Air fryer vs oven cost calculator

Compare the electricity or gas cost of cooking a meal in an air fryer and an oven. The result shows each cost per meal and the yearly difference for the number of meals you enter. Use similar portions and cooking results so the comparison helps with your own routine.

Find each appliance’s energy input on its label or in its manual. Enter the air fryer power in watts and oven power in kilowatts. Add cooking times and the oven’s separate preheating time. Use a measured or assessed heating-on share: the part of that time when the heating element or burner draws power.

Input energy = input power × total hours × heating-on share. The oven time includes preheating. Multiply the air fryer and electric oven energy by the electricity price, or gas oven input energy by its gas price. Annual costs use the entered number of meals; equivalent portion size and cooking outcome remain your responsibility.

Use a percentage as a fraction once: for example, 50% means 50 ÷ 100 = 0.5. Use 0.5 in the energy formula; do not divide it by 100 again.

Convert minutes to hours by dividing by 60. Convert watts to kilowatts by dividing by 1000. A kilowatt-hour, written kWh, measures energy used over time. Power and cooking time are both needed; a lower power rating alone does not prove a meal costs less.

Divide electricity or gas prices in pence or cents by 100 to get pounds or dollars. Use the price for the fuel selected for the oven. The yearly difference repeats the entered meal pattern. Change the meals figure if this is only an occasional cooking choice.

These illustrative inputs are separate from your saved answers. Prices, use and performance are held constant for this worked scenario; they are not personal defaults.

The heating-on share is not a heat efficiency rating. A thermostat may switch an element off during cooking. Do not assume the maximum label power is drawn for the whole session unless your evidence supports that. A measured average power and an extra cycling adjustment could count the same reduction twice.

The calculation does not decide whether food fits in one batch. If the air fryer needs several batches, include their combined time. Keep any oven preheating within the entered preheating time so it is counted once. The same heating-on share is applied across the oven’s total entered time.

This compares energy costs. Purchase price, repairs and cooking quality need separate checks. It does not assess food safety or appliance installation. Empty personal fields are not replaced with guessed power or cooking times. Money is rounded for display; calculations retain the unrounded amounts.

Published UK electricity prices use the selected Ofgem region and payment method. Stored prices include the tax treatment recorded for their period. Choose your own bill price if it better matches when you use the appliance. Existing daily standing charges are excluded from this extra running cost. Custom prices should include applicable tax.

Enter the gas oven’s own bill price if you choose gas. Keep prices tax-inclusive and use the units shown by each field. A checked source explains the published rate or method; it does not verify your appliance rating or cooking routine. Prices stay fixed for the yearly illustration and can change later.

Follow each appliance’s instructions for placement, loading and cooking. Ask the maker if a power label is unclear or you cannot identify the input rating. A gas heat-output figure is not automatically the burner’s fuel input.

Speak to a qualified installer before changing electrical or gas connections. Bring the model numbers, manuals and your bill prices. Use the result to understand one running-cost choice; it does not confirm safe installation or replace advice about suitable cooking equipment.