The postcode lottery on fuel: a 25.0p a litre difference
By Anthony Sharkey, Chief Operating Officer, New Reg Limited · 6 Aug 2026
Where you fill up in the UK changes the price by up to 25.0p a litre, worth £13.75 on a tank, according to official price data by postcode district.
Fuel prices vary sharply by postcode. Across the 545 UK postcode districts with at least 5 forecourts reporting, the cheapest average unleaded is 150.5p per litre in BT49 and the dearest is 175.5p in RG17. That is 25.0p a litre, or £13.75 on a 55-litre fill, for the same fuel.
The five cheapest districts for unleaded are BT49 (150.5p), BT15 (151.2p), BT48 (151.9p), BT36 (152.4p), BT70 (152.5p). Note that the cheapest end of the table is dominated by Northern Ireland (BT) districts, where pump prices run consistently below the Great Britain average, so part of this spread is a difference between nations rather than between neighbouring towns.
The five most expensive are RG17 (175.5p), CA10 (173.4p), CV35 (173.3p), CM23 (171.7p), ST14 (171.5p).
Averages describe a district, not a single forecourt, and the cheapest site in an expensive district often beats the dearest site in a cheap one. If you drive between areas regularly, filling up on the cheaper side of your route is one of the simplest savings available.
Search your own postcode on this site to see every forecourt near you with live prices.
**Disclaimer.** Every figure here is computed from official UK government fuel price data (Open Government Licence v3.0) as published by fuel.co.uk, and was correct when this piece was prepared. Pump prices change through the day and may differ by the time you read this. Averages describe groups of forecourts, not every site within a group. This is general information, not financial advice.