The cheapest and most expensive fuel in the EU: all 27 countries ranked, September 2026

In the week of 21 September 2026 a litre of petrol cost €1.340 in Malta and €2.618 in Denmark, the cheapest and the dearest national averages in the EU. Diesel ranged from €1.210 in Malta to €2.579 in the Netherlands. This guide ranks all 27 EU countries from the European Commission’s weekly figures, shows the six-month average beside the latest week, and explains the countries at each end of the table.

By the Refuelia Editorial Team · Published 27 September 2026 · Prices for the week of 21 September 2026

For a 50-litre tank the gap is easy to feel: about €67.00 at the Maltese average and about €130.90 at the Danish one, a difference of €63.90 for the same litres of petrol. The same figures, refreshed every week with a longer history, are on the weekly EU fuel prices page.

All 27 countries, cheapest petrol first

Each figure is the national average pump price with taxes, in euros per litre, as the Commission publishes it: Euro-super 95 for petrol and automotive diesel. The rank beside the diesel price is the country’s place for diesel, cheapest first. The last column is the average of the 26 weeks from 30 March to 21 September 2026.

The EU average was €2.092 for petrol and €2.226 for diesel that week, against €1.891 and €1.966 over the six months.

Why Malta is at the top

Malta’s prices do not follow the market. The state-owned importer Enemed holds them fixed with government support, at €1.34 a litre for petrol and €1.21 for diesel, unchanged since 2021. The Commission’s figure for Malta was the same €1.340 in every one of the 105 weeks in our data.

Why Sweden moved up

Sweden was the second-cheapest country for petrol, at €1.579. Its government lowered fuel taxes to the EU minimum from 1 May to 30 September 2026 and added a further cut of 2.40 kronor a litre before VAT from 1 July to 30 November 2026, to offset the price rise that followed the war in Iran. Both cuts are temporary, so Swedish prices are likely to rise when they end. The other temporary measures across the EU are listed in fuel price caps and tax cuts in Europe in 2026.

Diesel now costs more than petrol almost everywhere

In the week of 21 September 2026, diesel was dearer than petrol in 24 of the 27 countries; the exceptions were Denmark, Malta, Spain. A year earlier, in the week of 22 September 2025, that was true in 9. The reasons diesel and petrol prices move apart are in why diesel costs more than petrol, and sometimes less.

How to use this table

1. It ranks countries, not stations. A national average says nothing about the station in front of you; motorway stations usually charge more, and islands such as the Greek ones pay for shipping.
2. The six-month column is the steadier guide. One week can be moved by a tax change; the average shows where a country usually sits.
3. Across a border, check the pair. Where to fill up before a border gives the gap at 35 crossings, and fuel prices in Europe this week updates these figures every week.