Heating Oil vs Propane
Heating oil vs propane comes down to cost per million Btu, not per gallon: oil carries about 1.5 times the heat of propane, so price, efficiency and your tank decide which is cheaper.
Written by the Fill Pipe desk from state, federal and maker documents · how the pages are made · Updated
Who’s behind the links: Fill Pipe is run by the people who own Plumbing Supply and More, SoftPro Water Systems and Quality Water Treatment, and it has a working tie to Central Plumbing & HVAC. No business pays to appear here. Figures and safety steps on this page come from state energy offices and environmental agencies, federal agencies (EIA, IRS, CPSC, CDC), the propane and heating-oil industries' own safety programs, and equipment makers' manuals, read in October 2026. Fill Pipe sells no fuel and services no equipment. Owners and outbound links
First tap of the season
- EIA rates heating oil at 138,500 Btu per gallon and propane at 91,452, so a gallon of oil holds about 1.5 times the heat.
- Maine's Department of Energy Resources survey of October 19, 2026 put cash prices at $6.04 for oil and $3.52 for propane, the propane figure assuming at least 900 gallons a year.
- At an assumed 80% efficiency, New Hampshire's Department of Energy put oil at $54.47 and propane at $57.07 per million Btu on October 26, 2026.
- Efficiency Maine's heating cost calculator starts an oil boiler at 87% efficiency and a propane boiler at 93%; your equipment's rating may differ.
- Maine law lets only a propane tank's owner, or someone the owner authorizes in writing, fill it, and Maine's Attorney General says most residential customers don't own their tanks.
- Both fuels make carbon monoxide when burned, and CPSC lists oil and propane among the fuels that produce it.
Stop and call if
- You smell propane or gas: get everyone out now, touch no light switches, phones or appliances, and once well away call 911, then your propane supplier.
- A CO alarm sounds or anyone has a headache, dizziness, nausea or confusion: everyone outside, call 911 from outside, and don't go back in until responders say so.
- Smoke or soot puffs from the oil burner: turn nothing on, leave if smoke fills the space and call 911; for a smell alone, call your oil company's service line.
- If you're unsure, stop and call your supplier or a licensed technician.
Is heating oil or propane cheaper?
Per gallon, propane is cheaper everywhere in the region; per unit of heat, the gap narrows and sometimes flips. On Maine's weekly survey for October 19, 2026, oil averaged $6.04 and propane $3.52. Maine notes that its propane figure assumes at least 900 gallons a year, and that households using propane only for cooking or hot water generally pay more per gallon.
New Hampshire's survey for October 26, 2026 shows oil at $6.04 and propane at $4.17. Vermont's Public Service Department publishes monthly averages instead: in September 2026, oil averaged $5.87 and propane $3.09. Each state samples differently, so compare within one survey, never across two.
How do you compare cost per million Btu?
Divide the price by the heat you actually get: cost per million Btu = price ÷ (Btu per unit × efficiency) × 1,000,000. Fill Pipe uses EIA's heat contents as its standard: 138,500 Btu per gallon of heating oil, 91,452 per gallon of propane and 3,412 per kilowatt-hour.
The table runs that formula on one survey, EIA's Heating Oil and Propane Update for the week of October 26, 2026, with the same 80% efficiency assumed for both fuels. Put your own price and your boiler's rated efficiency in its place.
| State | Oil per gallon | Propane per gallon | Oil per million Btu | Propane per million Btu |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maine | $6.040 | $3.679 | $54.51 | $50.29 |
| New Hampshire | $6.068 | $3.904 | $54.77 | $53.36 |
| Vermont | $6.095 | $3.930 | $55.01 | $53.72 |
| New York | $6.441 | $3.794 | $58.13 | $51.86 |
New Hampshire's own table for the same week reaches a different answer because its propane price differs: using its survey's $4.17, NH DOE puts propane at $57.07 and oil at $54.47. That is the whole lesson in two numbers: a 25-cent swing in the propane price moves the winner. The same table lists kerosene at $6.91 a gallon, or $63.99 per million Btu, and heat pump heat at $30.50, assuming a COP of 2.5 and electricity at $0.26 per kWh (its electricity figures are dated October 5, 2026).
How do oil and propane equipment differ?
The burner and the tank are where they part ways. An oil system burns liquid fuel from a tank that is often indoors; DOE and NREL note that 275-gallon steel tanks are commonly used for heating oil in homes. Burner makers such as Beckett call for annual service by a qualified technician, and Maine DEP suggests planning a tank replacement after 20 years and replacing a steel tank as it approaches 25.
Propane sits outside in a pressure tank, and Maine's Attorney General says most residential customers don't own theirs. PERC's tank table lists common home sizes of 120, 250, 320, 500 and 1,000 gallons of water capacity. Efficiency Maine's calculator defaults give the propane boiler the edge on efficiency, 93% against 87% for oil.
Each fuel has its own run-out rule. After a propane run-out, PERC says a qualified person must leak-check the system before the gas goes back on; an oil burner that ran dry usually needs a technician to restart it. In Maine, a Fuel Board license is required to install or service either kind of equipment, with a narrow exception for owner-occupied single-family homes whose work must still meet the Board's rules.
What about hot water?
Hot water follows the same arithmetic: whichever fuel heats it, the cost per million Btu decides the bill. Maine's survey adds a catch for small propane users, since tiered pricing means a household buying propane only for hot water or cooking generally pays a higher price per gallon than one heating with it.
Water quality matters too. The U.S. Geological Survey says hard water heated in a home water heater can form calcium carbonate deposits, and that this scale can shorten equipment life and raise the cost of heating water. If a water test shows hard water, a softener is one option; the boiler or water heater maker's instructions come first.
If a technician recommends a new oil boiler or furnace, the cards below show what that equipment looks like; the installer specifies the make, size and venting.
Does converting from oil to propane make sense?
Only if the numbers favor propane at your volume, and you've read the tank terms. A supplier-owned tank comes with strings: Maine law bars anyone but the tank's owner, or a person the owner authorizes in writing, from filling it, so a leased tank ties you to one supplier.
Leaving a supplier later is governed by state law. New Hampshire requires a refund of leftover propane within 30 days at the most recent delivery price, Vermont within 20 days, and Maine's Department of Energy Resources says state law doesn't require one. Read more on leased and owned propane tanks before signing.
Count the old oil tank too. If it comes out, the oil tank replacement page covers removal, and Maine DEP's FAQ gives $3,500 as an average replacement cost on an undated page. No federal credit covers 2026 work on either fuel.
Where do heat pumps fit?
Heat pumps usually beat both fuels on running cost when electricity is priced at Efficiency Maine's default, though that is an input, not a quote. With its defaults as of October 23, 2026 (oil $5.27, propane $3.26, electricity $0.26 per kWh, and its system and distribution efficiencies), the formula gives about $48.42 per million Btu for an oil boiler, $42.57 for a propane boiler and $24.19 for a ductless heat pump.
That is why many oil households weigh a heat pump instead of a propane conversion. Read what makes a heat pump cold-climate, how a heat pump runs with the boiler as backup, and which rebates remain in your state.
Heat and price, dated
- 138,500 BtuHeat in a gallon of heating oilEIA
- 91,452 BtuHeat in a gallon of propaneEIA
- $6.04Maine statewide average cash price for heating oil, Oct. 19, 2026Maine DOER
- $3.52Maine average propane price at 900+ gallons a year, Oct. 19, 2026Maine DOER
- $54.47NH DOE oil cost per million Btu at 80% efficiency, Oct. 26, 2026NH Department of Energy
- $57.07NH DOE propane cost per million Btu at 80% efficiency, Oct. 26, 2026NH Department of Energy
Scaler's notes: how this page was put together
This page uses EIA's heat content table and its Heating Oil and Propane Update for October 26, 2026; the Maine Department of Energy Resources survey of October 19, 2026; the NH Department of Energy table of October 26, 2026; Vermont Public Service Department monthly averages; Efficiency Maine's calculator defaults of October 23, 2026; Maine statutes on tank filling and fuel licensing; New Hampshire RSA 339:79 and 9 V.S.A. § 2461b; PERC's technical pocket booklet; and USGS on hard water, read in October 2026. The cost-per-million-Btu table is our arithmetic, with every input shown. Left out: any single price called today's, payback promises, and tank lifespans beyond Maine DEP's guidance.
Questions from the woodshed
Is propane or oil cheaper to heat a house in Vermont?
On the Public Service Department's September 2026 averages, oil was $5.87 and propane $3.09 a gallon. Run those through the formula with your system's efficiency; at equal efficiency, propane at that price comes out lower per million Btu, but your own delivered price is what counts.
Why does New Hampshire's table use 91,333 Btu for propane?
NH DOE uses its own heat contents, and other agencies round differently. Fill Pipe uses EIA's 91,452 as its standard and keeps each agency's figure inside that agency's own example.
Does a propane boiler use less fuel than an oil boiler?
It burns more gallons for the same heat, because each gallon of propane carries less energy. Efficiency Maine's calculator does start propane boilers at a higher efficiency, 93% against 87% for oil, which narrows the gap.
Is kerosene cheaper than No. 2 heating oil?
No, on every state survey read for this page it cost more per gallon: $6.99 against $6.04 in Maine on October 19, 2026. NH DOE also lists kerosene at 135,000 Btu per gallon against 138,500 for oil.
Will a propane company fill a customer-owned tank?
Vermont's statute, 9 V.S.A. § 2461b, bars a propane seller from turning away a tank the customer owns once ownership is proven and the seller has safety-checked it under NFPA 54 and 58. In Maine, the DOER notes a new company will require, and charge for, a safety inspection before switching.
Do prebuy contracts change the comparison?
They can, because survey averages are cash prices and exclude prebuy and discounted prices, as Maine's survey says. Compare the contract price per million Btu, and read the propane delivery and prebuy page first.
Does either fuel need a carbon monoxide alarm?
Yes. Both burn and can make CO, and CPSC advises alarms on every level, including the basement, and outside each sleeping area; NFPA also recommends one in each bedroom. The carbon monoxide page covers placement and alarm life.
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