How much does a hair dryer cost to run?
At the current price cap, a hair dryer costs about 7.9p per blow-dry (about 9 minutes), or around £20.59 a year with typical use.
Hair dryer
- An hour
- 52.6p
- A day used
- 7.9p
- A week
- 39.5p
- A month
- £1.72
- Energy a year
- 78.2 kWh
2,000 W for 9 minutes a day, 5 days a week, at 26.32p per kWh.
Excludes the daily standing charge, which you pay whatever you use.
How it compares
Yearly cost with typical use, at your unit rate.
Hair dryer running costs
At 26.32p per kWh, with typical use of 9 minutes a day, 5 days a week.
| Period | Energy | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Per blow-dry (about 9 minutes) | 0.3 kWh | 7.9p |
| Per hour in use | 2 kWh | 52.6p |
| Per week | 1.5 kWh | 39.5p |
| Per month | 6.52 kWh | £1.72 |
| Per year | 78.2 kWh | £20.59 |
How the cost varies
A 1,200 W travel dryer to a 2,400 W salon-style dryer, for about 9 minutes.
| Energy use | Per blow-dry (about 9 minutes) | Per year (typical use) |
|---|---|---|
| Lower | 4.7p | £12.35 |
| Typical | 7.9p | £20.59 |
| Higher | 9.5p | £24.70 |
Bathroom appliances compared
Yearly cost with typical use, at 26.32p per kWh.
| Appliance | Per hour | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Electric shower | £2.50 | £136.90 |
| Hair dryer (this page) | 52.6p | £20.59 |
Ways to spend less
- Towel-dry or use a microfibre towel first. The less water left in your hair, the shorter the blow-dry.
- Use a concentrator nozzle to aim the air, which dries hair faster.
- A high heat setting doesn't always mean a faster dry. Higher airflow often makes the bigger difference.
How we calculate this
We take a typical hair dryer at 2,000 watts, used 9 minutes a day, 5 days a week, and multiply the energy it uses by the Ofgem price cap unit rate of 26.32p per kWh.
One blow-dry (about 9 minutes) uses about 0.3 kWh. Use the calculator above with your own appliance’s power and how you use it for a closer figure.
Questions people ask
How much does a hair dryer cost to run a year?
With typical use (9 minutes a day, 5 days a week), about £20.59 a year at the current price cap, or £1.72 a month.
Do more powerful hair dryers cost more?
Per minute, yes. A 2,400 W dryer uses twice the power of a 1,200 W one. But if it dries your hair in half the time, the cost per blow-dry is about the same.
Is it cheaper to let hair dry naturally?
Yes, it costs nothing. Even daily blow-drying is one of the cheaper things to run in a home, at well under £30 a year for most people.
Does this include the standing charge?
No. The standing charge (54.83p a day under the current cap, about £200.13 a year) is a fixed daily cost for being connected. It does not change with how much you use any appliance.