E10, SP98, E85 or diesel in France: which to choose, and up to €670 saved a year
If your petrol car accepts it, E10 costs less than SP95 and SP98 and barely changes your fuel consumption. E85 almost halves the bill, but you need a flex-fuel car or an approved conversion kit. This week, diesel costs 26 cents more per litre than E10.
The figures below are for France: the average price across all French stations, recorded by Mantan from Monday 26 October to Sunday 1 November 2026 from the official prix-carburants.gouv.fr feed. The rules quoted are French rules.
This week's prices
| Fuel | Average price per litre | 50 L tank |
|---|---|---|
| E85 (superethanol) | €0.905 | €45.25 |
| SP95-E10 | €2.122 | €106.10 |
| SP95 | €2.191 | €109.55 |
| SP98 | €2.239 | €111.95 |
| Diesel | €2.381 | €119.05 |
Average of the daily averages, 26 October to 1 November 2026. On 1 November, these averages covered 8,422 stations for diesel, 6,723 for E10, 6,384 for SP98, 3,407 for E85 and 2,333 for SP95.
What each fuel contains
According to the French Ministry for the Ecological Transition:
- SP95 and SP98: up to 5% ethanol (or 15% ETBE). They suit every petrol car on French roads. SP98 guarantees a research octane number of at least 98.
- SP95-E10: up to 10% ethanol (or 22% ETBE).
- E85: 60 to 85% ethanol. The share changes with the season: a 2006 decree requires 70 to 85% in summer and 60 to 85% the rest of the year.
E10: fine for almost every petrol car
The ministry speaks of "a very large majority" of cars. The bioethanol industry puts it at 99% of petrol cars on the road. TotalEnergies cites "the great majority of petrol vehicles registered since 2000"; depending on the brand, compatibility goes back to 1992, 1998 or 2000.
To check yours:
- look inside the fuel flap: new cars sold since 12 October 2018 carry the E5, E10 or E85 labels;
- check the list published by ACEA, the European carmakers' association, or ask your manufacturer;
- if in doubt, especially for a classic car or an old two-wheeler, stick to SP95 or SP98.
One mistake is no disaster: there is no need to drain the tank, just fill up with SP95 or SP98 next time.
The maths. Switching from SP98 to E10 saves 11.7 cents a litre, or €5.85 per 50-litre tank. From SP95 to E10, the gap is 6.9 cents, or €3.45 per tank. The industry puts E10's extra consumption at about 1%: even counting it, E10 still comes out about €2.40 ahead of SP95 per tank.
SP98 is only worth it if your carmaker requires it.
E85: half price, with conditions
At €0.905, a litre of E85 costs 43% of the price of E10. But ethanol holds less energy than petrol, so the engine burns more of it.
How much more? No official source gives a figure for cars. The industry uses a high estimate of 25%, TotalEnergies says "at least 30%", and an industry study on one flex-fuel car measured 21 to 26% more with E75 than with E10. Count on 20 to 30%.
The maths per tank. The distance you cover on 50 litres of E10 (€106.10) takes 62.5 litres of E85 at 25% extra consumption, or €56.56. Saving: €49.54 for the same distance.
The conditions. Two options:
- a factory flex-fuel car, which takes any blend from 0 to 85% ethanol;
- an approved conversion kit (French decree of 30 November 2017), only for E10-compatible petrol cars meeting at least Euro 3. It must be fitted by an installer authorised by the kit maker, who guarantees the engine, tank and fuel system. The motoring press quotes €700 to €1,300 fitted.
After fitting, box P.3 of the French registration certificate changes from "ES" to "FE". The update must be requested within a month, or you risk a fine of up to €750.
You also need a pump nearby: on 1 November 2026, 3,732 stations showed an E85 price in the official prix-carburants.gouv.fr feed. The Collective du bioéthanol, the industry body, counts 4,154 in October 2026.
Diesel: dearer per litre, not necessarily per kilometre
Diesel costs €2.381 this week, 26 cents more than E10. A diesel car uses less: 5.9 litres per 100 km on average in real driving, against 6.7 litres for a petrol car (French ministry traffic report, 2024 figures).
Result: 100 km costs €14.12 in a diesel and €14.26 on E10. At these prices, the cost per kilometre is almost the same.
Worth knowing if you change cars: in France, a diesel never gets the Crit'Air 1 sticker. A recent diesel (Euro 5 or 6) is Crit'Air 2, a petrol car of the same age Crit'Air 1, which matters in low-emission zones.
Over a year
An average French petrol car covers 10,060 km a year at 6.72 litres per 100 km (ministry figures for 2024). That is 676 litres a year. At this week's prices:
| Fuel | Yearly cost | Difference from E10 |
|---|---|---|
| SP98 | €1,514 | +€79 |
| SP95 | €1,481 | +€47 |
| SP95-E10 | €1,434 | |
| E85 (+25% consumption) | €765 | −€670 |
With 20% extra consumption, E85 saves €700; with 30%, €639. A €700 to €1,300 kit therefore pays for itself in one to two years for an average driver, faster if you drive a lot.
As for diesel, the average diesel car covers 13,180 km a year at 5.93 litres per 100 km: 782 litres, or €1,861 at this week's price.
In short
- E10-compatible car: use E10, unless your carmaker says otherwise.
- You drive more than 10,000 km a year on petrol: E85 with a kit pays off quickly, if a station is on your route.
- SP98: only if your carmaker requires it.
- Diesel: per kilometre, it costs about the same as E10 this week.
Prices change every day, and from one station to the next: this Sunday, around Le Boulou in the Pyrénées-Orientales, diesel ranged from €2.109 to €2.483 a litre. Pick your fuel on mantan.app: the map highlights the cheapest station around you.
