Air fryer vs oven: which costs less to run?
Cost per meal and per month for an air fryer and an electric oven, worked out from their wattage, cooking time and your state's average electricity price.
Short answer
Run at full power, a 1,700-watt air fryer used for 25 minutes takes 0.71 kWh, about $0.13 at the US average electricity price for July 2026. A 2,585-watt oven bake element running for 40 minutes, preheat included, takes at most 1.72 kWh, or $0.32. The oven's real figure is lower because its element cycles once it's hot, but the air fryer's shorter cooking time is what keeps it cheaper.
Work out your own cost
Air fryer and oven, state by state
The example pairs a 1,700-watt air fryer with the 2,585-watt bake element of a 30-inch electric range. Both are real ratings, taken from the makers' pages and listed under Sources. The table runs both at full power, which is the most each could use; the oven column is therefore a ceiling rather than a typical figure. Use the calculator for your own appliances and times.
| State | Price (¢/kWh) | Air fryer, per use | Oven, per use | Gap over 20 uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 16.40 | $0.12 | $0.28 | $3.33 |
| Alaska | 28.83 | $0.20 | $0.50 | $5.85 |
| Arizona | 15.38 | $0.11 | $0.27 | $3.12 |
| Arkansas | 14.33 | $0.10 | $0.25 | $2.91 |
| California | 33.61 | $0.24 | $0.58 | $6.82 |
| Colorado | 17.00 | $0.12 | $0.29 | $3.45 |
| Connecticut | 24.16 | $0.17 | $0.42 | $4.90 |
| Delaware | 18.48 | $0.13 | $0.32 | $3.75 |
| District of Columbia | 25.21 | $0.18 | $0.43 | $5.12 |
| Florida | 15.03 | $0.11 | $0.26 | $3.05 |
| Georgia | 16.27 | $0.12 | $0.28 | $3.30 |
| Hawaii | 48.00 | $0.34 | $0.83 | $9.74 |
| Idaho | 13.73 | $0.10 | $0.24 | $2.79 |
| Illinois | 19.22 | $0.14 | $0.33 | $3.90 |
| Indiana | 16.73 | $0.12 | $0.29 | $3.40 |
| Iowa | 15.99 | $0.11 | $0.28 | $3.25 |
| Kansas | 15.27 | $0.11 | $0.26 | $3.10 |
| Kentucky | 13.81 | $0.10 | $0.24 | $2.80 |
| Louisiana | 12.72 | $0.09 | $0.22 | $2.58 |
| Maine | 32.41 | $0.23 | $0.56 | $6.58 |
| Maryland | 21.41 | $0.15 | $0.37 | $4.35 |
| Massachusetts | 30.49 | $0.22 | $0.53 | $6.19 |
| Michigan | 23.05 | $0.16 | $0.40 | $4.68 |
| Minnesota | 17.45 | $0.12 | $0.30 | $3.54 |
| Mississippi | 14.54 | $0.10 | $0.25 | $2.95 |
| Missouri | 16.09 | $0.11 | $0.28 | $3.27 |
| Montana | 14.99 | $0.11 | $0.26 | $3.04 |
| Nebraska | 13.78 | $0.10 | $0.24 | $2.80 |
| Nevada | 12.77 | $0.09 | $0.22 | $2.59 |
| New Hampshire | 26.60 | $0.19 | $0.46 | $5.40 |
| New Jersey | 25.19 | $0.18 | $0.43 | $5.11 |
| New Mexico | 16.09 | $0.11 | $0.28 | $3.27 |
| New York | 29.90 | $0.21 | $0.52 | $6.07 |
| North Carolina | 15.16 | $0.11 | $0.26 | $3.08 |
| North Dakota | 13.41 | $0.09 | $0.23 | $2.72 |
| Ohio | 19.45 | $0.14 | $0.34 | $3.95 |
| Oklahoma | 14.35 | $0.10 | $0.25 | $2.91 |
| Oregon | 15.97 | $0.11 | $0.28 | $3.24 |
| Pennsylvania | 21.72 | $0.15 | $0.37 | $4.41 |
| Rhode Island | 28.29 | $0.20 | $0.49 | $5.74 |
| South Carolina | 15.47 | $0.11 | $0.27 | $3.14 |
| South Dakota | 15.37 | $0.11 | $0.26 | $3.12 |
| Tennessee | 13.71 | $0.10 | $0.24 | $2.78 |
| Texas | 15.88 | $0.11 | $0.27 | $3.22 |
| Utah | 13.12 | $0.09 | $0.23 | $2.66 |
| Vermont | 23.75 | $0.17 | $0.41 | $4.82 |
| Virginia | 17.55 | $0.12 | $0.30 | $3.56 |
| Washington | 14.71 | $0.10 | $0.25 | $2.99 |
| West Virginia | 15.78 | $0.11 | $0.27 | $3.20 |
| Wisconsin | 19.06 | $0.14 | $0.33 | $3.87 |
| Wyoming | 14.36 | $0.10 | $0.25 | $2.92 |
| US average | 18.31 | $0.13 | $0.32 | $3.72 |
How the calculation works
kWh per use = watts ÷ 1,000 × (preheat minutes + cooking minutes × share on) ÷ 60
cost ($) = kWh × price (¢ per kWh) ÷ 100
Preheating is counted at full power, because the heater is working flat out to reach temperature. Cooking time is multiplied by the share of time the heater is actually on. Leave that at 100% and you get the most the appliance could use.
Worked example at the US average of 18.31 cents: the air fryer draws 1.7 kW for 25 minutes, which is 0.71 kWh and $0.13. The oven draws 2.585 kW for 40 minutes, which is 1.72 kWh and $0.32. If the oven element were on for only half of the cooking time, the oven would use 1.08 kWh, or $0.20. Costs are rounded to the cent only at the end.
Where the wattages come from
Instant Brands lists the Instant Pot Vortex Plus 6QT Air Fryer at “1700 watts, 120V~ 60Hz”. On the same page, the company recommends preheating and says it “takes around 5 minutes or less”, which is why the example counts five minutes.
GE Appliances lists its 30-inch free-standing electric range, model JB645RKSS, with a bake wattage of 2585W and a broiler wattage of 3410W. The bake figure is the one to use for baking and roasting; for broiling, type in 3,410 watts instead.
Neither maker publishes how much of the cooking time the heater stays on once the set temperature is reached, and GE's page doesn't give a preheat time. The ten-minute oven preheat in the example is our assumption, not GE's figure. Time your own oven from switch-on to the ready signal and put that number in the calculator.
Example products
Two air fryers from the makers’ data-sheets: one with a single basket, one with two. Neither is the model used in the worked example above, and showing them isn’t a recommendation.
What the numbers say
The oven's element draws only about half as much power again as the air fryer's heater. What lets it use up to 2.4 times as much electricity in the example is time: a longer preheat and a longer cook. Shorter cooking time is where an air fryer saves.
The gap is small per meal and adds up slowly. At the US average, 20 uses a month at the example settings leave a gap of at most $3.72. In Hawaii, the most expensive state in EIA's July figures, the same gap is $9.74; in Louisiana, the cheapest, it's $2.58.
Two cases shrink the gap. If the food doesn't fit in one basket and you cook in two batches, double the air fryer's time. And if you already have the oven hot for something else, the second dish costs only its extra minutes.
What the state price is
The prices are the residential averages in the US Energy Information Administration's Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, for July 2026, marked by EIA as preliminary. EIA's next release is due on October 23, 2026. Your own rate can differ from your state's average, so if your bill shows a price per kWh, type it into the calculator.
Sources
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A: Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State, July 2026 and 2025, residential column. Data for July 2026, released September 24, 2026; next release October 23, 2026. Read October 1, 2026.
- Instant Brands, Instant Pot Vortex Plus 6QT Air Fryer: 1700 watts, 120V~ 60Hz; preheating FAQ. Read October 1, 2026.
- GE Appliances, GE 30" Free-Standing Electric Range, JB645RKSS: Power/ratings, bake wattage 2585W, broiler wattage 3410W. Read October 1, 2026.
Product photos: manufacturers’ data-sheets via Open Icecat, reduced in size from the originals on October 1, 2026. Database Right data-sheet 2026 Icecat. All rights reserved. Provided “as is”, without warranty.
Changes: first published October 1, 2026.