How WorthTheDrive works

WorthTheDrive helps you answer a common question, is it worth driving further to get cheaper fuel?

A quick summary of how WorthTheDrive works

  1. Enter your postcode or use your location.
  2. WorthTheDrive finds nearby petrol stations and compares their prices with your nearest option.
  3. For each petrol station, it tells you whether it is worth the drive and how much you could save or spend.
  4. Your verdict updates instantly as you adjust your tank level, your car’s MPG, and your fuel type (petrol and diesel).

Your postcode and location

WorthTheDrive uses postcodes to determine your location as the vast majority of people in the UK have a postcode and know what it is.

If you’re somewhere unfamiliar, the “Locate Me” feature can tell WorthTheDrive where you are based on your browser or mobile location data.

You’re always in control of the “Locate Me” feature:

  • you can choose for it to ask for permission each time WorthTheDrive needs it
  • you can give permission to access it all the time
  • you can block WorthTheDrive from ever accessing it if you’d prefer not to use that feature and only use postcodes.

For more information about postcodes and location data and how we use it, see our privacy policy.

Searching for nearby petrol stations

Using your location and selected fuel type, WorthTheDrive looks for petrol stations near you.

We use a search radius of 5 miles, which is often sufficient for most people. If we only find a few results, we automatically extend the range to 8 miles to give you more options. For most postcodes, this works well. In very rural areas, though, we may return only 1 result or none at all.

We calculate distances using “as the crow flies” logic, then add an adjustment to reflect real-world UK roads. This means all distances are estimates. See our terms of service for more details.

We use the UK Government’s fuel finder API to get the petrol stations and their prices. If a petrol station does not appear in the results, or its prices are out of date, WorthTheDrive cannot correct that. You’re best off reporting it directly.

The WorthTheDrive verdict

We use the following information to calculate a verdict for each petrol station:

  • the estimated distance to the petrol station from your location
  • the fuel type you’ve picked (petrol or diesel)
  • a 50-litre fuel tank - you can change this in the advanced options
  • 40 MPG for your car’s MPG - you can change this in the advanced options
  • a quarter-full tank - you can change this in the results panel

Check out the calculation panel for each result to see how we calculated whether you would save money or spend money getting the “cheapest” fuel near you.

First, we calculate how much you would save on the fuel itself. Then we work out how much it would cost to drive there and back. Finally, we subtract the driving cost from the fuel saving to give you your verdict.

If you still save money after those driving costs, it is WorthTheDrive.

If it costs you more to drive for the cheaper fuel, then it is not WorthTheDrive.

Quick checklist

  • Enter a realistic MPG for your car and tank settings in the advanced options to get a more accurate verdict for your circumstances.
  • Compare the overall saving, not just the headline pence-per-litre difference, so you can see whether it is WorthTheDrive.

Enter your details and find out what you can save now WorthTheDrive »