# Diesel vs petrol: the price gap in the EU since 2005

On average in the EU, a litre of diesel costs €0.225 more than a litre of petrol (€2.154 against €1.929, prices of 2 Nov 2026). Before taxes the gap is wider, +€0.307. Below: every EU country, the gap since 2005, sentences ready to quote and the data. The page updates with every new EU Weekly Oil Bulletin.

URL: https://www.fuel-prices.eu/press/diesel-vs-petrol/
Data date: 2026-11-02

## Key numbers
- **+€0.225/L** Diesel minus petrol, EU average — Diesel €2.154 vs petrol €1.929 per litre
- **+€0.246/L** Widest gap since 2005: 13 Apr 2026 — Before 2026, the widest was +€0.178 (24 Oct 2022)
- **26 of 27** EU countries where diesel costs more than petrol — Petrol costs more in Malta
- **+€0.307/L** Diesel minus petrol before taxes, EU — Record +€0.316 on 13 Apr 2026 · at the pump: +€0.225

Source: EU Weekly Oil Bulletin (European Commission), prices of 2 Nov 2026 · EU = weighted EU-27 average · € per litre, with all taxes unless stated

## The numbers
| Country | Petrol (€/L) | Diesel (€/L) | Diesel − petrol (€/L) | 50 L tank (difference, €) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| EU average (weighted) | €1.929 | €2.154 | +€0.225 | +€11.25 |
| Sweden (temporary tax cuts) | €1.555 | €2.061 | +€0.506 | +€25.30 |
| Belgium | €1.914 | €2.398 | +€0.484 | +€24.20 |
| Austria | €1.747 | €2.148 | +€0.401 | +€20.05 |
| Poland | €1.456 | €1.812 | +€0.356 | +€17.80 |
| Lithuania | €1.870 | €2.223 | +€0.353 | +€17.65 |
| Luxembourg | €1.759 | €2.110 | +€0.351 | +€17.55 |
| Bulgaria | €1.605 | €1.893 | +€0.288 | +€14.40 |
| Cyprus | €1.716 | €2.002 | +€0.286 | +€14.30 |
| Croatia | €1.749 | €2.015 | +€0.266 | +€13.30 |
| Slovenia | €1.675 | €1.941 | +€0.266 | +€13.30 |
| Estonia | €1.863 | €2.113 | +€0.250 | +€12.50 |
| Italy | €2.001 | €2.238 | +€0.237 | +€11.85 |
| Latvia | €1.868 | €2.099 | +€0.231 | +€11.55 |
| Finland | €2.205 | €2.433 | +€0.228 | +€11.40 |
| Hungary | €1.750 | €1.978 | +€0.228 | +€11.40 |
| Czechia | €1.765 | €1.981 | +€0.216 | +€10.80 |
| France | €2.158 | €2.371 | +€0.213 | +€10.65 |
| Portugal | €2.006 | €2.205 | +€0.199 | +€9.95 |
| Slovakia | €1.785 | €1.979 | +€0.194 | +€9.70 |
| Romania | €1.881 | €2.071 | +€0.190 | +€9.50 |
| Netherlands | €2.284 | €2.468 | +€0.184 | +€9.20 |
| Spain | €1.730 | €1.898 | +€0.168 | +€8.40 |
| Ireland | €1.966 | €2.122 | +€0.156 | +€7.80 |
| Germany | €2.128 | €2.282 | +€0.154 | +€7.70 |
| Denmark (petrol: minus average discounts) | €2.498 | €2.529 | +€0.031 | +€1.55 |
| Greece | €2.125 | €2.139 | +€0.014 | +€0.70 |
| Malta (state-fixed price) | €1.340 | €1.210 | −€0.130 | −€6.50 |

> EU average: the Commission’s weighted EU-27 average. Countries: national average pump prices, all taxes included, as reported to the European Commission. Differences are calculated from the prices shown.

## Ready-to-quote sentences
- In the EU, a litre of diesel costs on average €0.225 more than a litre of petrol: €2.154 against €1.929 (EU Weekly Oil Bulletin, weighted EU-27 average, prices of 2 November 2026, via fuel-prices.eu).
- Filling a 50-litre tank with diesel costs €11.25 more than with petrol at EU average prices (EU Weekly Oil Bulletin, weighted EU-27 average, prices of 2 November 2026, via fuel-prices.eu).
- Before taxes, a litre of diesel costs €0.307 more than a litre of petrol in the EU; taxes are €0.082 per litre lower on diesel on average, which narrows the gap to €0.225 at the pump (EU Weekly Oil Bulletin, weighted EU-27 average of prices without taxes, 2 November 2026, via fuel-prices.eu).
- Diesel has cost more than petrol on EU average in every weekly bulletin since 20 July 2026 (16 weeks in a row) (EU Weekly Oil Bulletin, weighted EU-27 average, prices of 2 November 2026, via fuel-prices.eu).
- The gap between diesel and petrol prices in the EU reached +€0.246 per litre on 13 April 2026, the widest since the weekly series began in 2005; before 2026, the widest was +€0.178, on 24 October 2022 (EU Weekly Oil Bulletin, weighted EU-27 average, prices of 2 November 2026, via fuel-prices.eu).
- The opposite record: on 3 August 2015, diesel cost €0.230 per litre less than petrol on EU average, the lowest gap since 2005 (EU Weekly Oil Bulletin, weighted EU-27 average, prices of 2 November 2026, via fuel-prices.eu).
- Diesel costs more than petrol in 26 of the 27 EU countries; petrol is dearer only in Malta (EU Weekly Oil Bulletin, prices of 2 November 2026, via fuel-prices.eu). In Malta, pump prices are fixed by the government.
- The widest gap between diesel and petrol is in Sweden (+€0.506 per litre), followed by Belgium (+€0.484) and Austria (+€0.401) (EU Weekly Oil Bulletin, prices of 2 November 2026, via fuel-prices.eu). Sweden temporarily cut its fuel taxes in 2026: the energy tax until 30 September and the CO₂ tax until 30 November (Skatteverket).

## Methodology & caveats
- Prices. National average pump prices of Euro-super 95 petrol and diesel, with all taxes, as reported by each country to the European Commission for the EU Weekly Oil Bulletin.
- EU average. The Commission’s weighted EU-27 average (weighted by each country’s fuel consumption), for diesel and for petrol. The gap is diesel minus petrol: positive when diesel costs more.
- Before taxes. The same bulletin publishes prices net of duties and taxes (excise, VAT and other levies removed); the before-tax gap uses the Commission’s weighted EU-27 averages of those prices. The difference between the two gaps is the tax difference between the fuels.
- Calculations. Country differences are calculated from the prices shown (3 decimals). Records use the Commission’s EU averages as published (€ per 1,000 litres), since the first bulletin of 2005.
- Coverage. The count of countries covers all 27; the chart by country, the largest gaps and the sentences per country cover 26 EU countries. The EU average is the Commission’s figure for all 27.
- Labels. Malta: pump prices are fixed by the government. Denmark (petrol): consumer prices minus the previous quarter’s average discounts, which lowers the petrol figure and so the gap. Sweden: temporary fuel tax cuts in 2026 (energy tax until 30 September, CO₂ tax until 30 November, Skatteverket).
- Currencies. Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden do not use the euro; the Commission converts their prices at each week’s exchange rate. The gap within a country is not affected by the rate in a given week.
- What the numbers do not say. They show the gap, not its causes: refining, wholesale markets and taxes all play a part, and the bulletin does not separate them beyond taxes. They are national averages, not the price at a particular station, and they are not a forecast.
- Updates. The page updates automatically when a new bulletin is published, usually on Thursday with the prices of that Monday. Data date on this page: 2 November 2026.

## How to cite
Source: fuel-prices.eu, EU Weekly Oil Bulletin (European Commission) — https://www.fuel-prices.eu/press/diesel-vs-petrol/ — CC BY 4.0