Microwave Cost to Run: Per Minute, Month and Year

An average U.S. home with a microwave used 107 kWh a year on it in 2020, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). At the U.S. average residential price of 18.16 cents per kWh for August 2026, that is about $19.43 a year, or $1.62 a month. A minute of heating costs under half a cent. For small portions, a microwave is usually the cheapest way to heat food in an all-electric kitchen.

Microwaves are one of the smallest kitchen loads. EIA’s average for ranges, cooktops and ovens is 290 kWh a year, about 2.7 times as much (see our electric oven cost guide). This guide shows the math per minute, month and year, and compares air fryers and ovens. To use your own price, find it on our electricity rates by state page.

The Formula

Cost = kWh used × your price per kWh

A 1,500-watt appliance running for one hour uses 1.5 kWh; for one minute it uses 1.5 ÷ 60 = 0.025 kWh. Our kW vs kWh explainer covers the difference between watts and kilowatt-hours.

Cooking watts vs input watts

The number on a microwave’s box is usually its cooking (output) power, measured under a test procedure (IEC-705 for the GE models we checked). The oven draws more from the outlet than it delivers to the food. One example: a retailer listing for GE’s 1.1-cubic-foot JES1142 countertop microwave gives 1,100 watts of cooking power and 1,500 watts of input power. Your bill depends on the input figure, which is usually on the rating label on the back or inside the door frame.

Cost Per Minute and Per Use

Assumptions: 1,500 watts of input power while heating (one 1,100-watt-cooking-power model; others differ); U.S. average residential price of 18.16 cents per kWh for August 2026 (EIA Electric Power Monthly, released Oct. 23, 2026; preliminary).

On lower power settings, many microwaves cycle the magnetron on and off (inverter models lower the power instead), so a 10-minute defrost uses less energy than 10 minutes at full power.

What an Average Home Pays

Assumptions: EIA Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) 2020, Table CE5.3b, average electricity used by microwaves per household using them; 18.16 cents per kWh.

For a sense of scale: at a 1,500-watt draw, 107 kWh would be about 71 hours of running a year, or roughly 12 minutes a day. That is a rough illustration, not an EIA figure: draw varies by model and power level, and EIA’s total likely includes standby power, so actual heating time is lower. DOE’s rulemaking assumed about 45 hours a year of cooking.

By region, EIA’s averages are 99 kWh a year in the Northeast, 107 in the Midwest, 108 in the South and 111 in the West.

By Household Size and Home Type

Same price, 18.16 cents per kWh:

Single-family detached homes averaged 115 kWh a year (about $20.88), and apartments in buildings with five or more units 90 kWh (about $16.34).

By Electric Rate

Your price per kWh matters more than the microwave. EIA’s 107 kWh at August 2026 state averages (EIA Table 5.6.A, preliminary; averages may not include sales taxes):

Microwave vs Air Fryer vs Oven

These are maximum costs, assuming the heating element runs the whole time at 18.16 cents per kWh. Air fryers and ovens switch their elements on and off once they reach temperature, so real costs are lower.

The Department of Energy’s Energy Saver guidance recommends “using the microwave oven when possible” and says “a toaster or convection oven uses one-third to one-half as much energy as a full-sized oven.” Maryland’s Energy Administration says full-size ovens “are not efficient when cooking small quantities of food” and that for small and medium meals “it generally pays to use smaller microwave ovens, toaster ovens, or slow-cook crock pots.”

The savings per meal are cents, not dollars. Even if a household moved a few oven hours a month to the microwave or air fryer, the difference would likely be under a dollar or two a month at the U.S. average price.

Standby Power

A microwave’s clock and controls draw a little power around the clock. For microwaves made since June 22, 2026, DOE caps standby power at 0.6 watts for countertop models and 1.0 watt for built-in and over-the-range convection models; the earlier limits were 1.0 and 2.2 watts. At 1 watt for every hour of the year, standby would be 8.76 kWh, about $1.59 a year at 18.16 cents. At 0.6 watts, it is about 5.3 kWh, or 95 cents. Unplugging saves little; it is not worth the hassle unless the outlet is easy to reach.

What It Means for Solar Sizing

Microwaves barely move a solar design. At our planning figure of about 1,375 kWh a year per kW of panels, 107 kWh a year is under 0.08 kW, about 80 watts of panel capacity. Bigger loads such as an electric water heater or an EV decide system size; see how much electricity a house uses for the full picture.

Sources and verification

Limitations

EIA’s household averages are from 2020; EIA’s 2024 survey consumption data are due in 2027. Wattages are for single example models, and actual draw varies with model and power level. Prices are state averages; your utility’s rate, time-of-use pricing and taxes can differ.