How much does a microwave, 700 W output cost to run?
About 4.8p for ten minutes in the UK and 3.4¢ in the US. A microwave, 700 W output draws about 1,100 W for as long as it is on. The number on the door is cooking power; the plug draws roughly half as much again.
What it costs, by how long it runs
| Running for | kWh | UK | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 0.092 | 2.4p | 1.7¢ |
| 10 minutes | 0.18 | 4.8p | 3.4¢ |
| 30 minutes | 0.55 | 14p | 10¢ |
| An hour | 1.1 | 29p | 20¢ |
| A month at 10 minutes a day | 5.5 | £1.45 | $1.01 |
UK prices use the Ofgem price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026 (direct debit, average across England, Scotland and Wales, with no VAT on electricity this winter): 26.32p per kWh (Ofgem). The standing charge of 54.83p a day is paid whatever you run, so it is left out. US prices use the US average residential price for June 2026 from the Energy Information Administration: 18.34¢ per kWh (EIA). Your own tariff is on your bill; scale the figures by it.
Measure your own
These are typical figures for a typical unit. A plug-in energy monitor between the socket and the appliance shows the real watts and adds up the kWh, so after a day or a week you know exactly what it costs on your tariff.
Compared with similar appliances
| Appliance | Average W | UK per hour | US per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slow cooker | 125 | 3.3p | 2.3¢ |
| Rice cooker | 250 | 6.6p | 4.6¢ |
| Blender | 500 | 13p | 9.2¢ |
| Pod coffee machine (Nespresso) | 650 | 17p | 11¢ |
| Filter coffee maker | 720 | 19p | 15¢ |
| Electric skillet | 720 | 19p | 13¢ |
| Toaster | 1,000 | 26p | 22¢ |
| Air fryer | 1,050 | 28p | 19¢ |
| Microwave, 700 W output | 1,100 | 29p | 20¢ |
| Portable induction hob | 1,440 | 38p | 22¢ |
| Microwave, 1,000 W output | 1,500 | 39p | 28¢ |
| Electric kettle | 3,000 | 79p | 28¢ |
Running it in a power cut
See which power station will run a microwave, 700 W output, and for how long.
Appliance draw modelled on web.archive.org. The US Department of Energy retired this page in 2025; the link is the Internet Archive's June 2024 capture. The figures remain typical ranges for a typical unit, not a specification.
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