Motorbook fuel cost per mile index
UK fuel cost per mile index: October 2026
What a mile of driving costs in fuel across the UK, built from 6,163 forecourts' current prices on the government's Fuel Finder service. Final edition. Last refreshed 31 Oct 2026, 23:35 GMT.
TL;DR
In October 2026 (data updated 31 Oct 2026, 23:30 GMT), petrol (E10) averaged 171.5p a litre across 6,163 UK forecourts with a current price, which is 15.60p a mile in a car doing 50 mpg. Diesel averaged 198.7p a litre, or 18.07p a mile at the same 50 mpg. Motorway service areas charged 23.7p a litre more for petrol and 22.9p more for diesel than supermarket forecourts. Northern Ireland was the cheapest region for both fuels.
UK average cost per mile
| Fuel | Average per litre | Per mile at 40 mpg | Per mile at 50 mpg | Per mile at 60 mpg | Range per litre | Prices counted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol (E10) | 171.5p | 19.49p | 15.60p | 13.00p | 153.9p to 199.9p | 5,753 |
| Super unleaded (E5) | 188.5p | 21.43p | 17.14p | 14.28p | 159.9p to 249.9p | 2,940 |
| Diesel (B7) | 198.7p | 22.59p | 18.07p | 15.06p | 161.9p to 232.8p | 3,634 |
Data updated · Fuel Finder via Motorbook
Month-on-month change
This is the first edition of the index, so there is no previous month to compare with yet. This month's snapshot is stored, and the next edition will show the month-on-month change against it. For context, Motorbook's daily national series, which uses the wider 30-day price window of the live UK fuel prices page, moved petrol (E10) from 174.6p on 12 Oct to 171.8p on 31 Oct, and diesel from 199.8p to 198.4p. That series starts on 12 Oct, so it does not cover a full previous month.
Data updated · Fuel Finder via Motorbook
Supermarket vs motorway forecourts
Per-mile figures assume 50 mpg. The 10,000-mile figure is the per-mile gap multiplied by 10,000 miles, rounded to the nearest pound. Stations counted: 1,137 supermarket, 119 motorway, 4,907 other.
| Fuel | Supermarket forecourts | Motorway service areas | All other forecourts | Motorway premium over supermarket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol (E10) | 169.9p 15.44p/mile · 1,074 prices | 193.6p 17.60p/mile · 116 prices | 171.4p 15.58p/mile · 4,563 prices | 23.7p a litre, 2.15p a mile, about £215 per 10,000 miles |
| Diesel (B7) | 195.6p 17.79p/mile · 602 prices | 218.6p 19.87p/mile · 110 prices | 198.6p 18.06p/mile · 2,922 prices | 22.9p a litre, 2.08p a mile, about £208 per 10,000 miles |
| Super unleaded (E5) | 181.3p 16.49p/mile · 527 prices | 212.2p 19.29p/mile · 99 prices | 189.2p 17.20p/mile · 2,314 prices | 30.8p a litre, 2.80p a mile, about £280 per 10,000 miles |
Data updated · Fuel Finder via Motorbook
Cost per mile by region
Sorted from cheapest to dearest petrol. Regions are the nine English ONS regions plus Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 25 prices from stations whose postcode district is not in the lookup are left out of this table but kept in the UK figures.
| Region | Petrol per litre | Petrol per mile (50 mpg) | Diesel per litre | Diesel per mile (50 mpg) | E5 per litre | Petrol prices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 163.6p | 14.87p | 191.2p | 17.39p | 172.8p | 305 |
| North East | 169.9p | 15.45p | 197.7p | 17.97p | 186.6p | 263 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 170.3p | 15.49p | 198.4p | 18.04p | 187.6p | 503 |
| Wales | 171.1p | 15.56p | 198.2p | 18.02p | 186.9p | 313 |
| North West | 171.8p | 15.62p | 198.2p | 18.02p | 189.4p | 614 |
| London | 171.9p | 15.63p | 200.1p | 18.19p | 190.6p | 422 |
| East of England | 172.0p | 15.64p | 198.8p | 18.07p | 189.1p | 547 |
| South West | 172.1p | 15.65p | 199.8p | 18.16p | 188.8p | 536 |
| Scotland | 172.3p | 15.66p | 200.1p | 18.19p | 188.4p | 536 |
| West Midlands | 172.3p | 15.66p | 199.4p | 18.13p | 189.1p | 481 |
| East Midlands | 172.6p | 15.69p | 199.2p | 18.11p | 190.0p | 401 |
| South East | 173.3p | 15.76p | 200.3p | 18.21p | 191.7p | 823 |
Data updated · Fuel Finder via Motorbook
Cheapest and dearest towns
A town is the post town Fuel Finder lists for each station, split by postcode area so that, for example, Gillingham in Kent and Gillingham in Dorset stay separate. Only towns with at least 10 current prices for that fuel are ranked (102 towns for petrol this month), and motorway service areas are left out so they do not skew a town's figure. Northern Ireland (BT) towns are shown in the UK list and excluded from the Great Britain list.
Petrol (E10): cheapest towns
| Town (postcode area) | Average per litre | Per mile (50 mpg) | Prices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dungannon (BT) | 161.2p | 14.65p | 12 |
| Bangor (BT) | 162.0p | 14.73p | 10 |
| Omagh (BT) | 162.8p | 14.80p | 11 |
| Craigavon (BT) | 163.1p | 14.83p | 22 |
| Enniskillen (BT) | 163.8p | 14.89p | 12 |
Petrol (E10): cheapest towns in Great Britain
| Town (postcode area) | Average per litre | Per mile (50 mpg) | Prices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bury St Edmunds (IP) | 166.7p | 15.16p | 12 |
| Ipswich (IP) | 167.7p | 15.24p | 16 |
| Bradford (BD) | 167.7p | 15.25p | 26 |
| Bishop Auckland (DL) | 167.9p | 15.26p | 13 |
| Wakefield (WF) | 168.6p | 15.33p | 14 |
Petrol (E10): dearest towns
| Town (postcode area) | Average per litre | Per mile (50 mpg) | Prices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northampton (NN) | 176.4p | 16.04p | 11 |
| Exeter (EX) | 176.1p | 16.01p | 13 |
| Chorley (PR) | 176.0p | 16.00p | 12 |
| Maidstone (ME) | 174.8p | 15.90p | 16 |
| Ashford (TN) | 174.8p | 15.89p | 11 |
Diesel (B7): cheapest towns
| Town (postcode area) | Average per litre | Per mile (50 mpg) | Prices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast (BT) | 189.3p | 17.22p | 20 |
| Newry (BT) | 190.2p | 17.29p | 12 |
| Craigavon (BT) | 190.3p | 17.30p | 13 |
| Dungannon (BT) | 192.4p | 17.49p | 10 |
| Bury St Edmunds (IP) | 193.3p | 17.57p | 10 |
Diesel (B7): cheapest towns in Great Britain
| Town (postcode area) | Average per litre | Per mile (50 mpg) | Prices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bury St Edmunds (IP) | 193.3p | 17.57p | 10 |
| Huddersfield (HD) | 193.5p | 17.59p | 10 |
| Gloucester (GL) | 193.5p | 17.60p | 11 |
| Ipswich (IP) | 194.7p | 17.70p | 12 |
| Nottingham (NG) | 195.5p | 17.77p | 35 |
Diesel (B7): dearest towns
| Town (postcode area) | Average per litre | Per mile (50 mpg) | Prices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rotherham (S) | 201.6p | 18.33p | 15 |
| Southampton (SO) | 201.3p | 18.30p | 17 |
| Aberdeen (AB) | 201.0p | 18.27p | 13 |
| Swindon (SN) | 200.6p | 18.24p | 14 |
| London (SW) | 200.6p | 18.24p | 16 |
Data updated · Fuel Finder via Motorbook
How this is calculated
- Source: the UK Government Fuel Finder scheme, which forecourts must report prices to. Motorbook refreshes its copy every 5 minutes. This snapshot was taken 31 Oct 2026, 23:35 GMT from data updated 31 Oct 2026, 23:30 GMT.
- Formula: pence per mile = pence per litre x 4.546 / miles per gallon. A UK gallon is 4.54609 litres (Weights and Measures Act 1985, Schedule 1); the index uses 4.546.
- MPG assumption: 40, 50, 60 mpg are reference values chosen by Motorbook to show the range, with 50 mpg as the headline. They are not a measured UK fleet average, and the same values are used for petrol and diesel. Swap in your own car's figure using the formula above.
- Averages: unweighted mean of one current price per open station for each fuel: E10 petrol, E5 super unleaded and B7 standard diesel. Sales volumes are not published, so busy and quiet forecourts count the same.
- Exclusions: permanently or temporarily closed stations; prices outside 50p to 300p a litre; and prices that have not changed for more than 14 days (336 hours), which the Motorbook app labels stale. Fuel Finder records when a price last changed, so some unchanged but correct prices are left out too. This is stricter than the 30-day window on the live UK fuel prices page, so the two pages can differ slightly.
- Supermarket forecourts: a Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda or Morrisons brand with Fuel Finder's own supermarket flag set, plus every Costco forecourt. Asda Express and other convenience-format sites without the flag count as other forecourts.
- Motorway service areas: Fuel Finder's motorway flag is set and the station name or address names a motorway site (for example "services", "service area", MSA, or a motorway number such as M6). Flagged sites that only sit near a motorway count as other forecourts.
- Regions: each station's postcode district is matched to an ONS region (England) or country using the ONS Postcode Directory via postcodes.io.
- Editions: the current month refreshes every 3 hours until the month ends, then that edition is frozen and the next month starts. The final figures are the last refresh before the month ended.
- Not used: Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) fuel economy data and DVSA MOT data are not used in this index.
- Limits: list prices only, no loyalty or card discounts; coverage depends on what retailers report to Fuel Finder; brand and flag data are as supplied by retailers.
Data updated · Fuel Finder via Motorbook
All editions
- November 2026 (month to date) · CSV
- October 2026 · CSV
Questions
How much does petrol cost per mile in the UK?
In October 2026 the UK average for E10 petrol was 171.5p a litre (data updated 31 Oct 2026, 23:30 GMT). That is 19.49p a mile at 40 mpg, 15.60p at 50 mpg and 13.00p at 60 mpg.
How do you work out fuel cost per mile?
Multiply the price in pence per litre by 4.546 (litres in a UK gallon) and divide by your car's miles per gallon. For example, 171.5p x 4.546 / 50 mpg = 15.60p a mile.
Is diesel cheaper per mile than petrol?
Only if the diesel car is efficient enough. Diesel averaged 198.7p a litre against 171.5p for petrol, so a diesel car needs about 16% more miles per gallon than a petrol car to cost the same per mile.
Which part of the UK has the cheapest fuel?
Northern Ireland had the cheapest average petrol and Northern Ireland the cheapest average diesel in October 2026. The full regional and town tables are on this page and in the CSV download.
Can I use these figures?
Yes. The figures are free to quote with a link to motorbook.uk. They are built from Fuel Finder data, which is published under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Using these figures
Free to quote with a link to motorbook.uk. Contains Fuel Finder data from GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Live local prices are on the UK fuel prices page, and the Motorbook app shows the cheapest fuel near you alongside MOT and tax reminders.