Compare the running cost of two appliances
Pick two appliances, check how long you use each one, and see which costs more to run per month and per year at your state's electricity price.
Appliance cost comparison
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Figures are estimates at the price shown above. The starting price is the U.S. residential average.
Popular comparisons
Open one of these to start from typical values, then adjust the hours to match how you use each appliance.
How to make a fair comparison
Two appliances are only comparable when they deliver the same result. The most common mistake is to give both the same number of hours. An air fryer cooks a meal in about half the time an oven needs, so comparing them at one hour each makes the air fryer look worse than it is. Enter the time each appliance actually runs to do the job.
The second thing to check is whether the appliance draws its full power the whole time. Anything with a thermostat or a compressor, such as a heater, an air conditioner, a refrigerator or a heat pump, switches on and off to hold a temperature. For those, the hours should be the time the heating element or compressor is really running, which is usually well below the time the appliance is switched on.
Finally, remember what the comparison leaves out. It covers electricity only. A gas furnace, a gas dryer or a gas water heater has a fuel cost that does not appear here, and the purchase price of a more efficient appliance can take years to recover. For the electricity side of that decision, the yearly difference shown above is the number that matters: divide the extra purchase price by it to see how many years the saving takes to pay for itself.
What usually decides the result
Running time matters more than wattage. Appliances that heat or cool a space for hours, such as space heaters, central air and water heaters, dominate a bill even when a kitchen appliance has a higher wattage on its label. If you want to see how each one adds up across your whole home, build a list with the main calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How do I compare the running cost of two appliances?
Work out the energy each one uses in a month: watts divided by 1,000, times hours per day, times days per month. Multiply each by your price per kWh and compare the results. The tool on this page does that for both appliances at once.
Is the appliance with the lower wattage always cheaper to run?
No. Cost depends on wattage multiplied by time. A 1,500-watt air fryer used for 20 minutes uses less energy than a 100-watt television left on all evening.
Does the comparison change with the state I live in?
The dollar amounts change, because electricity prices vary from 12.72 cents per kWh in Louisiana to 48.00 cents in Hawaii. Which appliance is cheaper does not change, since both are multiplied by the same price.
How should I compare two appliances that do the same job differently?
Compare them for the same result, not the same number of hours. A heat pump and a space heater, or an air fryer and an oven, take different amounts of time to do the same job, so enter the realistic run time for each.