Energy gel prices: the quick answer
- Cheapest gel per 30g of carbs in our check: SiS Beta Fuel Gel at £1.65, then HIGH5 Energy Gel at £1.69 and SiS GO Isotonic Energy Gel at £1.82.
- Dearest: Maurten Gel 100 at £3.40 per 30g, about twice the price of the cheapest.
- Bulk energy pastilles came in under every gel: £1.43 per 30g in a 1kg pack and £1.13 in a 2kg pack.
- Over a 16 week marathon block, the fuel for one 2 hour long run a week costs £162.96 in Maurten Gel 100, £79.20 in SiS Beta Fuel and £68.78 in 1kg pastilles.
Why compare cost per 30g of carbs, not price per gel
Gels are not the same size. A HIGH5 Energy Gel has 23g of carbohydrate, a Maurten Gel 160 has 40g. Comparing the price of one gel with another tells you very little, because you need fewer of the bigger ones to hit the same number. What you are really buying is carbohydrate, so the fair test is what a fixed amount of it costs.
We use 30g because it is a common serving size and it maps neatly onto the usual guidance: about 60g an hour for long sessions, and up to 90g an hour if you have trained your gut for it. At 60g an hour, that is two 30g servings an hour, so the price per 30g is close to your cost per half hour of fuelling.
UK energy gel and chew prices, October 2026
| Product | Format | Carbs per serving | Pack and price | Per serving | Per 30g of carbs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SiS Beta Fuel Gel | Gel | 40g | 30 pack, £66.00 | £2.20 | £1.65 |
| HIGH5 Energy Gel | Gel | 23g | 20 pack, £25.99 | £1.30 | £1.69 |
| SiS GO Isotonic Energy Gel | Gel | 22g | 30 pack, £40.00 | £1.33 | £1.82 |
| Precision Fuel & Hydration PF 30 Chew | Chew | 30g | 15 packets, £32.99 (Sigma Sports) | £2.20 | £2.20 |
| Precision Fuel & Hydration PF 30 Gel | Gel | 30g | box of 15, £34.99 (Sigma Sports) | £2.33 | £2.33 |
| TORQ Energy Gel | Gel | 28g | box of 15, £33.00 | £2.20 | £2.36 |
| Clif Bloks Energy Chews | Chew | 45.6g | single 60g pack, £3.79 (Run4It) | £3.79 | £2.49 |
| Maurten Gel 160 | Gel | 40g | box of 12, £44.95 | £3.75 | £2.81 |
| Maurten Gel 100 | Gel | 25g | box of 12, £33.95 | £2.83 | £3.40 |
| FTP Rotation Pack 2kg | Pastille | 30g | 2kg (2 x 1kg), £67.99 | £1.13 | £1.13 |
| FTP Tart Cherry Energy Pastilles 1kg | Pastille | 30g | 1kg pack, £42.99 | £1.43 | £1.43 |
| FTP Mixed Fruit Energy Pastilles 1kg | Pastille | 30g | 1kg pack, £44.99 | £1.50 | £1.50 |
Two things stand out. First, multipacks matter: every price above is the box price, and buying gels one at a time usually costs more. Second, the spread is wide. The same 30g of carbohydrate costs anywhere from £1.13 to £3.40 depending on what you buy.
What a marathon costs in fuel, by finish time
Race day is where most people notice the price, because it is the day they buy their race gels. Here is what the fuel costs at 60g of carbs an hour from the 30 minute mark, rounded up to whole gels:
| Race and finish time | Carbs needed | Maurten Gel 100 | PF 30 Gel | SiS Beta Fuel Gel | FTP Tart Cherry Energy Pastilles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Half marathon, 1:45 | 75g | 3 gels, £8.49 | 3 gels, £7.00 | 2 gels, £4.40 | 3 servings (6 pastilles), £4.30 |
| Marathon, 3:00 | 150g | 6 gels, £16.98 | 5 gels, £11.66 | 4 gels, £8.80 | 5 servings (10 pastilles), £7.17 |
| Marathon, 4:00 | 210g | 9 gels, £25.46 | 7 gels, £16.33 | 6 gels, £13.20 | 7 servings (14 pastilles), £10.03 |
| Marathon, 5:00 | 270g | 11 gels, £31.12 | 9 gels, £20.99 | 7 gels, £15.40 | 9 servings (18 pastilles), £12.90 |
For a sub-4 marathon that is about 210g of carbohydrate. The race-day difference is a few pounds. The training is where it adds up.
What a training block costs
You should rehearse race fuelling in your long runs, with the same product, for weeks before the day. Take a 16 week marathon plan with one 2 hour long run a week, fuelled at 60g an hour from the 30 minute mark. That is 90g a run, or 1,440g over the block.
- Maurten Gel 100: £162.96
- PF 30 Gel: £111.97
- SiS Beta Fuel: £79.20
- FTP Tart Cherry Pastilles 1kg: £68.78
- FTP Rotation Pack 2kg: £54.39
Add a midweek medium long run or a few long rides and those numbers roughly double.
Is the cheapest fuel the right fuel?
Not automatically. Price per 30g is one test. The others are how much carbohydrate you need per hour, and what the carbohydrate is made of.
- Above about 60g an hour, a mix of glucose and fructose lets you absorb more than glucose alone. Maurten, SiS Beta Fuel, PF 30 Gel and TORQ all list fructose. HIGH5 Energy Gel lists glucose syrup and maltodextrin, and SiS GO Isotonic lists maltodextrin, so those two suit lower hourly targets.
- Serving size changes how often you eat. Big gels mean fewer stops, small ones make little and often easier.
- Format is personal. Gels, chews and pastilles all work if you have practised with them.
Whatever you choose, test it in training first. Our carbs per hour guide and marathon fuelling by finish time go into the targets in more detail.
The cheaper way to get 30g of carbs
Full disclosure: we make energy pastilles, so read this part knowing that. Two FTP pastilles give you 30g of carbohydrate (34g serving, sugar, which is 50% glucose and 50% fructose). That is the same carb hit as a 30g gel, and you can take one pastille at a time if you prefer smaller, more frequent feeds.
- Tart Cherry Energy Pastilles 1kg: about 30 servings, £1.43 per 30g of carbs.
- Mixed Fruit Energy Pastilles 1kg: about 30 servings, £1.50 per 30g.
- The Rotation Pack (1kg of each flavour): about 60 servings, £1.13 per 30g.
4.8 stars from 500+ reviews, and Awarded Best Energy Chew in the Runner's World Sports Nutrition Awards 2026. If you would rather test them on a long run first, the Taster Pack is £5.49 for two servings.
Our verdict
If you buy gels, the multipack price per 30g of carbs is the number to compare, and on that number SiS Beta Fuel and HIGH5 were the best value gels in our check, with Maurten Gel 100 the most expensive. If you are happy to chew, bulk pastilles cost less per 30g than any gel we found, and the saving is biggest across a training block rather than on race day.
Product by product comparisons: Maurten Gel 100 vs Gel 160, PF 30 Gel vs PF 30 Chew, SiS Beta Fuel vs GO Isotonic and TORQ vs HIGH5.
Questions people ask
What is the cheapest energy gel in the UK?
In our check on 20 October 2026, SiS Beta Fuel Gel in a 30 pack was the cheapest gel per 30g of carbs at £1.65, with HIGH5 Energy Gel close behind at £1.69. On price per gel, HIGH5 was cheapest at £1.30, but each gel has only 23g of carbs.
How many gels do I need for a marathon?
At 60g of carbs an hour from the 30 minute mark, a 4 hour marathon needs about 210g. That is 9 Maurten Gel 100s (25g), 7 PF 30 Gels (30g) or 6 SiS Beta Fuel gels (40g).
Are energy chews cheaper than gels?
Not always. PF 30 Chews (£2.20 per 30g) cost about the same as PF 30 Gels. Bulk pastilles are where chews get cheaper: £1.43 per 30g in a 1kg pack.
How we worked out these numbers
Prices were checked on 20 October 2026. They are full one-off prices for the multipack named, not subscription or member prices. Carbs per serving come from each brand's product page. Price per 30g of carbs = pack price, divided by servings in the pack, divided by carbs per serving, times 30. Race-day counts assume 60g of carbs an hour from the 30 minute mark and are rounded up to whole servings. Prices change, so check before you buy. Precision Fuel & Hydration prices are from Sigma Sports, because Precision's UK site did not show a GBP price. Clif Bloks is a single pack, with carbs worked out from the per 100g figure, because we could not find a current UK multipack price. HIGH5's 20 pack showed out of stock on the day.
- SiS Beta Fuel Gel: 30 pack, £66.00
- HIGH5 Energy Gel: 20 pack, £25.99
- SiS GO Isotonic Energy Gel: 30 pack, £40.00
- Precision Fuel & Hydration PF 30 Chew: 15 packets, £32.99 (Sigma Sports)
- Precision Fuel & Hydration PF 30 Gel: box of 15, £34.99 (Sigma Sports)
- TORQ Energy Gel: box of 15, £33.00
- Clif Bloks Energy Chews: single 60g pack, £3.79 (Run4It)
- Maurten Gel 160: box of 12, £44.95
- Maurten Gel 100: box of 12, £33.95
