South Africans are paying up to R70.40 less to fill up their tanks than they were three months ago.
The new year got off to a great start with a welcome reduction in the price of both petrol and diesel.
Petrol prices dropped by between 62c and 66c per litre, while diesel saw an even larger drop of between 137c and 150c per litre.
As a result, the country is now enjoying its lowest petrol price in almost four years.
Then vs now
TopAuto compared the petrol price between October 2025 and January 2026 to determine how much petrol prices have declined over a three-month period.
In October, a litre of petrol 95 would set motorists back R21.63, which decreased by 51c following November’s fuel price adjustments.
Unfortunately, fuel prices increased over the December holiday period, but only by 29c, meaning the hike wasn’t enough to offset November’s gains.
Fast forward to January, and petrol prices have dropped by another 66c per litre, resulting in a final retail price of R20.75 for petrol 95 at inland rates.
This is the best petrol price South Africa has experienced since early 2022, as that year saw multiple hikes with petrol reaching an all-time high of R26.31 in July 2022.
The intervening years saw fluctuations in the fuel price due to global factors like the international oil price, the conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine, and the US dollar/rand exchange rate.
In any case, there has been a gradual downward trend that has resulted in South Africa’s best petrol price in a long time, which will undoubtedly come as a relief to motorists.
Looking back over the short term, this is how much it cost to fill up different tank sizes in October 2025 compared to the latest price as of January 2026:
| Tank size | Cost to refill in October 2025 (R21.63) | Cost to refill in January 2026 (R20.75) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 litres | R648.90 | R622,50 | – R26.40 |
| 40 litres | R865.20 | R830 | – R35.20 |
| 50 litres | R1,081.50 | R1,037.50 | – R44 |
| 60 litres | R1,297.80 | R1,245 | – R52.80 |
| 70 litres | R1,514.10 | R1,452.50 | – R61.60 |
| 80 litres | R1,730.40 | R1,660 | – R70.40 |
Anyone with a small car is saving just over R25 per top-up, while individuals with larger bakkies and SUVs are saving up to R70.40 on every trip to the pump.
While it may not sound like a lot relative to what private motorists are already paying to fill up a tank, it’s still a significant reduction for those in the e-hailing industry or who rely on taxis as their primary form of transport, where even a few hundred rand a month can make a big difference.
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