Major supplier + exchange leaderPrivate (since 2021 restructuring)EIA: 5 October 2026

Ferrellgas (and Blue Rhino) Propane Price Per Gallon

Ferrellgas operates both a major bulk propane delivery business and Blue Rhino, the largest US cylinder exchange brand. Ferrellgas does not publish a per-gallon delivery price, so this page gives the published benchmark to hold a quote against, this week's EIA residential average, plus the cylinder exchange math and the 15lb fill question.

Ferrellgas residential reference

$2.598/ gal

EIA national average (residential delivery)

Per gallon at a $25 exchange (example)

$6.94/ gal

$25example price / 3.6 gal (15lb fill). Divide your store's price by 3.6.

Company snapshot

Ferrellgas Partners is one of the largest US retail propane marketers, serving approximately 1 million customers across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. As of its July 2025 fiscal year end (the company's fiscal year runs to 31 July) it operated 1,057 propane distribution locations, including 36 service centers and 664 service units, spanning residential, commercial, agricultural, and industrial segments. Ferrellgas is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas. It was a New York Stock Exchange-listed MLP until its 2021 financial restructuring; since then it has been majority-owned by former noteholders, but it remains an SEC-reporting company and its Class A units trade over-the-counter under the ticker FGPR.

Ferrellgas also owns Blue Rhino, which is the largest US cylinder exchange brand. Blue Rhino operates cylinder displays at more than 65,000 retail locations including Walmart, Lowe's, Home Depot, Kroger, 7-Eleven, and many convenience and grocery chains. The Blue Rhino business operates separately from the bulk delivery business but shares supply infrastructure: cylinders are refilled at Ferrellgas/Blue Rhino refurbishing plants and distributed to retail through the same logistics network.

Residential bulk delivery pricing

Ferrellgas residential bulk delivery pricing is not publicly posted. The company quotes per-gallon prices at the customer level based on region, contract type, tank ownership, and annual consumption tier. No public source surveys the national marketers separately from the rest of the market, so there is no honest way to state how Ferrellgas prices against the EIA average. What is published is the market it sells into: the EIA weekly residential average for your state. Use that as the benchmark and ask Ferrellgas to quote against it.

Ferrellgas offers the standard contract structures.

Will-call delivery: Customer-initiated fill, priced on the day of delivery.
Automatic delivery: Ferrellgas monitors tank levels via heating-degree-day estimation and delivers on schedule. Ask whether the automatic rate is below will-call in your area; Ferrellgas does not publish the difference.
Ferrellgas SmartTank: Wireless tank monitoring service that lets Ferrellgas optimise delivery timing. Available in most markets, typically bundled with automatic delivery.
Pre-buy and price-protection plans: Standard pre-buy, cap, and fixed-price options. Specific terms vary by state and by year. Pre-buy enrollment typically opens in June or July.

Blue Rhino cylinder exchange

Blue Rhino operates the largest US cylinder exchange network. The Blue Rhino 20-pound steel cylinders are filled to 15 pounds (3.6 gallons) of propane. Blue Rhino and AmeriGas cut the fill from 17 to 15 pounds in 2008, which the Federal Trade Commission's 2014 complaint described as a price increase; both companies settled with the FTC in October 2014 (FTC case 111-0195). The cylinders are still physically rated for 20lb.

Blue Rhino does not publish an exchange price; each retailer sets its own. The arithmetic is simple: divide the exchange price by 3.6 gallons. At $25, for example, a 15lb-fill cylinder works out to $6.94 per gallon, well above the residential bulk price of $2.598. See the dedicated Blue Rhino price per gallon page for the exchange price by retailer type and the near-me finder.

Why the cylinder exchange premium exists

The per-gallon premium for Blue Rhino (and equivalent AmeriGas Cylinder Exchange) over residential bulk covers several real costs.

Cylinder cycling: Each cylinder cycles through Blue Rhino's refurbishing plants where it is inspected, requalified if needed, cleaned, valve-checked, refilled on a calibrated scale, and painted or restickered before redistribution. The cycling cost spreads across the 3.6 gallons in the cylinder.
Retail distribution: Blue Rhino delivers to 65,000+ retail locations on a regular schedule. The per-cylinder logistics cost is much higher than a single 500-gallon residential bulk fill.
Retail margin: The retailers (Walmart, Lowe's, gas stations) take a margin on the cylinder sale, which none of them publishes.
Cylinder ownership and amortisation: Blue Rhino owns the cylinders, refurbishes them every 12 years per DOT requalification, and replaces them when damaged. Cylinder fleet maintenance is non- trivial at the national fleet scale Blue Rhino operates.
Convenience pricing: The exchange model is fast (drop empty, grab full, two-minute transaction). The pricing reflects what customers will pay for the convenience, not just the cost basis.

The refill alternative

Customers wanting to capture better per-gallon economics on a 20lb tank can refill instead of exchange. The refill model fills the cylinder to the full 20lb (4.7 gallons) and the customer pays for actual gallons dispensed. To compare, take the refill price per gallon and the exchange price divided by 3.6; a refill also delivers the full 4.7 gallons instead of 3.6.

The refill catch: the cylinder must be in date for DOT requalification (every 12 years from manufacture date, stamped on the cylinder collar). Cylinders past requalification will be refused at refill stations. Blue Rhino exchange does not have this problem because the exchange operator handles requalification centrally; if you bring an out-of-date cylinder to exchange, Blue Rhino takes it out of service and gives you a current one. Some customers therefore exchange every 12+ years rather than refill, accepting the per-gallon premium for the requalification convenience.

Ferrellgas commercial and agricultural pricing

Ferrellgas quotes commercial and agricultural accounts individually and publishes no tier sheet, so the only figure this page will put next to it is the published sector comparison on our commercial vs residential page: EIA has US commercial propane at $1.642 per gallon against $2.477 residential for 2024, 33.7% below, on state figures spanning 3.2% to 62.6%. Ferrellgas does have a particularly strong agricultural and rural commercial footprint, reflecting its Kansas headquarters and Midwest history, and crop drying, livestock barn heating and irrigation engine fuel are priced on that commercial side of the line. What the quote turns on is the volume committed for the drying window, how early it is booked, and whether it is indexed to a named rack.

Ferrellgas also has a meaningful presence in the autogas fleet market, supplying school district and municipal fleets in regions where Ferrellgas has the infrastructure. See the autogas page for fleet pricing band.

How Ferrellgas compares to AmeriGas and Suburban

The three majors operate with similar business models and generally similar pricing bands. Ferrellgas's differentiators are the Blue Rhino cylinder exchange business (no equivalent at Suburban, though AmeriGas operates AmeriGas Cylinder Exchange in competition with Blue Rhino) and the strong rural and agricultural footprint. For a residential bulk delivery customer in a market where all three majors operate, no public source compares their prices, so the only way to know is to get a quote from each against your state's EIA weekly average.

FAQ

Is Blue Rhino actually 15 pounds instead of 20?

Yes, since 2008. The cylinders are physically rated for 20lb capacity but filled to 15lb (3.6 gallons). AmeriGas Cylinder Exchange uses the same practice. Refill at a propane dealer fills to the full 20lb (4.7 gallons).

Is Ferrellgas residential delivery more expensive than Blue Rhino per-gallon?

No, dramatically less per-gallon. Residential bulk delivery is the price-efficient channel; Blue Rhino cylinder exchange is the convenience-priced channel, and its per-gallon equivalent runs well above the residential bulk price. The two serve different use cases.

Where can I find Blue Rhino prices in my area?

Blue Rhino does not publish a per-store price list. Retail prices vary by retailer and region. Calling ahead or checking with the cashier at the partner retailer is the way to get current pricing.

Is Ferrellgas still publicly traded?

Ferrellgas Partners was listed on the New York Stock Exchange until its 2021 financial restructuring and is no longer on a major exchange. It remains an SEC-reporting company, however: its Class A units trade over-the-counter under the ticker FGPR, and it still files quarterly 10-Q and annual 10-K reports that are publicly available through SEC EDGAR.