Filling up on the motorway: how much more expensive is it?

In April 2026 the ADAC, Germany’s largest motoring organisation, analysed the prices at all of the roughly 14,000 petrol stations that report to the Market Transparency Unit for Fuels (Markttransparenzstelle für Kraftstoffe, Germany’s fuel price reporting office). Result: at the around 360 petrol stations directly on the motorway, Super E10 and diesel were on average each around 33 cents per litre more expensive than at the other stations. For 50 litres that comes to just over €16 per tank.

How much leaving the motorway saves depended heavily on the federal state: according to the ADAC, the saving ranged between 16 and 43 cents per litre, greatest in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The motorway stations themselves also differ widely – between the cheapest and the most expensive there were around 50 cents for diesel.

Most of the service areas and petrol stations on German motorways are operated by the company Tank & Rast under a federal concession; the individual stations are leased out. Rent, fees and round-the-clock operation cost money. On top of that, anyone who is nearly out of fuel on the motorway has hardly any choice – and there is no nearby competition at a service area to push prices down. Why competition makes such a difference is explained in the guide Price differences.

Almost always. A worked example: for a 10-kilometre detour, a car that uses 7 litres per 100 kilometres burns about 0.7 litres. If you then fill up 40 litres at 30 cents per litre less, you save around €12 – the detour costs only a fraction of that. The detour calculator works it out with your own figures.

The easiest thing is not having to fill up on the motorway at all: fill up in your own town before the journey, or head for an exit with petrol stations in the town. Autohöfe (service areas at the exits) are not among the service areas with a concession – still compare their prices with the petrol stations in the next town.

In the nearby search you can see all petrol stations around your location – sorted by price, distance or total cost including the trip there. Your location stays on your device. For towns along your route you will find all prices under Cities. And since the 12 noon rule, this also applies on the road: fuel is usually cheapest in the morning – more in The best time to fill up.

• ADAC: Is it worth leaving the motorway to fill up? (analysis of 6 to 19 April 2026, in German)
• Wikipedia: Tank & Rast (in German)