Cheapest Fuel in Europe (2026)

Where Is Fuel Cheapest in Europe?

As of October 12, 2026, the cheapest Euro 95 petrol in the European Union is in Malta (state-set price) at €1.340 per liter. The cheapest diesel is in Malta (state-set price) at €1.210 per liter. The EU-wide average stands at €2.010/L for petrol and €2.136/L for diesel.

The most expensive petrol in the EU is in Denmark at €2.658/L — that's €1.32 more per liter than Malta, or €65.90 more for a full 50-liter tank. For diesel, the most expensive country is Finland at €2.536/L.

Why Are Fuel Prices So Different Across Europe?

Fuel prices in Europe vary primarily due to taxation. Excise duty and VAT together can represent 50–65% of the final pump price in high-tax countries like the Netherlands, Denmark, and Finland. Eastern European countries — particularly Bulgaria, Romania, and Poland — have significantly lower excise duty rates, resulting in cheaper fuel. Other factors include refining margins, distribution costs, and whether a country regulates or caps fuel prices (as Malta does for petrol and diesel).

The 5 Cheapest EU Countries for Petrol

🇲🇹 Malta (state-set price) at €1.340/L, 🇵🇱 Poland at €1.570/L, 🇧🇬 Bulgaria at €1.649/L, 🇸🇪 Sweden at €1.692/L, 🇭🇺 Hungary at €1.754/L. These countries are consistently among the cheapest in Europe for fuel, primarily due to lower national excise duties on petroleum products.

The 5 Most Expensive EU Countries for Petrol

🇩🇰 Denmark at €2.658/L, 🇳🇱 Netherlands at €2.462/L, 🇫🇮 Finland at €2.319/L, 🇩🇪 Germany at €2.214/L, 🇫🇷 France at €2.212/L. Higher prices in these countries reflect a combination of higher excise duties, VAT rates, and in some cases environmental levies.

Highway vs City Fuel Prices

The prices shown above are national averages. Motorway stations can be dearer, but by how much depends on the country, and for most countries there is no official figure. Italy: at self-service pumps the motorway price is the same as on other roads; assisted service costs about 4–5% more (MIMIT data, 11 Oct 2026). France: motorway stations about 4–5% dearer (official price feed, 12 Oct 2026). Germany: about 15% (ADAC, MTS-K data, published 7 Jul 2026). Slovenia: about 10–13%, because the regulated price does not apply on motorways and expressways (gov.si; our station data, 12 Oct 2026). Belgium: the legal maximum price applies at every station, motorways included. See the motorway premium by country.

Best Border Crossing Fuel Savings

Some of the best fuel saving opportunities are at borders between expensive and cheap countries: fill up in Luxembourg before entering Belgium, France, or Germany; refuel in Austria or Slovenia before crossing into Italy; top up in Poland before driving into Germany or Sweden; and fill your tank in Spain before entering France. Our road trip fuel cost calculator automatically identifies the cheapest refueling stops along your route.

About This Data

This ranking is based on data from the European Commission's Weekly Oil Bulletin, which collects national average consumer prices (including all taxes — excise duty and VAT) from official authorities in each of the 27 EU member states. Data is updated every Thursday. fuel-prices.eu has tracked these prices weekly since January 2005, providing over 1,050 data points per country — more than 20 years of continuous data. Historical data is available for download in CSV, JSON, and PDF formats via our API.