Ouch! Life is expensive these days. Egg prices may have come back down since their surge in 2025, but everyday necessities are still getting more and more expensive. Consumer prices were up 2.4% as of January 2026, and of course, tariffs are squeezing us even more—because roughly 90% of them are paid by U.S companies and passed on to you and me. Finally, there’s the price of gas. Even though gas prices are lower than they were a year ago, filling up the tank always puts a big dent in our wallets.
Well, saving money on gas just got a lot easier, thanks to a new report from GasBuddy. The company behind the popular fuel-savings app is shedding light on the best day to fill up your gas tank to maximize savings, as well as letting you in on the days to avoid a trip to the gas station when fuel prices are highest.
Ahead, we talked to Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, to learn more. Keep reading to find out when you should head to your nearest gas station for the cheapest gas, plus other tips for saving money when fueling up.
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How did GasBuddy determine the best days to buy gas?
To determine which days of the week are best for buying gas, the team at GasBuddy looked at the average price of gas in each state over the last year. Then, they normalized prices to exclude seasonal trends (which could skew the data) and zeroed in on consistent price patterns. To estimate savings, they found the difference between a state’s cheapest and most expensive days of the week, not including any discounts or other perks.
Which day of the week has the most affordable gas?
GasBuddy discovered that in most states across the country, Sunday is consistently the day with the most affordable gas.
“Gas prices don’t just move based on global oil markets, they also follow a weekly rhythm,” De Haan said in the report’s press release. “For most drivers, Sunday is the safest bet for finding lower prices, while filling up mid-week can mean paying more.”
In fact, filling up on the lowest-price day can save you anywhere from 4 to 9 cents per gallon. And those savings really add up! Let’s say you have a 14-gallon gas tank in your car, and you pay 7 cents per gallon less on Sunday than on another day of the week. That’s 98 cents less per tank every time you fill up. Saving $1 per tank may not sound like a lot, but if you fill up every week, you’ll save roughly $50 by the end of the year just by cleverly timing your gas purchases.
Keep in mind, though, that the cheapest day to fuel up varies by state, although Sunday is by far the most common. Before heading to the station, check GasBuddy’s report to see which day is cheapest in your state to maximize savings.
On which days of the week does gas cost the most?
If you want to save as much as possible on gas, avoid filling your tank on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. These are usually the most expensive days to purchase gas. It turns out that gas prices tend to rise slowly throughout the week, then dip down once again on Sunday in anticipation of the next week. So, there’s a good chance that by the end of the week, prices at your local gas station are higher than they’ll be at the top of the following week.
Consider the same 14-gallon tank example above. But this time, let’s say you spend 9 cents per gallon more by filling up on Fridays, one of the most expensive days for gas prices. For every tank, you’re paying $1.26 more than necessary. If you fill up weekly, over the course of a year, you’ll spend more than $65 extra—just for getting gas on Fridays instead of waiting until Sunday. Just remember, again, that the most expensive day to buy gas varies by state, so do your research.
Why do gas prices change daily?
It’s complicated. “There isn’t necessarily an explanation, because it’s hard to parse one out of a free market—numbers changing don’t always offer a clear-cut answer,” De Haan told me.
We have a couple of clues, though. Gas prices are highly dependent on the cost of crude oil as well as the supply and demand of gasoline, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Energy markets operate Monday through Friday, and every Wednesday morning the EIA releases its Weekly Petroleum Status Report, which tracks U.S. oil inventories, prices and other factors that influence oil and gas prices.
“We have suspicions that [fluctuations] may be due to energy markets that are closed over the weekend, offering stations’ clarity on their price not moving, while mid-week sees volatility associated with a government report being released Wednesday morning,” De Haan says. In other words, if the EIA report shows rising prices mid-week, gas stations could raise prices in turn. Conversely, Sunday pricing is more stable, since the markets are closed.
But, “sometimes numbers themselves don’t always tell the story,” De Haan adds.
Are there other tricks for getting discounts on gas?
Yes! In a number of states, including Texas, Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and parts of the West Coast, gas prices follow a clear pattern called price cycling. Price cycling means that on a specific day of the week, prices “reset” to their highest price, then come down slowly over the following days before they peak once again.
In states that have price cycling, you can typically count on finding the greatest savings five to seven days after the prices “reset.” Believe it or not, the difference between buying at the peak price and the lowest price toward the end of the cycle can be anywhere between 15 and 45 cents per gallon—and sometimes more.
“These states experience sharper and more predictable weekly swings,” De Haan says. “If drivers notice a big jump, patience can pay off. Waiting several days after a spike often leads to better prices.”
Think about it like this: If your car has a 14-gallon gas tank and you time your gas purchase with the end of the cycle, you could save up to 45 cents per gallon, or $6.30 in savings on just a single tank. If you did that once per week, you’d save more than $300 over the year. Savings like those are definitely worth planning your trips to the gas station wisely!
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Sources:
- Patrick de Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy; interviewed, February 2026
- GasBuddy: “GasBuddy Reveals the Best Day of the Week to Buy Gas in 2026”
- AAA: “National Average Gas Prices”
- Consumer Price Index: “Consumer prices up 2.4 percent over the year ended January 2026”
- Gas Buddy: “Best Day of the Week to Buy Gas by State”
- New York Times: “U.S. Inflation Eased at Start of the Year”
- Liberty Street Economics: “Who Is Paying for the 2025 U.S. Tariffs?”
- Oil Price Live: “Understanding EIA Inventory Reports”
- EIA: “Gasoline explained”
The post Want to Save Money on Gas? Fill Up Your Car on This Day of the Week appeared first on Reader's Digest.
We know exactly what day of the week you can find the cheapest gas. Don't head to the gas station before reading this report!
The post Want to Save Money on Gas? Fill Up Your Car on This Day of the Week appeared first on Reader's Digest.
