What are the top fuel finder apps?
Dominic Beattie
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- Petrol prices don't just depend on local supply. Wars, shipping disruptions and oil markets can all hit Australian drivers.
- Fuel finder apps help motorists compare nearby prices, track fuel cycles and avoid overpaying at the bowser.
- Features such as price alerts, fuel-lock tools and historical trend data can help drivers save money on every tank.
Australia produces some crude oil and fuel domestically, but not enough to keep the nation's cars, trucks and utes moving. We're heavily reliant on imported fuel, with local prices largely tied to the Singapore trading hub.
That's why petrol prices can surge on events happening thousands of kilometres away. Conflict in the Middle East, attacks on key shipping routes, refinery outages in Asia, or fresh oil supply cuts can all send wholesale prices higher.
It doesn't help that fuel retailers often seem faster to raise prices than cut them, leaving drivers wondering why relief never arrives as quickly as the pain.
So what can a motorist do? Shop around. Fuel-finder apps have become one of the simplest ways to beat the petrol price cycle, helping drivers compare servos, track local price movements and find the cheapest fill-up nearby.
Once you've worked out what fuel type your vehicle needs, these are some of the best apps to help keep a lid on fuel costs.
How do fuel finder apps work?
Fuel prices are a bit like airline tickets: two servos on the same road can be charging wildly different amounts for exactly the same unleaded.
By pulling together real-time and recent fuel price data, fuel finder apps give motorists a snapshot of what's being charged at service stations across their area, often updating multiple times a day.
Most apps use either retailer-reported pricing, government fuel monitoring schemes or crowdsourced user updates. Punch in your current location, and you'll be served up a map of nearby bowsers, ranked from cheapest to most expensive. Some even let you filter by fuel type.
The smarter apps go a step further. They track fuel price cycles, send alerts when prices drop and remember your favourite servos.
Top fuel finder apps in Australia
1. Petty
Unlike most fuel finder apps, Petty offers premium features aimed at motorists who like to time their fill-ups and track fuel price trends.
Key features include:
- Siri voice shortcuts for hands-free fuel searches
- Apple CarPlay integration
- Apple Watch support
- Price alerts and home screen widgets
- Up to 90 days of fuel price history
- Station comparison tools that estimate potential savings
One of Petty's biggest selling points is its historical pricing data. Rather than simply showing what's cheapest today, the app helps drivers identify where their city sits in the petrol price cycle, making it easier to decide whether to fill up now or wait for prices to fall.
2. 7-Eleven
While not a traditional fuel finder app, the 7-Eleven Fuel app helps motorists save by letting them compare prices across nearby 7-Eleven stores and lock in a fuel price before filling up.
Key features:
- Fuel Lock for up to seven days
- Compare prices at nearby 7-Eleven locations
- Store finder and directions
- Exclusive discounts, rewards and in-store offers
Fuel Lock is the real drawcard. If you spot a cheap price today, but don't need to fill up yet, you can lock it in and redeem it the following week, helping shield yourself from sudden price jumps.
It's worth noting the feature now has limits on how much motorists can save if prices surge after they've locked in. Even so, for regular 7-Eleven customers, it's still one of the simplest ways to stay ahead of the fuel cycle and shave a few dollars off a tank.
3. PetrolSpy
PetrolSpy is one of Australia's longest-running fuel finder apps and remains a popular choice among bargain-hunting motorists. It features an interactive map showing fuel prices at nearby service stations, drawing on a mix of crowdsourced updates and official fuel price data where available.
Beyond helping users find the cheapest fuel nearby, PetrolSpy also offers historical price charts, allowing motorists to track fuel cycles and spot trends before filling up.
Key features:
- Interactive map with nearby fuel prices
- Historical fuel price graphs
- Crowdsourced and government-sourced pricing data
- Coverage across capital cities and many regional areas
- Daily fuel voucher giveaways and competitions
PetrolSpy sources data from major fuel retailers including Ampol, BP, Shell, 7-Eleven, Costco, United, Metro, EG Australia and a wide range of independent service stations, giving users access to one of the most comprehensive fuel price databases in the country.
4. MotorMouth
Another app that’s been around for a while, MotorMouth is a Brisbane-based app, but provides pricing for all capital cities.
Key features:
- Interactive fuel price map
- Green, yellow and red price ratings to identify bargains and rip-offs
- Historical fuel price data
- Coverage across all major Australian cities
- Easy suburb-by-suburb fuel price comparisons
It also splits up prices into ‘price bands’, with green indicating it’s a good price, yellow for caution, and red for a rip off. This way, as cycles ebb and flow, you can know what’s still a good deal and what isn’t.
5. GasBuddy
As the name might suggest, GasBuddy started off in the United States but soon found its way to Australia.
Like PetrolSpy, GasBuddy relies heavily on crowdsourced fuel prices, with users submitting updates from service stations across Australia. Its large community helps keep prices current in both metropolitan and many regional areas.
Key features:
- Crowdsourced fuel price reporting
- Interactive map of nearby service stations
- User challenges and leaderboards
- Coverage across major cities and regional centres
- Fuel price comparisons by location
6. Fuel Map
Fuel Map is another popular fuel finder app that combines crowdsourced fuel prices with official government data.
While users can still submit and update prices, the app also pulls real-time pricing information from government fuel-monitoring schemes in WA, NSW and Queensland, helping improve accuracy.
Key features:
- Crowdsourced fuel price reporting
- Real-time government-sourced prices in WA, NSW and Queensland
- Interactive map showing nearby service stations
- Fuel logbook for tracking fuel purchases
- Fuel economy and vehicle running-cost tracking
A point of difference is its built-in fuel log. Beyond finding the cheapest servo nearby, motorists can record fuel purchases, monitor fuel economy and keep tabs on running costs, making it a handy all-in-one tool for frequent drivers.
Other tools to help cut fuel costs
Locally-based apps
A couple of state or locally-based apps are out there, including:
Queensland - RACQ Fuel and Deals: The Queensland automotive giant has its own fuel finder app, allowing you to punch in your suburb and the app shows you ‘fair’ prices in the area, and if prices are going up or down.
Victoria - FuelCheck VIC: FuelCheck Vic is another app that allows you to lock in your price, but this time with a focus on Victoria, specifically Melbourne.
Electric Vehicle Charger Finder Apps
With Australia’s car fleet gradually going green, the ongoing dilemma electric vehicle motorists face is how to charge when out and about. Luckily, various apps allow you to find an electric charger, too, and include:
MyNRMA: Requires an NRMA membership to use.
NSW FuelCheck: NSW Government app.
Pumped Fuel: A startup based in Sydney.
Servo Track: Uses government-supplied data from NSW, WA and Queensland to find chargers.
Vroom: Another app using government-fed data from NSW, WA and Queensland.
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On the East Coast, particularly in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, we are beholden to fuel price cycles, which feature peaks and troughs in fuel prices. These can be hard to predict, so in these areas it pays to keep your ear to the ground to find out what’s happening with the cycle.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission regularly publishes fuel price cycle data, indicating the best times to fill up.
Additionally, various state governments have fuel price data available, which can be accessed by the everyday motorist. The states and territories to make fuel price reporting mandatory include Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
At present, New South Wales is the only state to have its own app, called ‘NSW FuelCheck’
Western Australia and Northern Territory have dedicated websites but no apps.
Queensland is trialling fuel price reporting. While Queensland doesn’t have its own state-run app or website, it does feed this data to various apps, such as MotorMouth, PetrolSpy, and Fuel Map listed above.
With states requiring fuel price data to be inputted by the retailers, it’s removing the reliance on crowd sourcing data, which could potentially be inaccurate or days old, particularly in regional areas.
