How We Collect Fuel Prices

Last updated: · Last reviewed:

FuelCompare.ie publishes live diesel and petrol prices from over 2,000 filling stations across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. This page explains where the data comes from, how often it updates, and how we verify accuracy.

Data sources

  • Station owner updates — registered station operators submit price changes directly via our dashboard.
  • Community confirmations — drivers at the pump tap "Confirm price" on the station detail page to verify or correct the displayed price.
  • Daily price refresh — stations without recent confirmations are flagged with a "Last updated" badge showing the age of the data.
  • Brand chains — Circle K, Applegreen, Maxol, Topaz/Texaco, Top Oil, Emo, Tesco and Lidl forecourts are tracked across their station networks.

Update frequency

  • National average and "cheapest now" widgets refresh every 5 minutes via incremental static regeneration.
  • Individual station pages show the timestamp of the last confirmed price update.
  • Prices older than 24 hours are excluded from "cheapest now" rankings and county averages to prevent stale data influencing decisions.

Verification & accuracy

Each price submission is sanity-checked against a plausible range (currently €1.00–€3.00/L for both diesel and petrol). Submissions outside this range are rejected. Repeated divergent submissions for the same station trigger a manual review.

Despite continuous verification, displayed prices may occasionally lag the forecourt by minutes. Always confirm at the pump before refuelling.

Geographic coverage

  • Republic of Ireland — all 26 counties. Prices in EUR (€).
  • Northern Ireland — all 6 counties (Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry/Derry, Tyrone). Prices in GBP (£).
  • National averages on this site refer to the Republic of Ireland only and exclude NI to avoid mixing currencies.

Editorial independence

FuelCompare.ie is operated by Dullahan Media Limited, an independent Irish company. We do not accept payment from individual stations or brands to influence rankings. Sponsored content, where present, is clearly labelled. Display advertising revenue (via Google AdSense) is the primary funding source.

Corrections

Spotted incorrect data? Use the "Confirm price" button on any station page to submit a correction, or email info@fuelcompare.ie. Corrections are processed within 24 hours.