How Much Does It Cost to Run a Phone Charger in Ontario? (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 C$0.001 per hour, or about C$0.090 per month at 2 hours a day in Ontario. Cheap to run
| Wattage | Per hour | Per day | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low 5 W | C$0.001 | C$0.003 | C$0.090 | C$1.09 |
| Typical 10 W | C$0.001 | C$0.003 | C$0.090 | C$1.09 |
| High 25 W | C$0.004 | C$0.003 | C$0.090 | C$1.09 |
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
In Ontario, with electricity at 15.0¢ per kWh (source: Hydro-Québec 2025 comparison, 2025-04), a typical phone charger costs C$0.001 per hour and about C$1.09 per year at 2 hours a day. That is about 7% more than the national average for Canada (C$0.084 per month), because electricity in Ontario costs 15.0¢ per kWh against 14.0¢ nationally. Each C$1.00 of electricity buys roughly 668.4 hours of use.
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 (C$0.13) 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
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Canadian provinces
Related appliances
- Computer Monitor30 W typical
- Printer (Inkjet or Laser)30 W typical
- Cable or Fiber Modem8 W typical
- Home Server or NAS40 W typical
Use the generic electricity cost calculator · Which uses more? Take the quiz