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How to Check UK Fuel Prices on Google Maps and Waze

Search petrol or fuel in Google Maps and Waze to compare near real-time UK pump prices from Fuel Finder before you fill up.

October 8, 2026 Yum News

UK drivers can now compare petrol and diesel prices inside Google Maps and Waze instead of guessing at the next forecourt. Google switched the feature on for the UK on 8 October 2026, using the government’s Fuel Finder data.

The launch is a partnership between Google, the UK Government, and the UK Waze community. Sarah-Jayne Williams, Global Product Partnerships Director at Google Maps and Waze, said the goal is to show nearby pump prices so drivers can choose a stop that fits the budget this winter.

This guide covers how to look up prices, what the numbers actually represent, and what to do when a station looks cheaper than it is.

What launched on 8 October 2026

Google’s UK blog post lists three things you can do in Maps and Waze:

Search for “petrol” or “fuel” to see the latest prices.
View petrol and diesel rates directly on the map.
Open a station and see prices for the different fuels it sells.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said the same day that Google Maps is showing near real-time pump prices in the UK for the first time. The department also said households with a car can save an average of £40 a year by comparing prices. That figure is the government’s estimate, not a guarantee for every driver.

Fuel Finder is the source. The scheme followed a Competition and Markets Authority recommendation. Since February 2026, UK petrol stations have had to report a price change within 30 minutes or risk a fine. The CMA can act if stations do not comply. Officials say about 99% of fuel sold on UK roads is now reflected in the data.

Waze, Petrol Prices, the AA, Confused.com, and RAC Fuel Watch were already using that feed. Google Maps is the new large surface for the same numbers.

Motorway traffic seen from a car dashboard

Update the apps first

Prices only appear in a current build of Google Maps or Waze. An old install can still search for stations and miss the price layer.

On Android, open the Play Store, search for Google Maps, and tap Update if it is offered. Repeat for Waze.
On iPhone, open the App Store, tap your profile, and update Google Maps and Waze.
Turn on location permission for the app you plan to use. Maps and Waze need a location fix to rank nearby forecourts.
Confirm the device language and region if search results look odd. The Fuel Finder feed covers UK stations, so the useful results are for journeys in the UK.

If the Play Store or App Store shows no update, you are already on the latest build available to your account. Rollouts can still lag by device, so try the search steps below before assuming the feature is missing.

Find prices in Google Maps

Google’s instruction is direct: search for “petrol” or “fuel”.

Open Google Maps.
Tap the search bar.
Type petrol or fuel and run the search.
Look at the pins on the map. Google says petrol and diesel rates appear directly on the map.
Tap a station to open its place card. The card is where you can view prices for the fuels that station offers.
Compare two or three nearby cards before you start directions. The nearest pin is not always the cheapest.
Tap Directions only after you have checked the fuel type you actually buy. A cheap petrol price does not tell you the diesel price.

If you are already navigating, search again for petrol or fuel and add the station as a stop. That keeps the original destination and inserts the forecourt. If Maps does not show a price on a pin, open the place card anyway. Some stations publish a full list only after you select them.

You can also search a town name plus petrol, such as petrol Leeds, when you are planning a stop away from your current location.

For route planning beyond fuel, the Gemini Maps tool is a separate assistant flow. See how to ask Maps questions from Gemini if you want spoken navigation help after you have picked a station.

Find prices in Waze

Waze was already one of the apps using Fuel Finder before the Maps launch. Google’s 8 October post says the same search works there.

Open Waze and wait until the map centres on your location.
Tap the search field.
Type petrol or fuel.
Review the stations Waze returns and the prices shown on the map.
Open a station to see the fuel types it sells.
Start navigation to the station you choose, or add it as a stop on a longer drive.

Waze also takes community reports for hazards and closures. A price from Fuel Finder is not the same thing as a driver report about a queue. Use the price for the cost decision and the map alerts for whether the forecourt is practical to enter.

A car parked beside a city street

How fresh the prices are

“Near real-time” does not mean the price on your screen changed the second the pump did. Stations must report a change within 30 minutes. The feed can therefore lag the sign on the canopy by up to half an hour, plus whatever delay the app takes to refresh.

The government says the overwhelming majority of stations input data promptly, and that the feed covers about 99% of fuel sold on UK roads. A missing price usually means that station has not reported, not that the fuel is free.

Treat the in-app number as the best public quote before you arrive. Confirm the price on the station sign before you authorise the pump. If the sign and the app disagree, the sign is what you will pay.

Compare like for like

A useful comparison uses the same fuel grade.

Match unleaded with unleaded, and diesel with diesel. Premium grades cost more and should not be mixed into a standard-grade comparison.
Check the station offers the fuel you need. Google says each place card can list the fuels that station sells.
Include the detour. A station that is 2p cheaper per litre is a poor stop if it adds several miles and a difficult junction.
Prefer stations on your side of a dual carriageway when you are already moving. Crossing over can erase the saving.
On a long drive, search again near the planned stop rather than trusting a price you saw at the start of the trip.

The £40 average saving quoted by the government is a household estimate across a year. Your result depends on how often you fill up, how far you are willing to detour, and whether nearby stations already charge similar prices.

When prices do not appear

Work through these checks before you assume the rollout skipped your phone.

Update Maps or Waze, then force-close the app and open it again.
Search the exact words Google named: petrol or fuel. A brand name alone may open one chain and hide the price layer.
Move the map to a UK area. Fuel Finder covers UK forecourts, not stations abroad.
Open the place card. The map pin can be slower to label than the details page.
Try the other app. Waze already consumed Fuel Finder data before Maps added it, so a price in one app and not the other is a display issue, not proof the station failed to report.
Check mobile data. Cached map tiles can show stations without the latest price overlay.

If a station you use never shows a price, that is a reporting gap. The CMA can take action where there is evidence stations are not complying with the 30-minute rule. Drivers cannot file that case from inside Maps. The practical step is to use a station that does show a price, or confirm on the canopy.

Plan a fill-up before you leave

A short routine beats refreshing the app at every junction.

Before a weekly shop or a motorway trip, search petrol or fuel around home and around the destination.
Note the cheapest station that sells your grade and sits on a sensible route.
Start navigation to that station, or add it as a stop.
On arrival, read the sign. If it is higher than the app and another station on your route was close, you can still change stops.
After you pay, you do not need to report the price yourself for Fuel Finder. Stations submit changes. Waze reports remain useful for queues, closures, and hazards.

The clip above is an older Google Maps road-trip short about finding gas prices along a route. The UK launch uses a different data source, Fuel Finder, but the habit is the same: search, compare, then add the stop.

What this does not change

Maps and Waze do not set the price. They display what stations report through Fuel Finder. A busy motorway services station can still be the expensive option, and the app will show that if the station reported it.

The feature is a UK launch. Google’s post does not say the same Fuel Finder integration is live in other countries. Maps has shown fuel prices in some markets for years through other data partners. Do not expect the UK reporting rules to apply when you drive outside the UK.

Payment, loyalty discounts, and supermarket vouchers may not be in the published pump price. If a station’s app price is the headline rate, a club price at the till can still be lower. Compare the number you will actually pay.

Bottom line

Open Google Maps or Waze, search for petrol or fuel, and read the rates on the map before you commit to a forecourt. Open the station to see each fuel it sells. The figures come from Fuel Finder, which stations must update within 30 minutes of a change, and they cover about 99% of fuel sold on UK roads.

Use the price to choose the stop. Use the sign at the pump to confirm it.