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

On average in the EU, a litre of diesel costs €0.134 more than a litre of petrol (€2.226 against €2.092, prices of 21 Sep 2026). Before taxes the gap is wider, +€0.254. 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: 2026-09-21

## Key numbers
- **+€0.134/L** Diesel minus petrol, EU average — Diesel €2.226 vs petrol €2.092 per litre
- **+€0.246/L** Widest gap since 2005: 13 Apr 2026 — Before 2026, the widest was +€0.178 (24 Oct 2022)
- **24 of 27** EU countries where diesel costs more than petrol — Petrol costs more in Malta, Denmark and Spain
- **+€0.254/L** Diesel minus petrol before taxes, EU — Record +€0.316 on 13 Apr 2026 · at the pump: +€0.134

Source: EU Weekly Oil Bulletin (European Commission), prices of 21 Sep 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) | €2.092 | €2.226 | +€0.134 | +€6.70 |
| Sweden (temporary tax cuts) | €1.579 | €2.090 | +€0.511 | +€25.55 |
| Belgium | €1.988 | €2.387 | +€0.399 | +€19.95 |
| Austria | €1.925 | €2.238 | +€0.313 | +€15.65 |
| Lithuania | €1.950 | €2.258 | +€0.308 | +€15.40 |
| Cyprus | €1.677 | €1.948 | +€0.271 | +€13.55 |
| Slovenia | €1.706 | €1.975 | +€0.269 | +€13.45 |
| Luxembourg | €1.849 | €2.114 | +€0.265 | +€13.25 |
| Bulgaria | €1.663 | €1.916 | +€0.253 | +€12.65 |
| Poland | €1.820 | €2.039 | +€0.219 | +€10.95 |
| Hungary | €1.752 | €1.957 | +€0.205 | +€10.25 |
| Romania | €1.891 | €2.093 | +€0.202 | +€10.10 |
| Estonia | €1.917 | €2.113 | +€0.196 | +€9.80 |
| Finland | €2.364 | €2.555 | +€0.191 | +€9.55 |
| Czechia | €1.884 | €2.071 | +€0.187 | +€9.35 |
| Croatia | €1.796 | €1.975 | +€0.179 | +€8.95 |
| Latvia | €1.997 | €2.169 | +€0.172 | +€8.60 |
| France | €2.219 | €2.383 | +€0.164 | +€8.20 |
| Italy | €2.141 | €2.281 | +€0.140 | +€7.00 |
| Netherlands | €2.449 | €2.579 | +€0.130 | +€6.50 |
| Germany | €2.348 | €2.457 | +€0.109 | +€5.45 |
| Ireland | €1.945 | €2.050 | +€0.105 | +€5.25 |
| Portugal | €2.107 | €2.210 | +€0.103 | +€5.15 |
| Slovakia | €1.853 | €1.950 | +€0.097 | +€4.85 |
| Greece | €2.197 | €2.224 | +€0.027 | +€1.35 |
| Spain | €1.928 | €1.918 | −€0.010 | −€0.50 |
| Denmark (petrol: minus average discounts) | €2.618 | €2.555 | −€0.063 | −€3.15 |
| 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 €0.134 more than a litre of petrol: €2.226 against €2.092 (EU Weekly Oil Bulletin, weighted EU-27 average, prices of 21 September 2026, via fuel-prices.eu).
- Filling a 50-litre tank with diesel costs €6.70 more than with petrol at EU average prices (EU Weekly Oil Bulletin, weighted EU-27 average, prices of 21 September 2026, via fuel-prices.eu).
- Before taxes, a litre of diesel costs €0.254 more than a litre of petrol in the EU; taxes are €0.120 per litre lower on diesel on average, which narrows the gap to €0.134 at the pump (EU Weekly Oil Bulletin, weighted EU-27 average of prices without taxes, 21 September 2026, via fuel-prices.eu).
- Diesel has cost more than petrol on EU average in every weekly bulletin since 20 July 2026 (10 weeks in a row) (EU Weekly Oil Bulletin, weighted EU-27 average, prices of 21 September 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 21 September 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 21 September 2026, via fuel-prices.eu).
- Diesel costs more than petrol in 24 of the 27 EU countries; petrol is dearer only in Malta, Denmark and Spain (EU Weekly Oil Bulletin, prices of 21 September 2026, via fuel-prices.eu). In Malta, pump prices are fixed by the government. Denmark’s petrol figure is consumer prices minus the previous quarter’s average discounts, which lowers it.
- The widest gap between diesel and petrol is in Sweden (+€0.511 per litre), followed by Belgium (+€0.399) and Austria (+€0.313) (EU Weekly Oil Bulletin, prices of 21 September 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: 21 September 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