Gaming PC Electricity Cost Calculator
Enter what your PC draws while gaming and while idle, and how many hours of each, to get the cost per month and year in your state.
Gaming PC cost
A14Scenario A
Sets the electricity rate. Pick US average if you're not sure.
From EIA for US average. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 18.4¢/kWh · US average · EIA reference 2025–26 (data as of 2026-09-26) ·
A PC with a 300 W graphics card draws 350–500 W in games. Add your monitor's 30–60 W.
Desktop, browser, downloads: 60–90 W for most gaming PCs.
Estimated cost per month
Estimate. Formula and sources are under “How it works”. Change any input; the result updates as you type.
Formula
How it works
- kWh per day = (gaming watts × gaming hours + idle watts × idle hours) ÷ 1,000
- Cost per month = kWh per day × 30 × rate
- Cost per year = kWh per day × 365 × rate
A PC's draw depends on what it's doing. Under a game load, the graphics card and processor draw most of the power. At the desktop they drop to a fraction. Splitting the day into gaming and idle hours gives a much closer estimate than using the power supply's rating, which is a maximum, not what the PC uses.
Sources: component power from manufacturers' spec sheets; typical wall-meter measurements. Electricity rate: EIA Electric Power Monthly table 5.6.A.
Worked example
A worked example
A high-end PC drawing 600 W for 5 hours of gaming and 90 W for 8 hours idle uses (600 × 5 + 90 × 8) ÷ 1,000 = 3.72 kWh a day. At the Texas rate of 15.5¢/kWh that's $17.30 a month and $210.46 a year.
Reference
Reference table
Gaming PC cost per month at 18.4¢/kWh (US average), plus 5 idle hours at 70 W
| 1 h | 3 h | 5 h | 8 h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 250 W gaming | $3.31 | $6.07 | $8.83 | $12.97 |
| 400 W gaming | $4.14 | $8.56 | $12.97 | $19.60 |
| 600 W gaming | $5.24 | $11.87 | $18.49 | $28.43 |
Questions
FAQ
How much does a gaming PC cost per month?
At the US average rate of 18.4¢/kWh, a 400 W PC gaming 3 hours a day and idling 5 hours costs an estimated $8.56 a month. In California at 32.0¢/kWh, a lighter 250 W setup gaming 2 hours and idling 2 comes to $5.76.
Does a console use less electricity than a gaming PC?
It depends on the models. Check the watts on the console's label or measure them with a plug-in meter, enter them as "power while gaming", and compare with your PC in Compare mode.
How much does it cost to leave my PC on overnight?
At 70 W idle for 8 hours, that's 0.56 kWh, about $0.10 a night or $3.09 a month at the US average rate. Putting the PC to sleep or shutting it down removes most of that.
Does a bigger power supply use more electricity?
No. The power supply's rating is the most it can deliver. The PC draws only what its parts need, so enter measured or estimated watts, not the power supply rating.
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