Is an electric blanket cheaper than a space heater?

Dramatically cheaper, because it heats a person rather than a room.

At the default usage on each page, space heater costs about 30.0× as much to run as electric blanket — $803 against $26.78 a year.

Why electric blanket wins, and when it does not

• A blanket draws about 100 W against a heater's 1,500 W, and cycles for roughly half the time it is switched on.
• Heating a room means replacing heat that keeps escaping through the walls. Heating a body under a blanket has almost nowhere to escape to.
• For overnight comfort in a cold bedroom, this is one of the largest genuine savings available in a house.

What the difference is worth where you live

The 30.0× above holds at any price: both an electric blanket and a space heater scale with whatever you pay per kilowatt-hour. The money does not. Choosing electric blanket over space heater saves about $777 a year at the U.S. average, and $2,232 a year in Hawaii at 52.72¢ — against $555 in Nevada, the cheapest jurisdiction in the country. Swapping space heater for electric blanket is worth 4.0× as much in Hawaii as in Nevada, so what you pay per kilowatt-hour decides this more than the wattage on either label.

Both figures use each appliance’s typical wattage and default usage at the U.S. average of 18.34¢ per kilowatt-hour, and exclude fixed charges, taxes and time-of-use rates. Change the wattage, usage or state on either appliance’s own page to compare them on your terms, or read how to check a running-cost figure before trusting any of them.