TL;DR: Heating oil prices in Southern Maine change daily and vary dealer-to-dealer by 30–60 cents a gallon — which adds up to real money on a 150-gallon delivery. This guide shows you how to find today’s lowest price, how oil pricing actually works in Maine, and which buying plan fits your home. Start with the live board, then use the sections below to buy smarter.
See today’s Southern Maine dealer prices →
If you heat your home with oil in York County, you already know the frustrating part: the price seems to change every time you call, and the dealer down the road quotes something completely different than your neighbor paid last week. That’s not your imagination. Heating oil is a deregulated, daily-moving market, and the spread between the cheapest and most expensive local dealer is often wide enough to cover a tank of gas.
This guide pulls everything together — the live price board, how prices get set, when to buy, and how to pick a delivery plan — so you can stop guessing and start saving. Think of it as the hub; each section links out to a deeper post when you want the full story.
We track the prices that real Southern Maine dealers publish, and put them on one comparison board so you don’t have to call five companies. Prices on the board are observed “visible” snapshots — the number the dealer was advertising when we last checked — and they move frequently. Always confirm the live quote with the dealer before you order.
The dealers we currently track include Desrochers Oil, CN Brown Energy, Ace Oil Maine, Heatwave Oil LLC, and Welch Oil. When a dealer hasn’t posted a current price, we show an honest empty state rather than invent a number — so what you see is what’s actually out there.
Southern Maine sits at the end of a long supply chain for a fuel whose demand peaks exactly when it’s hardest to deliver. We share the Northeast’s heavy reliance on heating oil, so when a cold front parks over New England, demand across the whole region climbs at once and pulls prices up — right when your tank is draining fastest. In the off-season, that pressure releases and prices generally soften. Layer on top of that the fact that every dealer buys, trucks, and prices oil a little differently, and you get the two things this whole site is built around: prices that move over time, and prices that differ between dealers on the very same day. Master both and you’ll rarely overpay.
Three things mostly drive what you pay:
That last bucket is why your neighbor can pay less for the “same” oil: they may have ordered more gallons, locked a price earlier, or avoided a small-delivery surcharge. We break the whole mechanism down in How Heating Oil Prices Are Set in Maine.
Cheapest-per-gallon isn’t always cheapest-out-the-door. A rock-bottom advertised price can come with a higher minimum, a small-delivery fee, or cash-only terms. The reliable move is to compare current per-gallon prices on the board, then confirm the all-in cost — minimum gallons, fees, and payment terms — directly with the dealer.
For the full step-by-step, see Cheapest Heating Oil in Southern Maine: How to Find Today’s Lowest Price.
You can’t perfectly time oil any more than you can time gas, but a few patterns hold in Maine:
Watch the direction of the market on our weekly Southern Maine price trend, and read the seasonal logic in our timing posts as we publish them.
There’s no single “best” plan — it depends on your cash flow and how much risk you want to carry:
We compare all three, with the trade-offs, in COD vs. Automatic vs. Fixed Price: Which Oil Plan Saves You Money?.
Coverage and pricing aren’t identical across York County. As we build out town-level pages, you’ll be able to compare the dealers who actually deliver to your area — York, Sanford, Kittery, Eliot, Wells, Ogunquit, South Berwick, Kennebunk, Berwick, and Cape Neddick. We only list a dealer for a town when they genuinely serve it; where coverage is unconfirmed, we say so rather than guess.
In the meantime, the live board shows every dealer we track across Southern Maine and the Seacoast.
See today’s Southern Maine dealer prices →
Usage varies a lot with the size and age of the house, the thermostat habits inside it, and how brutal the winter is — but most Maine households go through several hundred gallons across a heating season, often split over multiple deliveries. That’s why a small per-gallon difference matters so much: it’s multiplied across every gallon you burn all winter. It’s also why the buying plan you choose (pay-as-you-go vs. locked-in vs. hands-off) has a real effect on your annual bill, not just any single delivery. As we publish our usage and budgeting posts, we’ll help you estimate your own home’s appetite so you can plan deliveries and budget the season instead of reacting to a low tank.
The price per gallon is only half the equation — the other half is how many gallons you burn. The cheapest gallon is the one you never had to buy. Sealing drafts, maintaining your heating system, managing the thermostat, and similar efficiency moves all shrink your usage, which compounds with smart buying. We’ll be building out a full set of money-saving and efficiency guides; for now, the principle is simple: buy well, and burn less. Do both and the savings stack.
We track publicly visible dealer prices and show them side by side. We don’t accept payment to rank a dealer higher, we don’t invent prices to fill gaps, and we mark stale or missing data plainly. Our forthcoming methodology post will walk through exactly how the tracker works and why “visible price” honesty matters.
How much do heating oil prices vary between Southern Maine dealers?
It’s common to see a 30–60 cent-per-gallon spread on any given day. On a 150-gallon delivery, that’s roughly $45–$90 — enough to make comparing worthwhile every time you order.
Are the prices on the board the exact price I’ll pay?
They’re observed “visible” snapshots from when we last checked, and prices change frequently. Treat them as a comparison starting point and confirm the live quote — plus minimum gallons and any fees — with the dealer before ordering.
Which Southern Maine dealers do you track?
We currently track Desrochers Oil, CN Brown Energy, Ace Oil Maine, Heatwave Oil LLC, and Welch Oil, and we’re adding coverage over time. Where a dealer hasn’t posted a current price, we show an empty state instead of a made-up number.
Is it cheaper to buy heating oil in summer?
Often, yes — demand falls in the off-season, which tends to ease prices. A summer top-off can beat an emergency winter fill, though no timing strategy is guaranteed.
What’s the difference between COD and automatic delivery?
With COD you order on your schedule and pay that day’s price; with automatic delivery the dealer fills you before you run out, usually at their standard rate. See our full plan comparison for the trade-offs.
How many gallons will I use in a winter?
It depends heavily on your home’s size and age, your thermostat habits, and the severity of the winter, but most Maine households burn several hundred gallons across a season over multiple deliveries. That’s exactly why a small per-gallon difference adds up to real money.
Do I have to keep using the same dealer?
No. Retail heating oil is competitive, and many homeowners switch dealers or run different plans season to season. Comparing on the board each time you order is the simplest way to keep dealers competing for your business.
Prices referenced here and on our board are observed, publicly visible snapshots that change frequently. Always confirm the current price, minimum delivery, and fees directly with the dealer before placing an order.