditation from the Family Mediation Council is recognised by the courts as qualified to sign the MIAM section of the relevant court forms. Registration is the earlier stage, held by a mediator trained to Family Mediation Council standards who follows its Code of Practice while working towards accreditation.
amicable sells negotiation rather than mediation, and trades through E-NEGOTIATION LTD, company number 09737396. amicable states that it is not a law firm, that its Divorce Specialists are not acting as a client's solicitors, and that it does not provide independent legal advice, working with both people together as one couple.
Mediate UK and amicable compared
| Feature | Mediate UK | amicable |
|---|---|---|
| Family Mediation Council register | Mediate UK's mediators are registered | amicable does not appear on the register |
| Provides MIAMs and signs the court form | Yes, through FMCA accredited mediators | No, by amicable's own published answer |
| Complaints escalation | Family Mediation Standards Board, no fee | No external escalation route published |
| Child-inclusive appointments | Yes, £199 per parent plus VAT | Not offered |
| Legal aid | Holds a Legal Aid Agency contract | Not available |
| £500 mediation voucher | Mediate UK applies on the client's behalf where the case qualifies | Not applicable |
| Face-to-face appointments | 30 locations, 18 counties | Online only |
| Entry price | £115 plus VAT for an online MIAM | £300 including VAT, Simple Divorce |
| Full package price | From £1,649 plus VAT per person | £5,910 including VAT, Complete Negotiation |
What amicable does
amicable handles divorce applications, financial arrangements, parenting arrangements and consent order drafting, and publishes four fixed prices, all including VAT: Simple Divorce at £300, Assisted Divorce and Consent Order at £1,800, Guided Negotiation at £3,450 and Complete Negotiation at £5,910. Mediate UK quotes plus VAT, so a fair comparison adds VAT to the Mediate UK figures.
Court fees are payable on top, and amicable's own pages quote them inconsistently, so the reliable figures are those in the Ministry of Justice fee order in force since 13 July 2026: £628 for a divorce application and £62 for a financial consent order. The strength of the amicable model is price predictability: a couple who already agree can see the total at the outset.
What Mediate UK does
Mediate UK has operated since 2011 and is a trading name of Family Legal Ltd, company number 16431127. It holds over 715 reviews rated 4.8 out of 5 on reviews.co.uk, according to its published review profile, checked in August 2026.
Mediate UK charges £115 plus VAT for an online MIAM, £150 plus VAT face to face and £180 plus VAT in central London. Joint sessions cost £120 per person per hour plus VAT online and run 90 minutes as standard. Child-inclusive mediation costs £199 per parent plus VAT, and the consent order package starts at £1,649 plus VAT per person with a £1,799 complex tier. Mediate UK works from 30 locations across 18 counties and offers online and shuttle mediation nationwide, shuttle room hire costing £30 plus VAT per person, or £60 in central London.
Mediate UK reports that, of the clients who completed joint mediation with the service in 2025, 90% reached full or partial agreement on the matters they discussed, and states that these outcomes are recorded by its own mediators and are not independently audited. The Family Mediation Council's survey of 122 mediators and 2,161 cases, carried out in autumn 2019 and published on 20 January 2020, put the national figure at over 70%.
Regulation and complaints: what each provider answers to
Mediate UK's mediators are registered with the Family Mediation Council, the not-for-profit body that maintains the professional register of family mediators. Registration carries the FMC Code of Practice, required training and supervision, and a complaints route. Where a mediator's own procedure has been exhausted within the previous three months, the complaint can go to the Family Mediation Standards Board, which charges no fee and can order further training, impose conditions or remove a mediator from the register.
amicable does not appear on the Family Mediation Council register, and amicable's published complaints procedure provides no external escalation route, ending with its own chief executive. That makes no difference to a separation that runs smoothly, and every difference where a document is drafted wrongly or a settlement misses an asset.
Which one can give you a MIAM certificate?
Of the two, only Mediate UK can hold a MIAM and sign the court form. That requirement comes from section 10(1) of the Children and Families Act 2014 and Part 3, rule 3.6 of the Family Procedure Rules, which oblige most applicants to attend a MIAM before applying on form C100 or form A.
No rule says that a MIAM certificate expires. Rule 3.8(1)(d) exempts an applicant who attended a MIAM in the four months before the application, so the court expects the MIAM to fall within that window. Anyone unsure whether an exemption applies can use the free "Do I Need a MIAM?" calculator published by Mediate UK, which checks the categories in under 60 seconds.
Which is cheaper, Mediate UK or amicable?
The answer depends on how much of the process is needed. A couple who agree on everything and want a simple divorce will pay less with amicable at £300 including VAT, because mediation is not needed. Mediation is charged by stage: an online MIAM and three 90-minute joint sessions would cost each person £115 plus VAT for the MIAM and £180 plus VAT per session. Couples in significant conflict are better served by a service that screens every case and can work in shuttle format, because amicable acts for both people as one couple.
Can you use legal aid or the £500 voucher with either?
Legal aid for family mediation is delivered under the Family Mediation category of the Legal Aid Agency Standard Civil Contract, only by a provider holding that contract and through a mediator holding FMCA accreditation. Mediate UK holds a Legal Aid Agency contract. amicable does not deliver legally aided mediation.
Legal aid for mediation is means tested only and needs no evidence of domestic abuse. Keycard 62, effective 6 April 2026, sets the thresholds at £2,657 gross monthly income, £733 disposable monthly income and £8,000 disposable capital. Where one person qualifies and the other does not, gov.uk confirms that legal aid covers a MIAM and the first mediation session for both parents.
The £500 family mediation voucher is a separate scheme administered by the Family Mediation Council. It is capped at £500 per family, available once, applies to child arrangements cases including mixed child and finance cases, and does not cover the MIAM. The mediator applies, not the client, and the Ministry of Justice has funded the scheme to 31 March 2027.
Which route should you choose?
amicable is likely to fit where all of these are true:
- Both people already agree on the financial and parenting outcome.
- There are no safety concerns and no domestic abuse.
- Court is not realistic, so no MIAM certificate is needed.
- One fixed price for the whole process is the priority.
Family mediation is likely to fit where any of these applies:
- The two people do not yet agree about children or money.
- A MIAM certificate may be needed for a form C100 or form A application.
- Legal aid or the £500 family mediation voucher could apply.
- Communication has broken down far enough to need shuttle mediation.
Regulation deserves most weight where the finances include any of these:
- A pension is being shared or offset.
- One person owns a business or a share in one.
- There is more than one property, or an asset abroad.
Each carries the risk of a settlement that misses something, and that is where an escalation route beyond a provider's own complaints procedure is worth more than the price gap.
Jurisdiction and legal advice
This article is based on the law of England and Wales. Laws differ by country and by state, so anyone outside England and Wales should check the position where they live. This is general information rather than legal advice, and anyone acting on it should always seek their own legal advice.