Average Cost of Petrol for a Car 2026
Fuel is one of the biggest costs of car ownership next to the cost of car insurance, consuming a significant portion of the typical household budget. And in April 2026, gas rates are skyrocketing again. See how much motorists are on track to spend at the pump this year.
Average Cost of Petrol per Litre
In April 2026, the Iran war and closure of the Hormuz Strait are having a major impact on motor fuel costs—for the week ending 30 March 2026, the average cost of motor fuel had jumped to £1.488 per litre for ultra low sulphur unleaded petrol and £1.765 per litre for ultra low sulphur diesel. Petrol prices have risen 12.6% in the past four weeks; diesel prices are up 24.2% over the same time period.
The gap between petrol and diesel is now much wider than historically—over the past 10 years, diesel averaged 5.9p/l more expensive than petrol, but now the gap has widened to 27.74p/l, making diesel less appealing compared to when the gap is smaller.
The Oil Price Spike — and What Futures Markets Predict
The recent spike in Brent crude oil prices — driven by the Iran conflict and the disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — has briefly pushed prices above the highs seen in 2022, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent global energy markets into turmoil. That 2022 peak had been the highest Brent crude had traded in years, making the current level a significant moment for oil markets.
However, futures prices tell a more nuanced story: while the market is pricing in continued elevated costs in the near term, Brent crude futures suggest prices are expected to fall back considerably over the coming months, potentially returning to around $75 per barrel by early 2027. This would bring oil back to levels more in line with where it was trading before the current conflict began. For UK motorists, that trajectory offers some longer-term hope — though any relief at the pump is likely to come gradually, and much will depend on how the geopolitical situation develops. Market prices can change rapidly, and these futures prices are no guarantee of actual oil prices in coming months and years.
Fuel Cost Calculator
Want to figure out how much you're spending on petrol based on your mileage, car's MPG and your typical fuel cost? If you're not sure of your fuel costs, you can use current averages which are £1.49 for petrol and £1.77 for diesel per litre (April 2026). Enter your data into the fuel cost calculator below then click the yellow lighting button below to get your result.
Fuel Cost Calculator
Fuel Cost
If you'd like some different functionality for the calculator, let us know in the comments section below!
How Much do Motorists Really Spend on Fuel?
Using the latest fuel prices as of early April 2026, motorists spend an average of £1,164 a year to fuel a petrol and £1,548 for a diesel, for cars with average fuel economy and average mileage (which is higher for diesels).
While diesel cars typically get better gas mileage, diesel drivers tend to accumulate more miles on their cars each year—petrol cars rack up around 6,200 miles a year while diesel cars drive 8,300 miles each year, on average—contributing to higher overall annual fuel costs for the typical diesel car. The annual fuel cost figures below reflect these different mileage figures.
| Average Cost of Car Fuel | Petrol | Diesel |
|---|---|---|
| Average distance travelled per year per car | 6,200 miles | 8,300 miles |
| Average car fuel efficiency | 36 mpg | 43 mpg |
| Motor fuel used per year | 172 gallons | 193 gallons |
| Cost of fuel per litre | 148.78 p/litre | 176.52 p/litre |
| Cost of fuel per gallon | £6.76/gallon | £8.02/gallon |
| Average annual cost of fuel for a car | £1,164 | £1,548 |
*Note: average mileage figures are from 2024, the latest available in March 2026. Fuel prices reflect the latest weekly data available in early April 2026.
Annual Cost of Motor Fuel per 1,000 Miles
The amount you spend at the pump each year depends on three factors: your annual mileage, the fuel efficiency of your car and the cost of fuel. Given average fuel efficiency of 36 mpg for a petrol and 43 mpg for a diesel and recent fuel prices (around 148.8 p/litre for petrol and 176.5 p/litre for diesel in April 2026), the typical diesel car consumes £187 of fuel for every 1,000 miles travelled; the petrol costs £188—recently diesel cars cost 10% less to fuel but this benefit has vanished in the current environment. Historically, that benefit was why motorists driving long distances every year traditional were drawn to diesel vehicles.
And guess what's even cheaper to power? Electric vehicles. An EV is fueled for a fraction of the cost of a petrol or diesel car, despite higher electricity prices. In fact, assuming an EV charging cost per mile of 2.1p/mile at home on a special EV tariff or 8.2p/mile on a regular price cap tariff, EVs are ~56% cheaper to fuel on a regular EPC home tariff; or 89% cheaper to fuel on a special time-of-use EV tariff.
| How Much Does Fuel Cost to Drive 1,000 Miles? | |
|---|---|
| EV (charge at night on EV tariff) | £21 |
| EV (charge at home on regular tariff) | £79 |
| Diesel | £187 |
| Petrol | £188 |
How do fuel costs compare for EVs vs petrol and diesel?
Even on a regular home electricity tariff, an EV owner would spend ~50% less on fuel per mile than the driver of a comparable petrol car (assuming they drive the same amount).
Note: due to the Energy Price Cap, home electricity price moves typically lag petrol and diesel price moves at the pump. In an environment of rising fuel prices, such as April 2026, this means that EVs look particularly cheap to fuel compared to cars with internal combustion engines.
On an EV tariff—which typically has drastically reduced nighttime electricity rates, EV owners spend even less. Learn more about this and see charging costs for different cars in our article on the cost to charge an EV.
For 7,000 miles of driving (the average annual mileage), an EV on a time of use EV tariff would spend around £147 per year to fuel their car; an EV charged on a regular home electricity tariff would cost around £574 per year—compare this to around £1,306 for the petrol and £1,314 for the diesel cars.
Note: we are using an electricity price of 27.69p/kWh, which is higher than the current EPC of 24.67p/kWh, because we expect electricity prices to rise during the next EPC period due to current energy market conditions.
How much is petrol per mile?
On a per mile basis, the fuel costs in the range of 15p - 20p pence per mile for a petrol car; the fuel costs around 16p - 20p pence per mile for a diesel car. This is roughly 50% to 90% more expensive than the cost to run an electric car per mile, even on a regular tariff.
And this varies by engine size. A car with a larger engine (higher CCs, larger horsepower) will burn more fuel and have worse fuel economy/a lower MPG. That means cars with more CCs cost more in fuel per mile.
| Cost of Petrol per Mile | Average MPG | Cost per mile |
|---|---|---|
| Gasoline | ||
| up to 1400 cc | 46 | 14.7p |
| 1401 to 2000 cc | 42 | 16.1p |
| Over 2000 cc | 34 | 19.9p |
| average | 36 | 18.8p |
| Diesel | ||
| up to 1600 cc | 50 | 16p |
| 1601 to 2000 cc | 46 | 17.4p |
| over 2000 cc | 40 | 20.1p |
| average | 43 | 18.7p |
If you're reading this because you're an employer or employee thinking about per-mile expense reimbursements for work journeys, please read more about this topic here.
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Annual Cost of Motor Fuel by Mileage
Your fuel costs may be significantly lower or higher, however, depending on your typical average annual mileage. Below, we've calculated annual fuel costs for the average car for a range of mileages. For example, a typical car driving 5,000 miles a year costs around £836 in petrol while one driving 12,000 miles a year costs £2,007 to fuel up. EVs are much cheaper to power.
| Annual Cost of Motor Fuel by mileage | Petrol | Diesel | EV (EPC tariff of 27.69p/kWh) | EV (EV tariff of 7p/kWh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,000 | £939 | £933 | £410 | £105 |
| 6,000 | £1,127 | £1,119 | £492 | £126 |
| 7,000 | £1,314 | £1,306 | £574 | £147 |
| 8,000 | £1,502 | £1,492 | £656 | £168 |
| 9,000 | £1,690 | £1,679 | £738 | £189 |
| 10,000 | £1,878 | £1,865 | £820 | £210 |
| 12,000 | £2,253 | £2,238 | £984 | £252 |
| 15,000 | £2,817 | £2,798 | £1,230 | £315 |
Annual Cost of Motor Fuel by Fuel Economy
The fuel efficiency of your car has a drastic impact on how much your car costs you each year to run. Cars with the best fuel economy (e.g., the Mazda 2 which achieves around 58.9 mpg in the real world) cost a fraction of the price to run as a car with poor gas mileage (e.g., Land Rover Discovery or Mercedes S500 that get only around 26-27 mpg). For example, a motorist that clocks the average of around 6,200 miles per year (typical for a petrol car) would pay £679 per year in petrol if their car achieves 55 mpg, while a car that guzzles 25 mpg costs their driver nearly £1,500 a year at the pump.
| Annual Motor Fuel Costs by Fuel Efficiency (6,200 miles per year, petrol cost of 134.4p/l) | |
|---|---|
| 25 mpg | £1,676 |
| 30 mpg | £1,397 |
| 35 mpg | £1,197 |
| 40 mpg | £1,048 |
| 45 mpg | £931 |
| 50 mpg | £838 |
| 55 mpg | £762 |
| 60 mpg | £699 |
| 65 mpg | £645 |
| 70 mpg | £599 |
Newer cars tend to have better gas mileage as technology improves. So if your car is on the older side and you're spending too much at the pump, a new car upgrade might actually save you some money in the long term. Finally, implementing tips to improve your car's fuel efficiency can reduce your overall motor fuel bills.