Google Maps will display UK fuel prices from 8 October 2026, drawing on the government’s Fuel Finder data.
The feature offers a useful case study in presenting public data: stations must report price changes within 30 minutes, and Google says it may omit a price when it cannot confirm it is current.
British gas stations are required to report any price changes to Fuel Finder within 30 minutes. Google says it will independently verify the data. If it is not sure that a price is still up to date, the station will still appear on the map, but without a price.
The reliability of the figures, however, has been questioned by some in the industry. Experts point out that some stations have not signed up to Fuel Finder, while others are slow to update their prices. In September, a fuel price comparison company estimated that around 200 stations were late in reporting the price of diesel. The federation, which represents thousands of British petrol stations and retailers, said its members were complying with the scheme’s rules.
The new feature comes at a time of rising prices. A few days earlier, diesel in Britain topped £2 a litre for the first time. Since then, the average price has fallen by around 2p, a drop that has made little difference to the cost of a fill-up. According to the AA, 55 litres of diesel costs an average of around £110 (around €130), while the same amount of petrol costs around £96 (around €113). Factors that have pushed up prices include the US war with Iran and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Waze already displays fuel prices in the UK, where it has about 2 million users. Apple Maps doesn't offer a similar feature built-in, although there are third-party apps that connect to Apple's maps. Google Maps is used for navigation by about 77% of adults in the UK, so adding prices gives many people the ability to compare gas stations from within an app they already use.
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