Google Maps petrol prices will appear in the UK from Thursday, with live petrol and diesel prices shown for the first time. Drivers in the UK will be able to compare local forecourts inside the app instead of checking separate sites and services.
The feed comes from Fuel Finder, which displays real-time prices at 99% of forecourts. That means most drivers should see broad local coverage rather than a narrow sample, even though the prices they see will still depend on what participating forecourts have entered into the system.
Google Maps and Fuel Finder
Google will use data from the government’s Fuel Finder platform, which was launched in February after a CMA recommendation in 2023. The launch gives Google Maps a price layer built on a public data scheme rather than a retailer-specific feed, which is the part that could make comparisons easier for ordinary motorists.
Fuel Finder is already available via Waze, PetrolPrices, the AA, Confused.com and RAC Fuel Watch. Google Maps is therefore not the first place drivers can check live fuel prices, but it is the first mainstream mapping app in the UK to surface them at this scale.
Polly Billington on prices
Polly Billington said: "Accessing the cheapest fuel should be simple, which is why it is a gamechanger for near real-time fuel prices to be shown on Google Maps for the first time in the UK, helping drivers find the best deal and save money at the pump."
Edmund King said: "Getting transparent fuel prices on to Google Maps is a massive step forward and means most drivers will have easy access to pump prices. Hopefully, this high-level pump-price transparency will also encourage more competitive prices from retailers."
He also said: "More transparent prices should reduce the extent of rampant price-matching between fuel stations that is currently seen in many areas. Those competitive forecourts that break rank and offer lower fuel prices can be found if drivers look hard enough and will now stand out more."
AA and fuel trade pressure
Luke Bosdet said the Google launch could "signal trouble for the fuel trade by revealing the forecourt pricing tactics which keep local prices artificially high in their full horror". The practical effect is not a lower price by itself. It is a sharper price comparison tool for drivers who already know where they want to buy fuel.
The backdrop is a market where the average price of diesel in the UK recently hit a record £2 a litre, after rising by more than 40% since late February. The Competition and Markets Authority cautioned fuel retailers in August that many were still slow to pass on falls in wholesale diesel prices.
The unanswered question is how quickly Google Maps prices will update if forecourt prices change during the day. For drivers, Thursday is the first chance to see whether the app makes the cheapest pump in town easier to spot.
