How much does a laptop 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 laptop costs to run: typical 50 W, about $8 a year. Adjust the figures to your own usage and electricity price.

Wattage and running cost

Based on 2.5 h a day at $0.18/kWh, the US average. Change the hours and the price in the calculator above.

A laptop is one of the cheapest ways to work or study when it comes to electricity, which is easy to forget when it is on for most of the day. Its power draw depends on what it is doing: light tasks like writing, browsing and video calls might pull only 20 to 40 watts, while gaming, video editing or software builds can push a powerful laptop past 90 watts. This page uses an hours-per-day approach; enter a realistic figure for your typical workload and your price to see the yearly cost.

Laptops are far more efficient than desktop PCs for the same tasks because they are built around battery life, so every component is designed to sip power. Charging is included in the figure — the charger draws a little more than the laptop itself while topping up the battery, then drops to a trickle once full. Leaving the charger plugged in without the laptop attached wastes only a negligible amount on modern units, so this is not worth worrying about.

Because the numbers are small, the savings are about habits rather than hardware. Lowering screen brightness, letting the machine sleep when you step away, and closing power-hungry background apps all trim the draw. The bigger picture is comparative: if you have the choice between a laptop and a desktop for everyday work, the laptop will usually cost a fraction as much to run over its life, which the calculator above makes easy to see against a desktop's figure.

What a laptop costs in other countries

The figures above assume $0.18/kWh, the US average. A laptop does not change when it crosses a border — the price of the electricity it drinks does. Here is what its 46 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 laptop running costs

• Lower screen brightness — the display is one of the biggest power users on a laptop.
• Let it sleep or hibernate when you step away rather than staying fully awake.
• Use battery-saver or balanced power modes for everyday tasks.
• Close background apps that keep the processor busy when you're not using them.
• For everyday work a laptop costs far less to run than a desktop — reach for it first.

Frequently asked questions