How Much Does It Cost to Run a Refrigerator Each Month?

Source: Planning watts of 62 and 24 hours a day, hours a day, using the average draw because the compressor cycles. Price: 17.23 cents per kWh, the 2025 US residential average from EIA Form EIA-861.

The monthly cost is 5% of the $150.68 average US electric bill. It runs all year, so the yearly cost is twelve times the monthly figure.

One figure cannot fit every home. These three cases show how much the answer moves with the equipment and the hours.

The lowest case costs $5 a month and the highest $18. Use the calculator above to match your own.

The same refrigerator costs different amounts depending on the state, because the price per kWh differs. Here are the three cheapest states, the US average and the three costliest, for the same 45 kWh a month.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 (final 2025 data). Price is residential revenue divided by sales and includes fixed charges.

See electricity rates in every state to find your own.

A refrigerator’s compressor runs in cycles, so its label wattage overstates what it uses. The average draw over a full day is a fraction of the peak, and a plug-in watt meter left on for a few days gives the real figure.

Age is the biggest factor. Older models use much more than new ones. Door seals, location and how full it is also matter, and a refrigerator in a hot garage works harder than one in a cool kitchen.

For scale, the EIA Residential Energy Consumption Survey found the average US home used about 70 kWh a month on refrigerators in 2020, and the average detached house about 81 kWh. These averages include homes with no such equipment, so a home that has it uses more.

The range for this kind of appliance runs from about 30 to 150 watts. At 24 hours a day that is $4 to $19 a month, which is why checking the label on yours is worth the minute.

• Check the door seal with a sheet of paper. A loose seal wastes energy.
• Set the refrigerator near 37 degrees Fahrenheit and the freezer near 0.
• Unplug an old second refrigerator that is mostly empty.

Next step: Freezer costs. For general ideas, read how to lower your electric bill.

Other appliances in the kitchen and laundry group: Freezer, Clothes Dryer, Washing Machine, Dishwasher, Microwave, Electric Oven, Electric Stove, Chest Freezer, Electric Kettle, Air Fryer, Coffee Maker.

The cost is watts divided by 1,000, times hours, times your price per kWh. The 62 watts is a planning figure for this kind of appliance, set from typical product ratings, and the 24 hours is an assumed day of use. Neither is copied from a federal table. Federal guidance describes the method and warns that real wattage varies, so we publish our own typical ranges and label them as such. Prices come from EIA Form EIA-861 for 2025.

The calculation is the standard one used in the U.S. Department of Energy's consumer guidance on estimating appliance energy use. Wattage varies by product age and features, so the label on your own appliance beats any average. Read more in our methodology.