Air Fryer vs Oven Cost Calculator

Compare the electricity cost of cooking in an air fryer and an oven. Include preheating, cooking time and portions to see both the cost of a batch and the cost of a serving.

How to use Air Fryer vs Oven Cost Calculator

1. Choose the currency used for results. 2. Enter the average power and cooking time for each appliance, add preheating, and use portions that describe the meal you are comparing. 3. Change a value to update the results, or select Calculate. Review the chart and notes with the total. 4. Use Copy results, Share results or Download result graphic to keep the answer. Shared links include your figures. 5. Reset restores the editable example inputs.

Why use this tool?

The cheaper cooking method depends on what you are making and how many people it feeds. An air fryer can finish a small meal quickly, while a larger oven batch may serve more people. Comparing only the wattage misses both of those details. The per-batch result helps with a single meal. The per-portion result helps when the capacities differ. Yearly totals assume you repeat each entered batch the same number of times, so use equal portions for a direct like-for-like annual comparison.

How the calculation works

Energy per batch = average watts ÷ 1,000 × (cooking minutes + preheating minutes) ÷ 60. Multiply by the electricity unit price for the batch cost. Cost per portion = batch cost ÷ portions. Yearly cost = batch cost × batches per week × 52. The input should represent average power during the entered time. A nameplate maximum can overstate the energy used by an oven that cycles on and off. Both preheating and cooking use the entered average; measured kWh can be checked separately with the Appliance Electricity Cost Calculator.

Example

At an illustrative £0.25/kWh, a 1,500 W air fryer running for 23 minutes uses 0.575 kWh and costs £0.14375 per batch. A 2,400 W oven running for 40 minutes uses 1.6 kWh and costs £0.40. At five equal-sized batches a week, the difference is £66.63 a year after display rounding.

Practical tip

Compare the same amount of food and a similar cooking result. If the oven cooks several dishes together, include the portions from the whole batch rather than assigning all its cost to one serving.