How much does a kettle cost to run?
At the current price cap, a kettle costs about 2.6p per boil (2–3 mugs), or around £28.82 a year with typical use.
Kettle
- An hour
- 79p
- A day used
- 7.9p
- A week
- 55.3p
- A month
- £2.40
- Energy a year
- 110 kWh
3,000 W for 6 minutes a day, every day, 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.
Kettle running costs
At 26.32p per kWh, with typical use of 6 minutes a day, every day.
| Period | Energy | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Per boil (2–3 mugs) | 0.1 kWh | 2.6p |
| Per hour in use | 3 kWh | 79p |
| Per week | 2.1 kWh | 55.3p |
| Per month | 9.13 kWh | £2.40 |
| Per year | 110 kWh | £28.82 |
How the cost varies
One mug (about 250 ml) to a full 1.7 litre kettle. The kettle’s wattage changes how fast it boils, not how much energy it uses.
| Energy use | Per boil (2–3 mugs) | Per year (typical use) |
|---|---|---|
| Lower | 0.8p | £8.65 |
| Typical | 2.6p | £28.82 |
| Higher | 5p | £54.76 |
Kitchen appliances compared
Yearly cost with typical use, at 26.32p per kWh.
| Appliance | Per hour | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Fridge freezer | 0.8p | £69.17 |
| Dishwasher | 13.2p | £54.90 |
| Kettle (this page) | 79p | £28.82 |
| Bean-to-cup coffee machine | 38.2p | £13.93 |
| Toaster | 23.7p | £4.32 |
Ways to spend less
- Boil only the water you need. A full kettle uses several times the energy of one mug’s worth.
- Descale regularly in hard-water areas. Limescale on the element makes it slower.
- A faster kettle doesn’t use less energy for the same water. It just boils it sooner.
How we calculate this
We take a typical kettle at 3,000 watts, used 6 minutes a day, every day, and multiply the energy it uses by the Ofgem price cap unit rate of 26.32p per kWh.
One boil (2–3 mugs) uses about 0.1 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 kettle cost to run a year?
With typical use (6 minutes a day, every day), about £28.82 a year at the current price cap, or £2.40 a month.
How much does it cost to boil a kettle?
Boiling enough for two or three mugs uses about 0.1 kWh, so a few pence. A full kettle uses roughly twice that.
Is it cheaper to boil water in a kettle or on the hob?
A kettle is usually the cheapest way to boil water, because the element sits in the water and very little heat is lost.
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.
Related calculators
- Toaster running costCosts per use and per year.
- Bean-to-cup coffee machine running costCosts per use and per year.
- Fridge freezer running costCosts per use and per year.
- Dishwasher running costCosts per use and per year.
- Appliance running cost calculatorCompare any appliance, at your own rate.
- Energy bill calculatorYour whole yearly bill at the price cap.