Diesel at motorway services is up 1.6p since late September while it has fallen 1.0p at other forecourts

This updates our 27 September analysis of motorway fuel prices. In the latest official Fuel Finder data (2 November 2026), diesel at motorway services averaged 216.8p a litre, against 198.3p at every other forecourt, a premium of 18.5p. On a like-for-like basis, at the same 139 motorway forecourts diesel is up 1.6p a litre since 27 September, while at 6,089 other forecourts it is down 1.0p.

Petrol at motorway services averaged 191.7p against 171.0p elsewhere, a premium of 20.7p (it was 19.5p on 27 September). Petrol has fallen by about the same amount at both on a like-for-like basis: 2.6p at 137 motorway forecourts and 2.9p at 6,068 others.

Leaving the motorway

Leaving the motorway still saves most drivers a lot. At 94 of the 108 service areas with a petrol price there is an ordinary forecourt within 3 miles (straight line) selling unleaded for less. The typical saving is 26.1p a litre, £14.36 on a 55-litre tank, and at 76 of them it is 20p a litre or more. For diesel the typical saving is 24.0p a litre (at 95 of 110 service areas).

The biggest unleaded gaps, with the date each price was reported to Fuel Finder:

• Welcome Break Hartshead East, 198.9p (reported 22 October), against MFG Morrisons Heckmondwike, 161.9p (reported 31 October), 2.8 miles away: 37.0p a litre
• Welcome Break Fleet North, 198.9p (reported 22 October), against MFG Morrisons Farnborough Southwood, 163.9p (reported 27 October), 2.8 miles away: 35.0p a litre
• Gloucester Services Southbound, 197.9p (reported 23 October), against Asda Quedgeley Supermarket, 165.7p (reported 29 October), 2.1 miles away: 32.2p a litre
• Michaelwood North services, 198.9p (reported 22 October), against Charfield Service Station, 166.9p (reported 26 October), 2.3 miles away: 32.0p a litre

Every service area is named, with the cheapest ordinary forecourt near each, on our motorway services page, ahead of the Christmas getaway.

How the figures work

British Fuel Prices analysis of official Fuel Finder data (2 November 2026). Only forecourts with a price reported in the previous 14 days are counted; the oldest price named above was reported on 22 October. A price more than 15p below its town or local average would be held back as a probable error; none of those named was. Distances are straight-line, and Costco is not counted as a cheaper option because it sells fuel to members only. The 138 forecourts the feed flags as motorway include 30 that do not trade as service areas; on the 108 service areas alone the unleaded premium is 22.8p and the diesel premium 20.5p. 'Like-for-like' compares each forecourt's latest price on each date, for forecourts with a current price at both ends.

Notes to editors

• Source. All prices come from the UK government's Fuel Finder scheme, published under the Open Government Licence. Forecourts are legally required to report a price change within 30 minutes.
• Averages. Simple averages across forecourts with a price reported in the previous 14 days (a forecourt counts if it reported any fuel in that time), not weighted by volume, as at the latest official Fuel Finder data (2 November 2026): 138 motorway and 6,138 other forecourts for unleaded, 140 and 6,168 for diesel. Premium is the motorway average minus the average at every other forecourt, as published (unleaded 20.7p against 19.5p on 27 September; diesel 18.5p against 15.2p).
• Like-for-like. Each forecourt's latest price on 27 September and at 2 November 2026, for forecourts with a current price on both dates (diesel 139 motorway and 6,089 other; unleaded 137 and 6,068), averaged. Motorway means a forecourt the Fuel Finder feed flags as motorway. The daily averages and the full list are in the CSV files.
• Service areas. A service area is a forecourt flagged as motorway that trades as one (named service, services, MWSA, Welcome Break, Moto, Roadchef or Extra). 30 of the 138 flagged forecourts do not meet that test and are left out of the named lists and of the leave-the-motorway analysis. On the 108 service areas alone the unleaded premium is 22.8p and the diesel premium 20.5p.
• Exclusions. Forecourts that have not reported in 14 days are left out. A price more than 15p below its town average, or the average of ordinary forecourts within 5 miles, is held back as a probable error: no price used here was held back. Costco is never counted as a cheaper option because it sells fuel to members only. Distances are straight-line.
• Data. Daily averages (CSV), every service area and its cheapest neighbour (CSV), the live motorway page and the charts and downloads page. Chart free to use with credit.
• Credit. Source: British Fuel Prices analysis of official Fuel Finder data (britishfuelprices.co.uk). Online, please link to the page the figure came from.
• About British Fuel Prices. An independent site published by Domain Farm Ltd (company number 13544286). No fuel retailer pays for or sees its figures before publication.
• Contact: Sam Allcock, editor, editor@britishfuelprices.co.uk