One of the most common questions we get is: "How up to date are your prices?" It's a fair question — and the honest answer is: it depends on the retailer. Most stations update continuously throughout the day. A small number update once daily. Here's exactly how it works.
The UK Government Fuel Finder API
The majority of fuel prices shown on PetrolPrices.co.uk come from the UK Government Fuel Finder API — an official data feed operated as part of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Road Fuel Prices Scheme.
Under this scheme, fuel retailers are legally required to submit their prices to the government. Those prices are then made available through the API, which PetrolPrices.co.uk queries regularly. We update prices from this feed approximately every 15 minutes, meaning what you see on our site is as close to real-time as the data allows.
This approach means that when a station puts its prices up — or drops them — that change will typically appear on PetrolPrices.co.uk within quarter of an hour. For drivers making a journey decision, that's the most accurate real-world picture we can provide.
Why Tesco prices update differently
Tesco is the exception to the above. Rather than submitting prices via the government API, Tesco provides its price data through its own official direct feed. This is a separate data arrangement, and it operates on a different schedule.
Tesco's price file is generated and published once per day. This means Tesco fuel prices on PetrolPrices.co.uk will reflect the most recently published Tesco data, which updates daily rather than continuously.
Why does Tesco update once a day?
Tesco is one of the UK's largest fuel retailers and manages its own pricing infrastructure. Its direct data feed publishes a fresh price file once daily — this is an operational decision on Tesco's part, and reflects how their systems work. We consume that file as soon as it becomes available each day.
What this means in practice
For the vast majority of the stations on PetrolPrices.co.uk, prices are updated frequently throughout the day and reflect current forecourt prices very closely. If you're comparing stations from BP, Shell, Esso, Sainsbury's, ASDA, Morrisons, and hundreds of others — those prices are pulled from the live government feed.
For Tesco, the price you see is accurate as of the most recent daily update. Tesco typically doesn't change its prices multiple times a day, so in practice this rarely causes a meaningful discrepancy — but it's worth knowing if you've spotted a difference at the pump.
What if a price looks wrong?
Fuel prices on PetrolPrices.co.uk are sourced directly from official retailer data — we do not set, estimate, or amend any prices ourselves. If you believe the price shown doesn't match what's on the forecourt, the most likely explanations are:
- The retailer has updated their price since our last fetch (for non-Tesco stations, the next update will arrive within 15 minutes)
- For Tesco, the daily price file hasn't yet been published or processed today
- A genuine discrepancy in the data submitted by the retailer to the government feed
In any of these cases, the right contact is the retailer themselves — they are responsible for the accuracy of the prices they submit. You can also use the Report Inaccurate Data button on any station card across the site, which helps flag issues for review.
Quick summary
- Most stations — prices updated approximately every 15 minutes via the UK Government Fuel Finder API
- Tesco — prices sourced from Tesco's own official direct feed, updated once per day
- All prices — sourced from official retailer data; we do not set or adjust any figures
Our commitment to accuracy
We've been helping UK drivers find cheaper fuel since the early 2000s, and data quality is central to everything we do. Our integration with the UK Government Fuel Finder API — and Tesco's direct feed — means the prices you see are drawn from the same authoritative sources used by regulators and price comparison schemes across the country.
If you have questions about our data, or you've noticed something that doesn't look right, visit our FAQ page or get in touch.