Frequently Asked Questions

Petrolmate updates fuel prices several times a day from the official fuel price schemes run by Australian state and territory governments. Most states sync from 6:00 AM AEST, with extra syncs through the morning and at midday, and WA prices update on Perth time. Prices can still lag the pump, so check the price at the station before you fill up.

Petrolmate uses the official fuel price schemes run by Australian state and territory governments: NSW FuelCheck (which also covers the ACT), Queensland, South Australia, Victoria's Fair Fuel scheme, WA FuelWatch, NT MyFuel and Tasmania FuelCheck. We don't use prices from other apps or websites. New Zealand prices are paused because New Zealand doesn't have an official fuel price feed yet.

Yes, Petrolmate is free to use. There is no subscription and no hidden fees, and you don't need an account to compare prices across Australia. Petrolmate is funded by Digital Adventures Pty Ltd. It has no ads and does not sell your data.

Petrolmate tracks all major fuel types available in Australia: Unleaded Petrol (ULP/91), Premium Unleaded 95 (PULP95), Premium Unleaded 98 (PULP98), E10 Ethanol Blend, Diesel, Premium Diesel, and LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas). Availability varies by station and region. You can filter by fuel type on any city or station page to compare prices for your specific needs.

Petrolmate covers every Australian state and territory: New South Wales, the ACT, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Tasmania, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra plus thousands of regional towns. A small number of stations that don't report to a government scheme show no current price. New Zealand prices are paused until New Zealand has an official fuel price feed.

Our prices come from government schemes that require service stations to report their prices, so they are generally reliable. They can still lag the pump, for example when a station has changed its price and the update hasn't reached the feed yet. Each price shows when it was last reported. Always check the price at the pump before you fill up.

Petrolmate shows prices from official government sources. If a price looks wrong, it is usually corrected at our next sync. You can also report the price to your state's official scheme (for example NSW FuelCheck or WA FuelWatch), and the correction will flow through to Petrolmate.

To find the cheapest fuel near you on Petrolmate: 1) Visit the homepage and use the search bar to find your city or suburb, 2) Or click on your state from the navigation menu, 3) Filter by your preferred fuel type (Unleaded, Diesel, E10, etc.), 4) Sort prices from lowest to highest, 5) Check the price timestamp to ensure it's current, 6) Click on a station name to see its location and full price list. The map view shows all nearby stations with color-coded prices to help you quickly identify the cheapest options in your area.

Unleaded Petrol (ULP/91 octane) is standard petrol suitable for most vehicles. E10 (94 octane) is unleaded petrol blended with 10% ethanol - it's usually cheaper but delivers slightly less fuel economy and isn't suitable for all vehicles (check your manual). Premium Unleaded 95 (PULP95) has higher octane for better performance in some engines. Premium Unleaded 98 (PULP98) is the highest octane petrol, recommended for high-performance and luxury vehicles. Diesel is a different fuel type used in diesel engines. LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) is an alternative fuel, cheapest per litre but less fuel-efficient. Always check your vehicle's manual for the recommended fuel type.

Petrolmate is currently a mobile-optimized web application accessible from any smartphone browser at petrolmate.com.au. Our website is fully responsive and works excellently on iOS and Android devices with features like location-based search, interactive maps, and real-time price updates. A dedicated iOS and Android app is on our development roadmap for 2025. In the meantime, you can add Petrolmate to your phone's home screen for quick app-like access: on iOS, tap Share > Add to Home Screen; on Android, tap Menu > Add to Home Screen.

Fuel prices vary between stations due to several factors: 1) Location costs - stations in expensive areas have higher rent and wages, 2) Competition - areas with many stations have lower prices, 3) Price cycles - stations follow weekly price cycles, raising and lowering prices at different times, 4) Brand premium - major brands (Shell, BP, Caltex) often charge more than independent stations, 5) Convenience - stations on highways or near major roads charge premium prices, 6) Volume - high-volume stations can offer lower prices. In major cities like Sydney and Melbourne, you can see differences of 20-40 cents per litre between the cheapest and most expensive stations on the same day.

Fuel price cycles are predictable patterns where petrol prices rise and fall over 1-4 weeks. In Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth, prices typically: 1) Drop sharply to a low (best time to fill up), 2) Stay low for 1-3 days, 3) Gradually rise over 1-2 weeks to a peak, 4) Drop sharply again and repeat. To save money: Fill up when prices are at the bottom of the cycle (check our city pages for current trends), avoid filling up when prices are rising, and use Petrolmate's price comparison to find stations that break the cycle. Sydney's cycle typically runs 4-5 weeks, while other cities vary. Monitoring Petrolmate daily helps you identify the cycle bottom.

By using Petrolmate to find the cheapest fuel, an average Australian household can save $500-$1,500 per year. Here's how: If you drive 15,000 km/year in a car that uses 8L/100km, you'll buy about 1,200 litres of fuel annually. With price differences of 20-40 cents per litre between the cheapest and most expensive stations, you could save $240-$480 per year just by choosing the right station. Add another $200-$500 by filling up at the bottom of price cycles instead of the peak. For families with multiple vehicles or higher mileage, savings easily exceed $1,000/year. Use Petrolmate before every fill to maximize your savings.

Yes! Petrolmate displays 7-day price trend charts on every city and station page. These interactive charts show how prices have changed over the past week, helping you identify if prices are at the bottom of the cycle (time to fill up) or rising (wait if possible). Historical data helps you understand local price patterns and make informed decisions about when to refuel. We're working on extending historical data to 30-day and 90-day views in future updates.

Petrolmate is free and is funded by Digital Adventures Pty Ltd, the company that runs it. It has no ads and does not sell your data. We don't charge users because we think everyone should be able to see what fuel costs before they fill up.

If you find an incorrect price on Petrolmate: 1) Check the price timestamp - it may have changed since our last update (we sync every 6-12 hours), 2) Prices automatically update in the next sync, so incorrect data is typically corrected within 6-12 hours, 3) For government-source states (NSW, QLD, SA, VIC, WA, NT, TAS), stations are legally required to report accurate prices, so errors are rare, 4) If you believe there's a persistent error, you can report it through your state's official app (NSW FuelCheck, WA FuelWatch, etc.) and it will flow through to Petrolmate in the next sync. We're working on adding a direct price correction feature to Petrolmate.

Yes, Petrolmate tracks diesel prices at thousands of stations across Australia. Diesel is one of our core fuel types alongside Unleaded, E10, Premium 95, Premium 98, Premium Diesel, and LPG. You can filter for diesel-only prices on any city or suburb page, compare diesel prices between stations, and view 7-day diesel price trends. Diesel prices are updated multiple times daily from the same government sources as petrol prices, ensuring accuracy and timeliness for commercial drivers, tradies, and diesel vehicle owners.

Yes! Petrolmate allows easy comparison across cities and states. From the homepage, you can search for any city (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, etc.) and view current average prices and price ranges. Our state pages show aggregated data across all cities in that state. For example, you can compare Sydney's average petrol price against Melbourne or see which regional Queensland city has the cheapest diesel. The blog also publishes daily analysis comparing price movements across major cities. This helps you understand regional price differences and see where fuel is cheapest in Australia.

Petrolmate respects your privacy. We use Google Analytics to understand how users interact with our site (pages viewed, time spent, general location at city level) to improve our service. We use Microsoft Clarity for session recordings to identify usability issues. We do NOT collect personal identifying information, require accounts, track individual users, sell data to third parties, or use invasive tracking. No registration means no email addresses, phone numbers, or personal data stored. Your searches and location queries are not stored or linked to you personally. You can use Petrolmate completely anonymously.

You can contact Petrolmate support by emailing [email protected]. We typically respond within 24-48 hours. For general questions, this FAQ page covers most common inquiries. For technical issues, please include details about your device (iOS/Android/Desktop), browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox), and a description of the problem. For feature requests or suggestions, we love hearing from users - your feedback helps us improve Petrolmate for everyone. You can also follow our blog for updates, new features, and fuel-saving tips.