The Fastest Way to Find the Cheapest Gas in Your Area
Gas prices are going up and it sucks. But you don’t always have to live with the price you see—there might be another station on the other side of town that offers cheaper gas than you pay, or a great deal you don’t know about. You also don’t have to do all the research yourself.
Your phone might not be very useful by default – while the built-in map apps can help you find gas stations, they’re not particularly helpful in showing you the cheapest fuel. But you can (and should) turn to a third-party app that specializes in saving money on gas.
Download a free money saving app like GasBuddy.
One of the best options is called GasBuddy . It’s a free app that’s basically like Google Maps for gas stations, gathering all registered pumps in your area and displaying their current (or most recently registered) prices. With each entry, you can see at a glance if the listed price is a fixed price or if GasBuddy has a potential deal with the station. For example, one dispenser near me currently offers regular gasoline for $3.59 a gallon, but I could save 5 cents a gallon by sending a receipt to GasBuddy.
If you view your options as a list, you can see the general spread of gas prices in your area. Around me, there is a 76 cent difference between all registered stations, with the lowest one offering $3.43 per gallon and the highest one costing $4.19 per gallon. There’s no way I’m going to stop at stations that charge $4.19 now that I know I can spend 76 cents less if I get out of my way a bit.
Does GasBuddy have other benefits?
If you wish, you can also sign up for a free rewards card through GasBuddy; the app claims the card can save you up to 25 cents per gallon at participating stations, which account for 95% of locations nationwide. Of course, this probably depends on the station you are using the map from. This is not a credit card, so any purchases made will be debited from your bank account within one to three business days. It simply removes a significant portion of the change per gallon.
How else can you save money on gas?
Also, keep in mind that GasBuddy and similar apps aren’t the only options you have. Major gas companies such as Shell, BP and Exxon Mobil have their own apps that you can download. They tend to offer discounts and reuse rewards, so if you frequent the same gas station often, they might be worth looking into. Search your favorite gas station in the App Store or Play Store to see if they have an app you can use.