Best Apps for Finding Cheap Petrol in Australia

  • MotorMouth: Australian-specific app with real-time fuel prices and a price cycle predictor showing when prices are about to rise or fall in your city. Highly recommended.
  • GasBuddy: Crowd-sourced prices from all stations. Map view shows cheapest near you.
  • FuelMap Australia: Government-backed data from service station price boards. Very accurate for most states.
  • Fuel Check (NSW): NSW Government app showing all NSW prices. Other states have similar government tools.

The Weekly Price Cycle

Most major Australian cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth) follow a predictable weekly fuel price cycle. Prices are lowest mid-week (Tuesday/Wednesday) and highest on Thursdays, Fridays and through the weekend as petrol companies hike prices ahead of peak driving demand. Filling up on Tuesday or Wednesday consistently saves 10–20 cents per litre compared to Friday.

  1. 1

    Check the app before you drive to a servo

    Open MotorMouth or GasBuddy before setting out. Filter by fuel type and sort by price. The cheapest station is often not the most visible one — it might be 2km further but 15 cents per litre cheaper.

  2. 2

    Use supermarket fuel vouchers

    Coles and Woolworths offer 4 cents per litre discounts through their Flybuys and Everyday Rewards programmes at partner stations (Coles Express and Woolworths Metro/EG stations). Stack these discounts with already-low mid-week prices for maximum savings.

  3. 3

    Fill up when the tank hits quarter full

    Do not wait until you are nearly empty — you end up having to fill up whenever you happen to pass a servo, not when prices are lowest. Filling at quarter-tank gives you flexibility to choose timing and location.

Fuel saving while drivingSmooth acceleration and braking, removing excess weight from the boot, keeping tyres at the correct pressure, and using cruise control on highways all reduce fuel consumption by 5–15%. Combined with finding cheap prices, these habits add up to meaningful savings over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Australian petrol prices are set by retailers and fluctuate with global crude oil prices, the AUD/USD exchange rate, and local competition. The deliberate weekly price cycle (low mid-week, high on weekends) is an established retail pricing strategy. The ACCC monitors fuel pricing and publishes regular reports — search "ACCC petrol monitoring" for detailed analysis.
Use the maths: if the cheaper station saves 10c/litre and you fill 50 litres, that is $5 saved. If driving 5km out of your way uses an extra 0.5 litres of fuel (roughly 70c at current prices), the trip saves about $4.30. Generally worth it for significant price differences, not for small ones. The app usually shows cheaper stations that are not far out of your way.