There's a long-running idea in the UK that fuel is cheaper "up north". Like most things people say about the north and south, it's partly true and partly not.
We track prices at every forecourt that reports to the Government's Fuel Finder scheme, and we've been rebuilding the average for every UK region every day since February. So we can actually settle it.
The short answer
Northern Ireland has the cheapest fuel in the UK, and it isn't close.
In Great Britain, the North East comes out on top, with Yorkshire not far behind. The South East is the most expensive region for petrol, and London edges it for diesel.
Where things stand right now
Here's the average price of petrol in each region today:
| Region | Petrol |
|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 167.2p |
| North East | 173.6p |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 173.7p |
| Wales | 174.2p |
| North West | 174.5p |
| Eastern | 175.2p |
| South West | 175.4p |
| East Midlands | 175.5p |
| Scotland | 175.5p |
| London | 175.6p |
| West Midlands | 175.6p |
| South East | 176.3p |
The UK average is 174.7p.
Northern Ireland is 7.5p a litre below the national average. That's nearly £4 on a 50-litre tank. Everywhere else, though, sits within a couple of pence of everywhere else. The gap between the North East and the South East is 2.7p, or about £1.35 a tank.
Diesel follows the same pattern. Northern Ireland is at 192.9p against a UK average of 199.9p, a 7p gap. In Great Britain the North East, North West and Yorkshire are all tied at 199.5p, and London is dearest at 201.3p.
It's not a one-off
A single snapshot can be misleading, so we looked at every day since February.
Northern Ireland has been cheaper than the UK average on 204 of the 253 days we've tracked. Interestingly, it started the year slightly dearer: in February it was up to 2p above the UK average. Then, as prices climbed through spring, it pulled away and has stayed well below ever since. Across the whole period it has averaged 4.2p a litre under the UK for petrol and 5.6p for diesel, and at its widest the gap reached 7.8p for petrol and almost 12p for diesel.
In Great Britain, the North East has been the cheapest region for petrol on 210 of those days. Yorkshire took the title on most of the rest, and Wales managed a handful. Nowhere in the Midlands or southern England has been cheapest for petrol on a single day.
At the other end, the South East has averaged 1p a litre above the UK for petrol, and London 1.3p above it for diesel.
Why is Northern Ireland so much cheaper?
Honestly, our data shows that it is, not why. Fuel duty and VAT are the same across the whole UK, so the difference has to come from the market itself.
The explanation usually given is competition. Northern Ireland's forecourts are a different mix from Great Britain's, with more independents and regional chains, and a small, tightly packed market where drivers shop around. Whatever the cause, the effect is consistent: Belfast is now the cheapest city we track, at 167.1p for petrol, more than 5p below anywhere in Great Britain.
Why the north beats the south
Within Great Britain the gap is much smaller, and mostly comes down to costs and competition.
Land and running costs are higher in the South East and London, and that feeds through to the pump. The northern cities also have lots of supermarket forecourts close together, and supermarkets are reliably about 3p a litre cheaper than other stations. Leeds, Bradford and Newcastle are the cheapest cities in Great Britain right now. Reading, Milton Keynes and Exeter are among the dearest.
Does any of this help you?
Unless you live near the Irish border, probably not directly. Nobody is driving from Surrey to Sunderland to save £1.35.
What it does tell you is that the bigger savings are local. Within any town, the gap between the cheapest and the dearest station is usually 8 to 10p a litre, which is bigger than the gap between any two regions in Great Britain. Where you fill up in your own town matters far more than which part of the country you live in.
If you want to see how your region is doing day by day, our trend chart plots all twelve. And to find the cheapest station near you, look up your town.
How we did this: every station is counted towards the region of its nearest listed town, and Northern Ireland stations are identified by their BT postcode. Daily regional averages are rebuilt from every logged price change since February 2026. Obvious typos in the feed are excluded. You're welcome to quote any of these figures; a link back is all we ask.