Motorway vignettes in Europe: a country-by-country guide for cars

Checked on 2026-10-26

Spain, France and Italy charge tolls at barriers or by distance. Head east through the Alps and Central Europe and the logic changes: you pay once for the right to use the motorway network for a period of time. That is the vignette. In most of these countries it is now purely digital and linked to your number plate, so there is nothing on the windscreen, and cameras check the plate as you drive. Get the plate, the country of registration or the vehicle category wrong and, as far as the system is concerned, you have not paid.

This guide covers the countries a typical road trip from Western Europe runs into: Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. Prices are for a standard car up to 3.5 t and were read on each official seller's site on 26 October 2026. They change, often on 1 January or 1 December, so check the official page before you buy.

The rule that saves you money: buy only from the official seller

Search for "vignette" plus a country name and the first results are often paid ads from resellers. Slovenia's operator DARS warns that unauthorised sellers charge commissions of several tens of percent, and that some have taken payment without buying the vignette or changed the plate number afterwards. Bulgaria's Road Infrastructure Agency asks drivers to buy at the designated price without extra fees. Switzerland's customs office notes that third parties may legally add a fee to an e-vignette, so the safe choice is its own shop. Every official site is listed in the sources below; type the address yourself rather than clicking an ad.

Switzerland

One product only: an annual vignette for CHF 40, sold as an e-vignette (official shop: e-vignette.ch, run by the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security) or as a sticker from automobile clubs and, in exceptional cases, at some customs offices. There are no short-term vignettes. It runs from 1 December of the previous year to 31 January of the following year; an e-vignette is valid from the moment you buy it. It applies to motor vehicles and trailers up to 3.5 t, so a caravan or trailer needs its own. Motorhomes over 3.5 t do not buy a vignette: they pay the flat-rate heavy vehicle charge (PSVA) instead. Buy before you cross the border.

Austria

ASFINAG sells a digital vignette and, for the last time in 2026, the sticker; from 2027 only the digital, plate-linked version will exist. Car prices valid from 1 December 2025: 1-day €9.60 (digital only, in the ASFINAG shop or app), 10-day €12.80, 2-month €32.00 and annual €106.80. Watch the timing: 2-month and annual vignettes bought online are valid from the 18th day after purchase at the earliest, while the 1-day and 10-day ones can start immediately. Without a valid vignette, cars and camper vans pay a substitute toll of €200; refusing it can lead to an administrative fine of €300 to €3,000. Some tunnels and mountain roads (A 9 Gleinalm and Bosruck, A 10 Tauern and Katschberg, A 11 Karawanken, A 13 Brenner, S 16 Arlberg) charge a separate section toll. Vehicles and motorhomes over 3.5 t use the GO distance toll instead.

Slovenia

Digital only, linked to the plate, for vehicles up to 3,500 kg. The price depends on the toll class. Most cars are in class 2A (height above the front axle up to 1.3 m): weekly €16.00, monthly €32.00, annual €117.50. Taller vehicles such as many vans fall into class 2B, at roughly double: weekly €32.00, monthly €64.10, annual €235.00. That matters if you drive a camper van, so check your class with the tool on the DARS site. The weekly vignette covers seven consecutive days including the start day. The fine for using the network without one is €300. Since 1 January 2026 the coastal expressway sections H5 and H6 no longer need an e-vignette. Heavier vehicles pay distance tolls through DarsGo.

Czechia

Digital only, bought on edalnice.gov.cz (the state e-shop), for four-wheeled vehicles up to 3.5 t. Prices from 1 January 2026 for standard fuel: 1-day CZK 230, 10-day CZK 300, 30-day CZK 480, annual CZK 2,570. Natural gas and biomethane cars pay about half, plug-in hybrids up to 50 g/km of CO₂ pay less, and electric and hydrogen cars are free, though foreign-registered ones must file an exemption notification first. The annual vignette runs 365 days from the start date you choose, and you can delay the start by up to 30 days. Police and customs scan plates; driving a toll road without a valid vignette can cost a fine of up to CZK 20,000.

Slovakia

Digital, sold through eznamka.sk, which describes itself as the only official sales channel. For vehicles up to 3.5 t: 1-day €8.10 (valid until midnight of the chosen day), 10-day €10.80, 30-day €17.10, 365-day €90.00, all counted from the start day you pick. A trailer needs its own vignette, at the same prices, only when the whole combination exceeds 3.5 t. Vehicles over 3.5 t pay the electronic toll (emyto.sk). The official pages do not list fine amounts, so we do not quote one.

Hungary

The e-vignette (e-matrica) is digital. Rates valid from 1 January 2026 for category D1 (passenger cars up to 3.5 t and up to 7 seats): daily HUF 5,550, weekly (10 days) HUF 6,900, monthly HUF 11,170, national annual HUF 61,760, and a cheaper annual vignette for the motorways of a single county at HUF 7,190. Category matters: a vehicle registered as N1 (many vans) or with 8 or more seats is D2 and pays more, and the operator has a selection guide for motorhomes and caravans. Driving without a valid e-vignette triggers a surcharge of HUF 27,790 if paid within 60 days and HUF 95,730 after that. Vehicles over 3.5 t use the HU-GO electronic toll.

Romania

The rovinieta is an electronic record in the database of CNAIR, the national road administration; there is no sticker. Unlike the others, it covers the national road network as a whole, not only motorways, except the sections inside towns. It applies to passenger vehicles and goods vehicles up to 3.5 t, and the price depends on vehicle type, emissions standard and duration. We could not read the current tariff table as text on the official portal (portal.etoll.ro), so we do not quote prices: check it there or in CNAIR's TollRo app. Authorised distributors also sell it.

Bulgaria

Bulgaria switched to the e-vignette in 2019; nothing goes on the windscreen and you do not need to carry proof. New prices for vehicles up to 3.5 t, which also apply to M1 motor caravans, have been in force since 1 August 2026: daily €5.30, weekend €6.60, weekly €10.00, monthly €19.90, quarterly €35.90, annual €64.50. You can buy up to 30 days before the start date on bgtoll.bg or in its app. The compensatory fee for the same vehicles is €46.50. A trailer needs its own e-vignette when the combination exceeds 3.5 t.

Summary table (car up to 3.5 t)

Country	Format	Durations and price	Official seller
Switzerland	E-vignette or sticker	Annual only (1 Dec to 31 Jan, 14 months): CHF 40	e-vignette.ch
Austria	Digital or sticker (sticker last year 2026)	1 day €9.60, 10 days €12.80, 2 months €32.00, annual €106.80	asfinag.at
Slovenia	Digital	Class 2A: 7 days €16.00, month €32.00, annual €117.50 (2B double)	evinjeta.dars.si
Czechia	Digital	1 day CZK 230, 10 days CZK 300, 30 days CZK 480, annual CZK 2,570	edalnice.gov.cz
Slovakia	Digital	1 day €8.10, 10 days €10.80, 30 days €17.10, 365 days €90.00	eznamka.sk
Hungary	Digital	D1: day HUF 5,550, 10 days HUF 6,900, month HUF 11,170, annual HUF 61,760	nemzetiutdij.hu
Romania	Digital (rovinieta)	Several durations; check the official tariff	portal.etoll.ro (CNAIR)
Bulgaria	Digital	Day €5.30, weekend €6.60, week €10.00, month €19.90, quarter €35.90, annual €64.50	bgtoll.bg

Motorhomes and vans: check the category before you pay

Every system above is built around 3.5 t. Above that, a motorhome usually leaves the vignette regime and pays a heavy-vehicle charge or a distance toll: the PSVA in Switzerland, GO in Austria, DarsGo in Slovenia, the electronic tolls in Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. Below 3.5 t, the traps are the category rules: class 2B in Slovenia for tall vehicles, D2 in Hungary for N1 registrations. Read your registration document and use each operator's category tool rather than guessing.

Sources

How Optitrips helps

When you plan a route in Optitrips, the app flags the countries on it that need a vignette and links to the official seller, so you do not land on a reseller. It also shows the real toll costs along the route and, on the paid tiers, a toll-free alternative to compare. It does not sell vignettes, and for motorhomes it does not replace the operator's category rules or the road signs. Optitrips is an Android app in closed beta. Join the beta.