Oil Change Prices in 2026: What Every Major Chain Actually Charges
Standard 5-quart service, before tax. Bigger engines (many trucks/SUVs) take 6–8 quarts and pay $10–$25 more.
Observed & compiled: 14 September 2026 · re-checked monthlyWhat changed since the August check (re-checked 14 Sep 2026)
The finding: we have now opened nine of these eleven chains on their own websites, and only one — Walmart — publishes a price you can read before you book. The other ten publish none at all.
What they publish instead is discounts. NTB advertises "$20 off any oil change". Valvoline offers $15 off full synthetic and $12 off conventional. Pep Boys, $30 off any synthetic. Grease Monkey, $10 and $15 off. Goodyear, opened on 21 September, turned out to do exactly the same: the entire contents of its offers module is "Up to $20 in Rebates from Valvoline", against no price for any of the three oil grades it names. In every case you can learn exactly what you will save without ever learning what you will pay.
A correction to us, and it is the biggest thing on this page. We had Walmart's synthetic at $48.88 and its full synthetic at $58.88–$64.88, and we told you last month that ladder was "verified unchanged". It was not verified — it was copied from a price guide. Walmart's own page says $62.88, $72.88 and $76.88. We were wrong by $14, $14 and $12, on the one chain here that publishes openly.
Two chains we called "publishes prices" do not. NTB's $24.99 — which we called the lowest published conventional price in the category — is not published anywhere by NTB; its parent Mavis runs a page headed "Mavis Oil Change Cost" that contains no cost. Pep Boys lists four oil types on its own service page with a Book Now button against each and a price against none. Both are now marked as not publishing, and their old figures are relabelled observed.
Also changed: Valvoline and Grease Monkey both move from "store-page pricing" to no published price — we checked actual store pages and they name a phone number where the price should be. Grease Monkey has moved to greasemonkey.com and says most of its locations no longer carry conventional oil at all.
Carried forward, not re-checked: Midas, Meineke and Firestone. Firestone's figures now date from July. Updated 21 September 2026: Goodyear, which we deliberately left flagged last cycle rather than reclassify on a search result, has now been opened and read. It publishes no price. That settles the category at ten of eleven.
Jump to: Walmart Auto Take 5 Midas Valvoline Instant Firestone Complete Jiffy Lube NTB Grease Monkey Meineke Car Goodyear Auto Pep Boys
Tip: click any column header to sort the table.
| Chain | Conventional | Full Synthetic | Publishes a price? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walmart Auto Care | $28.88 | $72.88–$76.88 | Yes — the only one that does |
| Take 5 | $50–$60 (observed) | $80–$94 (observed) | No — and says so in writing |
| Midas | $40–$50 (observed) | $69.99–$100 (observed; local offers ~$59.99 common) | No |
| Valvoline Instant | $45–$65 (observed) | $80–$110 (observed) | No — store pages give a phone number |
| Firestone | $40–$60 (observed, July) | $75–$105 (observed, July) | No |
| Jiffy Lube | $49.99–$59.99 (observed) | $89.99–$109.99 (observed) | No — quote needs your email and VIN |
| NTB (National Tire & Battery) | $24.99 (observed) | $95.99 (observed) | No — corrected Sep 2026 |
| Grease Monkey | $40–$55 (observed) | $65–$85 (observed) | No — corrected Sep 2026 |
| Meineke | ~$25–$45 (observed) | $69.99–$89.99 (observed) | No — coupon-priced |
| Goodyear Auto Service | $20–$45 (observed, July) | $60–$90 (observed, July) | Publishes no price — rebate only |
| Pep Boys | $45 (observed) | $100 (observed) | No — corrected Sep 2026 |
Read the last column first. Ten of these eleven chains will not tell you a price on their own website. Every figure marked observed is what third parties or customers report, dated by us — not a number the company stands behind.
Walmart Auto Care Center
CONVENTIONAL$28.88
SYNTHETIC OPTION$62.88
FULL SYNTHETIC$72.88–$76.88
Corrected September 2026, and the correction is ours. We published this ladder as $28.88 / $48.88 / $58.88–$64.88 and described it last month as "verified unchanged". Walmart's own page says otherwise, and it prints all seven tiers plainly: Pit Crew conventional $28.88, standard featured oil $38.88, high-mileage $52.88, Quaker State synthetic $62.88, diesel conventional $62.88, full synthetic $72.88, premium synthetic $76.88. Our figures were low by $14, $14 and $12 because we had copied a price guide instead of reading the page. The only number we had right was $28.88 — the one Walmart puts in its own page banner.
This is now the only published price ladder in the category, which makes it the only benchmark on this page a reader can independently check. Every service includes up to 5 quarts, a new filter, chassis lubrication where applicable and a ten-item courtesy check; Walmart notes that prices vary by location and that non-featured oil costs more. Trade-off: longer waits, basic service, no inspection theatre.
Take 5 Oil Change
CONVENTIONAL$50–$60
BLEND$55–$75
FULL SYNTHETIC$80–$94
What you'll actually pay: email signup regularly yields 25% off or $10–$15 coupons.
The only chain that explains the silence in writing — and it speaks for the others. Take 5's pricing page, last reviewed 12 August 2026, has a section headed "Why We Don't List One Set Price Online". It reads: "Take 5 Oil Change and our competitors don't list a set price online because pricing varies based on vehicle type, oil selection, and location. Publishing one flat price wouldn't give you an accurate number." Note what that sentence does — the chain is not just declining to publish, it is telling you the whole category declines to publish. On this month's evidence it is right about ten of the other eleven chains on this page. The figures above are observed, unchanged since August, and cannot be checked against anything the company publishes, because it publishes nothing. Drive-through, stay-in-car format.
Midas
CONVENTIONAL$40–$50
BLEND$55–$80
FULL SYNTHETIC$70–$100
What you'll actually pay: local full-synthetic offers around $59.99 are common — often beating Walmart. Oil changes are their door-opener for inspections; expect upsell recommendations.
Not individually re-checked in the September cycle — these figures are carried forward from August and are observed rather than published.
Valvoline Instant Oil Change
CONVENTIONAL$45–$65 obs.
BLEND$60–$80 obs.
FULL SYNTHETIC$80–$110 obs.
What you'll actually pay: checked on a single store page in September — $15 off full synthetic or blend, $12 off conventional, 15% off select maintenance, 20% off for veterans, military and public service, all through 14 October 2026.
We said store pages carried local pricing. We checked one, and they don't. The Edison, New Jersey page loads completely — hours, coupons, service list, reviews, an 18-point checklist — and carries its own FAQ headed "What is the price for an oil change?" The entire answer is: "Several factors determine an oil change price… For specific pricing, please call us at (732) 548-4422." Further down it repeats the offer: "Get additional service details, including pricing, by contacting us." A local page that gives you a local phone number where the local price should be is not publishing a price, so this chain moves from store-page pricing to no published price. Stay-in-car service, about 15 minutes.
Firestone Complete Auto Care
CONVENTIONAL$40–$60
BLEND$55–$80
FULL SYNTHETIC$75–$105
What you'll actually pay: a $15-off-any-oil-change coupon is usually live; stack with oil-brand mail-in rebates ($40-class) and Firestone can quietly become the cheapest option going.
These figures date from July 2026 and have not been re-checked in either the August or the September cycle. Firestone publishes no menu, so nothing short of a store quote can move them. We would rather show you the age of a number than refresh its date without refreshing the number.
Jiffy Lube
CONVENTIONAL$50–$80
BLEND$65–$90
FULL SYNTHETIC$90–$110
What you'll actually pay: national $10-off Signature Service coupon almost always live at jiffylube.com; local coupons often beat it. Any site quoting exact Jiffy Lube prices without a date is guessing.
Jiffy Lube will give you a number. The number costs your email address and your VIN. Instead of a price list it runs an "Auto Service Cost Estimator", which states: "We'll be able to give you a personalized estimate when you provide us with your contact details, preferred Jiffy Lube location and vehicle information", and "You'll need your email address and your vehicle information (year/make/model/engine or VIN) for an estimate." Its three required fields sit on the page reading Not Set, Not Set and No vehicle added. That is a fair trade if you want it — but it means the price of an oil change here is not public information, it is information you buy with contact details.
NTB (National Tire & Battery)
CONVENTIONAL$24.99 obs.
HIGH MILEAGE$59.99 obs.
FULL SYNTHETIC$95.99 obs.
What you'll actually pay: "Save $20 on Any Oil Change" — valid for most vehicles, includes tire rotation and a visual brake inspection, expires 31 Dec 2026. That $20 is the only number on the page.
We had this wrong. We called the $24.99 "the lowest published conventional anchor in the category — undercutting even Walmart". NTB does not publish it. NTB is a Mavis brand, and Mavis runs a page titled Mavis Oil Change Cost, linked from its main navigation, which contains no cost: its on-page advisor answers "How much does an oil change cost?" with "Start by bringing in your car to Mavis to get a free car inspection… The price of an oil change depends on your vehicle, the number of quarts needed, and other specific requirements." The figures above came from a price guide and are now labelled observed. Uses Valvoline oil; every change bundles tire rotation and a multi-point inspection.
Grease Monkey
CONVENTIONAL$40–$55 obs.
BLEND$60–$80 obs.
FULL SYNTHETIC$65–$85 obs.
What you'll actually pay: $10 off a full-service synthetic blend (code WEGM10), $15 off a full-service full synthetic (WEGM15), $5 off any additional service (WEGM05) — all redeemable through 28 September 2026. Three discounts, no prices.
Worth knowing if you drive an older car: the cheap tier is being discontinued, not just hidden. Grease Monkey states on its own site that "most Grease Monkey locations no longer carry conventional oil, since most vehicles now require synthetic oils per their specifications, and conventional oils will not meet your manufacturer's warranty." Our ~$40 conventional figure is stale in an unusual way — it is a price for something most of its stores have stopped selling. Where conventional disappears, the entry price of an oil change rises without anyone announcing an increase. Walmart still sells it at $28.88.
The chain's oil-change page loads in full — oil-type explanations, FAQs, a three-step service description, coupons — and carries no price, so it moves from franchise-priced to no published price. Its website has also moved from greasemonkeyauto.com to greasemonkey.com, and the corporate parent is FullSpeed Automotive. Independently owned franchises still set their own rates, so the same service runs ~$50 in Baton Rouge and ~$89–$99 in Denver.
Meineke Car Care
CONVENTIONAL~$25–$45
BLEND$50–$70
FULL SYNTHETIC$70–$85
What you'll actually pay: location-specific coupons run constantly; the Summer Savings Event has dropped a basic oil change to $19.99. Package includes a 23-point inspection and tire rotation.
Full-service shop — like Midas and Firestone, the oil change is a door-opener; expect inspection-driven upsells. Not individually re-checked in the September cycle; figures carried forward from August and observed rather than published. One useful connection: Meineke and Take 5 are both Driven Brands companies, so Take 5's published statement that it and its competitors don't list set prices online is a sibling company describing the same policy.
Goodyear Auto Service
CONVENTIONAL$20–$45
BLEND$35–$60
FULL SYNTHETIC$60–$90
What Goodyear publishes instead of a price: the whole of its "Available offers" block reads "Up to $20 in Rebates from Valvoline." A near-permanent $20-off full-synthetic coupon bundling a free tire rotation and brake check sits on its coupons page. No base rate anywhere.
Settled 21 September 2026 — this was the one chain we owed you. Last month we wrote that Goodyear looked like it had stopped publishing but that we would not reclassify it without opening the page, because every other change on this page rested on a page somebody actually read. We have now read it. Goodyear's oil-change service page describes the service, names the three oil grades it offers, renders its promotional module — and carries no price for any grade. Its call to action is "Select Oil in Store", which is to say the price is something you find out by driving there. Reclassified to publishes no price, which takes this category to ten of eleven. The ranges above remain observed, carried from July 2026, and are not published by Goodyear.
Pep Boys
CONVENTIONAL$45 obs.
HIGH-MILEAGE BLEND$78 obs.
FULL SYNTHETIC$100 obs.
What you'll actually pay: "$30 off any synthetic oil change service with coupon" on the store pages. Worth knowing that on 14 September the Raleigh page was still running that coupon under a "Limited Time Labor Day Deals" banner, a week after the coupon's own 7 September expiry.
We had this wrong too, and in the opposite direction from Walmart. We described Pep Boys as a chain that "publishes prices openly" — the honest expensive one. Its own oil-change page lists four choices (Platinum Full Synthetic, High Mileage Synthetic Blend, High Mileage Full Synthetic, Conventional), gives each a description and a Book Now button, and prices none of them. A footnote says "advertised starting prices reflect the lowest qualifying package price available", but no starting price is advertised on the page. The store-level pages do the same. The $45/$78/$100 ladder came from price guides and is now labelled observed; on that evidence Pep Boys may still be the priciest option here, but we can no longer show you that it is.
Six things worth knowing before any oil change
- Ten of these eleven chains will not tell you a price. We opened nine of them on their own websites in September 2026. Walmart publishes a full ladder. Every other chain we reached publishes nothing — including Goodyear, which we went back and settled on 21 September.
- They publish discounts instead. $20 off at NTB, $15 off at Valvoline, $30 off at Pep Boys, $15 off at Grease Monkey — four chains we read directly, four exact savings, no base rates. You can find out exactly what you will save without ever finding out what you will pay, which is a strange thing for an industry to converge on and worth naming.
- Walmart's published ladder is the only benchmark you can check yourself: $28.88 conventional, $52.88 high-mileage, $62.88 synthetic, $72.88 full synthetic, $76.88 premium. We had three of those numbers wrong until this month, by $12–$14, because we trusted a price guide over the page.
- Getting a quote can cost you personal data. Jiffy Lube's estimator needs your email address and your VIN before it returns a figure. That is a real price, just not one paid in money.
- The cheap tier is quietly disappearing. Grease Monkey says most of its locations no longer stock conventional oil at all. When the budget option is withdrawn rather than repriced, your oil change gets more expensive and nobody has to announce an increase.
- "Up to 5 quarts" is doing heavy lifting. Many trucks and SUVs take 6–8 quarts — budget $10–$25 over any advertised number.
What we are not claiming. We cannot show you that this category used to publish prices and stopped. Our own July and August figures for these chains came largely from price guides rather than from the companies, so a chain that looks newly silent may simply be a chain we had never actually checked. What this month establishes is the state of the category now, chain by chain, with dates — not a trend. Please don't cite us for one.