Fuel guides and news
Plain-English guides to buying fuel in the UK, and a weekly report on how prices moved, built from official UK fuel price data.
Weekly UK fuel price report
Average unleaded, diesel and super unleaded prices, the change on the previous week, the cheapest day and the supermarket price gap.
Guides
- Getting started with Pennyfill - How to set up Pennyfill in five minutes: find cheap fuel near you, create a free account, save your stations, get price emails and try Pro alerts.
- E10 vs E5: which petrol should you buy? - What E10 and E5 petrol are, whether your car can use E10, and when super unleaded (E5) is worth paying extra for.
- The UK Fuel Finder scheme: how accurate are the prices? - How the UK Government's Fuel Finder open data works, where Pennyfill's prices come from, and why you should still check the pump.
- Supermarket vs brand fuel: is it really cheaper? - Whether supermarket petrol and diesel is really cheaper than Shell, BP or Esso, whether the quality differs, and how to find the cheapest fuel near you.
- How to spend less on fuel: practical tips - Practical, proven ways to cut your petrol and diesel costs - from where you fill up to how you drive and look after your car.
- Fuel loyalty schemes: Clubcard, Nectar and more - How supermarket and fuel brand loyalty schemes work on petrol and diesel, and how to tell whether the rewards beat a cheaper pump price.
- How to work out your car's real MPG - A simple, accurate way to measure your real miles per gallon, convert it to litres per 100km, and work out what each mile costs you.
- Diesel vs petrol running costs - How to compare the real running costs of a diesel and a petrol car - fuel economy, pump prices, driving patterns, tax and clean air zones.
- What do the numbers on the pump mean? (E5, E10, B7) - A plain-English guide to UK fuel pump labels - E5, E10, B7, XTL and LPG - plus octane ratings, AdBlue, and what to do if you use the wrong fuel.
- How to find the cheapest petrol and diesel near you - The quickest ways to find the cheapest fuel near you in the UK, why prices vary so much between nearby stations, and how to avoid paying over the odds.
- The best fuel price apps and websites in the UK - How UK fuel price apps compare: where their prices come from, how up to date they are, alerts, routes and costs, so you can choose the one that suits how you drive.
- Looking for a PetrolPrices alternative? - A PetrolPrices alternative for UK drivers: Pennyfill compares every forecourt using official Fuel Finder data, free with no account, with alerts on Pro.
- Why is fuel more expensive at motorway services? - Why motorway service stations usually charge more for petrol and diesel, and how to avoid paying the motorway premium on long journeys.
- How are UK fuel prices set? - What goes into a litre of petrol or diesel in the UK: wholesale costs, fuel duty, VAT and the retailer margin, and why prices rise faster than they fall.
- Fuel price alerts: get told when petrol gets cheaper - How fuel price alerts work, how to choose a sensible target price, and how alerts for your usual stations and your area help you fill up at the right time.
- Is premium petrol or diesel worth it? - Whether super unleaded and premium diesel are worth paying extra for: what they are, which cars benefit, and how to test it for your own car.
- EV charging costs in the UK: home vs public chargers - What affects the cost of charging an electric car in the UK: home tariffs, public rapid chargers, and comparing the cost per mile with petrol and diesel.
- How small businesses can cut fuel costs - Practical ways for vans, trades and small fleets to cut fuel costs: where drivers fill up, fuel cards versus pump prices, route planning and keeping track of spend.
- Fuel prices in France: a guide for UK drivers - What UK drivers should know about filling up in France: fuel names at the pump, where it is cheaper, paying at automatic pumps and finding live French fuel prices.
- How often do fuel prices change in the UK? - How often UK petrol and diesel prices change, what makes them move, how quickly forecourts must report changes under Fuel Finder, and how to keep up.
- How to save fuel on the school run - Short, stop-start school runs are hard on fuel economy. Simple ways to use less petrol or diesel on the school run, from sharing lifts to filling up for less.
- Fuel prices in Spain: a guide for UK drivers - What UK drivers should know about filling up in Spain: fuel names at the pump, self-service and paying first, where it is cheaper and finding live Spanish prices.
- Winter driving and fuel economy: how to use less fuel - Why your car uses more fuel in winter, and simple ways to cut it: shorter warm-ups, smart use of heaters, tyre pressures and filling up for less.