Fuel Cost Calculator UK 2026: Real Cost Per Mile for Petrol, Diesel and Electric
UK pump prices have moved sharply in 2026. After three relatively stable years, the late-February 2026 Middle East tensions pushed petrol up by around 12p a litre and diesel up by 25p in just three weeks. Most fuel cost guides online are still using late-2025 figures.
This page gives you the current May 2026 prices, an interactive calculator for your specific car, and a side-by-side breakdown of what petrol, diesel, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric actually cost per mile in real-world driving — including the public charging costs most "EVs are cheap" guides quietly leave out.
Quick answer
In May 2026, petrol costs around 14–18p per mile, diesel 17–21p, hybrids 11–14p, electric on home charging 6–8p, and electric on public rapid charging 17–22p. The gap between the cheapest and most expensive way to drive a typical mile is roughly 20p — about £4,000 a year on a 20,000-mile commute.
May 2026 UK fuel and energy prices
Figures used throughout this guide:
- Petrol (E10 unleaded): 157p per litre (UK average, May 2026)
- Diesel (B7): 188p per litre (UK average, May 2026)
- Home electricity: 25p per kWh (Ofgem price cap, April–June 2026)
- Off-peak EV tariffs: 7–8p per kWh (Octopus Intelligent Go, EDF GoElectric Overnight)
- Public rapid/ultra-rapid charging: 76p per kWh average, ranging from 62p (Tesla) to 92p (Instavolt)
These are national averages. Supermarket forecourts typically run 4–6p per litre cheaper than premium-brand sites; motorway services run 10–20p per litre dearer.
Fuel cost calculator: cost per mile for your car
The maths is simple enough to do without a tool:
Cost per mile (petrol/diesel) = (price per litre × 4.546) ÷ MPG
Cost per mile (electric) = price per kWh ÷ miles per kWh
The 4.546 is the litres-per-UK-gallon conversion. So a 45 MPG petrol car at 157p per litre works out at: (157 × 4.546) ÷ 45 = 15.86p per mile.
For a quick lookup without doing the maths, see the tables below.
How much does petrol cost per mile?
At 157p per litre, the cost per mile depends almost entirely on your car's real-world MPG:
Important caveat on MPG: brochure WLTP figures typically overstate real-world economy by 15–25%. A car claimed at 50 MPG often delivers 40–42 MPG in mixed driving. Use real-world figures from honestjohn.co.uk or fuelly.com, or your own trip-computer average — not the manufacturer's claim.
How much does diesel cost per mile?
Diesel is currently 31p per litre more expensive than petrol — the largest gap since late 2022. The classic diesel-saves-money case has weakened sharply:
The new diesel maths: at the current 31p price gap, a diesel needs to do around 20% better MPG than the petrol equivalent to break even on running costs alone. That's achievable on motorway-heavy mileage in efficient mid-sized diesels, but stop-start urban driving wipes out the gain. If your annual mileage is under 12,000 and mostly local, a modern petrol or hybrid will almost certainly cost less.
How much does electric cost per mile?
Three very different costs depending on where you charge:
Home charging (standard tariff — 25p/kWh)
Home charging (off-peak EV tariff — 7p/kWh)
This is the killer EV economy case. Tariffs like Octopus Intelligent Go (7p) or EDF GoElectric Overnight (8p) charge you a fraction of standard rates between roughly 11pm and 5am, when most EV owners charge anyway.
At 2p per mile, an EV on an off-peak tariff costs about one-eighth of a 40 MPG petrol car. Over 10,000 miles a year, that's roughly £1,600 saved.
Public charging (rapid/ultra-rapid — 76p/kWh average)
If you rely entirely on public rapid charging, an EV is more expensive per mile than a 40 MPG petrol car. The economic case for an EV depends almost entirely on having access to home or workplace charging.
For drivers who do a mix — say 80% home, 20% public — the blended cost lands around 9–11p per mile on standard home tariff or 5–7p on off-peak.
Public charging: who charges what?
Network rapid/ultra-rapid pay-as-you-go pricing as of April 2026:
Tesla Superchargers are now open to non-Tesla EVs at most UK sites, often at the lowest public rate. For long-distance drivers, the Octopus Electroverse card aggregates dozens of networks under one billing relationship and sometimes surfaces "plunge pricing" deals at off-peak times.
Hybrid and plug-in hybrid cost per mile
The competitor guides skip these — most UK drivers buying new still pick a hybrid.
Self-charging hybrid (HEV)
A Toyota Corolla, Honda Jazz or Lexus UX in mixed driving averages 55–65 MPG real-world. At 157p petrol:
- 60 MPG hybrid: 11.89p per mile — between an efficient petrol and a public-charged EV
Plug-in hybrid (PHEV)
PHEV economy depends entirely on whether you actually plug it in. Two scenarios:
- Plugged in nightly, mostly short trips on electric: 3–6p per mile (closer to an EV)
- Never plugged in, always running on petrol: 18–22p per mile (worse than a normal hybrid because of the battery weight penalty)
If you can't or won't charge at home, a PHEV costs more to run than a self-charging hybrid. The fuel economy figures in the brochure assume you start every journey with a full battery — and HMRC has tightened company-car BIK rules accordingly from April 2025.
Van running costs
For Embrace Leasing customers and other van drivers, here's the typical real-world cost per mile:
Electric vans on home charging at 25p/kWh average around 8–11p per mile depending on payload — a substantial saving on diesel for any business doing more than 10,000 miles a year. See our van leasing range for current EV van deals.
Annual fuel cost by mileage
For a typical family car (40 MPG petrol or 4.0 mi/kWh EV):
The starkest line in the table: a high-mileage driver on an off-peak EV tariff at home spends less than £600 a year on fuel, while the same driver in a petrol car spends over £5,000.
Choosing the cheapest fuel for your driving
A simple decision framework:
- Under 8,000 miles/year, mostly urban: modern petrol or self-charging hybrid. Diesel makes no sense at current prices.
- 8,000–15,000 miles/year, mixed driving, off-street parking: EV on a standard home tariff is the cheapest, hybrid second.
- 8,000–15,000 miles/year, no off-street parking: efficient petrol or hybrid. EV on public charging will cost more than petrol.
- 15,000+ miles/year, motorway-heavy, off-street parking: EV on off-peak tariff is roughly £200–£500 a year for fuel. Nothing else gets close.
- 15,000+ miles/year, motorway-heavy, no home charging: efficient diesel still has a case if you're on rural and motorway routes that suit it; otherwise hybrid.
- Sole-trader or fleet vans: electric vans are now cheaper per mile than diesel for any business doing more than 10,000 miles a year, provided depot charging exists.
How to actually reduce your fuel cost
Cars aren't all equal, but driving habits move costs by 15–25%:
- Tyre pressure at the manufacturer-spec level (check the door pillar, not the tyre wall) — 5–10% economy gain over under-inflated tyres
- Roof boxes and bike racks off when not in use — a roof box can cost 10–20% in MPG at motorway speeds
- Junk in the boot — every 50 kg costs about 1–2% in fuel
- Speed — 70 mph uses roughly 25% more fuel than 60 mph, and 80 mph uses 50% more than 60 mph
- Air conditioning at urban speeds costs more than open windows; reverse is true at motorway speeds (windows ruin aero)
- Anticipation — reading the road ahead and lifting off early saves measurably more fuel than aggressive coasting or sudden braking
- Use the cheapest forecourt — supermarkets average 4–6p per litre cheaper than premium brands. The Fuel Finder Scheme launched in February 2026 means apps now show real-time prices within 30 minutes
- For EVs — switch to an off-peak tariff. Octopus Intelligent Go pays for itself within weeks if you do more than ~5,000 miles a year
Will fuel get cheaper?
Honest answer: nobody knows. Brent crude is sitting above $85 a barrel at the time of writing, up from $68 in January 2026, after the late-February US/Israel/Iran conflict disrupted Strait of Hormuz shipping routes (about 20% of global oil supply transits there).
If tensions ease, prices could retrace 10–15p per litre over a few months. If they escalate further, another 10–20p increase is possible. Fuel duty was held at 52.95p per litre in the most recent Budget and is unlikely to move before the next fiscal event. VAT on fuel remains 20%.
For drivers, the most reliable insulation against price volatility is a vehicle that uses less fuel, or no fuel at all. A 60 MPG hybrid is half as exposed to a 30p petrol price spike as a 30 MPG SUV.
Looking at your next car?
Running cost per mile is one part of total ownership cost — depreciation, servicing, road tax, insurance and finance all matter. Leasing wraps most of those into a fixed monthly cost on a brand-new vehicle, with full manufacturer warranty and road tax included throughout the contract.
FAQs
At 157p per litre (May 2026), a typical 40 MPG family petrol car costs around 17.84p per mile. The range across most cars is 14–18p per mile, with large SUVs and performance cars at 20p+ and very efficient small cars at around 13p.
At 188p per litre (May 2026), diesel costs roughly 17–21p per mile for most cars. The 31p-per-litre price gap with petrol means diesel only saves money on motorway-heavy driving in efficient cars achieving 55+ MPG real-world.
Yes, if you charge at home. A typical EV at 4.0 miles per kWh costs 6.25p per mile on a standard home tariff (25p/kWh), or under 2p per mile on an off-peak EV tariff like Octopus Intelligent Go (7p/kWh). On public rapid charging (76p/kWh average), an EV costs around 19–22p per mile — more than a 40 MPG petrol car.
For petrol or diesel: (price per litre × 4.546) ÷ MPG. For example, 157p × 4.546 ÷ 40 MPG = 17.84p per mile. For electric: price per kWh ÷ miles per kWh. For example, 25p ÷ 4.0 = 6.25p per mile.
About £17.84 in a 40 MPG petrol car, £18.80 in a 45 MPG diesel, £6.25 in an EV on home charging, or £2 in an EV on an off-peak tariff. Public rapid charging an EV for 100 miles costs around £19–£25.
The 31p-per-litre gap reflects refinery margins on diesel widening since 2023, plus the late-February 2026 supply disruption hitting middle distillates (diesel, jet fuel, heating oil) harder than petrol. Diesel was historically slightly more expensive than petrol in the UK; the current spread is unusually large.
If you have off-street parking and can install a home charger, yes — even on a standard tariff, EV running costs are roughly half a petrol equivalent. Without home charging, the maths is much closer; relying entirely on public rapid charging makes an EV more expensive to run than petrol.
Yes, typically. A self-charging hybrid like a Toyota Corolla averages around 11–13p per mile compared to 17–18p for a petrol equivalent. PHEVs only beat hybrids if you actually plug them in regularly.
Most modern cars achieve 80–85% of their WLTP figure in real-world UK driving. A car claimed at 50 MPG typically delivers 40–43 MPG in mixed use. Larger engines and SUVs lose more in real driving; small efficient cars and hybrids tend to come closer to their claimed figures.
Use the Fuel Finder feature in the myRAC app or PetrolPrices.co.uk. Since February 2026, retailers must report prices to third-party apps within 30 minutes under the new Fuel Finder Scheme — apps now show near-live prices for most UK forecourts.
Yes. EV-specific tariffs from Octopus, EDF, OVO, Good Energy and others charge 7–9p/kWh during off-peak windows (typically 11pm–5am). For a 10,000-mile-a-year EV, the saving over a standard tariff is around £450 a year. Most domestic EV chargers can be scheduled to only draw power during these windows.
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