How Much Does an Induction Cooktop Cost to Run? (2026 Data)

A typical induction burner is rated around 1,800 watts, but it modulates power constantly instead of running flat out. Averaged across real cooking, the effective draw is closer to 900 watts. That works out to about 16 cents an hour at the US average rate from the EIA Electric Power Monthly. You only pay for the burner while a pan is actually heating, which on most meals is a handful of minutes, not the full hour.

The clearer way to see the cost is per task. Bringing a half-full pot, about two liters of water, up to a boil takes roughly 0.22 kWh on induction. That is about 4 cents. The same boil on a standard electric coil costs about 5 cents, because the coil wastes more heat to the air and the glass. That penny gap is real but small. What matters more is that induction gets there in four to five minutes instead of eight to ten, so the burner is on for half the time.

Speed is the quiet lever here. An induction burner reaches a boil faster than a coil or a flame because almost none of the energy heats the cooktop, the kitchen, or the air around the pot. Less runtime per task means less energy per meal, even though the wattage label looks high. The number on the spec sheet is the burner's ceiling, not what a pot of pasta actually draws.

Most kitchens run a cooktop for somewhere between 30 minutes and two hours of actual burner time a day, spread across breakfast and dinner. At one hour a day, an induction cooktop uses about 27 kWh a month and costs $4.87. At two hours, it's 54 kWh and $9.75. The realistic band for most households is $5 to $10 a month, with heavy daily cooking on multiple burners reaching the low teens.

For context, that puts a cooktop well below the appliances that actually move an electric bill. A water heater or central air conditioner runs ten to twenty times higher per month. The cooktop is closer in cost to a microwave used daily than to anything on the most expensive appliances list. If your bill jumped, the stove is rarely the reason.

Single-task cooking shifts the math further down. Boiling water for tea on an induction burner costs about 2 cents, the same job an electric kettle does for roughly the same price. A 20-minute simmer in an Instant Pot or a quick sear in a pan both land in the low single-digit cents. Nothing a single burner does in one sitting costs more than a dime.

Efficiency is where induction earns its reputation. The Department of Energy puts it plainly: induction transfers about 85 percent of its energy into the cookware, compared to only about a third for gas. A standard electric coil or radiant top sits in the middle, around 65 to 75 percent. The rest of the energy heats the room instead of the food.

In running cost, that efficiency gap shows up against electric coil. Doing the same hour of cooking, a standard electric range pulls about 37.5 kWh a month versus induction's 27, roughly 39 percent more energy for the same meals. At the US average rate that is $6.77 versus $4.87, a difference of about $1.90 a month, or $23 a year.

Gas is the exception worth being honest about. A gas burner wastes far more energy than induction, but natural gas costs so much less per unit that running a gas flame usually comes out a cent or two cheaper per meal than induction, depending on local gas and electric prices. Where induction wins over gas is not the bill. It is speed, a kitchen that stays cooler, precise temperature control, and no combustion byproducts indoors. The full breakdown is in the gas vs electric stove comparison.

A portable single-burner induction unit, like the Duxtop 9600LS, is rated 1,800 watts. A built-in 30-inch cooktop can list burners up to 3,400 or 3,600 watts, such as the GE PHP9030SJSS at 3,600 watts. The bigger number is burner size and a boost mode for fast boiling, not wasted power. Per unit of heat delivered, the two are about equally efficient.

The high wattage only shows up on the bill if you actually hold a large burner at full boost. A 3,600-watt burner run flat out for an hour would cost about 65 cents, but that is a hard rolling boil for a stockpot, not how anyone simmers a sauce. On a normal setting the same burner modulates down to a few hundred watts. A portable 1,800-watt unit at full tilt costs about 32 cents an hour, and far less once the water is hot and you drop to a simmer.

One thing neither type adds is standby cost. An induction cooktop draws a watt or two for its display and controls when idle, and nothing at all when fully off. There is no pilot light burning fuel between meals. The phantom load that adds up on entertainment centers and chargers simply isn't a factor here.

A typical hour a day of induction cooking uses 27 kWh a month no matter where you live. Only the local rate changes what it costs:

Louisiana (12.44¢/kWh): $3.36. Texas (14.80¢/kWh): $4.00. US average (18.05¢/kWh): $4.87. New York (24.40¢/kWh): $6.59. California (31.01¢/kWh): $8.37. Hawaii (39.79¢/kWh): $10.74.

The most expensive state pays 3.2 times what the cheapest pays for the identical cooking, and even Hawaii keeps a daily-use cooktop under $11 a month. Compared with a deep fryer or a toaster oven run occasionally, an induction cooktop used every day still lands in the same modest range.

To run your own numbers at your state's rate, the induction cooktop calculator takes your burner wattage, daily hours, and local rate. Every state's 2026 figure is in the state rates guide.