The 5 Best Gas Apps to Help You Save at the Pump Find the cheapest prices and even get money back By Jeremy Laukkonen Jeremy Laukkonen Facebook Twitter Writer Shoreline Community College Jeremy Laukkonen is automotive and tech writer for numerous major trade publications. When not researching and testing computers, game consoles or smartphones, he stays up-to-date on the myriad complex systems that power battery electric vehicles . lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on August 7, 2022 Reviewed by Ryan Perian Reviewed by Ryan Perian Western Governors University Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email If you have a long commute, or you’re on an extended road trip, how are you supposed to know if a better price lurks just beyond the horizon? Gas apps can answer that question by finding the best prices in your area or along your route, either from crowdsourced information or data from an industry group. All of these apps are free, and they all work with both Android and iOS. Some require you to set up a free account, and others have premium features that you can pay for, but they’re all free to download and use. Links are provided for both Android and iOS versions of each app, or you can find them in the app store on your phone. 01 of 05 Best for Finding Stations on Road Trips: Gas Buddy What We Like Automatically show cheap gas along your route. Identifies good places to stop based on gas prices. Payment feature can save you some money too. What We Don't Like Advanced trip planner is only on the website. Gathers lots of private data. Gas Buddy is a feature-rich gas app, but its route feature is indispensable when planning a road trip. This feature lets you plug in your current location and your destination, verify your route, and then it shows you the best gas prices all along the way. The GasBuddy website takes this a step further, allowing you to enter the year, make, and model of your vehicle, along with your starting point and destination, to automatically generate an itinerary based on gas prices along your route. In addition to the awesome trip planning feature, Gas Buddy also has a gas station and price finder, outage tracker, and a payment feature that may save you money. The app is completely free to download and use, but premium members get some extra perks like higher savings on fuel purchases and free roadside assistance, which could also come in handy on a long road trip. Download For: Android iOS 02 of 05 Best for Finding Local Stations Quick: Google Maps What We Like Quick and easy to find local stations and prices. You probably already have it. Excellent for creating routes and navigation. What We Don't Like No advanced sorting features. Won’t show stations out of your area unless you run a new search. Our Review of the Google Maps App Google Maps is a map and route planning app, not a dedicated gas app, but it does an excellent job showing you the local gas prices fast. It lacks a lot of the advanced features you’ll find in dedicated gas apps, but its big advantages are that it’s fast, easy to use, and there’s a good chance you already have it on your phone. It comes pre-installed on Android devices, and you can also grab it from the iOS App Store for free. This app is great for quickly scanning the local gas prices because all you have to do is open the app and tap the gas icon. This automatically brings up a map of the closest gas stations along with prices. The downside is that while it’s quick and easy, it doesn’t show premium or diesel prices, and the sorting options are limited. Download For: Android iOS 03 of 05 Best for Cash Back: Upside What We Like Provides money back within days. Receive funds via PayPal, check, or gift card. Sometimes has cash back offers for restaurants and groceries. What We Don't Like Doesn’t work everywhere. Only shows gas prices for participating stations. You have to pay full price then wait to be reimbursed. Gas apps are designed to help you find the lowest price at the pump, but Upside takes it a step further and provides money back on your purchases. The way this money-saving app works is you use it to check for local discounts, accept an offer, then fuel up. You have to pay full price initially, then either check-in via the app (if the location supports it), or send a picture of your receipt to Upside through the app. After you’ve accumulated $10 worth of rewards, you can cash out through PayPal, a gift card, or a physical check. This app is great if you’re looking to earn some cash back on your gas purchases, and it can save you a lot of money if you spend a lot of time behind the wheel. It’s best used in conjunction with a traditional gas app though, as it only shows local Upside offers, not prices from every gas station. Download For: Android iOS 04 of 05 Best for Contactless Payment: Waze What We Like Automatically alerts you when contactless payment is available. Launches the right app for your location. Works with multiple gas station chains. What We Don't Like Payment isn’t handled in-app. Requires the installation of additional apps. Waze is one of the best all-around navigation apps on the market, and it can find the best prices on gas in addition to best-in-class route planning, crowdsourced traffic data, and even a rideshare feature. If you choose this as your go-to route planning and gas app, it will automatically alert you whenever you arrive at a gas station that supports contactless payment. It then gives you the option to launch the corresponding gas station app if you have it installed. The obvious downside is contactless payment isn’t handled from within the Waze app itself, so you have to install the individual gas station apps for it to work. The benefit is you don’t have to fiddle around with locating and launching the right app when it’s time to buy gas, as Waze will do that for you when you pull up to the pump. Download For: Android iOS 05 of 05 Best for Accurate Prices: Geico Mobile What We Like Up to date gas prices from OPIS. Don’t need to have Geico to use it. What We Don't Like Lacks some advanced features. Geico policyholders will get more utility out of it. Geico Mobile is a must-have if you have Geico insurance, as it lets you pull up your policy information anywhere. This free app is available to everyone though, and it’s worth checking out due to its accurate and up-to-date pricing information. Unlike a lot of apps that use crowd-sourced data that may be either fresh or outdated, Geico Mobile uses data from the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) that’s updated regularly. Even if you primarily use a crowdsourced app like GasBuddy, it’s good to have an OPIS-based app like this to compare. There are other apps that give access to OPIS data, but Geico Mobile is remarkably fast and easy to use. You don’t need an account, and you don’t need to have Geico insurance. If you do have Geico, you can also use the app to view your insurance policy info, request roadside assistance, file and check on claims, and manage your policy. Download For: Android iOS Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit