How Much Does It Cost to Run a Washing Machine? (UK 2026)

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So, how much does it cost to run a washing machine? At the October 2026 Ofgem price cap rate of 26.32p per kWh, a typical wash costs between 7p and 53p in electricity, depending almost entirely on the temperature you pick. A standard 40°C cotton wash in a modern machine is about 21p. Run four loads a week and that comes to roughly £44 a year; swap to 30°C and it drops to about £27, while a habitual 90°C boil wash costs around £110.

That is far less than most people fear, which is why the washing machine is rarely the appliance to worry about. The expensive part of laundry is what happens next: drying. This guide shows how the washing machine numbers are worked out, what each programme costs, where the running cost really comes from, and which changes are worth making.

All figures use 26.32p per kWh, the same rate as our other appliance running cost guides. The kitchen equivalent is our guide to dishwasher running costs.

How much does a washing machine cost to run per wash?

Every appliance running cost comes from one sum:

Energy used (kWh) x your unit rate (p/kWh) = cost per cycle

For a washing machine, the energy figure depends on the programme. Almost all of the electricity goes on one job: heating the water in the drum. The motor, pump and electronics use very little by comparison. That is why temperature dominates the bill and spin speed barely registers.

These are typical figures for a modern 8-9kg machine with a full load. They are planning estimates rather than lab results, so your own machine may sit a little either side:

The gap between a cold wash and a boil wash is roughly seven times. Nothing else you do to a washing machine, from load size to spin speed, has an effect anywhere near that big.

If you have an older machine, expect the upper end of each range or a little above. A machine bought in the last few years and rated on the newer energy label is generally more efficient, but the difference between programmes is much larger than the difference between machines.

How much does a washing machine cost to run per year?

Multiply the cost per wash by how many loads you do. Here is the yearly bill at four loads a week (208 washes) for each common temperature:

Scale it to your household. A single person doing two loads a week at 40°C pays about £22 a year. A family of five doing nine loads a week at 40°C pays closer to £98. Even then, it sits well below the yearly cost of running a fridge freezer or an old tumble dryer.

What actually drives the cost

Temperature is the big lever

Heating water needs a fixed amount of energy per degree. Going from a cold 15°C tap to 40°C is a modest rise; going to 90°C is three times as much heating. This is the reason the 90°C boil wash sits at the bottom of the efficiency table, and why most modern detergents are designed to work well at 30 to 40 degrees.

Load size matters, but less than you think

A half-empty drum still heats a similar volume of water, so washing half loads wastes energy per item of clothing. On the other hand, cramming the drum leads to poor rinsing and re-washes. Aim for a drum that is full but not packed tight, roughly a hand's width of space at the top.

Many modern machines use load-sensing to trim the water and energy for a small load, so the penalty for a half load is smaller than it used to be, but it is rarely as good as washing fewer, fuller loads.

Spin speed is a trade-off, not a saving

A faster spin uses a little more electricity in the cycle but removes more water, which matters a great deal if your next step is a tumble dryer or heated airer. Spinning at 1,400 rpm rather than 1,000 rpm costs a fraction of a penny more and can cut drying time noticeably. If you dry indoors, higher spin is nearly always the cheaper overall choice.

Standby is small

A modern washing machine draws a watt or so when idle. Over a year that is a couple of pounds at most, so unplugging it after every wash is not worth the trouble. If you want to check your own machine instead of trusting a table, a Tapo P110 smart plug with energy monitoring reads the actual kWh of each cycle, which turns every estimate above into a real number. A plug rated for 13A loads is fine for a domestic washing machine.

Water, detergent and the bit people forget

The electricity is only part of the cost of a wash. If you are on a water meter you also pay for the water, and a full eco cycle typically uses somewhere in the region of 40 to 60 litres depending on the machine. Detergent adds to it too. Both vary widely by supplier and brand, so they are hard to average, but for many households they add up to a similar amount to the electricity itself.

The upside is that the same habits save all three. A shorter cycle at a lower temperature with a properly filled drum cuts electricity, water and detergent together.

The real cost: washing machine plus drying

The washing machine is the cheap half of laundry day. Once you add drying, the picture changes. Here is a 40°C wash followed by different ways of drying a full 8kg load, using the per-load figures from our dedicated guides:

A condenser dryer costs six times what the wash does. That is the number to focus on if you want to lower your laundry bill. Our guides to tumble dryer running costs, heated airer running costs and dehumidifier running costs break down each option in detail. If drying indoors leaves your windows wet, our condensation guide explains how to deal with it.

When is the cheapest time to use your washing machine?

On a standard variable tariff the cost per kWh is the same at 3am as at 6pm, so timing changes nothing. It only matters if you are on a time-of-use tariff or have your own generation:

• Off-peak or smart tariffs. Economy 7, and the various time-of-use tariffs, charge much less for some hours, typically overnight. As a purely illustrative example, a 40°C wash at 13p per kWh instead of 26.32p would cost about 10p instead of 21p. Check your own tariff for the actual off-peak rate and hours.
• Solar panels. Running the machine on a sunny afternoon uses electricity you generated yourself instead of buying it. See our solar panel costs guide for what a system produces.
• Delay start. The delay-start button on the machine is the simplest way to shift a wash into an off-peak window. If you live in a flat or terrace, check the spin noise will not bother neighbours overnight.

A smart meter with an in-home display will show you the real-time cost of a wash as it runs. Our in-home display comparison and smart meter savings guide explain how to use one.

8 ways to cut your washing machine running costs

1. Wash at 30 degrees by default. Modern detergents work well at 30 to 40. This is the single biggest saving, worth around £15-£20 a year at four loads a week compared with 40°C, and much more compared with 60°C.
2. Use the 60 and 90 degree programmes sparingly. Keep them for towels, bedding after illness or heavily soiled work clothes. A monthly 60-degree maintenance wash is enough to keep the drum fresh.
3. Fill the drum, don't cram it. Fewer, fuller loads means fewer heating cycles.
4. Use the eco programme. It runs longer but at a lower temperature and uses less energy overall, so a longer cycle does not mean a higher bill. Check your manual, as an eco cycle is the one the energy label is based on.
5. Skip the pre-wash. Modern detergents and machines rarely need one. Use the stain-removal pre-treatment on the offending item instead.
6. Spin faster if you dry indoors. Drier clothes leaving the machine shorten the airer, dehumidifier or dryer stage, which is where the money is.
7. Move to off-peak or solar hours if your tariff or panels reward it.
8. Keep the machine in good order. A descaled heating element and clean filter run efficiently. If you live in a hard water area, a washing machine descaler used every couple of months helps stop limescale building up on the element, where it makes the machine work harder to heat the water. A set of wool dryer balls can also shave time off any tumble dryer cycles you do use.

Is it worth replacing an old washing machine to save money?

Usually not on running costs alone. Because a wash costs 13p-37p for most households, even a much more efficient machine saves perhaps £5-£15 a year in electricity, which is nowhere near enough to fund a £400-£700 purchase. Replace a machine when it is failing, not to chase the energy label.

The exception is a very old machine that only fills with hot water, or one with a failing element that is running for far longer than the programme states. If your cycle times have crept up or the drum feels far hotter than it used to, that can be a sign the machine is working harder than it should.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to run a washing machine for one hour?

Running the machine for an hour does not use a fixed amount, because the power draw peaks while heating the water and drops to very little during the wash and spin. As a rough guide, a typical 40°C cycle of about two hours costs around 21p in total, so the hourly average is about 10p. The heating phase, which is a fraction of the cycle, draws around 2kW for its short duration.

How much electricity does a washing machine use per wash?

A modern 8-9kg machine typically uses about 0.5 kWh for an eco or 30-degree wash and about 0.8 kWh for a 40-degree cotton wash. A 60-degree cycle is roughly 1.4 kWh, and a 90-degree boil wash about 2 kWh. Your energy label and manual give the exact figure for your machine.

Is it cheaper to wash clothes at night?

Only if your tariff has cheaper night-time rates, such as Economy 7 or a smart tariff. On a standard variable tariff, the price per kWh is the same at any time of day, so waiting until night saves nothing.

Is it cheaper to do one big wash or two small ones?

One full load is almost always cheaper than two half loads, because each cycle heats water and runs the drum regardless of how much is in it. Just avoid overloading, as poor rinsing can force a re-wash and cancel the saving.

Does a quick wash save money?

A short 30-degree quick wash is the cheapest cycle on most machines, at around 7p, but it is designed for lightly soiled, small loads. For a normal full load, a 30-degree eco cycle gives better cleaning for about 13p.

How much does it cost to run a washing machine compared with a tumble dryer?

A 40-degree wash costs about 21p. Tumble drying the same load costs 39p-53p in a heat pump dryer, about £1.18 in a vented dryer and about £1.32 in a condenser. Drying is almost always the bigger part of laundry cost.

The bottom line

A washing machine is one of the cheaper appliances to run: about 21p a wash at 40 degrees, 13p at 30, and roughly £27-£44 a year for a typical household. The lever that matters is temperature, and the far bigger cost is the tumble dryer that so often follows it.

If you want to know what your own machine costs, rather than working from tables, plug it into an energy-monitoring plug for a few washes, or try our smart meter savings calculator to see how much you could save by shifting your biggest loads.