How much does it cost to run a monitor?
We've pre-filled a typical monitor below. Set your electricity rate and adjust the hours to match how you use yours — the cost updates instantly.
A monitor is one of the cheapest things running in your house, and it's not close. Most monitors pull just 15 to 60 watts — a fraction of what a space heater or hair dryer uses — because the panel itself is the only thing drawing real power; there's no motor, no compressor, no element making heat.
Run a 30-watt monitor eight hours a day and you're looking at roughly a dollar a month, which is why upgrading your monitor almost never shows up as a savings tip worth chasing. The one place wattage actually swings is screen size and type: a big ultrawide or a high-brightness gaming panel can push toward 60W and above, while a small basic LED display can sit under 20W.
What drives the cost of running a monitor
- Screen size and panel type — ultrawide and large gaming monitors draw meaningfully more than a standard 24-inch LED panel
- Brightness setting — running the backlight near maximum brightness pulls more watts than a dimmer, eco, or auto-brightness setting
- Hours actually on and awake — a monitor left on (not asleep) all workday adds up differently than one that sleeps between uses
How to cut it
- Turn on sleep/standby after a few minutes of inactivity instead of leaving the screen on and idle
- Lower brightness — most people run monitors brighter than they need to, especially indoors
- If you run multiple monitors, only power on the ones you're actively using
- When shopping, an ultrawide or higher-refresh gaming monitor will cost more to run than a smaller standard panel — worth knowing going in, even if the difference is small
Common questions
How much does it cost to run a monitor per month?
At a typical 30W and about 6 hours a day, a monitor costs roughly $0.92 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 monitor?
Turn on sleep/standby after a few minutes of inactivity instead of leaving the screen on and idle
Does leaving a monitor on standby still cost money?
Yes, but very little — standby/sleep mode typically draws only 1-2 watts, a small fraction of the 15-60W it uses while displaying an image, so sleeping it between uses barely moves your bill compared to fully shutting it off.
Is it cheaper to run one big monitor or two small ones?
It depends on total wattage, not the number of screens — two small 20W monitors can use less power combined than one large 60W ultrawide, so check each monitor's actual wattage rather than assuming fewer screens means lower cost.
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