Treadmill Electricity Cost: What It Really Costs to Run (2026 Data)

The 750-watt figure is a mid-range motorized treadmill at a moderate jogging pace on a flat belt. Walking at 2 to 3 miles per hour on zero incline drops the draw to 300 to 400 watts, because the motor does less work keeping the belt moving under lighter foot impact. Crank the speed to 8 mph or add a steep incline and the same machine can pull 1,200 to 1,500 watts as the motor fights harder to maintain speed under load.

Three common models show the spread. The Sole Fitness F63 draws about 750 watts, a solid mid-range machine. ProForm's Carbon T10 runs around 900 watts. At the top end, the NordicTrack Commercial 1750 pulls up to 1,500 watts with its larger 3.5 CHP motor built for sustained high-speed runs. Real-world draw depends less on the nameplate and more on how fast you run and how steep you set the incline. Someone walking on any of these machines uses 300 to 400 watts. Push the NordicTrack to 10 mph at 5% incline and it hits its full 1,500.

Manual treadmills and walking pads are the outlier. They have no motor. Your legs power the belt directly, so the only electricity draw is for the display: typically 1 to 3 watts. Their operating cost is effectively zero.

A single 30-minute session on a 750-watt treadmill uses 0.375 kWh and costs about 7 cents at the national average rate. Forty-five minutes bumps that to 0.56 kWh and 10 cents. An hour costs 14 cents.

Scale to monthly and the numbers stay small. Thirty minutes a day uses 11.25 kWh and costs $2.03 a month. Forty-five minutes a day, the typical gym-style session, comes to 16.9 kWh and $3.05. An hour a day, which is heavy use, runs 22.5 kWh and $4.06.

Annually, those translate to $24 for the half-hour habit, $37 for 45 minutes, and $49 for a full hour. A daily-use treadmill sits near the bottom of the most expensive appliances to run list. It costs less per year than running a single 60-watt incandescent bulb eight hours a day.

A treadmill running 30 minutes a day uses 11.25 kWh a month regardless of location. Only the rate changes:

Louisiana (12.44¢/kWh): $1.40. Texas (14.80¢/kWh): $1.67. Florida (15.80¢/kWh): $1.78. US average (18.05¢/kWh): $2.03. New York (24.40¢/kWh): $2.75. California (33.75¢/kWh): $3.80. Hawaii (39.89¢/kWh): $4.49.

Hawaii pays 3.2 times what Louisiana does for the identical machine running the identical session. Even at Hawaii's rate, a daily treadmill adds under $5 a month. Every state's current residential rate is in the state rates guide.

A gym membership in the US averages $40 to $60 a month. Powering a home treadmill for 30 minutes every day costs $2 a month at the national average rate. Run an hour a day on a high-draw 1,500-watt NordicTrack in California, and the electricity comes to about $15 a month, still less than the cheapest gym membership. Over a full year, a daily half-hour treadmill habit adds $24 to the electric bill. One month at the gym costs more than that.

What actually costs money is the machine itself: $500 to $3,000 depending on the motor, belt, and console. A $1,000 treadmill used daily for five years costs $24 a year to power at the national average rate, putting the five-year electricity total at $120. Belt lubricant and an eventual belt replacement cost more than the electricity does. The appliance wattage chart lists treadmills alongside every other common household load.

These figures use a 750-watt treadmill at the national average rate. Your treadmill's actual draw depends on the motor, your speed, and your incline setting. Plug your treadmill's wattage and your state into the treadmill calculator for a per-session, monthly, and yearly figure tuned to your setup.