Skip to Content

5 Best Apps to Find Cheap Gas for Your RV & Car

5 Best Apps to Find Cheap Gas for Your RV & Car

There’s been a tremendous surge in RVing over the past couple of years but we’ve also seen a surge in gas and diesel fuel prices lately, so we thought this might be a great time to do a post on some great apps to find cheap gas.

For the purpose of this article, we’ll use the term “gas” because most of the apps use that term exclusively. But we’re really talking about fuel here – both gasoline and diesel – for the benefit of owners of all types of vehicles.

And, yes, we know that there are many “Fuel Discount” programs out there you can join. But many of those programs are very limiting, often limiting you to diesel fuel and truckstops… which, in our experience, have the HIGHEST fuel prices in any area. You’re paying a premium for the convenience they offer along major interstate routes.

There are other aspects of being forced to use the truck lanes at fuel stops that we object to (often slick with diesel fuel, potentially interfering with truckers who are working, etc), but those details are a topic for another day. Today we’re talking about price.

Saving money on an inflated price sort of defeats the purpose (and eliminates the savings)… and we’ve found that we can usually save at least as much, and often more, by using the apps listed below to find the cheapest gas on our route.

5 Apps to Help You Fill Your Tank on a Budget

We’ve selected five apps to focus on here, and we’ll share with you their websites, any fees and discount programs that apply, and the best features of each.

We’re pretty sure one or all of these will save you a few bucks when you fill up, and if you’re filling a tank the size of ours, you’ll see some significant savings at the pump.

So, let’s get to it!

#1. GasBuddy

GasBuddy app to find cheap gas

GasBuddy is an app & website to find cheap gas and can also save you money in numerous additional ways.

Website

www.gasbuddy.com

About GasBuddy

GasBuddy is a pretty amazing app, not only in our opinion but also according to many reviewers who’ve used the app for a long stretch of time. It’s the primary tool that we use to find the cheapest prices on fuel wherever we go.

Sure, GasBuddy is an app to find cheap gas and as such will show you the stations near you with the cheapest fuel, but that’s not where this money-saving app stops.

You can get a free Pay with GasBuddy card which you can link to your checking account and then use as a debit card to pay for your fuel. 95% of fueling stations accept the Pay with Gasbuddy card, so you’ll have the convenience of using the card to pay for your gasoline and/or diesel purchases pretty much anywhere (some small local retailers may not participate, but 95% gives you pretty good odds), but that’s not all the card does.

In addition to convenience, the Pay with GasBuddy card saves you up to an additional 25 cents per gallon automatically.

So, you’ll use your GasBuddy app to find the cheapest gas near you, you’ll fill up at that location and use your Pay with GasBuddy card to pay for your fuel, and you’ll get additional savings deals just by using the card.

There are also station-specific promotions and seasonal promotions which can add even more to your savings over time.

While the Pay with GasBuddy card is free (sign up on the website or the app, no credit card or credit check necessary), GasBuddy also offers exclusive benefits with their Plus and Premium accounts that, for additional monthly fees, offer extra savings above the free plan.

NOTES ABOUT THE “PAY WITH GASBUDDY” PROGRAM:

    • The Pay with GasBuddy program is available only within the United States to US residents (you must have a US mailing address). Registration requires providing your US drivers license for identity verification, and you will need a US-based bank account to link to for payments.
    • The Pay with GasBuddy program has $75/day and $300/week limits. Once you’ve reached either of those limits, your transaction will stop. So, if you need more fuel, you’ll need to start a second transaction with another payment method.

GasBuddy App Cost

The GasBuddy app to find cheap gas is FREE for both iOS and Android users. And, for most users, that’s all you’ll need to start saving.

GasBuddy Coverage

Fuel price data is available for locations throughout the US and Canada.

Best Features of the GasBuddy App to Find Cheap Gas

The best features of GasBuddy include the ability to show you which fueling stations around you have the cheapest gas prices on the day you need to fuel up. And because the app is map-based, it’s easy to scan around along your route to see what fuel prices are like where you’re heading to. It lists prices of all grades and types of fuel, and the time of the last price update at that location.

GasBuddy allows you additional ways to save money using their free Pay with GasBuddy card as well as the ability to earn free gas back in the away of points accumulated… and there are numerous opportunities to save money not only on fuel but also at some of your favorite retailers.

GasBuddy’s website offers a trip cost calculator so that you can see what a projected trip will cost you in fuel, and you’ll find features such as gas price charts and maps, an outage tracker, and even vehicle recall notices.

GasBuddy is a feature-rich app to find cheap gas prices and much more. That’s why it’s our absolute #1 go-to way to locate fuel, especially when we often take on 120 gallons or more of diesel fuel in one fill. Knowing our fuel range, we can use GasBuddy to look far along our route to see where the best place is to stop.

And if you’re wondering if we can fit our 43′ rig + Honda toad into any gas station, that’s where Google Maps & StreetView come in. When we spot the cheapest fuel on our route, we can simply scope the station out in advance to get an idea if it’s tiny or huge, and what the layout is like.

#2. Gas Guru

Gas Guru app to find cheap gas

Gas Guru is a simple and user-friendly way to find your way to cheap gas prices.

Website

None, Gas Guru is only available as an app

About Gas Guru

Gas Guru is another app to find cheap gas near you. The app lists services and fuel types available at each gas station. You can even filter your search based on the particular services that you’re seeking. Need a station with an ATM? You can filter your search to show you current gas prices at nearby stations that have an ATM available. Traveling overnight and want Gas Guru to only show you 24-hour stations? Lay it out in the filter and you’ll know where to go!

With Gas Guru, you can label and save your favorite stations, and the app will give you additional information such as directions, maps, prices of all grades and types of fuel, and the time of last gas price update at that location.

Gas Guru App Cost

Gas Guru is available free for both iOS and Android.

Gas Guru Coverage

Fuel price data is available only in the US. No Canadian data is available as of the date of writing this article.

Best Features of the Gas Guru App to Find Cheap Gas

One of the greatest features of the Gas Guru app to find cheap gas is called “The Best Nearby”. This saves you time and energy looking through the stations throughout the area to see which is currently offering the best price. The Best Nearby feature will show you the cheapest gas near you and you can head straight to that location for your fuel bargain without hunting and comparing.

#3. Google Maps

Google Maps

We’re all familiar with Google Maps as a navigation assistant, but the easy-to-see gas prices noted on maps offer a great way to save money on gas.

Website

www.google.com/maps

About Google Maps

We might not think of Google Maps as an app to find cheap gas, but in fact, it is! Once in your Google Maps app, you simply use the search feature and search either “gas” or “gas station”, and you’ll see nearby fueling stations displayed on the map with the gas prices at each station. You can even search using a specific brand of gas.

Alternatively (and even easier), is the “Gas” button in Google Maps. Simply open Google Maps on your phone, then beneath the “Search Here” box just scroll the list of quick searches until you see “Gas,” click it, and all of the nearby gas stations will be displayed along with current gas prices at each.

Pinch & zoom your phone screen to see more or fewer options with the ability to compare nearby prices.

Google Maps App Cost

If you don’t already have the app downloaded to your smartphone, Google Maps is free for iOS and Android users.

Google Maps Coverage

Fuel price & mapping data is available for locations throughout the US and Canada (and beyond).

Best Features of the Google Maps App to Find Cheap Gas

Easily the best feature of Google Maps as an app to find cheap gas is its ease of use and simplicity. Open the app, hit the “Gas” button, and there you have displayed before you all nearby gas stations and the current price of gas at each. Simple, quick, effective. Just what we want when we’re on the road. And since you’re probably already using Google Maps to navigate, being able to search for gas along your route is extra handy, too.

#4. iExit Interstate Exit Guide

iExit is an app to find cheap gas and so much more.

iExit not only lets you see where to get the cheapest gas in the area, but also shows you nearby restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, and much more.

Website

www.exitapp.com

About iExit Interstate Exit Guide

Not only is iExit a fantastic, smooth, simple app to find cheap gas, but it also has numerous additional features that make it well worth having with you whenever you travel.

When you open the app, you’ll see several squares displayed at the bottom of your screen. You’ll simply touch the square labeled “Gas” and voila! — you’ll see a full list of nearby gas stations in list form, exactly how far away from you each station is, and what their gas prices were as of the date noted right on your screen.

Even better, at the top of your screen, you’ll see listed the Best, Good, Average, and Worst gas prices nearby. That makes it very easy to find the cheapest gas prices near you and how far you’ll have to drive to get that best price.

There are also squares labeled “Food” and “Lodging” at the bottom of your iExit opening screen, and those work just as seamlessly to show you food and lodging options near you, the distance they are from you, and there’s even a connection to Yelp to show you reviews.

One tap of the “Custom Search” button takes you to a page from where you can search for coffee stops, rest areas, and more. You can also tap on the specific type of fuel you’re searching for including unleaded, diesel, mid-grade, or premium fuels, and electric plug-in stations.

You can search for nearby food offerings by the type of food you’re interested in, or find nearby grocery stores, or even ice cream shops.

The iExit app will show you lodging specifics such as pet-friendly hotels, family-friendly spots such as playgrounds, as well as truck stops, campgrounds, outdoor supply stores, hospitals, pharmacies, veterinarians, and attractions.

You can even search for nearby places with WiFi available!

iExit App Cost

iExit Interstate Exit Guide is free for iOS and Android users.

iExit Coverage

Fuel price data is available only in the US. No Canadian data is available as of the date of writing this article.

Best Features of the iExit App to Find Cheap Gas

iExit is a great app to find cheap gas, but it’s so much more than that. The best feature of iExit is how feature-rich the app is! You won’t just find cheap gas at the tip of your fingers – you’ll also find just about anything else you could possibly need.

iExit is a highly information-rich app that is simple to use. There are ads displayed, but an in-app purchase can remove all ads if that’s your desire.

All travelers should really have iExit at their fingertips.

#5. Waze

Waze navigation app with gas prices

Waze is a navigation app that offers many additional features including where to find the cheapest gas in the surrounding area.

Website

www.waze.com

About Waze

Waze is a subsidiary of Google and is actually a navigation app, like Google Maps. It works on any smartphone or tablet with GPS support. Waze can function as an app to find cheap gas, but also offers turn-by-turn directions as well as additional trip information such as travel times and route details such as traffic alerts, police notices, and hazards ahead on your route.

Within Waze, you can find the cheapest gas along your travel route by tapping on “Gas Stations.” From there you’ll be shown a map with gas stations indicated as well as a list of nearby gas stations, how far away they are, and what the current cost of gas is at each location.

You can find parking using the Waze app, and you can even listen to your favorite music or podcasts right from within Waze.

NOTE: Waze directions are not intended for oversized vehicles or emergency vehicles. If you’re driving a very large motorhome, this may be a consideration in the sense that routing may not take the size of your rig into consideration.

Waze App Cost

Waze is free for iOS and Android users.

Waze Coverage

Fuel price & mapping data is available for locations throughout the US and Canada (and beyond).

Best Features of the Waze App to Find Cheap Gas

Waze has some features that some of the other apps noted in this article don’t have, such as the ability to play music and podcasts from right within the app. But the biggest benefit to using Waze is the community.

Waze utilizes data submitted by its users to constantly update its traffic information, making it easier to avoid snarl-ups caused by construction or accidents. If you tend to travel in metropolitan areas, Waze can be a lifesaver!

Are These Gas Apps Accurate?

For the most part, the answer to this question is yes. There are a number of apps to find cheap gas out there that are rarely updated and are thus frustrating to use. We’ve chosen five apps to share with you that are as accurate as gas apps can be.

In some cases, you’ll actually be able to see when the gas price displayed was last updated. You may notice, as we have, that they’re generally updated daily or at least within the past few days. And many of the apps will stop displaying a fuel price if the last posted update was too long ago.

Can You Still Save Money if You Have a Big Gas Tank?

Heck, yes! You can save even MORE money if you have a big gas tank!

Let’s say you’re using one of these apps to find cheap gas and you pop it open and find that a half-mile away there’s a station with gas that’s ten cents cheaper than most in the immediate area. If you fill your 50-gallon tank, you just saved yourself five bucks. If you fill your 100-gallon tank, you just saved yourself ten bucks.

Doing this throughout your travels your gas savings really add up! And if you use a program like Pay with Gasbuddy, you can save a whole lot more.

So, yes – you can save money using an app to find cheap gas, no matter the size of your rig OR gas tank!

Conclusion

We hope this round-up of five free apps to find cheap gas is helpful to you in a variety of ways since they all offer lots of good information and travel assistance.

No matter which free app you choose, saving money on gas, especially with prices rising as they have this summer, always makes sense!

Geek Out with Us Every Week

Join our newsletter to learn about all things RV-related. Every week we offer free tips, tricks, product reviews, and more to our online community of RVers. So, whether this is your first time on the road or you’re a seasoned expert, we’d love for you to geek out with us!

We'd Love It If You Shared This!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Larry

Friday 3rd of September 2021

Thanks for the great article! Pay with GasBuddy is a great money saver. We have found that with the $75 daily limit they impose and current gas prices, filling up when you need more than 25 gallons is not possible and a second transaction with a regular credit card is required at the non discounted price. Have you been able to increase the $75 daily limit?

Joe Curbelo

Monday 13th of June 2022

@TheRVgeeks, I have the same frustration and I did let GasBuddy know about it. Since this post, GasBuddy has raised the daily limit to $100 but gas has increased an average $1.27/gallon. So let's say you need 60 gallons of gas, that's $76.14 more than last September so the $25 increase is hardly keeping up!

TheRVgeeks

Saturday 4th of September 2021

Hey Larry. Unfortunately, no... we don't know of any way to get past the $75 daily limit... other than contacting GasBuddy to let them know it would be nice to have a higher limit for larger vehicles like RVs. Maybe if enough people let them know they'd like the option to increase the limit, it will encourage them to offer it.

StepnWolf

Wednesday 1st of September 2021

iExit is free, but they make you pay to get gas prices. That should be mentioned in the article. Doesn't matter if the app is free, but if the purpose is for gas prices and they are blocked, then you can't use it for that purpose without paying for it.

Dr. Michael

Sunday 29th of August 2021

Tell me something- How did you guys miss the second most popular card for diesel RV ? (Gas Buddy is first) I have had the TDS card for a while and have saved a considerable amount of cash.

TheRVgeeks

Sunday 29th of August 2021

Hi Michael! We didn't include it for several reasons, some of which were alluded to in the post:

...we know that there are many “Fuel Discount” programs out there you can join. But many of those programs are very limiting, often limiting you to diesel fuel and truckstops… which, in our experience, have the HIGHEST fuel prices in any area. You’re paying a premium for the convenience they offer along major interstate routes.

There are other aspects of being forced to use the truck lanes at fuel stops that we object to (often slick with diesel fuel, potentially interfering with truckers who are working, etc), but those details are a topic for another day. Today we’re talking about price.

Saving money on an inflated price sort of defeats the purpose (and eliminates the savings)… and we’ve found that we can usually save at least as much, and often more, by using the apps listed below to find the cheapest gas on our route.

We've compared prices we're able to get using GasBuddy vs the discounts people report getting with the card, and were not satisfied that any potential savings were enough to make us get one. We can beat card prices almost all the time and get fuel where we want to, i.e. not on the interstate or in slimy truck lanes, or making working truckers wait behind us while we fuel. We know RVers who like it, but it's not for everyone.

John Schretlen

Sunday 29th of August 2021

Does Gasbuddy indicate which station will accept the Pay with GasBuddy card? I know you said about 95% do; but it would be a bother to plan on using it only to find you are at another one of the five percenters.

Also, do all of your suggestions work well in Canada and the US?

TheRVgeeks

Sunday 29th of August 2021

Good questions, John. You can filter the GasBuddy listings to show only the stations that offer "Pay With GasBuddy", so you can be sure to find one that supports it (again, about 95% do... but it never hurts to know for sure). The only issue that may pose a problem is that it is a US-only program (going to update the post to reflect this), and the registration process requires a US driver's license to complete an identity verification. No way around it that we have found (though we do have a note in to them asking, just in case). So the "Pay with GasBuddy" option only works in the US for US residents. ????

As far as which ones work in the US/Canada/both... Gas Guru and iExit are the only two that are US only. They don't have data for traveling in Canada. The other three (GasBuddy, Google Maps, and Waze) all work well for travel in both countries (though sometimes there is less data available for Canadian locations because of a smaller overall population).

Will Belden

Sunday 29th of August 2021

Y'all should add your GasBuddy "invite code". Guessing it's a referral thing, maybe.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

PLEASE NOTE: We're handy RVers, not professional technicians. We're happy with the techniques and products we use, but be sure to confirm that all methods and materials you use are compatible with your equipment and abilities. Regardless of what we recommend, consult a professional if you're unsure about working on your RV. Any task you perform or product you purchase based on any information we provide is strictly at your own risk.

We participate in affiliate programs from many companies (including the Amazon affiliate program), which provides a means for us to earn a small commission by linking to products there. But our opinions are our own and we only link to products we can recommend to friends with complete confidence. And using our links won't cost you an extra penny!