How Much Does It Cost to Run an Electric Kettle?
Short answer: about $0.039 a day and $1.17 a month, or $0.26 for each hour it runs at full power, at the 2025 US average electricity rate. That is for a 1,500 W electric kettle running 0.15 hours a day with a 100% duty cycle. Change the state and hours below for your own number.
Updated Nov 8, 2026
Quick answer
Quick answer, US average (17.3 c/kWh)
About $1.17 a month
The same use costs $0.80 a month in North Dakota and $2.74 in Hawaii.
- Per hour
- $0.26
- at 1,500 W
- Per day
- $0.039
- 0.15 h, 0.22 kWh
- Per month
- $1.17
- 30 days
- Per year
- $14.21
- 365 days at the same use
Your state, your hours
Per hour
$0.26
Per day
$0.039
Per month
$1.17
Per year
$14.21
Electric Kettle at 1,500 W, 0.15 h a day, 30 days a month, 100% duty cycle: 6.7 kWh a month. Using the 2025 US average of 17.3 cents/kWh.
Want to change the watts or duty cycle too? Open the full calculator.
What decides the cost of running an electric kettle
An electric kettle is the most efficient way most homes have to boil water. The element sits in the water or right under a thin base, so 80 to 90 percent of the electricity ends up in the water. A coil burner under a pot gets about 70 to 75 percent of its heat into the water, a microwave around 50 to 60 percent, and a gas burner often under 40 percent, because so much heat goes around the sides of the pot.
In the US, kettles plug into 120 V outlets and are capped at about 1,500 W, sometimes 1,800 W. That is why a kettle in the UK, running at 3,000 W on 230 V, boils noticeably faster. Raising 1 liter of tap water to a boil takes about 0.1 kWh in the water, about 0.115 kWh from the wall after losses, which is 4 to 5 minutes at 1,500 W and about 2 cents. The default on this page is 1,500 W for 9 minutes a day, 0.225 kWh, which is roughly two full liters or several mugs.
Almost all the waste comes from boiling more water than you pour. A full 1.7 liter kettle for one 12 ounce mug heats nearly five times the water you use. Most kettles have a minimum line around a cup, and filling to the line you need is the single biggest saving. Keep-warm modes on variable temperature kettles reheat the water every few minutes to hold the setpoint, which adds up if the kettle sits on the base for an hour.
Scale also matters. In hard water areas a crust forms on the element or base and slows heat transfer, so the kettle runs longer for the same boil. A cheap descaling soak with vinegar or citric acid fixes it. Lower temperature settings for green or white tea, 160 to 180 degrees, save a little too, since every degree you do not heat is energy you do not buy.
Over a year the default comes to about 82 kWh, roughly $14. A kettle is never going to be a big line on your bill, but it is the cheapest way to make hot water for tea, coffee, oatmeal or pasta prep.
How to cut it
- Fill only to the amount you will pour, at least to the minimum line.
- Descale every month or two in hard water areas.
- Use the lower temperature settings for tea that does not need a full boil.
- Skip keep-warm mode unless you will pour again within a few minutes.
Electric Kettle cost by state
Monthly cost for 1,500 W, 0.15 h a day, 100% duty cycle, 30 days, sorted cheapest to most expensive. Pick your state above to highlight it.
| Rank | State | Cents/kWh | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota | 11.81 | $0.80 |
| 2 | Idaho | 11.82 | $0.80 |
| 3 | Nebraska | 12.34 | $0.83 |
| 4 | Louisiana | 12.57 | $0.85 |
| 5 | Arkansas | 12.84 | $0.87 |
| 6 | Montana | 12.98 | $0.88 |
| 7 | Utah | 13.07 | $0.88 |
| 8 | Washington | 13.11 | $0.88 |
| 9 | Oklahoma | 13.12 | $0.89 |
| 10 | Nevada | 13.15 | $0.89 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 13.18 | $0.89 |
| 12 | Kentucky | 13.24 | $0.89 |
| 13 | South Dakota | 13.38 | $0.90 |
| 14 | Wyoming | 13.38 | $0.90 |
| 15 | Missouri | 13.49 | $0.91 |
| 16 | Iowa | 13.72 | $0.93 |
| 17 | North Carolina | 14.02 | $0.95 |
| 18 | Mississippi | 14.03 | $0.95 |
| 19 | Kansas | 14.56 | $0.98 |
| 20 | Georgia | 14.73 | $0.99 |
| 21 | South Carolina | 14.96 | $1.01 |
| 22 | New Mexico | 15.08 | $1.02 |
| 23 | Florida | 15.24 | $1.03 |
| 24 | Virginia | 15.28 | $1.03 |
| 25 | Arizona | 15.32 | $1.03 |
| 26 | Oregon | 15.37 | $1.04 |
| 27 | West Virginia | 15.41 | $1.04 |
| 28 | Texas | 15.47 | $1.04 |
| 29 | Minnesota | 15.82 | $1.07 |
| 30 | Colorado | 15.85 | $1.07 |
| 31 | Alabama | 16.10 | $1.09 |
| 32 | Indiana | 16.23 | $1.10 |
| 33 | Ohio | 16.96 | $1.14 |
| 34 | Delaware | 17.13 | $1.16 |
| 35 | Illinois | 17.69 | $1.19 |
| 36 | Wisconsin | 18.16 | $1.23 |
| 37 | Pennsylvania | 19.30 | $1.30 |
| 38 | Maryland | 19.48 | $1.31 |
| 39 | Michigan | 20.01 | $1.35 |
| 40 | District of Columbia | 21.94 | $1.48 |
| 41 | New Jersey | 22.63 | $1.53 |
| 42 | Vermont | 22.92 | $1.55 |
| 43 | New Hampshire | 24.56 | $1.66 |
| 44 | Alaska | 26.09 | $1.76 |
| 45 | New York | 26.39 | $1.78 |
| 46 | Maine | 27.78 | $1.88 |
| 47 | Connecticut | 29.38 | $1.98 |
| 48 | Rhode Island | 29.46 | $1.99 |
| 49 | Massachusetts | 30.48 | $2.06 |
| 50 | California | 32.54 | $2.20 |
| 51 | Hawaii | 40.59 | $2.74 |
Rates: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861, annual average residential price, 2025 (eia.gov). Full list on the electricity rates by state page.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to boil an electric kettle?+
About 2 cents per liter. Bringing 1 liter of tap water to a boil takes about 0.115 kWh from the wall, and 0.115 x $0.173 is $0.02. A full 1.7 liter kettle takes about 0.19 kWh, about 3.3 cents.
How much does it cost to run an electric kettle per day?+
About 4 cents a day on the default of 9 minutes at 1,500 W: 1.5 x 0.15 = 0.225 kWh, and 0.225 x $0.173 is $0.039 at the national average rate.
How much does an electric kettle cost per month?+
About $1.17 a month: 0.225 kWh x 30 days = 6.75 kWh, and 6.75 x $0.173 is $1.17. Over a year that is about 82 kWh, roughly $14.
How many watts does an electric kettle use?+
About 1,500 W for a typical US kettle, with some models rated 1,000 to 1,800 W. It draws its full wattage the whole time it is heating, then shuts off automatically at the boil.
How much does an electric kettle cost per hour?+
About 26 cents for an hour of heating, since 1.5 kWh x $0.173 = $0.26. A kettle only runs 3 to 6 minutes per boil, so an hour of heating is about 12 to 15 full liters.
Does an electric kettle use a lot of electricity?+
It has a high draw but a short run time. At 1,500 W it pulls about 12.5 A, close to the limit of a 15 A circuit, which is why it can trip a breaker shared with a toaster or microwave. Over a year it uses about 82 kWh on the default, about $14.
Is it cheaper to boil water in a kettle or a microwave?+
A kettle, by roughly a third. A kettle gets 80 to 90 percent of its energy into the water and a microwave about 50 to 60 percent, so a 12 ounce mug that costs about 0.7 cents in a kettle costs about 1.1 cents in a microwave.
Is an electric kettle cheaper than boiling water on the stove?+
Than an electric coil stove, yes, by 10 to 20 percent, because less heat escapes around the pot, and it is faster. Against a gas stove it depends on your gas and electric rates, since gas burners lose more heat but gas is often cheaper per unit of energy.
Can a power station run an electric kettle?+
Only one with an inverter rated at least 1,500 W continuous, or one with a power-lifting mode that runs it slower. A 1 liter boil uses about 115 Wh, so a 1 kWh station can boil roughly 7 or 8 liters after inverter losses.
How can I lower the cost of running an electric kettle?+
Boil only the water you need, descale it, and use lower temperature settings for tea. Boiling one mug instead of a full 1.7 liter kettle saves about 0.15 kWh each time, close to 3 cents.
Marcus Reed
Founder and Editor, CrunchYourDollars
Marcus Reed builds the sizing tools on CrunchYourDollars. He is a software engineer with a long-running PC hardware and power supply habit, which is where the watts, watt-hours and surge math on this site comes from. Product specs are pulled from manufacturer data sheets, electricity rates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and water chemistry rules from the Water Quality Association. He is not a licensed electrician or plumber: the tools show the math and the matching models so you can make the call, and anything involving your electrical panel should be checked by a licensed pro.
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