This article has been updated to show the new cost to run based on the January 2025 Energy Price Cap. It has also been fact-checked and any out-of-date information removed.
We’re big fans of the multi-cooker at Ideal Home and with good reason. They can whip up a mid-week casserole, slow-cook a Sunday roast, and even make yogurt without you having to shuffle appliances on and off the worktop. But while this most versatile of gadgets is busy serving up delicious meals, have you ever wondered how much it costs to run a multi-cooker?
Knowing the energy consumption of the best multi-cookers – and their cost to run versus a traditional oven – isn’t just a matter of curiosity. It’s a smart move that can help you manage your kitchen costs and make more informed choices about how you prepare your meals.
As the energy price cap may affect the running costs of this appliance, let’s take a look how much energy-greedy your multi-cooker is. Spoiler: It’s more energy-efficient than your oven, but there’s still a price to pay for all that culinary convenience!
How much does it cost to run a multi-cooker?
We’ve done the maths for you and come up with some up-to-date figures on how much does it cost to run a multi-cooker. First, you need to understand how much electricity a multi-cooker uses.
‘Multi-cookers typically use from 700W to 1800W of power, which is on par with other small kitchen appliances such as kettles and toasters,’ says William Hobbs, Energy Expert, MyJobQuote. ‘However, you will find that multi-cookers use a bit more electricity than these appliances because they need to be on for more than a few minutes at a time.’
The top three multi-cookers in our best multi-cooker buying guide use 1200W, 1460W, and 1100W. Multi-cookers with larger capacities will use more electricity, as they’ll take longer to heat up.
How much does it cost to run a multi-cooker?
‘Thanks to their differing functions and capacities that range from 3 to 8 litres, multi-cookers do vary in power consumption and running costs,’ says William.
To give you more of an idea of how much it cost to run a multi-cooker, we’ve used the top three multi-cookers in our guide, and calculated how much they will cost to run under the January 2025 energy price cap, which is 24.86p/kWh for electricity.
‘To get a better idea of how much your multi-cooker costs to run for an hour, you’ll need to take your unit rate. This can be found on your bill or smart meter,’ says William.
You’ll also need to look at the wattage power of your multi-cooker, and divide this number by 1000 to get the kWh when used for one hour. Multiply the kWh by how much you pay per unit of energy to find out how much your multi-cooker costs to run for an hour.
For example, the Tefal CY505E40 All-in-One Cooker has a power of 1600W, which works out at 1.6 kWh (energy units per hour). If your current energy rate is 24.86p per hour, this multi-cooker will cost 39.8p per hour of use.
If you tend to use your multi-cooker for around 30 minutes per day rather than a full hour, just cut this figure in half at the end.
How much does it cost to have oven on for 1 hour?
‘Modern electric ovens tend to use between 1.5kWh and 5kWh of power, depending on their energy efficiency and capacity,’ says William.
Multi-cookers can use the same amount of energy as smaller convection ovens, however, most multi-cookers won’t cost more than 50p an hour to run. And thanks to the different functions like air frying, steaming, and pressure cooking, the cooking process doesn’t take as long. They don’t need to be switched on for as long which makes them effectively cheaper to run than the cost to run an oven.
Will you be investing in one of the best multi-cookers now you know how much they cost to run?
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