Cost to run a wi-Fi router
A wi-Fi router drawing 10 W costs 0.26p for each hour of running at 26.32p/kWh. Used 24 hours a day, every day, that comes to £1.92 a month.
An hour of running costs
0.26p an hour
That is 0.01 kWh. Used as set, it comes to £1.92 a month and £23.06 a year.
On the label or in the manual.
Standby, thermostats and off-peak use
A thermostat switches it on and off to hold a temperature. 100% if it runs flat out.
Drawn while plugged in and not running.
| Period | Cost | Energy | CO2e |
|---|---|---|---|
| An hour of running | 0.26p | 0.01 kWh | 2.2 g |
| A day, on average | 6.32p | 0.24 kWh | 52 g |
| A month | £1.92 | 7.30 kWh | 1.6 kg |
| A year | £23.06 | 87.6 kWh | 19 kg |
How we calculated this
Energy is power multiplied by time: 10 W running for an hour uses 0.01 kWh.
The rating is the average Centre for Sustainable Energy gives for a broadband router. A router is on all day and night, so the starting use is every hour of every day.
The starting use for a wi-Fi router, 24 hours a day, every day, is where the calculator starts, not a measurement of your home: change it to how you use yours. A day is the average across the week, and a month is a twelfth of a 365-day year.
Electricity costs 26.32p/kWh. That is the published figure for the United Kingdom, 1 Oct – 31 Dec 2026, from Ofgem. Average for England, Scotland and Wales, paying by Direct Debit. No VAT on electricity from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027.
Standing charges are left out: you pay them whether or not the appliance runs.
Emissions use 0.217 kg CO2e per kWh, the lifecycle intensity of electricity generated in the United Kingdom in 2025, from Ember, via Our World in Data. Lifecycle means building the power stations and supplying their fuel are counted too. It is the grid’s average, not the particular power station an extra appliance brings on.
What drives the cost
A wi-Fi router draws only 10 W, but it is on every hour of every day, so it adds up to 87.6 kWh a year and costs £23.06 at 26.32p/kWh. That is a modest sum for something the whole household depends on.
Also called: broadband router, router, internet router, modem.
What it costs in the UK, Europe and the US
For a wi-Fi router used as typical (24 hours a day, every day), at each country’s published average electricity price.
| Country | Electricity price | An hour |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 26.32p/kWh | 0.26p |
| United States (average) | 18.19¢/kWh | 0.18¢ |
| Ireland | €0.4042/kWh | €0.004 |
| Germany | 0,3869 €/kWh | 0,0039 € |
| France | 0,2561 €/kWh | 0,0026 € |
| Spain | 0,2669 €/kWh | 0,0027 € |
| Italy | 0,2966 €/kWh | 0,003 € |
| Netherlands | € 0,2558/kWh | € 0,0026 |
Compared with similar appliances
| Appliance | Typical power | An hour | A year, typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi router | 10 W | 0.26p | £23.06 |
| Desktop computer | 140 W | 3.68p | £56.87 |
| Laptop | 50 W | 1.32p | £25.11 |
| TV box | 40 W | 1.05p | £19.21 |
How to spend less on it
- Leave it on: it costs little, and switching it off and on often does not save enough to matter and can interrupt your connection.
- If you go away for a long time, switching it off at the wall saves its small draw.
Questions
How much does a wi-Fi router cost to run per hour?
At 26.32p/kWh, a wi-Fi router drawing 10 W costs 0.26p for every hour of running at full power.
How much does a wi-Fi router cost to run a year?
Used 24 hours a day, every day, it costs about £23.06 a year at 26.32p/kWh, or £1.92 a month.
How much does it cost to leave the router on all the time?
At 10 W around the clock it uses 87.6 kWh a year, which costs £23.06 at 26.32p/kWh, or £1.92 a month.
Sources
- How much electricity am I using?, Centre for Sustainable Energy, July 2026. “Broadband router (10 W)”
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