Live · Unleaded

Live UK fuel prices · updated daily from the Government open-data scheme

VAT

Live dashboard

UK fuel price insights

Live averages, the cost behind every litre, and regional and retailer variation across the UK - hover any chart to dig in.

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Unleaded · UK average

··p/L

Diesel · UK average

··p/L

Super unleaded · UK average

··p/L

Cheapest city

··p/L

National average · recent weeks

Volume-weighted pence per litre. Hover for any date.

UnleadedDiesel

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Cheapest cities

Unleaded, today

Ranked low to high by average price.

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Recent insights

A running log of what's moved and why.

DropThis week

Diesel eases at the pumps

Wholesale costs softened, nudging the national diesel average down on the week.

RecordRecently

Northern cities lead on value

Several larger northern cities held the cheapest unleaded averages, several pence under the capital.

TrendThis month

Supermarkets widen the gap

Major supermarket forecourts continued to average a few pence under branded sites for unleaded.

RiseThis month

Crude swings feed the pumps

Movements in global crude prices continued to feed through to UK forecourts with a lag of a week or two.

TrendOngoing

Premium grades hold steady

Super unleaded and premium diesel barely moved, keeping their roughly 12p premium over standard grades.

Price by retailer type

Where you fill up matters more than when.

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What you actually pay for

Every litre, broken down. Hover a band for the detail.

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Fuel duty · flat rate

52.95p/L

Frozen since 2011 and cut 5p in 2022 - charged the same on every litre, supermarket or motorway.

VAT on fuel

20%

Added on top of everything - including the duty. You pay tax on a tax.

Tax per full tank

··on 55 L

Of a typical fill, this much goes straight to the Treasury before a drop reaches your engine.

Fuel & the wider economy

Why pump prices ripple far beyond the forecourt.

Because nearly everything in the UK is moved by road, the price at the pump feeds straight back into the cost of other goods - from groceries to deliveries. When fuel climbs, those costs tend to follow with a lag.

Most of what you pay is fixed tax rather than the oil itself, so headline crude swings move the pump less than you might expect - the duty and VAT cushion both rises and falls.

Filling up smartly - supermarket forecourts, steady driving, well-kept tyres - is one of the few levers a driver controls directly.

Petrol vs electric · cost per mile

Where the money goes depends entirely on how you charge.

Petrol car40 mpg··

Diesel car50 mpg··

EV · public rapid~55p/kWh··

EV · home off-peak~7p/kWh··

Cut your fuel spend

Small habits that add up over a year of driving.

Use supermarket forecourts

They typically run about 3p a litre under branded sites - and loyalty schemes stack on top.

Drive smoothly

Gentle acceleration and steady speeds can cut consumption by up to 15% on a regular run.

Lose the dead weight

Empty the roof box and clear the boot - every extra kilo you carry burns more fuel.

Check your tyres

Under-inflated tyres add rolling resistance, quietly raising your spend on every journey.

Fuel price questions, answered

The things drivers ask us most.

UK petrol peaked around 191.5p a litre in July 2022, with diesel close to 199p. The modern low was roughly 100p during the 2020 demand collapse.

Local competition is the biggest factor. Towns with several supermarkets and busy forecourts price keenly, while rural areas with one station and longer delivery runs tend to be dearer.

It is the pattern where pump prices rise quickly when wholesale costs go up, but drift down only slowly when they fall - so drivers feel increases faster than savings.

Two taxes. Fuel duty is a flat 52.95p a litre, frozen since 2011 and cut 5p in 2022. VAT at 20% is then added on top of everything, including the duty.

Retailers can reprice daily and many do. Wholesale costs move constantly, but the gap to the pump can take a week or two to show up.

UK pump prices sit mid-table. Some EU countries pay more thanks to higher duties; others are cheaper - but almost everywhere, most of the price is tax.

Around 8,300 to 8,400 filling stations, down from over 18,000 in the 1990s as supermarkets took a bigger share of fuel volume.

On home off-peak charging, EV running costs can be a fraction of petrol per mile. On public rapid chargers the gap narrows sharply - it depends heavily on where you charge.