How much does a Wi-Fi router cost to run?
At the current price cap, a Wi-Fi router costs about 6.3p per day, or around £23.06 a year with typical use.
Wi-Fi router
- An hour
- 0.3p
- A day used
- 6.3p
- A week
- 44.2p
- A month
- £1.92
- Energy a year
- 87.6 kWh
10 W for 24 hours 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.
Wi-Fi router running costs
At 26.32p per kWh, with typical use of 24 hours a day, every day.
| Period | Energy | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Per day | 0.24 kWh | 6.3p |
| Per hour in use | 0.01 kWh | 0.3p |
| Per week | 1.68 kWh | 44.2p |
| Per month | 7.3 kWh | £1.92 |
| Per year | 87.6 kWh | £23.06 |
How the cost varies
A basic 5 W router to around 20 W for a router with mesh extenders.
| Energy use | Per day | Per year (typical use) |
|---|---|---|
| Lower | 3.2p | £11.53 |
| Typical | 6.3p | £23.06 |
| Higher | 12.6p | £46.11 |
Home office appliances compared
Yearly cost with typical use, at 26.32p per kWh.
| Appliance | Per hour | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi router (this page) | 0.3p | £23.06 |
| Laptop | 1.3p | £20.59 |
Ways to spend less
- Leave it on. Routers use very little, and turning them off often can make your connection less stable.
- If you want to save, some routers have a schedule to turn Wi-Fi off overnight while staying connected.
- Each mesh unit or extender uses about the same again, so only add the ones you need.
How we calculate this
We take a typical Wi-Fi router at 10 watts, used 24 hours a day, every day, and multiply the energy it uses by the Ofgem price cap unit rate of 26.32p per kWh.
One day uses about 0.24 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 Wi-Fi router cost to run a year?
With typical use (24 hours a day, every day), about £23.06 a year at the current price cap, or £1.92 a month.
Should I turn my router off at night?
It saves very little, about 2p a night for a typical router, and some broadband providers advise leaving it on so the line stays stable. A Wi-Fi schedule in the router's settings is a good middle ground.
Do mesh systems use more electricity?
Yes, each unit uses power, often about the same as the main router. A three-unit mesh system might cost two to three times as much to run as one router.
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.