Is an electric kettle cheaper than boiling water on the stove?

Yes. A kettle is a sealed, insulated vessel with the element in the water, so almost nothing is wasted.

At the default usage on each page, electric stove costs about 4.4× as much to run as electric kettle — $66.94 against $15.06 a year.

Why electric kettle wins, and when it does not

• On a stove, heat travels from element to pan base to water, and a good deal escapes around the sides into the kitchen.
• A kettle's element sits in the water itself and the lid traps the steam, so nearly all the energy ends up where you want it.
• The saving is modest in absolute terms — boiling water is cheap either way — but the kettle also does it in half the time.

What the difference is worth where you live

The 4.4× above holds at any price: both an electric kettle and an electric stove scale with whatever you pay per kilowatt-hour. The money does not. Choosing electric kettle over electric stove saves about $51.88 a year at the U.S. average, and $149 a year in Hawaii at 52.72¢ — against $37.08 in Nevada, the cheapest jurisdiction in the country. Swapping electric stove for electric kettle 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.