Google Maps now shows fuel prices. We checked it against the official data.
From today, Google Maps and Waze show petrol and diesel prices at UK forecourts. The prices come from the government's Fuel Finder scheme, the same official data our app uses. That is good news for drivers. We checked it this evening, and the map was not keeping up.
Published 8 October 2026 · Fuel Finder UK team
What launched today
The government announced on 8 October 2026 that near real-time fuel prices now appear in Google Maps for the first time in the UK. Google says they are in Waze too. Search for fuel near you and the price sits next to each forecourt.
- Where the prices come from. The Fuel Finder scheme. Since February, every forecourt must report a price change within 30 minutes or risk a fine. The government says it covers about 99% of fuel sold on UK roads.
- What the government says it saves. About £40 a year for a household with a car that compares prices.
- What Google says about accuracy. Google's Sarah-Jayne Williams told the BBC: "you'll only see a price if we have high confidence that it's the right price." Where Google is not sure, it shows the forecourt with no price.
What we saw in Brentwood
We opened Google Maps on a computer at 8:41pm and searched for petrol stations in Brentwood, Essex. Two forecourts on the map had a price next to them. We checked both against the official data at the same minute.
| Forecourt | Google Maps | Official data | Official price set |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shell, Warley Hill | £1.76 | 177.9p | 4:16pm today |
| Shell, Brook Road | £1.79 | 179.9p | 4:15pm today |
Official data: the government's Fuel Finder feed for E10 unleaded, checked at 8:41pm on 8 October 2026.
- Warley Hill is behind. The forecourt reported 177.9p at 4:16pm. At 8:41pm Google still showed £1.76. Drive there on Google's number and you pay more than the map said.
- Brook Road shows whole pence. The official price is 179.9p. Google shows £1.79. When forecourts near you are a penny apart, that tenth of a penny decides which is cheaper.
- No time on the price. On the computer, Google did not say when either price was last updated. You cannot tell a price from this afternoon from one set last week.
Is a price from yesterday a wrong price?
Not on its own. A forecourt only reports when it changes its price. Tonight, 1,590 of the 8,270 forecourts selling unleaded had reported a new price today. For most of the rest, the latest price is from yesterday or earlier, because it has not changed.
So an old update time is not the problem. A missed change is. The question for any map is how fast it picks up a forecourt that has just put its price up or down. On this check, Google missed one by more than four hours.
Where Google Maps is good
It is free, it is already on most phones, and you do not have to install anything. For a quick look on a route you are already driving, it is useful. More drivers seeing prices is a win, and it puts pressure on forecourts to compete.
Why we think Fuel Finder UK is the better tool for fuel
- Every forecourt, cheapest first. A list and a map of every forecourt in the official data near you, sorted by price, to a tenth of a penny.
- Fresh, and it tells you how fresh. We fetch the official data every 30 minutes, and the app shows when prices were last updated.
- Built for one job. Filter by brand and fuel type, get Price Drop Alerts on iPhone and iPad, and see reports from other drivers when a forecourt runs out or the queue is long.
Our data is not instant either. A forecourt has 30 minutes to report a change, and we fetch every 30. But you can see the age of a price, and nothing is rounded away.
- See the real price. Every forecourt near you to a tenth of a penny, cheapest first.
- Know how old it is. The app shows when prices were last updated, so a stale number never catches you out.
- Hear when it drops. On iPhone and iPad, Price Drop Alerts tell you when a favourite forecourt cuts its price.
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How we checked
At 8:41pm on Thursday 8 October 2026 we searched Google Maps on a computer for petrol stations in Brentwood, Essex, and noted the prices shown on the map. At the same time we read the official Fuel Finder data for those forecourts, matched by their exact location.
The limits: this is two forecourts in one town on one evening, using Google Maps on a computer. The phone app may behave differently, and Google is only on day one. We will check more towns over the coming week and report back. For today's averages, see the UK average price page.