UK drivers can save £9 per tank using new fuel app
Key Points
- UK drivers can save up to £9 per 55-litre tank by switching to the cheapest fuel retailer within a 10-minute drive, the CMA confirmed on 1 May 2026.
- Fuel Finder, the UK open data scheme launched on 2 February 2026, now feeds live pump prices from 8,074 forecourts to third-party fuel price comparison apps.
- Motorway forecourts charge up to £14 more per tank for petrol and £9 more for diesel than non-motorway sites.
- Supermarkets remain cheaper than other retailers by up to £6 per tank, with average petrol now at 157.6ppl and diesel at 191.2ppl.
- CMA enforcement against retailers who fail to register with Fuel Finder or submit accurate pricing begins on 1 May 2026.
Fuel Finder apps save UK drivers up to £9 per tank, a new Competition and Markets Authority report has found.
The savings figure comes from the regulator’s enhanced road fuel monitoring report published on Friday (1 May), which uses live pricing data from Fuel Finder, the UK open data scheme that launched in February 2026.
Fuel Finder collates retail fuel prices and forecourt information from across the UK and feeds this data to third-party mapping and price comparison apps that drivers can use to find the cheapest local pump.
As of mid-April 2026, 8,074 forecourts had signed up to the scheme, with up to 4,712 reporting prices on any given day.
The CMA begins enforcement against non-compliant retailers from this week, with fines for those that fail to register or submit accurate pricing.
The savings come at a time when UK pump prices have risen sharply.
Average petrol prices climbed 25.9ppl from 131.7ppl at the end of February to 157.6ppl in the week of 20 April 2026, while diesel jumped 49.8ppl from 141.5ppl to 191.2ppl over the same period.
The CMA attributes most of the increase to higher crude oil and refining costs linked to the Middle East conflict, though the regulator flagged that some retailers raised their margins in March 2026 and confirmed it will investigate at pace.
Where the savings come from
Local price differences within a 10-minute drive reach as much as 16ppl for petrol and 17ppl for diesel.
The CMA found the largest petrol gap in Sheffield and the largest diesel gap in Wakefield on 7 April 2026, both translating to £9 in savings on a 55-litre tank.
Drivers in Trafford, Sunderland and Hammersmith could have saved up to £7 per tank on the same day, while those in Aberdeen could have saved up to £3.
The figures exclude retailers that did not report a price on the day, meaning actual savings could run higher in some areas.
Motorway prices and the supermarket gap
Motorway forecourts charge up to 26ppl more for petrol and 17ppl more for diesel than non-motorway sites, costing motorists just over £14 extra to fill up with petrol and more than £9 for diesel on a 55-litre tank.
Supermarkets remain cheaper than non-supermarket retailers, with the price gap reaching 8ppl for petrol and 11ppl for diesel between 11 March and 13 April 2026. That works out to just under £5 per tank for petrol and just under £6 for diesel.
Third-party apps using Fuel Finder data make the price differences easy to spot before drivers commit to a forecourt.
Potential UK fuel savings per 55-litre tank
| Comparison | Petrol saving | Diesel saving | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapest vs most expensive within 10-minute drive | Up to £9 | Up to £9 | Sheffield (petrol) and Wakefield (diesel) on 7 April 2026 |
| Non-motorway vs motorway | Up to £14 | Up to £9 | Highest gaps recorded between 11 March and 13 April 2026 |
| Supermarket vs non-supermarket | Just under £5 | Just under £6 | Highest gaps on 17 March (petrol) and 25 March (diesel) |
Enforcement starts today
CMA enforcement against retailers who fail to register with Fuel Finder or submit accurate pricing begins on 1 May 2026, with fines for non-compliance.
The CMA put retailers on notice that compliance is critical to the scheme’s effectiveness, particularly as drivers come to rely on third-party apps that pull from Fuel Finder data.
The CMA expects competitive pressure on retail prices to increase as more drivers use these tools to shop around, with the potential to reduce both local price variation and the motorway premium over time.
What UK drivers should do now
- Download a fuel price comparison app that pulls from Fuel Finder data before your next refuel.
- Check prices within a 10-minute drive of your usual forecourt to identify the cheapest option in your area.
- Avoid filling up at motorway service areas where possible, given the premium of up to £14 per tank.
- Default to supermarket forecourts where convenient, with savings of up to £6 per tank versus other retailers.
- Report retailers that display inaccurate or out-of-date pricing to the CMA, which begins enforcement today.
