How much does a laptop cost to run?

One day costs about 10.5p

A typical laptop costs about 10.5p per day to run. At 5 days a week that is 52.6p a week, or £27.37 a year, based on 50 W for 8 hours (0.40 kWh) at 26.32p per kWh.

Adjust for your laptop

Power50 W

Light office use draws 20 to 40 W, while video calls or editing push it towards the charger rating. 50 W is a realistic working average including battery charging.

Time per day8 hours

Days per week5

Electricity rate (pence per kWh)

Set to the Ofgem price cap average. Use the rate on your own bill if it differs.

Energy per day0.40 kWh

Cost per day10.5p

Cost per week52.6p

Cost per year£27.37

Worked example

50 W is 0.05 kW. Running for 8 hours uses 0.05 × 8 = 0.40 kWh. At 26.32p per kWh that costs 10.5p.

A full working day costs 10.5p, so five days a week is £27.37 a year. Leaving it charging overnight as well would add only pennies.

How to cut the cost

A laptop is one of the cheapest screens to run. The bigger saving is usually the monitor or dock beside it, so switch those off at the wall at the end of the day and let the laptop sleep rather than idle.

Questions

How much does it cost to charge a laptop?

A full charge uses only a small fraction of a kWh, so it costs a penny or two at 26.32p per kWh. The slider above shows the cost of a whole day of use.

Is a laptop cheaper than a desktop PC?

Usually, yes. A laptop typically draws well under a fifth of what a gaming PC does, so the yearly gap can be tens of pounds.

Other appliances

Electricity rate: Ofgem energy price cap, 1 October to 31 December 2026, Great Britain average, Direct Debit, default tariff: 26.32p per kWh. Your own tariff and region may differ, so change the rate above to match your bill. Appliance figures are typical estimates; your appliance's energy label or manual is more accurate. Last checked 2026-11-03. Next review: January 2027, when Ofgem announces the next quarter's cap.