What Does It Cost to Run a Wi-Fi Router in Texas?

This page estimates the energy-only cost to run a wi-fi router in Texas using a household wi-fi router, an average load of 12 watts, and a typical runtime of 24 hours/day.

Average wattage assumption
12 W
Typical usage assumption
24 hours/day
Estimated monthly electricity use
8.64 kWh
Estimated monthly cost
$1.37
Estimated yearly cost
$16.64

Key metrics

MetricValue
Average wattage assumption12 W
Typical usage assumption24 hours/day
Estimated monthly electricity use8.64 kWh
Estimated monthly cost$1.37
Estimated yearly cost$16.64

Wi-Fi Router cost vs U.S. average

Texas average rate
15.83 ¢/kWh
Texas monthly cost
$1.37
U.S. monthly cost
$1.52
Monthly difference
-$0.15

At the statewide average residential rate, running a wi-fi router in Texas costs less per month by $0.15 than the same usage pattern priced at the current U.S. average electricity rate.

How much electricity does a wi-fi router use?

This estimate uses a typical wattage range of 6-20 W and a modeling assumption of 12 watts for 24 hours/day. Using the formula kWh = (watts × hours) / 1000, that works out to 0.29 kWh per day, 8.64 kWh per 30-day month, and 105.1 kWh per year.

Wi-Fi routers draw low but continuous power. Because they run all day, annual cost is driven by always-on runtime rather than high peak wattage. In Texas, that energy is priced using the statewide residential average of 15.83 ¢/kWh, with a national benchmark of 17.57 ¢/kWh for comparison.

Wi-Fi Router operating cost estimate in Texas

Time periodEnergy useCost
Per hour0.01 kWh$0.00
Per day0.29 kWh$0.05
Per month8.64 kWh$1.37
Per year105.1 kWh$16.64

These estimates isolate electricity usage only. Real utility bills can be higher because delivery charges, taxes, seasonal pricing, and fixed monthly fees are not included in this appliance model.

What changes the cost the most?

The biggest cost drivers for a wi-fi router are the local electricity rate and real-world usage intensity. For this appliance, the main swing factors are router hardware generation, mesh node count, power-saving features.

If your usage is lighter or heavier than the assumption on this page, the linked state calculator and usage-cost pages below are the fastest way to model a custom scenario with the same state electricity rate.

For calculator-focused intent, use the Wi-Fi Router calculator in Texas to compare light, typical, and heavy usage profiles.

Comparison discovery pathways

Use the curated Energy Comparison Hub to move between appliance, state, and usage comparison routes without changing canonical ownership for appliance cost intent.

Rollout-enabled city context in Texas

These city pages provide supplemental local context for this same appliance usage profile. City values are deterministic estimates and remain secondary to the canonical appliance-state route.

CityCity rateMonthly estimateYearly estimateCity route
Houston15.60 ¢/kWh$1.35$16.17City electricity context
San Antonio16.50 ¢/kWh$1.43$17.11City electricity context
Dallas16.50 ¢/kWh$1.43$17.11City electricity context
Austin16.20 ¢/kWh$1.40$16.80City electricity context
Fort Worth16.30 ¢/kWh$1.41$16.90City electricity context
El Paso15.90 ¢/kWh$1.37$16.49City electricity context

City pages are authority/context routes and not appliance-by-city canonical pages. Appliance cost intent remains canonical at this state-level route.

Related appliance cost pages for Texas

State cost and bill pathways for Texas

Historical and trend pages

Fixed-usage and calculator pathways

Appliance and estimator pathways

State comparison pathways for Texas

Discovery and navigation hubs

Consumer electricity drivers

Source & Method

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Retail Sales of Electricity. Last dataset period: February 2026. Costs are energy-only estimates and exclude delivery charges, taxes, and fixed utility fees.

Disclaimers