Europe’s cheapest and most expensive petrol prices revealed
European petrol prices vary by more than €1 per litre. Here are the cheapest and most expensive countries, plus where the UK sits in the rankings.
Petrol prices can make a surprisingly big difference to the cost of a European motorcycle tour, and a new study has revealed just how much prices vary between countries.
Research from Czechvignette.cz has compared average prices for 95-octane unleaded petrol across 41 European countries, finding a difference of €1.01 (£0.86) per litre between the cheapest and most expensive locations.
For bikers, that means where you choose to fill up could have a noticeable impact on the cost of a long-distance trip, particularly if you're crossing several countries.
Sweden is the cheapest country in the study, with petrol costing an average of €1.31 (£1.12) per litre. Malta follows at €1.34 (£1.15), with North Macedonia third at €1.41 (£1.21).
Andorra, which coincidentally is the home of choice for MotoGP racers, is next at €1.49 (£1.27), while Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina both record €1.50 (£1.28) per litre.
Iceland, perhaps surprisingly given its remote location, is also among the cheaper countries at €1.52 (£1.30). Bulgaria follows at €1.53 (£1.31), Hungary at €1.58 (£1.35) and Cyprus at €1.59 (£1.36).
San Marino, Slovenia and Luxembourg complete the cheapest end of the table, all recording €1.62 (£1.38) per litre.
The UK is not included in the headline findings of the report, despite being listed in the underlying data. The reason is that the study's rankings focus on the 41 European countries selected by its methodology, with the UK omitted from the main published tables.
However, the underlying data puts UK petrol at €1.87 (£1.60) per litre, which would place Britain 20th in the full list, between Ireland and Portugal.
That figure is also broadly in line with current UK pump prices. Average petrol prices in Britain today, 18 August 2026, are around 161.1p to 162.1p per litre, depending on the source and calculation used.
At the other end of the European table, Denmark is the most expensive place to buy petrol, with an average price of €2.32 (£1.98) per litre.
The Netherlands is close behind at €2.29 (£1.96), followed by Finland at €2.17 (£1.86) and Germany at €2.14 (£1.83). Switzerland records €2.06 (£1.76), while Albania and Liechtenstein both sit at €2.02 (£1.73).
France comes in at €2.01 (£1.72), Italy at €1.99 (£1.70) and Monaco and Greece at €1.98 (£1.69). Norway completes the most expensive group at €1.93 (£1.65).
For a motorcycle with a 20-litre fuel tank, filling up in Denmark rather than Sweden would cost around €20 (£17) more at the prices recorded in the study. A rider covering thousands of miles across Europe could therefore save a meaningful amount by paying attention to where they refuel – and possibly avoiding some countries altogether if the itinerary allows for it.
The data also highlights some useful options for riders heading east or south. Countries including Bulgaria, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Czechia and Slovakia all sit towards the cheaper end of the European table, while France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands are significantly more expensive.
For British bikers planning a European tour, then, the message is fairly simple. The UK isn't among Europe's cheapest places to buy petrol, but neither is it one of the most expensive.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
