Overview
A long drive from Ukraine into the European Union costs far more in fuel and road tolls than most drivers plan for. In week 32, Hungary has the cheapest diesel among the countries we track, at approximately €1.625 per litre, and the single most effective habit is simple: fill the tank in the cheaper country immediately before you cross into a more expensive one. Fuel prices are updated every week, so the ranking below can change from one week to the next. Always check the live page before you leave home.
Where fuel is cheapest right now
The table below shows the twelve cheapest countries in our current data set, ranked by diesel. All figures are approximate and converted to EUR so they can be compared side by side.
| # | Country | Diesel €/l | Petrol 95 €/l | LPG €/l |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | 1.625 | 1.533 | 0.856 |
| 2 | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 1.679 | 1.514 | — |
| 3 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 1.721 | 1.645 | 1.05 |
| 4 | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | 1.73 | 1.71 | 0.79 |
| 5 | 🇭🇷 Croatia | 1.77 | 1.616 | 0.74 |
| 6 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 1.788 | 1.625 | — |
| 7 | 🇨🇿 Czechia | 1.814 | 1.745 | 0.91 |
| 8 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 1.824 | 1.455 | — |
| 9 | 🇵🇱 Poland | 1.889 | 1.765 | 0.731 |
| 10 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 1.889 | 1.764 | — |
| 11 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 2.025 | 1.989 | — |
| 12 | 🇬🇷 Greece | 2.04 | 2.016 | — |
Note: prices are approximate and EUR-converted for comparison. The live fuel prices page shows current native-currency numbers per country and city — for example 642.1 HUF per litre of diesel in Hungary and 8.04 PLN in Poland. If you are budgeting in hryvnia or zloty, the currency calculator gives you live UAH, PLN and EUR rates so the EUR figures above translate into money you actually carry.
Smart fuelling strategy
The first rule is border-hopping. Look at your route, find the cheapest country on it, and arrive there with a low tank. Fill to maximum there, then cross. If your route does not pass through one of the cheaper countries in the table, top off the tank to maximum before you leave Ukraine and plan your first European stop carefully.
The second rule is to avoid gas stations located directly on motorways. They typically charge 15–20% more than stations a short distance away. A five-minute detour into a nearby town usually pays for itself on a single fill. In Western Europe, stations attached to supermarkets are almost always the cheapest option in the area, so it is worth planning one shopping stop that doubles as a refuelling stop.
Border towns are worth knowing. Many drivers compare the gas price in Bulgaria before deciding where to stop on a Balkan route, since Bulgarian diesel sits at approximately €1.679 this week. On the Luxembourg–Germany border, refuelling in Wasserbillig is a long-standing habit for drivers crossing there, with Luxembourg diesel at approximately €1.889. On the Slovenia–Hungary border, the Petrol filling station in Lendava is a common last stop before or after the crossing, where Slovenian diesel is around €1.788 against Hungary's €1.625.
If your car runs on LPG, the picture is different again. Autogas is cheapest in Poland at approximately €0.731, followed by Croatia at €0.74 and Italy at €0.76, so an LPG route rarely matches a diesel route.
Tolls and vignettes across Europe
Vignette countries — buy a digital pass before you cross
A vignette is a pre-paid digital road pass. You buy it online before the border crossing, it is linked to your license plate, and roadside cameras scan the plate to verify it. There is nothing to stick on the windscreen and nothing to pay at a booth. Buy only from the official site listed below — resellers add a markup. Pay attention to the shortest available duration: Moldova, Slovenia and Switzerland do not sell a 1-day pass this week, so a short transit still costs you a 7-day or annual pass.
| Country | Cheapest transit pass | Buy online |
|---|---|---|
| 🇷🇴 Romania | 3.5 EUR (1 day) | roviniete.ro |
| 🇲🇩 Moldova | 4 EUR (7 days) — no 1-day option | evinieta.gov.md |
| 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 4.09 EUR (1 day) | bgtoll.bg |
| 🇸🇰 Slovakia | 8.1 EUR (1 day) | eznamka.sk |
| 🇨🇿 Czech Republic | 9.2 EUR (1 day) | edalnice.cz |
| 🇦🇹 Austria | 9.6 EUR (1 day) | shop.asfinag.at |
| 🇭🇺 Hungary | 14 EUR (1 day) | nemzetiutdij.hu |
| 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 16 EUR (7 days) — no 1-day option | evinjeta.dars.si |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 42.5 CHF (annual) — annual vignette only | e-vignette.ch |
Pay-per-kilometre (toll booths)
In ticket-system countries you take a ticket when you enter the motorway and pay at a booth when you exit. There is nothing to buy in advance, but the cost depends on distance, so long transits become expensive.
- 🇮🇹 Italy — take a ticket on entry, pay on exit. One of the most expensive networks in Europe. See Italian fuel prices when planning stops.
- 🇫🇷 France — ticket and barrier system on most autoroutes. Expensive, so budget accordingly.
- 🇭🇷 Croatia — ticket on entry, pay on exit, with higher tariffs in the summer season.
- 🇵🇹 Portugal — a mix of classic toll booths and electronic-only (Via Verde) motorways. Get a transponder for the electronic-only roads.
- 🇷🇸 Serbia — ticket on entry, pay on exit, in cash or by card.
- 🇵🇱 Poland — state motorways are free for passenger cars. Private A1, A2 and A4 concessions charge at booths or through the Autopay app.
Italy, France and Croatia carry the highest road toll costs of this group, so compare a toll motorway against a slower free national road before you commit.
Toll-free for cars
🇩🇪 Germany, 🇧🇪 Belgium and 🇳🇱 Netherlands charge no road toll for passenger cars up to 3.5 tonnes. Motorways there are free, with rare exceptions for a few tunnels and bridges. German fuel prices are not part of this week's cheapest ranking, so plan to arrive in Germany with a full tank even though the motorway itself costs nothing.
Plan your trip
Plan refuelling stops around the cheapest country on your route rather than around your fuel gauge. Buy every vignette online a day or two before departure — this removes one task at the border and helps you avoid border queues at kiosks. Use the route planner to lay out the drive, then run the numbers through the trip cost calculator to combine fuel and toll expenses into one realistic total before you leave.
Useful tools
- Live Fuel Prices Across Europe — country and city prices, updated regularly
- European Vignettes & Tolls — e-vignette prices and official links
- Route Planner — plan your drive with fuel and toll stops
- Car Drivers Portal — all driving tools in one place
- Trip Cost Calculator — estimate fuel, toll and total trip expenses
- Currency Calculator — UAH, PLN, EUR and more live rates
Source: nakordoni.eu — Fuel Prices & Tolls | Updated: 05.08.2026