Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about how CheapGasToronto.ca works.
Our collection job checks for new station reports every hour, and the site's pages are
rebuilt hourly. A station's price only changes when someone reports a new one, so each
price shows the time it was reported. Reports up to 36 hours old count as current;
reports from the last 12 hours rank ahead of older ones in every "cheapest" list, and
anything older is marked "last known".
Pump prices come from community-reported Canadian fuel-price feeds, including public
GasBuddy reports, each with its own report time. We do not collect prices by hand. The
daily forecast also uses WTI crude (U.S. FRED) and Ontario wholesale rack prices
(Petro-Canada postings, with Natural Resources Canada data as a fallback). See the About
page for the full methodology.
A price is only as current as its last report. We don't measure how far reports drift
from the pump, so treat older reports with care: check the report time next to each
price, and always confirm the pump price before you start filling.
We cover the major chains: Shell, Petro-Canada, Esso, Costco, Pioneer, Ultramar,
Canadian Tire gas bars, and more. Coverage depends on what's included in our data
provider's database. Independent or very new stations may be missing. If you notice a
gap, please use the Contact page to let us know.
No. If you use the "Nearest to Me" feature, your GPS coordinates are used only within
your browser session to find nearby stations. We transmit them to our API server (over
HTTPS) solely to filter the station list by distance. Our application does not save the
coordinates in its database, include them in analytics events, or associate them with a
profile. You can also search by postal code to avoid sharing your GPS
location entirely.
This happens when our data provider doesn't have a current price for a particular
station. It can also happen with very small independents, recently opened locations,
or stations that rarely appear in community price reports. We still show the station's
location on the map so you can check the price in person if it's nearby.
Yes! Use the Contact page to submit a correction. Include the station name, address,
and the correct price you saw at the pump. We'll flag it to our data provider and
update the record as soon as possible.
Yes, where stations report them. Regular (87 octane) is the default across the site, and
there are dedicated pages for the cheapest diesel and premium prices in Toronto. Each
station page also lists mid-grade, premium and diesel prices when they have been
reported, each with its own report time.
No. We are a completely independent comparison tool. No gas station, fuel company,
or refinery has any ownership stake in this site or pays us to rank stations in a
particular order. Stations always appear sorted by price (cheapest first) and/or
distance — nothing else.
Costco gas bars in Toronto are often among the cheapest options in the city, and are
frequently several cents per litre below the major branded stations. They buy fuel in very
large volumes and operate their gas bars as a member benefit rather than a profit
centre. The catch is you need an active Costco membership to purchase fuel there.
Canadian gas prices are quoted in cents per litre (¢/L). One US gallon equals
approximately 3.785 litres. So if Toronto gas is 170 ¢/L ($1.70/L), that works out
to roughly $6.43 per US gallon — for context when comparing with American prices.
Didn't find your answer? Send us a message and we'll get back to you.