Show the formula and working
This air fryer running cost calculator works out what your air fryer costs to run per use, per week and per year, and compares it with cooking the same food in an electric oven, for households in the UK, Ireland and Europe. Enter the wattage, cooking time and your unit rate, in pounds or euros, and it shows the cost with the full working.
Quick answer: An air fryer running cost calculator multiplies watts by hours, divides by 1,000 and multiplies by your price per kWh. A 1,500 W air fryer used for 20 minutes uses up to 0.5 kWh, which costs up to 13.16p at the October to December 2026 price cap rate of 26.32p per kWh.
What Is an Air Fryer Running Cost Calculator?
An air fryer running cost calculator is a tool that converts an air fryer’s power and cooking time into the electricity used and what it costs. In plain words: wattage multiplied by minutes, divided by 60 and then by 1,000, gives the kWh per use; multiply that by the share of time the element is on, then by your unit rate, to get the cost per use. Multiply by uses per week and 52 for the yearly cost.
As the Wikipedia air fryer article describes, an air fryer cooks food with a heating element and a fan that blows hot air around a small basket. Once it reaches the set temperature, a thermostat switches the element off and on to hold it, so the rated wattage gives the highest likely cost rather than the exact figure. The same watts and hours method works for any appliance in the electricity cost calculator.
How Do You Use the Air Fryer Running Cost Calculator?
- Enter the Air fryer wattage from the rating label under the base or from the manual, for example 1,500 W.
- Enter the Minutes per use, including any preheating, and your Uses per week.
- Leave Time the element is on at 100% for the highest likely cost, or lower it if a plug-in energy monitor shows your air fryer uses less.
- Check the Electricity unit rate. It starts at the Ofgem price cap rate, so replace it with the rate on your bill and choose pounds or euros.
- To compare with your oven, enter the Electric oven wattage and the Oven minutes for the same food, including preheating. Set the oven wattage to 0 to skip it.
- Read the cost per use, the yearly cost and the oven saving, then open “Show the formula and working” to see each step.
How Much Does It Cost to Run an Air Fryer per Hour?
An air fryer costs at most its wattage in kW multiplied by your unit rate for each hour of cooking, so a 1,500 W model costs up to 39.48p an hour at 26.32p per kWh. A 1,000 W model costs up to 26.32p an hour and a 2,000 W model up to 52.64p. The real cost is usually lower, because the element cycles once the air fryer is hot, and most cooking takes well under an hour.
Is an Air Fryer Cheaper to Run Than an Oven?
An air fryer is usually cheaper than an electric oven for small portions, because it heats a much smaller space for a shorter time. A 1,500 W air fryer for 20 minutes uses up to 0.5 kWh, while a 2,500 W oven for 30 minutes including preheating uses up to 1.25 kWh, more than twice as much. For a large family meal that fills the oven, the gap narrows, since several air fryer batches add up. Enter both appliances to see your own figures.
Where Do You Find Your Air Fryer’s Wattage?
The wattage is printed on the rating label, usually under the base or on the back, and in the manual, often shown as a figure in W next to the voltage. Use that number in the Air fryer wattage field. UK plugs and sockets to BS 1363 are rated at 13 A with a fuse of up to 13 A, so at 230 V one plug can supply about 3,000 W (13 A x 230 V), the upper limit for any plug in appliance; avoid running several high power appliances from one extension lead, and ask a qualified electrician about any wiring work. You can also time a real cook on a plug-in energy monitor for an exact kWh figure.
Air Fryer Cost per Use Table
| Wattage | 10 minutes | 20 minutes | 30 minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 W | 4.39p | 8.77p | 13.16p |
| 1,500 W | 6.58p | 13.16p | 19.74p |
| 2,000 W | 8.77p | 17.55p | 26.32p |
Maximum costs with the element on 100% of the time, at 26.32p per kWh, the Ofgem price cap average for October to December 2026.
Worked Example: Five Air Fryer Meals a Week
Example: a 1,500 W air fryer cooks for 20 minutes, 5 times a week, at 26.32p per kWh. Enter 1500 in Air fryer wattage, 20 in Minutes per use, 5 in Uses per week and leave Time the element is on at 100%. The calculator works out 1,500 W x 20 / 60 / 1,000 = 0.5 kWh, then 0.5 x 26.32p = 13.16p per use, and 13.16p x 5 x 52 = £34.22 a year at most. For the same food, a 2,500 W oven for 30 minutes uses 1.25 kWh, costing 32.9p. The air fryer saves up to 19.74p per meal, or £51.32 a year.
In euros, at 30 cents per kWh, the same 20 minute cook costs up to 0.5 x 30c = 15c. To see how cooking fits into your whole bill, try the electricity bill calculator and the other energy bill calculators.
Air Fryer Running Cost Calculator FAQs
How many kWh does an air fryer use?
At most its wattage in kW multiplied by the hours used. A 1,500 W air fryer running for 20 minutes uses up to 0.5 kWh. Thermostat cycling usually brings the real figure below that, which a plug-in energy monitor can confirm.
How much does an air fryer cost to run per year?
Multiply the cost per use by uses per week and by 52. A 1,500 W air fryer used for 20 minutes, 5 times a week, costs up to £34.22 a year at 26.32p per kWh.
Does preheating an air fryer add much to the cost?
Preheating adds the wattage multiplied by the extra minutes. Three minutes of preheating on a 1,500 W air fryer adds up to 0.075 kWh, about 2p at 26.32p per kWh. Include it in Minutes per use.
Is a higher wattage air fryer more expensive to run?
Not always. A higher wattage costs more per minute, but it may reach temperature and cook faster. The cost depends on watts multiplied by time, so compare the minutes each takes for the same food.
Why does the oven comparison use the same element share?
Both appliances use thermostats that cycle the element, so the calculator applies the same share to each for a fair like for like estimate. At 100% both figures are maximums. Measure each with an energy monitor for exact numbers.
How do I convert oven times for an air fryer?
Air fryers usually need a lower temperature and a shorter time than an oven recipe. Follow the food pack or your air fryer manual first, check the food is cooked through and piping hot, and then enter the minutes you used here.
Checked October 2026. Sources: Energy price cap unit rates and standing charges (Ofgem), Air fryer (Wikipedia), BS 1363 plugs and sockets (Wikipedia).