How many watts does a laptop use?
A laptop uses 30–120 W (about 65 W on average). Running 6 hours/day, that is about 0.39 kWh a day and 11.7 kWh a month — roughly $2.14 a month at the U.S. average rate of 18.31 ¢/kWh.
This is the laptop electricity usage reference: watts, amps on a 120 V circuit, the kWh math, and links to what that usage costs in each state.
Watts, amps, and kWh for a laptop
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Rated wattage range | 30–120 W |
| Average draw used in our math | 65 W |
| Amps at 120 V | 0.3–1 A (0.5 A at the average draw) |
| kWh per hour | 0.07 kWh |
| kWh per day at 6 hours/day | 0.39 kWh |
| kWh per month | 11.7 kWh |
| Cost per month at the U.S. average (18.31 ¢/kWh) | $2.14 |
The math is kWh = watts × hours ÷ 1000 and amps = watts ÷ volts. A standard 120 V household circuit on a 15 A breaker carries about 1,800 W. For the dollars in your state, open cost to run a laptop in Texas and switch states from there.
Laptop electricity usage profile
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| kWh per hour | 0.07 kWh |
| kWh per day (typical) | 0.39 kWh |
| kWh per month (typical) | 11.7 kWh |
| kWh per year (typical) | 142.3 kWh |
| Low runtime scenario | 3 hours/day |
| High runtime scenario | 9 hours/day |
Connect usage to cost tools
Related appliance usage pages
Source & Method
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Retail Sales of Electricity. Last dataset period: July 2026. Usage calculations use fixed appliance wattage and runtime assumptions so results stay comparable across pages.
Frequently asked questions
How many watts does a laptop use?
A laptop uses 30–120 W (about 65 W on average). Our usage and cost math uses 65 watts running 6 hours/day.
How many amps does a laptop draw?
On a 120 V circuit, 30–120 W works out to about 0.3–1 A; at the 65 W we use in the math that is 0.5 A.
How much electricity does a laptop use per month?
About 11.7 kWh a month at 6 hours/day. Lighter use (3 hours/day) comes to roughly 5.9 kWh and heavier use (9 hours/day) roughly 17.5 kWh.
How much does it cost to run a laptop?
About $2.14 a month at the U.S. average rate of 18.31 ¢/kWh — from roughly $1.49 in Louisiana to $5.62 in Hawaii at the same usage. The state cost-to-run pages price it at every state's rate.