Don't get pumped.
Based on 7,863 stations analysed over 30 days. Updated 06 Jun 2026.
Based on price analysis, Thursday has the lowest average prices for ULP. Avoid Saturday when prices peak.
potential savings vs worst day
That's $44/year for weekly 50L fill-ups!
Different fuel types may have different optimal fill-up days. Here's the breakdown:
| Fuel | Best Day | Best | Worst Day | Worst | Save |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unleaded Petrol | Thursday | 186.0c | Saturday | 187.7c | 1.7c/L |
| Ethanol 10% | Friday | 180.2c | Sunday | 182.7c | 2.5c/L |
| Premium Unleaded 95 | Friday | 200.2c | Sunday | 202.2c | 2.0c/L |
| Premium Unleaded 98 | Friday | 208.0c | Sunday | 210.0c | 2.0c/L |
Price cycles vary by location. Perth has a fortnightly regulated cycle, while eastern states follow weekly patterns.
These suburbs show the most predictable weekly price patterns. Time your fill-ups here for maximum savings.
Fill up on Thursday when prices are lowest. Set a weekly reminder to check prices before you need fuel.
Use Petrolmate to find the cheapest station nearby. Even 5c/L saves $2.50 on a 50L fill.
Prices rise before long weekends and school holidays. Fill up 2-3 days before major holidays.
If your car accepts E10, you'll typically save 8c/L. Check E10 prices.
Combine supermarket fuel discounts (4c/L off) with filling up on the cheapest day for maximum savings.
Check prices along your regular commute. A station 2km away might save you more than convenience is worth.
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide
Regulated by FuelWatch
Fuel retailers raise prices when they need to restore profit margins, typically late in the week. Then competitors gradually lower prices to attract customers, creating the weekly "price cycle". This pattern is driven by competition and consumer shopping habits.
Generally yes, if the price difference is significant. A 10c/L difference on a 50L fill saves $5. Most cars use about $1-2 worth of fuel per 5km, so driving 5km out of your way is usually worthwhile. Use our savings calculator to check.
Definitely. Prices typically rise 3-7 days before long weekends, Easter, Christmas, and school holidays when travel demand increases. Fill up early in the week before the holiday for best prices.
In most states, no - prices are typically set daily. However, in WA under FuelWatch, prices officially change at 6am. In other states, some retailers may change prices during the day, but the day of week matters more than the hour.
Prices vary based on competition, transport costs, and local demographics. Areas with more stations tend to have lower prices due to competition. Remote areas and affluent suburbs often have higher prices. Use Petrolmate to find the cheapest nearby options.
Sydney follows the most pronounced fuel price cycle in Australia. Trough days are usually Monday or Tuesday, with prices reaching the bottom of the cycle three to five days before the next price spike. Spikes are concentrated on Tuesday or Wednesday afternoons and lift retail ULP by 20 to 40 cents per litre within a single afternoon. The cycle length is typically 12 to 18 days. The Sydney metro area spans most of the discount activity, while the Central Coast, Wollongong, and Newcastle follow with a one-to-two-day lag.
Melbourne's cycle has lengthened over the past three years from a true weekly cycle to a 14 to 22-day cycle. Trough days are Tuesday or Wednesday in most weeks. Spikes typically occur on Thursday afternoons. Outer-metro Melbourne (Frankston, Werribee, Cranbourne) and regional VIC towns including Geelong, Ballarat, and Bendigo follow Melbourne's lead with a few days' lag and a shallower amplitude.
Brisbane's cycle is shorter and more volatile than Sydney's, often running 10 to 14 days. Best-day analysis suggests Monday is the cheapest day to fill up in Brisbane on average, with the spike landing Tuesday or Wednesday. Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast typically track Brisbane within 24 hours. The Toowoomba and Ipswich corridors lag the metro by two to three days.
Perth operates under WA FuelWatch, which requires retailers to publish their pump prices a full 24 hours before the prices take effect. Within-day price changes are not allowed. The cycle still exists but is shallower and more predictable. Tuesday is consistently the cheapest day for ULP in Perth metro. Wednesday is typically the spike. Country WA towns participate in the same scheme.
Adelaide's cycle is irregular and shorter (8 to 12 days). The cheapest day across the Adelaide metro varies between Monday and Wednesday week to week. Hobart and the rest of Tasmania have effectively no cycle because retail station density is too low to sustain price competition; prices drift gradually with wholesale movements.
Darwin operates under the NT 24-hour price-lock regime explained in detail on the NT 24-hour price lock page. Canberra's small market means retailers move prices in irregular steps rather than a clear cycle; the best advice in Canberra is to check the ACT live prices rather than relying on a fixed best-day rule.
Reality: time of day rarely matters in NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, TAS, or ACT, where retailers can change prices at any time. The day of the week and the cycle phase matter much more. The exception is WA, where prices are locked at 6am Perth time, so any time during the day is the same price. In NT, the changeover is 14:30 ACST.
Reality: this is sometimes true, sometimes false. Price spikes correlate weakly with long weekends because retailers expect higher demand, but the cycle phase is a stronger predictor than the calendar. If you check Petrolmate the day before a long weekend and your local cycle is at trough, fill up. If it's mid-cycle, prices will be unchanged. Don't assume a spike will happen just because Easter is coming.
Reality: premium fuels (95 RON, 98 RON) cost 15 to 25 cents per litre more than regular ULP. The fuel-economy improvement on cars not specifically tuned for premium is approximately zero. Use the fuel grade your owner's manual specifies. Paying for premium when your car only requires regular is a guaranteed loss.
Reality: E10 typically costs 2 to 4 cents per litre less than regular ULP, but it has roughly 3 percent lower energy density. The cost-per-kilometre difference is therefore close to zero for most driving. E10 is a small genuine saving in some weeks and a wash in others. It is not a reason to switch off the cycle-timing strategy.
A Sydney commuter fills a 60-litre tank once a week. The Sydney cycle averages a 25 cents per litre spread between trough and spike. Filling at trough every week (typically Tuesday) versus filling on a random day saves around 12 cents per litre on average, or $7.20 per fill. Over a year that is $374. Filling at the spike instead would cost an extra 13 cents per litre, or roughly $400 more per year than the random baseline.
A two-car Melbourne household fills two 50-litre tanks fortnightly. The Melbourne cycle averages a 30 cents per litre spread. Coordinating both fills to land on a trough day (typically Tuesday or Wednesday) saves approximately 15 cents per litre over the random baseline, or $7.50 per car per fill. Annual saving: around $390 across both cars.
A tradie filling a 90-litre diesel tank daily benefits less from cycle timing because diesel cycles are weaker than petrol cycles. The bigger saving comes from brand and station selection. Switching from a major-brand metro station to a discount independent on the same daily route can save 8 to 12 cents per litre on diesel, or $7 to $11 per fill. Annual saving: $1,800 to $2,800. The savings calculator can run this calculation against current Petrolmate prices.
Cycle timing requires planning two to three days ahead, which is not always practical. If you have to fill up today, the next best strategy is to compare prices at multiple stations on your route. The price gap between the cheapest and most expensive station within a 5km radius is typically 8 to 18 cents per litre, which on a 50-litre tank is $4 to $9. That gap is independent of the cycle phase: it exists every single day, not only on trough days.
The near-me locator shows live prices at the closest 50 stations sorted by price. The state hubs show the cheapest suburb in your area on any given day. Both are updated continuously throughout the day from official government APIs.
For long-term savings, set a price alert via Petrolmate to be notified when prices in your area drop below a threshold. Alerts are sent at the trough phase of your local cycle so you can plan your next fill without checking every day. Set up an alert from the homepage or any state page.