How much does it cost to run a microwave?
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A microwave is one of the cheapest things in your kitchen to run, and the reason is timing, not wattage. It pulls a real 700–1,500 watts while it's on — as much as a space heater — but it's only ever on for a couple of minutes at a stretch, so a full year of reheating leftovers and popping popcorn can cost less than a single evening with a space heater running.
Where people get surprised is comparing it to the oven: a microwave heats the food directly instead of heating a box of air around it, so it does the same reheating job in a fraction of the time and a fraction of the energy. The only way to spend real money on a microwave is to run it stacked back-to-back for long cook times — think a whole holiday's worth of dishes — or to leave a clock-display model plugged in and drawing standby power for years on end.
What drives the cost of running a microwave
- Run time, not power level, is what actually costs money — a microwave draws its full 700-1,500W the whole time it's on, but that's usually just minutes a day.
- Bigger and more powerful microwaves (1,200W+ commercial-style units) cook faster, which often cancels out most of the higher wattage in total energy used.
- Standby power for the clock and display runs 24/7 in the background and, over a year, can add up to more than the actual cooking does.
How to cut it
- Match the power level to the job — 50-70% power for defrosting or reheating dense food uses less energy than blasting full power and reheating unevenly.
- Stop opening the door to check food early; each restart pulls the same startup draw as beginning a fresh cook.
- Unplug it (or use a switched power strip) if it has an always-on clock or display — standby draw adds a few dollars a year for basically nothing.
- Use it instead of the oven for small reheats: a microwave finishing in 2 minutes beats a 350°F oven preheating for 10.
Common questions
How much does it cost to run a microwave per month?
At a typical 1,000W and about 0.3 hours a day, a microwave costs roughly $1.53 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 a microwave?
Match the power level to the job — 50-70% power for defrosting or reheating dense food uses less energy than blasting full power and reheating unevenly.
Does a bigger, more powerful microwave cost more to run?
Not by much in practice. A 1,200W microwave draws more power than a 700W one, but it also finishes cooking faster, so the total energy used per reheat ends up close to the same. The wattage number on the door matters less than how many minutes a day you actually run it.
Is the microwave cheaper than using my oven or stovetop?
For small portions and reheating, yes, usually by a wide margin. A microwave heats the food directly for a couple of minutes; an oven has to heat its whole interior first, often for 10+ minutes, before the food even starts cooking. For anything you'd reheat in under 5 minutes, the microwave almost always wins on cost.
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