For the American driver, the price of gas is a constant factor in the daily budget. The frustration of filling up your tank only to see a station a few blocks away offering a significantly lower price is an all-too-common experience.
In 2025, however, the most powerful tool for combating high fuel costs is already in your pocket.
Your smartphone can be transformed into a command center for savings, equipped with an arsenal of apps designed to find the cheapest prices, deliver direct rebates, and unlock exclusive loyalty rewards. The key is knowing which apps to use and how to combine them for maximum effect.
This guide is a practical tour of the best gas-saving apps available. We will break them down by their primary function—finding low prices, earning rebates, or accessing special loyalty programs—and provide a clear, step-by-step explanation of how to use each one to cut costs on every single trip. Please note that specific discount amounts mentioned are illustrative examples of common offers and are subject to change.
These apps are your eyes on the ground, helping you identify the station with the lowest base price before you even start your engine.
GasBuddy
What It Is: The undisputed champion of crowd-sourced gas price information. GasBuddy relies on millions of users to report real-time prices, creating a comprehensive map of fuel costs in your area.
How It Works: The app uses your phone's GPS to display a map of nearby gas stations, color-coded to show the cheapest, mid-range, and most expensive options.
How to Use It to Cut Costs: Make it a habit to open GasBuddy before you need gas. A quick 30-second check can reveal a station just a half-mile off your route that is substantially cheaper per gallon. It is not uncommon to find price differences of 20 cents or more per gallon in the same neighborhood. You can filter by fuel type (Regular, Midgrade, Premium, Diesel) and sort by price or distance to find the perfect option.
Waze
What It Is: While primarily a navigation app, Waze has a powerful, built-in gas price feature that is incredibly convenient.
How It Works: Waze also uses crowd-sourced data to display gas prices. When you're navigating, you can tap the gas station icon, and the app will show you a list of stations along your route, complete with their current price for regular unleaded.
How to Use It to Cut Costs: This is the ideal tool for saving money while you're already on the move. If your fuel light comes on during a road trip or your daily commute, a quick search in Waze will help you decide whether to take the next exit for a good price or wait a few more miles for a better one, all without leaving your navigation screen.
Gas Guru
What It Is: A straightforward, no-frills price-finding app that serves as a great alternative or complement to GasBuddy.
How It Works: Instead of relying on user reports, Gas Guru gets its pricing data directly from the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS), the same source used by many businesses. This can sometimes result in more timely data, though it may not cover every single station.
How to Use It to Cut Costs: Use Gas Guru in the same way you would GasBuddy: as a pre-trip planning tool. If the prices on the two apps differ, it can be worth a quick cross-reference to confirm the best deal. Its clean interface makes it easy to quickly see and compare prices.
These apps provide a direct cash rebate on your fuel purchases, which you can receive on top of any other discounts or credit card rewards.
Upside (formerly GetUpside)
What It Is: A popular cashback app that provides offers for gas stations, restaurants, and grocery stores.
How It Works: You open the app and see offers from participating gas stations near you. You must "claim" an offer for a specific station before you fill up. Then, you pay with a credit or debit card that you have linked in the app. Upside verifies the purchase and deposits the cash back into your app account, which you can then cash out.
How to Use It to Cut Costs: This is a crucial second step after finding a low price. Once GasBuddy shows you a few cheap options, open Upside to see if any of those stations have a rebate offer. Claiming the offer is a simple tap that can add an extra rebate, often ranging from a few cents to over 20 cents per gallon, back into your pocket.
Ibotta & Checkout 51
What They Are: These are primarily grocery rebate apps, but they frequently feature gas offers as a bonus.
How They Work: The process is similar to Upside. You must find and activate a gas offer in the app before you shop. For some offers, you may need to scan your receipt after the purchase. You can also link your gas station loyalty accounts to the apps for more seamless earning.
How to Use Them to Cut Costs: While not dedicated gas apps, it's worth checking them before you fill up. They might have a specific high-value offer (e.g., a "50 cents back" or similar promotion) that makes a particular station the best deal of the day.
These apps are tied to specific brands or memberships and can unlock unique discounts and benefits.
Pilot Flying J (myRewards Plus)
What It Is: The official app for the Pilot and Flying J network of travel centers, which are ubiquitous on American interstates.
How It Works: The app houses the myRewards Plus loyalty program. You can activate daily or weekly offers for fuel and in-store items, and even activate the pump and pay directly from your phone.
How to Use It to Cut Costs: For professional drivers, RVers, or anyone on a long road trip, this app is essential. The daily fuel offers, which often provide a discount of several cents per gallon, and the ability to find locations with specific amenities make it a powerful travel tool.
WEX Connect
What It Is: This is a specialized app for a specific audience: employees who use a WEX fleet card provided by their company for business-related fuel purchases.
How It Works: WEX Connect is not a discount app in the traditional sense. It's a locator app that shows you all the in-network gas stations near you that accept the WEX card.
How to Use It to Cut Costs: For a business driver, using this app is crucial for compliance and savings. It ensures you are purchasing fuel at locations that are part of your company's discounted network, preventing you from paying out-of-pocket at a non-participating station.
AAA Mobile
What It Is: The official app for the American Automobile Association (AAA). Its value comes from leveraging your membership.
How It Works: Within the app, there is a "Discounts" section. AAA has a long-standing partnership with Shell's Fuel Rewards program. By linking your AAA membership through the app, you can often receive an enhanced discount and maintain permanent Gold Status in the Fuel Rewards program.
How to Use It to Cut Costs: If you are an AAA member, linking your account to Fuel Rewards via the app is a "set it and forget it" way to ensure you are getting a better-than-average discount every time you visit a Shell station.
The real power comes from using these apps in combination. Here’s a simple routine to follow:
Before You Drive (The Planning Phase):
Open a price-finder like GasBuddy or Waze to identify the two or three cheapest and most convenient stations.
Open a rebate app like Upside to see if any of your cheap options have a cashback offer available.
At the Pump (The Execution Phase):
Once you've chosen your station, claim the offer in the rebate app before you pump.
Enter any gas station or supermarket loyalty information you have to get your instant cents-per-gallon discount.
Pay with a credit card that gives you a high percentage of cash back on gas.
After You Pay (The Confirmation):
You'll typically receive a notification from the rebate app within a day or two confirming your purchase and your cash back earnings.
By following this simple three-step process, you are layering multiple savings: finding the lowest base price, applying instant loyalty discounts, earning credit card rewards, and getting a cash rebate on top of it all. This is how you truly cut costs on every single trip.
