Tools
Fuel Cost Calculator
Enter your postcode, fuel type, MPG and weekly mileage to see your annual fuel bill, calculated from live local pump prices.
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How to get an accurate result
- MPG: your owner’s manual gives the official figure, but real-world MPG is usually lower. For the true number, note the litres on each fuel receipt and the miles driven between fill-ups.
- Weekly mileage: record your odometer at the same time every day for one to two weeks. The difference between the first and last reading, divided by the days, gives your real daily and weekly average, which is far more accurate than a guess.
- Add your vehicle to your free account and we do this for you: log your mileage on a simple calendar, scan your fuel receipts, and your real MPG and weekly mileage are calculated automatically and fed straight into this calculator.
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Understanding your fuel costs
Fuel is one of the biggest variable costs of running a car in the UK. The average British driver covers around 7,400 miles per year, and at current pump prices that translates to anywhere between £900 and £2,000 depending on your vehicle and where you fill up. Prices vary significantly by region. Rural forecourts often charge more than urban supermarket pumps, and motorway services can be 10p to 20p per litre higher than the cheapest local station.
Your car's fuel efficiency makes an enormous difference to your annual bill. Consider two cars covering the same 150 miles per week: at 150p per litre, a car achieving 35 MPG costs around £1,430 per year in fuel, while a car achieving 50 MPG costs approximately £1,000, a saving of over £400 without changing a single journey. That gap widens further if you typically fill up at a more expensive forecourt.
There are simple ways to improve your real-world MPG without buying a new car. Keeping tyres inflated to the manufacturer's recommended pressure can add 1-3 MPG. Removing roof boxes, bike racks or roof bars when not in use reduces drag significantly at motorway speeds. Driving smoothly, anticipating traffic and avoiding harsh acceleration, typically improves efficiency by 10-15% compared to aggressive driving styles. Combining short trips and avoiding cold starts also helps, as engines are least efficient in the first few minutes of running.
Use our local fuel prices tool to see how prices vary across your area, or find the cheapest forecourt near you right now and set a price alert so you always know when to fill up.