How much does it cost to run a treadmill?
About $4.98 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 treadmill motor pulls ~600–1,800W depending on speed, incline and the runner's weight.
Running a treadmill at 900W for 1 h a day costs about
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A treadmill's motor works harder than people expect — several hundred to over a thousand watts, depending on speed, incline and how much it's pushing. A daily workout is still fairly cheap, but it's heavier than most gym equipment and adds up with frequent, longer sessions.
Watts climb with speed and incline, so a brisk hill workout costs more than a flat walk, and the console/screen sips a little extra.
What drives the cost of running a treadmill
- Speed, incline and user weight all raise the motor's load.
- Session length and how many days a week you run.
- A built-in touchscreen and any standby draw add a little on top.
How to cut it
- Unplug it (or use a switched strip) when not in use to kill standby draw.
- Walk-and-incline workouts are gentler on the motor than all-out sprints if cost matters.
- Keep the belt lubricated and aligned so the motor isn't fighting friction.
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 a treadmill, 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
- Steady load — 900W for 1 h a day
- 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 a treadmill per month?
On the assumption shown above — 900W for 1 h a day — a treadmill costs about $4.98 a month, or $59.66 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?
Power drawn while running x hours run per day. At 900W for 1 h a day that is 0.90 kWh a day, which at $0.1816/kWh costs $0.16 a day.
How can I cut the cost of running a treadmill?
Unplug it (or use a switched strip) when not in use to kill standby draw. As a worked example: running it 48 min a day instead of 1 h takes it from $59.66 to $47.72 a year, about $11.93 less.