How much does it cost to run a multi-cooker - does the air fryer alternative save money?

We're big fans of the multi-cooker at Ideal Home and with good reason. They can whip up a mid-week casserole, slow-cook a Sunday roast, and even make yogurt without you having to shuffle appliances on and off the worktop. But while this most versatile of gadgets is busy serving up delicious meals, have you ever wondered how much it costs to run a multi-cooker? 

Knowing the energy consumption of the best multi-cookers – and their cost to run versus a traditional oven – isn’t just a matter of curiosity. It’s a smart move that can help you manage your kitchen costs and make more informed choices about how you prepare your meals. 

From 1st July, Ofgem reduced the energy price cap again, so the running costs of all kitchen appliances should be coming down. But before you toss in that next batch of ingredients, let’s take a look how much energy-greedy your multi-cooker is. Spoiler: It’s more energy-efficient than your oven, but there’s still a price to pay for all that culinary convenience!

How much does it cost to run a multi-cooker?

We've done the maths for you and come up with some up-to-date figures on how much does it cost to run a multi-cooker. Keep reading to find out whether investing in one of these devices will help keep those energy bills down.

How much electricity does a multi-cooker use?

To work out the answer to how much does it cost to run a multi-cooker, it's helpful to firstly look at how much electricity does a multi-cooker use.

'Multi-cookers typically use from 700W to 1800W of power, which is on par with other small kitchen appliances such as kettles and toasters,' says William Hobbs, Energy Expert, MyJobQuote. 'However, you will find that multi-cookers use a bit more electricity than these appliances because they need to be on for more than a few minutes at a time.'

The top three multi-cookers in our best multi-cooker buying guide use 1200W, 1460W, and 1100W. Multi-cookers with larger capacities will use more electricity, as they'll take longer to heat up.

How much does it cost to run a multi-cooker?

'Thanks to their differing functions and capacities that range from 3 to 8 litres, multi-cookers do vary in power consumption and running costs,' says William.

To give you more of an idea of how much it cost to run a multi-cooker, we've used the top three multi-cookers in our guide, and calculated how much they will cost to run following the new energy price cap increase. From 1st July, government support means you will be charged a maximum of 22.36p (which we've rounded to 23p) per kWh for electricity.

• The Instant Pot Pro Multi-Cooker uses 1.2 kWh of energy and costs 27.6p per hour to run.
• The Ninja Foodi 9-in-1 Multi-Cooker uses 1.46 kWh of energy and costs 33.58p per hour to run.
• The Sage Fast Slow Go Multi-Cooker uses 1.1 kWh of energy and costs 25.3p per hour to run.

'The Government’s Energy Price Guarantee for your area and your energy tariff affects the exact running costs for a multi-cooker,' says William. 'To get a better idea of how much your multi-cooker costs to run for an hour, you’ll need to take your unit rate. This can be found on your bill or smart meter.'

You'll also need to look at the wattage power of your multi-cooker, and divide this number by 1000 to get the kWh when used for one hour. Multiply the kWh by how much you pay per unit of energy to find out how much your multi-cooker costs to run for an hour.

For example, the Tefal CY505E40 All-in-One Cooker has a power of 1600W, which works out at 1.6 kWh (energy units per hour). If your current energy rate is 23p per hour, this multi-cooker will cost 36.8p per hour of use.

If you tend to use your multi-cooker for around 30 minutes per day rather than a full hour, just cut this figure in half at the end.

How much does it cost to have oven on for 1 hour?

'Modern electric ovens tend to use between 1.5kWh and 5kWh of power, depending on their energy efficiency and capacity,' says William.

Multi-cookers can use the same amount of energy as smaller convection ovens, however, most multi-cookers won't cost more than 50p an hour to run. And thanks to the different functions like air frying, steaming, and pressure cooking, the cooking process doesn't take as long. They don't need to be switched on for as long which makes them effectively cheaper to run than the cost to run an oven.

Will you be investing in one of the best multi-cookers now you know how much they cost to run?