How much is gasoline in Dubai?

Petrol in Dubai costs AED 4.28 a litre for Special 95 and AED 4.40 for Super 98 in October 2026, after prices jumped by roughly 16% from September. Here’s what that means for a rental, what it costs to fill up three cars from our fleet, and what actually happens to the tank when you return the car.

How much does petrol cost in Dubai right now?

The UAE Fuel Price Committee sets a new price for every grade on the first day of each month. For October 2026, the numbers are:

That jump — the sharpest in months — was widely reported as being driven by US–Iran tensions and fresh worries over a closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which pushed Brent crude toward $100 a barrel through September 2026. It has nothing to do with any single petrol station or rental company: the price is identical at every brand in every emirate, and the 5% VAT is already baked into the number on the sign.

Helpful tip

Prices only change once a month, on the first. Whatever you pay at the pump on day one of your rental is what you’ll pay on the last day too — there’s no mid-month surprise to budget around.

Alex Shvarov, Automotive expert with over 15 years of experience

How the UAE sets fuel prices every month

Since the UAE deregulated fuel in August 2015, pump prices haven’t tracked the daily price of crude oil. Instead, the Fuel Price Committee at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure announces a new price on the last day of every month, effective from the first of the next one. The formula is based on a lagged average of international refined-product prices — petrol and diesel themselves, not crude — plus the real costs of refining, distribution, storage and retail margin.

That lag is why a bad month for oil prices doesn’t show up at the pump immediately, and why the one change a month is usually smaller than the swings on the oil market itself. It also means the price is the same whether you fill up at a station in Downtown Dubai or one off the highway near Al Ain — there’s no regional variation to shop around for.

For anyone budgeting a longer stay, that monthly rhythm is useful: the price you see on day one of a two- or three-week rental is the price you’ll pay for the whole trip, unless you happen to cross from the last day of one month into the first of the next. October 2026’s jump is the steepest in a while, but it’s still nowhere near the all-time high — Super 98 touched AED 4.63 in July 2022, during the global energy-price spike that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Petrol grades explained: 95, 98, E-Plus and diesel

UAE stations sell four grades, and the names are the octane rating in disguise:

• E-Plus 91 — the entry-level unleaded grade, octane rating 91, mainly used in older or very basic engines.
• Special 95 — the standard mid-grade, octane rating 95, what most ordinary petrol cars and SUVs on the road are designed to run on.
• Super 98 — premium unleaded, octane rating 98, specified for high-compression, turbocharged and high-performance engines that need the extra resistance to knocking.
• Diesel — a separate fuel entirely, used by diesel-engined SUVs and commercial vehicles, priced and set independently of the three petrol grades.

Most of the family cars and SUVs in our fleet are happy on Special 95. The performance and luxury end — anything with a turbocharged or naturally aspirated high-performance engine — is built for Super 98, and running it on a lower grade isn’t something we’d recommend even where the engine tolerates it. Putting the wrong grade in isn’t usually dangerous for a single tank, but a sustained diet of too-low an octane rating in an engine designed for premium can cause knocking and lose you performance you’re not expecting on a car you’re paying a premium rate to drive.

Helpful tip

Not sure which grade your rental needs? It’s on the fuel filler door of the car itself, and your pickup paperwork will confirm it. If in doubt, ask your manager before you leave our office — it takes a second and avoids any doubt at the pump.

Alex Shvarov, Automotive expert with over 15 years of experience

What a full tank costs in our fleet

Every Brook Drive rental is full-to-full: you collect the car with a full tank and return it full, so fuel is never part of the daily rate and there’s no markup on what you pump in yourself. To make that concrete, here’s what a full tank actually costs for three very different cars in our current fleet, at October 2026 prices.

Verdict

The full-size American SUV actually costs more to fill than the V10 supercar — the Tahoe’s tank is 8 litres bigger than the Huracán’s. Fuel price is the same for every renter; what changes the bill is tank size and how far you actually drive, not which badge is on the bonnet.

Alex Shvarov, Automotive expert with over 15 years of experience

The Mini Cooper, Chevrolet Tahoe and Lamborghini Huracán are all available to rent from our current fleet.

Our fuel policy: full-to-full, no hidden charges

We hand every car over with a full tank, and the rental agreement asks for it back the same way. If you genuinely can’t refuel before drop-off — a late flight, a fuel station detour that didn’t work out — tell your manager when you return the car. They’ll sort out the refuelling with you directly; we don’t add a flat per-litre penalty on top, because we’re not in the business of selling you fuel. The simplest and cheapest option is always the obvious one: fill up yourself on the way back, the same way you’d return a friend’s car.

This is also a good moment to separate fuel from the other running costs you’ll see on a UAE rental. Salik (Dubai’s toll gates) and Darb (Abu Dhabi’s) are billed to you directly after your rental ends, the same way traffic fines are — none of that is fuel, and none of it is marked up by us either.

How to refuel at a Dubai petrol station

UAE fuel stations are full-service: you pull up to a pump, and an attendant does the fuelling for you — there’s no self-serve nozzle to operate yourself, unlike in a lot of other countries. Just tell them the grade (Special 95, Super 98, E-Plus 91 or diesel) and whether you want a full tank or a fixed amount. Payment is by cash or card at the pump or in the station shop, and a small tip for the attendant is customary, though not mandatory. Stations are everywhere across Dubai — on every major road and inside most residential communities, most open 24 hours — so finding one is never the problem; getting the right grade is the only thing worth double-checking.

Helpful tip

Because the price is fixed and identical everywhere, there’s no reason to hunt for a «cheaper» station or drive out of your way — the nearest one to wherever you are is also the best-priced one.

Alex Shvarov, Automotive expert with over 15 years of experience

Ways to spend less on fuel during your rental

Fuel price itself is fixed and identical everywhere, so the only real levers are the car and how you drive it:

• Match the car to the trip. A compact or mid-size car from our economy cars range will always cost less to fill than an SUV or a V8, simply because the tank is smaller.
• Plan routes instead of circling. Dubai’s road network rewards knowing where you’re going — a confirmed address beats a GPS detour through traffic.
• Keep tyres and routine checks in mind. We service every car to the manufacturer’s schedule before it goes out, so you’re not losing efficiency to something avoidable on our end.
• Rent longer if you’re staying longer. It won’t change the price of fuel, but a weekly or monthly rate brings the daily cost of the car itself down — fuel is usually the smaller line item next to the rental rate anyway on anything beyond a couple of days.
• Don’t oversize the car for the trip. A seven-seater SUV is the right call for a family and luggage; carrying that extra weight around solo all week just to have the option costs more at every single fill-up.
• Use our delivery instead of driving to collect the car. Free from AED 10,000 in rental value, or a flat delivery fee otherwise — either way it’s less driving on your tank than a trip across town to our office and back.

Verdict

None of this changes what you pay per litre — that’s fixed by the government, the same for us as for every other driver in the country. What you control is how much fuel you actually burn, and that comes down to picking the right car for the trip, not chasing a cheaper pump that doesn’t exist.

Alex Shvarov, Automotive expert with over 15 years of experience

About the authorAlex ShvarovAutomotive expert with over 15 years of experience

Automotive expert with over 15 years of experience in the premium and sports car industry. I specialize in luxury vehicle selection, performance analysis, and creating exceptional driving experiences for discerning clients.

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