How much does it cost to run an Instant Pot?
We've pre-filled an typical Instant Pot below. Set your electricity rate and adjust the hours to match how you use yours — the cost updates instantly.
An Instant Pot looks like it should sip electricity — it's small, it's on the counter, it's not a stove. But while it's coming up to pressure it's pulling close to its full 1,000 watts, the same as a space heater on its low setting. The difference is duration: a heater runs for hours, an Instant Pot runs for minutes. It spikes hard, then drops to a low simmer to hold pressure, so almost all the real cost happens in that first burst before the lid even starts hissing.
That's why the number on your bill stays small even with regular use: a typical pressure-cook cycle is over before the appliance has burned through much energy at all, and the default half hour a day this calculator assumes already covers most real cooking sessions. The one thing that actually moves the cost is prep habits, not the pot itself — natural pressure release adds time on the keep-warm function, and multiple short cook cycles back-to-back reheat that initial 1,000-watt draw each time instead of once.
What drives the cost of running an Instant Pot
- The pressurizing phase — the pot pulls close to its full ~1,000W getting up to pressure, and that's where most of the energy in a cycle actually goes
- Pot size and recipe — a small 3-quart runs closer to 700W, a big 8-quart closer to 1,200W, and dense/frozen food takes longer to pressurize
- Keep-warm and natural release time — these hold at a low simmer rather than off, so a cycle left on keep-warm for hours adds real minutes to the daily total
How to cut it
- Skip natural pressure release when a recipe allows a quick release instead — keep-warm mode after NPR can run 20-30+ extra minutes for barely any benefit
- Batch-cook once instead of running two or three shorter cycles — each new cycle re-spends the ~1,000W pressurizing spike
- Turn off keep-warm as soon as the pot's done instead of leaving it on for hours out of habit
Common questions
How much does it cost to run an Instant Pot per month?
At a typical 1,000W and about 0.5 hours a day, an Instant Pot costs roughly $2.55 a month at $0.17/kWh. Set your own rate and hours above for an exact figure.
How can I cut the cost of running an Instant Pot?
Skip natural pressure release when a recipe allows a quick release instead — keep-warm mode after NPR can run 20-30+ extra minutes for barely any benefit
Does an Instant Pot use more electricity than a stovetop or oven for the same meal?
It's not close. A stovetop burner or oven stays at high heat for the entire cook time, while an Instant Pot's big power draw is mostly limited to the few minutes it takes to reach pressure — after that it's coasting on a low simmer. That's the main reason pressure cookers are marketed as energy-savers: shorter total high-power time for a similar or better result.
Does leaving an Instant Pot on keep-warm cost much?
Yes, a little. Keep-warm holds the pot at a gentle simmer rather than off, so it keeps drawing a small amount of power the whole time it's active. It's nowhere near the ~1,000W pressurizing spike, but leaving it on for hours after a meal's done adds up over a month more than most people expect from a "warm" setting.
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