How Much Does It Cost to Run a Dryer?

The short answer

An electric dryer costs 41 cents a load if it is a 3,000-watt dryer running 45 minutes, and 68 cents a load if it is a 5,000-watt dryer running 45 minutes, at the national average rate of 18.16 cents per kilowatt-hour. A household that dries five loads a week at 5,000 watts pays $177.06 a year, and a household that dries ten loads a week pays $354.12, and the dryer that runs an hour a day, every day, costs $16.53 a month at 3,000 watts and $27.54 a month at 5,000 watts, which is $198.31 and $330.51 a year. The dryer is the highest-wattage appliance in most houses, at 3,000 to 5,000 watts, which is two to three times a space heater, and it is used intermittently, which is why households underestimate it: the watts are enormous and the hours are small, and the product is what matters, and the product is 3.75 kilowatt-hours a load at 5,000 watts for 45 minutes, which is $0.68, and the loads are the bill, because the loads are the hours, and the hours are the cost.

The dryer is also the appliance where the saving is the most obvious, because the alternative is free: the line, the rack, and the air cost nothing, and every load dried on the line saves the full 68 cents, and the household that line-dries half its loads saves $88.53 a year at five loads a week, and the household that line-dries all of them saves $177.06, which is the whole dryer bill, and which is the largest saving available from any single habit in the house, except for turning the heater down. The dryer is 91 to 152 kilowatt-hours a month at an hour a day, which is 7.9 to 13.2 percent of the average household's 1,152 kilowatt-hours, and it is the third-largest line in the house after heating and water heating, and the first line that can be cut to zero without buying anything, because the line is already there, and the sun is already there, and the only cost is the time to hang the clothes.

The table is priced at 18.16 cents, a 5,000-watt dryer, 45 minutes a load, and a month of 52 divided by 12 weeks, and the per-load cost never changes, because the watts and the minutes never change, and the loads are the only variable, which is the point of the table: the dryer bill is the loads times 68 cents, and the household that knows its loads knows its bill, and the household that dries ten loads a week pays $354.12 a year, which is more than the refrigerator costs, and which is the number to compare against the line, because the line is free, and the rack is free, and the saving is the whole $354.12. The 3,000-watt dryer is the same table at 41 cents a load: five loads a week is $106.24 a year, and ten loads is $212.47, which is the difference the watts make, and which is why the dryer you own matters, because the 5,000-watt dryer costs 67 percent more per load than the 3,000-watt one, for the same clothes, and the same 45 minutes.

What a load actually costs

A load costs the watts times the minutes, and the minutes are the part people get wrong, because the timer says 60 minutes and the clothes are dry in 45, and the dryer runs the full hour anyway, and the extra 15 minutes are the waste. A 5,000-watt dryer running 45 minutes uses 3.75 kilowatt-hours, which is $0.68 at 18.16 cents, and running 60 minutes uses 5 kilowatt-hours, which is $0.91, and the difference is $0.23 a load, which is $59.80 a year at five loads a week, and which is the saving from the moisture sensor, because the sensor stops the dryer when the clothes are dry, instead of running the timer to the end, and the sensor is the cheapest efficiency in the laundry room, because it is already in the dryer, and the household only has to use it, by choosing the sensor cycle instead of the timed cycle, and by cleaning the lint filter, because the clogged filter slows the air, and the slow air lengthens the cycle, and the long cycle is the cost.

The load size is the second variable, because the dryer costs the same per minute whether it holds two shirts or twenty, and the household that dries two half-loads pays twice the household that dries one full load, for the same clothes, which is the waste, and the full load is the saving, and the saving is $0.68 a load at 5,000 watts, which is $35.41 a year for one load a week combined, and which is the reason to wait until the basket is full. The sorting is the third variable, because the heavy towels and the light shirts do not dry at the same speed, and the mixed load runs until the towels are dry, and the shirts are over-dried, and the over-drying is the waste, and the sorted load is the saving, because the light load finishes sooner, and the heavy load runs alone, and the total minutes are fewer, and the fewer minutes are the saving. The spin is the fourth: the washer's spin cycle removes the water before the dryer starts, and the high spin removes more, and the dryer runs shorter, and the shorter cycle is the saving, and the washer's extra spin costs almost nothing, because the washer is 500 watts for an hour, which is $2.75 a month, and the dryer is 5,000 watts, which is ten times the washer, and the spin is the cheapest drying there is.

The heat-pump dryer, and the line

The heat-pump dryer is the alternative to the resistance dryer, and it works differently: instead of venting the hot air outside and drawing in cold air to heat, it recycles the heat, condensing the moisture and reusing the warmth, which uses about half the electricity per load, because the heat is reused instead of thrown away, and the per-load cost falls from $0.68 to about $0.34, and the five-loads-a-week year falls from $177.06 to about $88.53, which is the saving, and which is the reason the heat-pump dryer exists. The trade is the price and the time: the heat-pump dryer costs more to buy, often twice a resistance dryer, and it takes longer per load, because the heat is lower, and the cycle is gentler, and the household that dries five loads a week saves $88.53 a year, which pays back a $500 premium in 5.6 years, and which is the calculation to run before buying, because the saving is real and the premium is real, and the payback is the division, and the division is the answer.

The line is the alternative that costs nothing, and the rack is the indoor version of it, and the two together are the cheapest drying in the house, because the sun and the air are free, and the line saves the full $0.68 a load, and the household that line-dries half its loads saves $88.53 a year at five loads a week, and the household that line-dries all of them saves $177.06, which is the whole dryer bill, and which is the largest saving available from any single habit, except for turning the heater down. The line also spares the clothes, because the dryer wears them, and the heat fades them, and the line does neither, and the clothes last longer, which is the saving that is not on the bill, and which is the reason the line is the answer for the household that has the time and the space, and the rack is the answer for the household that has the space but not the weather, and the dryer is the answer for the household that has neither, and the dryer is the price of that convenience, which is $0.68 a load.

Gas, and how to choose the next dryer

A gas dryer burns gas instead of electricity, and gas is usually cheaper per unit of heat than electricity, so the per-load energy cost of a gas dryer is usually lower than an electric one, though the dryer still uses some electricity for the drum and the controls, and the gas dryer needs a gas line, which the house may or may not have, and which costs money to install if it does not, and the choice between gas and electric is the choice between the fuel the house already has and the fuel it would have to add, and the household with a gas line should price the gas dryer, and the household without one should not, because the line is the cost, and the cost is the installation, and the saving is the per-load difference, and the payback is the division. The electric dryer is the default for the house without gas, and the gas dryer is the default for the house with it, and the heat-pump dryer is the default for the household that wants the lowest electric bill, and the line is the default for the household that wants no bill at all.

The next dryer should be chosen on the per-load cost, the loads, and the payback, in that order, and the per-load cost is the watts times the minutes divided by 1,000 times the rate, which is $0.68 for the 5,000-watt dryer and $0.41 for the 3,000-watt one, and the loads are the household's, five a week or ten, and the year is the loads times 52 times the per-load cost, which is $177.06 or $354.12, and the payback is the premium divided by the saving, which is 5.6 years for a $500 heat-pump premium at five loads a week, and the decision is the division, and the division is the answer, and the calculator on this site prices all of it, on your watts, your minutes, your loads, and your rate, in the time it takes to type them.

Sources

U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, August 2026: U.S. residential average 18.16 cents per kWh; average monthly use 1,152 kWh. Dryer benchmarks: electric dryers draw 3,000 to 5,000 watts, and a 5,000-watt dryer running 45 minutes uses 3.75 kWh, which costs about 68 cents at 18 cents; five loads a week at that rate costs $177.06 a year, and a 3,000-watt dryer costs about 41 cents a load. Heat-pump dryers recycle heat instead of venting it and typically use about half the electricity per load of a resistance dryer. All calculator figures were computed by this site's calculator under the stated model: kWh per load is watts times hours divided by 1,000; cost is kWh times the rate; a month is the weekly figure times 52 divided by 12.

How Much Does It Cost to Run a Dryer? questions

How much does it cost to run a dryer per load?

68 cents at 5,000 watts for 45 minutes, and 41 cents at 3,000 watts, at the national average rate of 18.16 cents per kWh. A 5,000-watt dryer running an hour a day costs $27.54 a month and $330.51 a year; a 3,000-watt dryer costs $16.53 a month and $198.31 a year.

How much does a dryer cost per year?

At five loads a week, 45 minutes a load, a 5,000-watt dryer costs $177.06 a year, and a 3,000-watt dryer costs $106.24 a year. At ten loads a week, the 5,000-watt dryer costs $354.12 a year. The dryer bill is the loads times the per-load cost.

Does a moisture sensor save money?

Yes. A 5,000-watt dryer running 60 minutes uses 5 kWh, which is $0.91, and running 45 minutes uses 3.75 kWh, which is $0.68. The sensor stops the dryer when the clothes are dry instead of running the timer to the end, which saves $0.23 a load, or $59.80 a year at five loads a week.

Is a heat-pump dryer cheaper to run?

Yes, about half the electricity per load, because it recycles the heat instead of venting it. The per-load cost falls from $0.68 to about $0.34, and five loads a week falls from $177.06 a year to about $88.53. A $500 premium pays back in 5.6 years at five loads a week.

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