Air Fryer vs Oven Running Costs UK: Which Is Cheaper Per Meal?

Quick answer: A typical air fryer meal uses about 0.5kWh of electricity — 13p at the current cap — while cooking the same food in an electric fan oven uses around 1.2kWh including preheat, or 31p. That’s roughly 18p saved per meal, or in the region of £47 a year at five meals a week.

All costs on this page are calculated at the July–September 2026 Ofgem price cap for Direct Debit customers: 26.11p per kWh of electricity, with gas comparisons at 7.33p per kWh. Unit rates vary slightly across the 14 GB regions, so treat these as good averages and check the rate on your own bill.

The sum, and the assumptions behind it

Cooking cost = power (kW) × time (hours) × 26.11p per kilowatt-hour. A 1.5kW air fryer cooking for 25 minutes with its element cycling on and off draws roughly 0.5kWh: 0.5 × 26.11p ≈ 13p. A 2.2–2.5kW electric fan oven preheating for 10 minutes then cooking for 40, with the elements cycling about half the time, comes to roughly 1.2kWh: 1.2 × 26.11p ≈ 31p. Neither appliance draws its full rated power for the whole cook — both cycle to hold temperature — which is why the kWh figures matter more than the wattage on the box.

Per-meal cost comparison

Times and energy figures are typical mid-range assumptions — a 1.5kW air fryer against a fan oven that needs preheating. Your own appliances will vary a little either way, but the gap is consistent: for one- or two-portion cooking, the air fryer’s small heated chamber wins comfortably.

What that adds up to over a year

Swap five oven meals a week for the air fryer and you save roughly 18p × 5 × 52 — around £47 a year at current prices, as a typical estimate rather than a promise. The air fryer’s advantage is purely about volume: it heats a few litres of space close to the food, while an oven heats 60–70 litres plus its own walls before much cooking happens. Less space to heat, less preheat time, shorter cooking — three savings stacked together.

When the oven still wins

Per portion, a full oven is hard to beat. That 2.0kWh roast for four works out at 13p of electricity per person — the same as one air fryer batch — and a batch-cook of six portions of lasagne gets the oven down to under 9p a portion. If you’re feeding a family or cooking several trays at once, use the oven and fill every shelf; if you’re cooking for one or two, the air fryer is almost always the cheaper tool. Running two or three air fryer batches back-to-back to feed four people cancels most of the saving.

Squeezing more from either appliance

• Skip the oven preheat where the recipe allows — it’s often 0.2kWh (about 5p) doing nothing for you.
• Batch-cook and fill the oven when you do use it, then reheat portions in the microwave — see our microwave vs oven vs hob comparison.
• Match the appliance to the portion size rather than habit — the biggest waste is heating 65 litres of oven to cook one chicken breast.
• More kitchen-wide savings in our guide to energy-efficient cooking.

Checking the assumptions against your own kitchen

Two cheap ways to replace our typical figures with your real ones. First, the energy label and manual: many ovens quote a per-cycle kWh figure for a standard programme, and air fryer manuals state the element rating. Second — and better — a smart plug with energy monitoring (or your smart meter’s live display) will show exactly what a full cook draws, cycling included. People are often surprised in both directions: a small, well-insulated oven cooking with the door kept shut can come in under 1kWh, while an air fryer run back-to-back for a big household creeps up towards oven territory.

Gas oven owners have a different calculation: at 7.33p per kWh a gas oven session costing ~1.5kWh of gas is only around 11p — cheaper than the electric oven and competitive with the air fryer, though slower and less efficient per portion for small amounts. And if you’re choosing between countertop gadgets, a combination microwave splits the difference: microwave speed for the inside of the food, a grill or convection element for the crisp, at running costs closer to the air fryer than the oven. The right answer is usually a portfolio: kettle for water, microwave for reheating, air fryer for small crispy portions, oven for volume.

FAQs

Is an air fryer always cheaper than the oven?

For one or two portions, almost always — typically a third to half the energy. For family-sized cooking the oven catches up fast because it cooks everything in one go, and per portion it can be just as cheap or cheaper.

How much does an air fryer cost to run per hour?

A 1.5kW model would cost 39p an hour at full power, but the element cycles once it’s at temperature, so a full hour of cooking typically draws 0.8–1kWh — around 21–26p at the current cap.

Does an air fryer use much electricity on standby?

Virtually none — most models draw under a watt when idle, a matter of pence per year. If you want to hunt down standby waste, the bigger culprits are set-top boxes and games consoles, covered in our guide to energy vampires.