How much does it cost to fill up with petrol in Italy?

On 22 July 2026 the lowest regional average was in Marche at EUR 1.930 a litre and the highest in the autonomous province of Bolzano at EUR 1.987. On a fifty-litre tank that is a difference of EUR 2.85. The spread is far narrower than people expect, and far narrower than for other motoring costs: with car insurance the gap between the dearest and cheapest Italian province exceeds two hundred euros a year.

On 22 July 2026 self-service petrol averaged EUR 2.040 a litre on the motorway network against EUR 1.955 on ordinary roads: 8.5 cents a litre, or EUR 4.25 on a fifty-litre tank. The premium is real but modest in absolute terms, and only becomes significant for people who cover a lot of motorway. It is worth planning to fill up before you join, not worth leaving the motorway once you are on it.

Because the historic tax gap between the two fuels has closed. Excise on diesel, for years lower than on petrol, has been progressively aligned, and the commodity market did the rest during 2026. On 22 July 2026 the regional average for self-service diesel was EUR 2.127 a litre against EUR 1.955 for petrol: seventeen cents more, EUR 8.60 on a tank. Anyone who chose a diesel car on the strength of cheaper fuel has lost that advantage.

A very large share, between excise duty and VAT at 22 per cent, but this guide does not publish a precise percentage and it is worth saying why. The excise rate changed more than once during 2026: the budget law aligned petrol and diesel from 1 January, and the customs agency table we consulted documents a further rate introduced by a decree-law of 18 March 2026 and stated to run for a few weeks only. Since we could not establish which rate is in force today, we prefer not to publish a figure we cannot stand behind.

No, and that matters. It is an arithmetic mean of the prices filling stations in a region have reported, taken at eight in the morning. An individual station can sit well above or below it: unbranded stations outside built-up areas often sit below, while stations in busy locations sit above. The average is there to tell you whether the price on the board in front of you is normal, not to predict the exact figure on the display.

Because fifty litres is a realistic capacity for most of the small and mid-sized cars on Italian roads, and a round figure makes the conversion transparent. The price per litre is the real, verifiable fact; the tank is a multiplication we declare openly. If your tank holds forty or sixty-five litres, multiply your region's price per litre by your own capacity and the result will be exactly as reliable as ours.