At the current price cap of 26.32p per kWh, a vented or condenser tumble dryer costs roughly 72.9p to £1.16 a load, about 89.0p on average. A heat pump dryer costs roughly 21.5p to 60.1p a load, about 34.8p on average.
Those ranges are worked back from Which?'s lab-tested yearly costs. If you think in hours instead, a dryer element rated 1,500 W to 3,000 W costs 39.5p to 79.0p for every hour it runs at full power.
Cost per load by type of dryer
The most useful number for a tumble dryer is the cost of one load, not the cost of an hour. A dryer doesn't draw its full rated power for the whole cycle, because the heater switches off once the drum is hot or the clothes are nearly dry.
Which? measures the electricity each dryer it tests uses, then publishes a yearly cost based on three loads of cotton a week at the October 2026 cap of 26.32p. We divided those yearly figures by 156 loads (three a week for 52 weeks) to get a cost per load, then divided by the unit rate to get kWh per load.
| Type | Which? average a year | Per load | Electricity per load | Range per load (lowest–highest model) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vented | £139.74 | 89.6p | 3.40 kWh | 74.6p – £1.07 |
| Condenser | £138.91 | 89.0p | 3.38 kWh | 72.9p – £1.16 |
| Heat pump | £54.32 | 34.8p | 1.32 kWh | 21.5p – 60.1p |
Vented and condenser dryers cost almost the same to run on average. Both heat air with an electric element. A heat pump dryer reuses its warm air, so on Which?'s figures it uses around 60% less electricity a load than the other two types.
Cost per hour by power rating
If you only know your dryer's wattage, you can still get a rough per-hour figure. Energy Savers lists tumble dryers at 2,000–3,000 W, and National Energy Action gives 1,500–2,500 W for condenser and vented models. The table shows the cost of an hour at full power, and of an hour with the heater on half the time, which is closer to a real cycle.
| Rated power | One hour at full power | One hour, heater on half the time |
|---|---|---|
| 1,500 W | 39.5p | 19.7p |
| 2,000 W | 52.6p | 26.3p |
| 2,500 W | 65.8p | 32.9p |
| 3,000 W | 79.0p | 39.5p |
Worked examples
1. Swapping a condenser dryer for a heat pump
A household drying three loads a week would spend about £138.91 a year with an average condenser dryer, against £54.32 with an average heat pump model. That's a saving of £84.59 a year. Which?'s own example pairs a £369 condenser dryer costing £128 a year to run with a £529 heat pump dryer costing £45. The heat pump model costs £160 more to buy and saves £83 a year, so it earns back the difference in about 1.9 years.
2. A busy family drying six loads a week
At six loads a week, an average vented dryer comes to about £279.48 a year (6 × 52 × 89.6p). An average heat pump dryer doing the same loads comes to about £108.64. The more you dry, the faster a heat pump dryer pays for itself.
3. Checking a dryer by its wattage
A 2,500 W condenser dryer running a 90-minute cycle with its heater on about half the time uses roughly 2.5 × 1.5 × 0.5 = 1.88 kWh. At 26.32p that's about 49.4p, which sits inside the Which? range above. The half-time figure is an illustration. Your energy label gives the real kWh.
Ways to cut the cost
- Fill the drum, but don't overfill it. Which? says a full load is the most efficient use of a cycle, while overfilling stops the air circulating.
- Clean the lint filter every time, and the heat exchanger or condenser as often as the manual says. A blocked filter slows drying.
- Spin first. The faster your washing machine spins, the less water the dryer has to remove.
- Use sensor drying if your dryer has it, so the cycle stops when the clothes are dry rather than when a timer runs out.
- Use your own rate. If you're on a time-of-use tariff, put its off-peak rate into the calculator above to see what drying overnight would cost.
How we worked this out
- Price: 26.32p per kWh, the Ofgem price cap for electricity from 1 October to 31 December 2026 (GB average, Direct Debit, no VAT on electricity in this period). The standing charge of 54.83p a day isn't included, because you pay it anyway.
- Per-load costs: Which?'s published yearly costs (three 70% cotton loads a week at 26.32p) ÷ 156 loads. kWh per load = cost per load ÷ 26.32p. This assumes Which? counted 52 weeks a year.
- Per-hour costs: watts ÷ 1,000 × hours × p/kWh, using rated wattages published by Energy Savers and NEA.
- Every figure here is labelled Typical (published). We haven't measured any dryers ourselves.
Frequently asked questions
Is a heat pump tumble dryer worth it?
Usually, if you use a dryer often. On Which?'s October 2026 figures, an average heat pump dryer costs £54.32 a year to run at three loads a week, against £138.91 for a condenser model. Divide the extra purchase price by the yearly saving to see how many years it takes to pay back.
How much does a tumble dryer cost per hour?
A dryer rated 1,500 W to 3,000 W costs 39.5p to 79.0p an hour at full power on the 26.32p cap rate. Real cycles usually cost less per hour, because the heater switches on and off.
Does a half load cost half as much?
Not quite. A smaller load finishes sooner, and Which? suggests drying a slightly smaller load as one way to save energy. But the drum and air still have to warm up, so the cost doesn't fall in proportion to the load.
Where do I find my dryer's kWh per load?
Look at the energy label, the product information sheet or the manual, which give the energy used by the standard cotton programme. Type that into the calculator above in place of our default.
Is a dehumidifier cheaper than a tumble dryer?
Often, yes. A compressor dehumidifier drawing a couple of hundred watts uses far less electricity an hour than a dryer's heating element, although clothes take longer to dry. See our dehumidifier running cost guide for a worked example.
Sources
All checked on 29 October 2026. Figures are restated in our own words; follow the links for the originals.
- Which? – How much does a tumble dryer cost to run? (1 Oct 2026): https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/tumble-dryers/article/how-much-does-it-cost-to-run-a-tumble-dryer-a5xYt7V21rY0
- Energy Savers (Centre for Sustainable Energy) – How much electricity am I using?: https://www.energysavers.org.uk/advice/electricity-usage/
- National Energy Action – Electricity consumption around the home (2022, PDF): https://www.nea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Electricity-Consumption-Around-the-Home.pdf
- Ofgem – Energy price cap unit rates and standing charges: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/your-energy-supply/your-energy-bill/energy-price-cap-unit-rates-and-standing-charges