How much does a coffee machine cost to run?

Figures on this page are calculated from typical appliance wattages and the price per kWh you enter, not looked up from a bill. See how we calculate this.

What a coffee machine costs to run: typical 1300 W, about $21 a year. Adjust the figures to your own usage and electricity price.

Wattage and running cost

Based on 0.25 h a day at $0.18/kWh, the US average. Change the hours and the price in the calculator above.

A coffee machine's electricity use is dominated by one thing: heating water. Whether it is a filter machine, a pod machine or a pump espresso maker, most of the power goes into bringing water up to brewing temperature, which is why the wattage sits around 800 to 1,500 watts. The actual brewing takes only a minute or two, so the energy per cup is small — the cost creeps up mainly through habits around the machine rather than the brewing itself.

The classic waste is the keep-warm hotplate on filter machines, which can sit on for hours reheating a jug of coffee nobody is drinking, and the always-on standby of pod and espresso machines that keep the boiler warm for instant use. Individually these are modest, but left on all day they can quietly use more than the actual coffee-making. Enter a realistic daily total and your price above to see where your machine lands, and check the tips below for the settings that matter.

If you make several cups through the day, the cheapest setup is often a machine that heats on demand plus a thermos flask, rather than one that keeps a boiler or hotplate warm for hours. The brewing barely registers on the bill; it is the waiting-around warmth between cups that quietly costs money, and that part is entirely within your control.

Of the three common types, a pod or capsule machine typically holds the smallest standby boiler and draws the least while idle; a pump espresso machine with a larger boiler kept at temperature for instant shots draws more; and a filter machine's hotplate, left on to keep a full jug warm, is usually the single biggest silent drain of the three if it stays switched on after brewing rather than being turned off once the coffee is poured.

Where in that 800-to-1,500 W band a machine falls comes down to which kind is standing on the worktop. A drip filter machine — the coffee maker or coffee pot of American kitchens — is usually rated 800 to 1,200 W, nearly all of it in the element that boils water through the grounds, with the keep-warm hotplate a separate and much smaller load of roughly 50 to 100 W. Pod machines are rated higher, typically 1,200 to 1,500 W, but hold that power for far less time because they heat only enough water for a single cup. Pump espresso machines sit in the same band, and bean-to-cup models add a grinder pulling a few hundred watts for a few seconds. Two things follow from this. The nameplate is a peak the machine touches for minutes a day, so it is a poor guide to the annual bill on its own. And a filter machine has two ratings, not one — the brewing figure that goes on the label, and the hotplate figure that does not.

What a coffee machine costs in other countries

The figures above assume $0.18/kWh, the US average. A coffee machine does not change when it crosses a border — the price of the electricity it drinks does. Here is what its 119 kWh a year cost in the 14 countries with a page here, dearest first.

Each figure is in that country's own currency at its average all-taxes-included price; the dollar column is there so they can be set against each other. Ireland to Canada is a factor of 3.8 — same appliance, same hours, 3.8 times the bill. Follow a country for its real retailer tariffs and what makes up that price, or see the full electricity price comparison by country.

How to cut coffee machine running costs

• Turn off the keep-warm hotplate — pour coffee into a thermos flask instead.
• Switch off pod and espresso machines at the wall when not in use to cut standby.
• Use the auto-off feature if your machine has one, and set it to the shortest delay.
• Only heat the water you need on machines that let you choose a cup size.
• Descale regularly so the heating element works efficiently.

Frequently asked questions