How Much Does It Cost to Run a Phone Charger? (2026)

Charging a smartphone from empty takes 10 to 20 watt-hours, so a full year of daily charges is about 5 kWh. Chargers left plugged in draw well under a watt with nothing attached.

A typical phone charger (10 W) costs $0.002 per hour, or about $0.11 per month at 2 hours a day in the US. Cheap to run

Electricity price region

Hours used per day

Wattage	Per hour	Per day	Per month	Per year
Low 5 W	$0.001	$0.004	$0.11	$1.34
Typical 10 W	$0.002	$0.004	$0.11	$1.34
High 25 W	$0.005	$0.004	$0.11	$1.34

Formula: watts ÷ 1000 × hours × price per kWh. Typical use is 2 h/day ≈ 7 kWh per year. A more powerful model does the same job faster, so it uses the same energy: the cost per hour changes from row to row, the cost per day does not.

One day of a phone charger (0.24 kWh) is the same electricity as

2.4kettle boils
4.8hours of a fridge
5.3hours of a laptop
27hours of an LED bulb

Electricity per year at typical use, on a log scale: #7 of 95 appliances, from least to most.

Around the world per year at typical use, local prices

How to lower the cost of running a phone charger

There is nothing to save here. Charge as you like.
Unplug chargers only if you want a tidy outlet, not for the bill.
Fast chargers do not use more energy per charge, they just finish sooner.

In standby it draws about 0.1 W, which adds roughly 1 kWh ($0.16) per year if it is never unplugged.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to charge a phone for a year?

About 3 to 6 kWh, well under a dollar or pound almost anywhere.

Do phone chargers use electricity when not charging?

Around 0.1 watt for modern chargers, about 1 kWh a year.

Is wireless charging more expensive?

It wastes 30 to 50 percent more energy, but the total is still tiny.

Cost by region

US states

Canadian provinces

Related appliances

Use the generic electricity cost calculator · Which uses more? Take the quiz