How much does it cost to run an electric kettle?
About $1.66 a month on the typical usage below, at the U.S. average $0.1816/kWh. Set your own rate and usage and the figure updates instantly.
A kettle pulls ~1,500W but boils in a couple minutes — only heat the water you'll use.
Running an electric kettle at 0.07 kWh a cycle, 28 cycles a week costs about
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An electric kettle looks like it should cost a lot to run — 1,500 watts is space-heater territory — but the number that actually matters is time, not wattage. A kettle only pulls that power for the couple of minutes it takes to bring water to a boil, then it clicks off. You're paying for roughly 1,500 watts times a few minutes, not 1,500 watts times an hour, which is why even daily use adds up to just a few dollars a month.
Where the cost creeps up is overfilling. Kettles heat whatever water is in them, so boiling a full 1.7-liter kettle for one cup of tea burns 4-5x the electricity you actually need — you're paying to reheat water you'll pour out. Boil only what you'll drink and an electric kettle stays one of the cheapest things you plug in, even next to appliances that draw far less power but run far longer.
What drives the cost of running an electric kettle
- How much water you fill it with — boiling a full kettle for one cup wastes most of the energy you paid for
- How many times a day you boil — a kettle used for one coffee vs. one used all day for a whole household adds up fast even at seconds per boil
- Kettle wattage — most run 1,200-1,800W, but the wattage barely matters next to how long it's actually on
How to cut it
- Don't switch to a stovetop kettle to "save power" — electric kettles are more efficient at heating water than a stovetop burner, so switching usually costs more, not less
- Descale it every few months — mineral buildup on the heating element makes it work harder and boil slower, quietly raising the cost per use
- Skip the "keep warm" feature if yours has one — holding water at temperature for an hour can cost more than the boil itself
Data basis
- Electricity price
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.B, June 2026 year to date, released 2026-08-26. Retrieved 2026-09-11. Average residential revenue per kWh. A benchmark average, not a utility tariff — it excludes the fixed charges, tiers, time-of-use windows, taxes and fuel adjustments on a real bill.
- Appliance energy
- A representative running power for an electric kettle, compiled from published manufacturer specifications and public appliance-energy guidance, and presented as a typical figure with the usual range shown above. It is not a measurement of your unit, and we do not claim a single primary source for it — the nameplate on your appliance, or an hour with a plug-in energy meter, beats any typical figure we can publish.
- Usage model
- Per cycle — 0.07 kWh a cycle, 28 cycles a week
- International prices
- rounded typical household tariffs for each market, in that market's own currency unless the row says US$ equivalent. These are planning benchmarks with no single primary source; enter the per-kWh price from your own bill for an accurate figure.
- Last reviewed
- 20 August 2026. Next scheduled review 20 February 2027.
- Corrections
- Think a figure is wrong? Tell us at corrections@watt-dollar.com and see our corrections policy.
Common questions
How much does it cost to run an electric kettle per month?
On the assumption shown above — 0.07 kWh a cycle, 28 cycles a week — an electric kettle costs about $1.66 a month, or $19.89 a year, at $0.1816/kWh. That price is the U.S. average; set your own rate and usage above and the figure updates.
How is that worked out?
Energy per cycle x cycles per week, plus any standby draw between cycles. At 0.07 kWh a cycle, 28 cycles a week that is 0.30 kWh a day, which at $0.1816/kWh costs $0.05 a day.
How can I cut the cost of running an electric kettle?
Don't switch to a stovetop kettle to "save power" — electric kettles are more efficient at heating water than a stovetop burner, so switching usually costs more, not less As a worked example: running 22.4 cycles a week instead of 28 takes it from $19.89 to $15.91 a year, about $3.98 less.
Is an electric kettle cheaper to run than boiling water on the stove?
Yes, almost always. An electric kettle's heating element sits directly in the water, so very little heat escapes into the surrounding air — stovetop boiling, especially on an electric coil or radiant burner, loses much more heat to the pot and the air around it. Boiling water in an electric kettle is typically faster and cheaper than a stovetop for the same amount of water.
Does a kettle use more electricity if I boil less water?
No — less water means less cost, not more. The kettle only heats what's in it, so boiling just enough for one mug uses a fraction of the energy (and cost) of boiling a full kettle. The one exception is if your kettle has a minimum fill line below which the heating element isn't fully covered; check your manual rather than guessing.