United Kingdom Kitchen
How much does it cost to run a kettle?
A UK kettle is 3,000 watts, which sounds expensive, but boiling a litre takes about two minutes, so one boil is about 0.1 kWh. The cost is in how often you boil and how much water you boil that you do not use.
One boil of a kettle uses about 0.10 kWh and costs about 2.6p in Great Britain at 26.32 pence per kWh. At 5 boils a day that is about 13p a day, £4.01 a month and £48.07 a year.
- Price: Ofgem cap, Oct to Dec 2026
- Wattage range with its source
- Checked 26 October 2026
Uses 0.50 kWh a day, 15 kWh a month, at 26.32 pence per kWh (Great Britain (price cap average)).
The dial places the daily cost between a 50 watt fan and a 4.5 kW water heater on 2.5 hours a day.
One boil of a kettle uses about 0.10 kWh and costs about 2.6p in Great Britain at 26.32 pence per kWh. At 5 boils a day that is about 13p a day, £4.01 a month and £48.07 a year.
What this assumes
The default is 0.10 kWh per boil, 5 boils a day. Published figures for one boil run from 0.07 to 0.19 kWh depending on the model and the setting. The energy label on the machine, or its manual, gives the figure for your model.
The price is the Ofgem price cap unit rate for 1 October to 31 December 2026, average for England, Scotland and Wales, paying by Direct Debit. The cap for 1 January to 31 March 2027 is announced in late November 2026. A fixed tariff, a time-of-use plan or a different payment method changes the rate, which is why the rate field is editable.
Cost per boil by energy used, at the price cap rate
At 26.32p per kWh. The energy label or manual gives the figure for your model and programme.
| Energy per boil | Per boil | 5 a day, per week | 5 a day, per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.07 kWh | 1.8p | 64p | £2.80 |
| 0.10 kWh | 2.6p | 92p | £4.01 |
| 0.13 kWh | 3.4p | £1.20 | £5.21 |
| 0.16 kWh | 4.2p | £1.47 | £6.41 |
| 0.19 kWh | 5p | £1.75 | £7.61 |
How a kettle uses electricity
Boiling a full 1.7 litre kettle uses about 0.19 kWh. Boiling one mug of water (about 300 ml) uses about 0.035 kWh. Five full boils a day costs more than twice five mug boils.
US kettles on 120 volts are 1,500 watts and take twice as long, but the energy per litre is the same.
Ways to cut the cost
- Boil only what you need.
- Descale it. Limescale on the element slows the boil.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to boil a kettle?
About 0.1 kWh for a litre, which is about 2.6p at 26.32p per kWh or about 2 cents at 18 cents per kWh. A full 1.7 litre kettle is about 5p.
Is it cheaper to boil water in a kettle or on the hob?
The kettle. It puts almost all its energy into the water. A gas hob loses most of the heat around the pan, and an electric hob heats the ring and the pan as well as the water.
Other kitchen costs
More in the UK
Sources
The electricity price on this page is read from the data file that also lists the release it came from. The wattage range is a published typical range, not a measurement of your appliance.