England

Local competition is the biggest factor. A station with a supermarket rival nearby will often cut prices to within a penny of it, while one without competition can charge several pence more. Wholesale supplier contracts, brand strategy, and how quickly each retailer follows market changes also play a part.

Usually, but not always. Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's, and Morrisons tend to lead on unleaded prices in their core regions, but a smaller independent or a brand like Costco can occasionally beat them. The only reliable way to know is to compare live prices, which is what this page does for every station.

Motorway forecourts pay much higher rents and have a captive audience, so prices are typically 10–15p above the local average. Filling up before you join the motorway, or pulling off at a junction with a supermarket nearby, almost always saves money.

We pull prices from the UK Government Fuel Finder service every hour. Each retailer is required to report changes within 30 minutes by law, so the figures here reflect what every reporting station has charged in the last 60 minutes.