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How much does it cost to run a gaming PC?
At the U.S. average residential price of 18.16¢ per kilowatt-hour (August 2026), running a gaming PC costs about $106 a year. Your own bill depends on your state's rate, which ranges from 12.72¢ to 47.18¢ across the country.
- Per hour
- 7.3¢
- Per day of use
- 29.1¢
- Per month
- $8.84
- Per year
- $106
Assumption: 400 W, 4 hours a day, 365 days a year — 584 kWh a year. Under load with a mid-to-high-end GPU. Idling at the desktop is closer to 80 W, and the monitor is on top of this.
Cost by state
Same appliance, same usage, 51 different prices. Sorted cheapest first.
| State | Rate | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada | 12.72¢ | $6.19 | $74.28 |
| Louisiana | 12.87¢ | $6.26 | $75.16 |
| North Dakota | 13.31¢ | $6.48 | $77.73 |
| Utah | 13.31¢ | $6.48 | $77.73 |
| Idaho | 13.37¢ | $6.51 | $78.08 |
| Tennessee | 13.42¢ | $6.53 | $78.37 |
| Nebraska | 13.54¢ | $6.59 | $79.07 |
| Kentucky | 13.80¢ | $6.72 | $80.59 |
| Arkansas | 14.37¢ | $6.99 | $83.92 |
| Mississippi | 14.43¢ | $7.02 | $84.27 |
| Wyoming | 14.43¢ | $7.02 | $84.27 |
| Washington | 14.63¢ | $7.12 | $85.44 |
| Oklahoma | 14.82¢ | $7.21 | $86.55 |
| North Carolina | 14.95¢ | $7.28 | $87.31 |
| Florida | 14.99¢ | $7.30 | $87.54 |
| Arizona | 15.05¢ | $7.32 | $87.89 |
| South Dakota | 15.15¢ | $7.37 | $88.48 |
| Kansas | 15.47¢ | $7.53 | $90.34 |
| Montana | 15.57¢ | $7.58 | $90.93 |
| South Carolina | 15.76¢ | $7.67 | $92.04 |
| Georgia | 15.90¢ | $7.74 | $92.86 |
| Texas | 15.91¢ | $7.74 | $92.91 |
| Oregon | 15.92¢ | $7.75 | $92.97 |
| Missouri | 16.02¢ | $7.80 | $93.56 |
| West Virginia | 16.31¢ | $7.94 | $95.25 |
| Alabama | 16.33¢ | $7.95 | $95.37 |
| New Mexico | 16.51¢ | $8.03 | $96.42 |
| Indiana | 17.02¢ | $8.28 | $99.40 |
| Iowa | 17.06¢ | $8.30 | $99.63 |
| Colorado | 17.17¢ | $8.36 | $100 |
| Minnesota | 17.20¢ | $8.37 | $100 |
| Virginia | 17.64¢ | $8.58 | $103 |
| Delaware | 18.70¢ | $9.10 | $109 |
| Illinois | 19.32¢ | $9.40 | $113 |
| Ohio | 19.38¢ | $9.43 | $113 |
| Wisconsin | 19.41¢ | $9.45 | $113 |
| Maryland | 21.40¢ | $10.41 | $125 |
| Pennsylvania | 21.77¢ | $10.59 | $127 |
| Michigan | 22.99¢ | $11.19 | $134 |
| Vermont | 23.84¢ | $11.60 | $139 |
| Connecticut | 24.51¢ | $11.93 | $143 |
| New Jersey | 24.61¢ | $11.98 | $144 |
| District of Columbia | 25.98¢ | $12.64 | $152 |
| New Hampshire | 27.64¢ | $13.45 | $161 |
| Rhode Island | 28.18¢ | $13.71 | $165 |
| New York | 28.65¢ | $13.94 | $167 |
| Alaska | 29.41¢ | $14.31 | $172 |
| California | 29.75¢ | $14.48 | $174 |
| Massachusetts | 30.48¢ | $14.83 | $178 |
| Maine | 32.11¢ | $15.63 | $188 |
| Hawaii | 47.18¢ | $22.96 | $276 |
Cutting the number down
- Capping frame rate to the monitor's refresh rate cuts GPU draw substantially with no visible difference.
- Sleep rather than idle: a machine left at the desktop overnight can use more in a year than the gaming itself.
- Undervolting a modern GPU typically trims power meaningfully at near-identical performance.
Questions
- How many watts does a gaming PC use?
- About 400 W while running.
- How much does a gaming PC cost per month?
- About $8.84 a month at the U.S. average rate, or $106 a year.
- Where is it cheapest to run?
- Nevada, at $74.28 a year, versus $276 in Hawaii — a spread of $201.