How much does it cost to run a laptop?
EIA data · June 2026About $2.23 a month at the U.S. average price of 18.34¢ per kilowatt-hour — but that figure moves a long way depending on where you live. Set your state below.
12.2 kWh a month at the U.S. average, 18.34¢/kWh for June 2026. Excludes fixed charges, taxes and time-of-use rates, which vary by utility and are on your bill.
Typical 20–150 W. Use the figure on your own label if you have it.
A laptop sits mid-table at #52 of 88, which means something else in the house costs more. See whether electronics or something else drives your bill.
This figure covers the hours it is switched on. What it costs while you are not using it.
How many watts a laptop uses
A laptop draws roughly 30–65 W while working and charging. The charger's rating is a maximum, not a draw: a 100 W USB-C charger supplies 100 W only during fast charging of an empty battery.
- Low
- 20 W
- Typical
- 50 W
- High
- 150 W
What it costs across the country
Same appliance, same usage, different electricity price. Annual cost at 50 W and the default usage above.
| State | ¢/kWh | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 52.72 | $76.97 |
| California | 34.74 | $50.72 |
| Massachusetts | 29.61 | $43.23 |
| New York | 29.49 | $43.06 |
| Ohio | 19.19 | $28.02 |
| Texas | 15.94 | $23.27 |
| Florida | 15.10 | $22.05 |
| Utah | 13.37 | $19.52 |
| Nebraska | 13.25 | $19.35 |
| Nevada | 13.11 | $19.14 |
Worth knowing
- A laptop uses roughly a fifth to a tenth of the electricity of a desktop doing the same work, because everything in it was designed to run from a battery.
- Once the battery is full, draw falls to whatever the machine is actually using — leaving it plugged in does not keep it consuming at the charger's rated figure.
- Screen brightness is the largest single variable a user controls, often worth 10–20 W by itself.
Other appliances
Prices are statewide residential averages for June 2026 from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. They exclude fixed monthly charges, taxes and time-of-use rates. See how these figures are calculated.