Air fryer vs oven vs microwave: which is cheapest per meal?
Which is cheapest: the air fryer, the oven or the microwave? For most small meals the order is microwave, then air fryer, then oven. On the Cheap Watts figures, 30 minutes in an air fryer costs about 13p, while an electric oven costs about 38p for an hour at 200°C. The oven only wins when you are cooking a lot at once.
Below is the sum, with the assumptions shown so you can swap in your own numbers.
The price I've used
On 26 October 2026, the Flexible Octopus electricity unit rate in Yorkshire was 25.6p per kWh (including VAT, from the Octopus Energy API). Your rate will be in the same area, and your bill gives the exact figure.
For the appliances I've used the typical figures on the Cheap Watts appliance pages, so this post matches the site:
- Air fryer: 0.5kWh for 30 minutes.
- Electric oven: 1.5kWh for one hour at 200°C.
Your own models will use more or less. The energy label or a plug-in energy monitor will tell you.
What each costs at 25.6p per kWh
| Appliance | Typical use | Energy | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air fryer | 30 minutes | 0.5kWh | about 13p |
| Electric oven | 30 minutes (half the hourly figure) | 0.75kWh | about 19p |
| Electric oven | 1 hour at 200°C | 1.5kWh | about 38p |
Half an hour in the oven is just half of the hourly figure. A real oven also spends time heating up, so treat that as a floor rather than a measurement.
For the same half hour of cooking, the air fryer costs about 6p less. Over a full oven hour against one air fryer session, the gap is about 26p.
What that adds up to over a year
The site assumes four air fryer sessions a week. Here is what swapping the oven for the air fryer would be worth on those four meals:
| If the oven would have run for | Oven, 4 times a week | Air fryer, 4 times a week | Difference a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 minutes | about £39.94 a year | about £26.62 a year | about £13 |
| 1 hour | about £79.87 a year | about £26.62 a year | about £53 |
These are sums from the typical figures, not a measurement of your kitchen. Still, it shows that the air fryer is a modest saving, not a transformation of your bill.
Where does the microwave fit?
I don't have a Cheap Watts figure for the microwave, and I'm not going to make one up. What I can point to is a published estimate. A Kidney Care UK guide quotes the Centre for Sustainable Energy as estimating that 10 minutes in an oven costs around 8 to 9p, against 3 to 6p for a microwave. The guide doesn't say what electricity price or year those figures are based on, so use them for the ratio, not the pence.
The direction is clear, and it matches what you'd expect. A microwave heats the food rather than a whole cavity, so it is the cheapest option for reheating, jacket potatoes, steaming veg and cooking small portions. It is a poor fit for anything you want crisp or browned.
So which should you use?
Here's how I'd decide:
- Reheating or a small portion: microwave.
- One or two portions that you want crisp: air fryer.
- A full tray, or several dishes at once: oven, and fill it. The oven's cost is largely the same whether it holds one tray or three.
- Whatever you use: don't open the door more than you need to, and turn the oven off a few minutes before the end if the dish can finish in the heat.
The air fryer wins on small meals because it heats a small space. It stops winning as the amount of food grows, because then you are cooking in batches and the time adds up. If the family needs three batches, the oven is likely cheaper than three air fryer rounds.
What about a gas oven or hob?
The gas price is much lower per unit. On 26 October 2026, the Flexible Octopus gas rate in Yorkshire was 7.9p per kWh, against 25.6p for electricity. That is roughly a third of the price per unit of energy.
I haven't put a gas oven cost in the table, because I can't verify one typical figure for gas ovens, and they vary a lot. If you have gas, work it out from your own appliance's rating, and use the gas or electric tool to compare the two for your home.
Does the time of day matter?
For a cooker you stand next to, mostly not. You eat when you eat. Where it does help is with anything that can wait, like batch cooking or a slow cooker. If you're on a time-of-use tariff, see my post on the cheapest time to use electricity in the UK.
What to do next
Work out your own number. Take the wattage on your oven and air fryer (it's on the label or in the manual), multiply by the hours you use it, and then by your unit rate. If you want it done for you, the gas or electric tool compares the options at today's prices.
If you only change one habit, make it this: use the smallest appliance that does the job.