Electricity cost calculator for the United Kingdom
Estimate appliance electricity cost in the United Kingdom using your own price per kWh. UK tariffs are quoted as a unit rate in pence per kWh plus a separate daily standing charge — enter only the unit rate here, converted to pounds.
How electricity is billed in the United Kingdom
Most UK households on a standard variable tariff are protected by Ofgem's price cap, which sets the maximum a supplier can charge per unit of electricity and per day of standing charge — not a cap on the total bill itself. Fixed-term tariffs sit outside the cap and keep their own agreed rate for the length of the contract.
Unit rate Usage-based
The price per kilowatt-hour, in pence, which is what this calculator needs — convert pence to pounds by dividing by 100 before entering it.
Standing charge Fixed
A fixed daily amount charged regardless of usage, covering the cost of connecting your home to the grid and metering. It is not part of an appliance-level running cost and is excluded from this calculator by design.
VAT Regulated
Domestic electricity in Great Britain normally carries VAT at the reduced rate, though the government has, at times, temporarily suspended it during periods of high bills — check whether your current tariff quote is VAT-inclusive.
Economy 7 / multi-rate tariffs Usage-based
Some households are on a two-rate meter with a separate, usually cheaper, night-time unit rate. Use whichever rate applies to the hours the appliance actually runs.
Anatomy of a UK bill
Usage-basedFixedRegulated
Most quoted unit rates and standing charges are already VAT-inclusive — VAT is shown as its own step here for clarity, not because it is usually billed separately.
Using this calculator with your own bill
This tool needs one number: the variable price you pay per kilowatt-hour for the electricity itself. Fixed charges — standing charges, contracted-power fees, meter rental — stay the same no matter how long a single appliance runs, so they are deliberately excluded. Adding them would inflate the appliance's own cost rather than reflect it.
Ofgem regulates the network and system components of your bill, but does not set the energy price itself in a competitive market, so the number that matters for this calculator is always the one on your own contract or most recent statement — not a national headline figure, which can be months out of date by the time you read it.
Frequently asked questions
My bill shows pence per kWh — how do I enter that here?
Divide by 100 to convert to pounds. For example, 26.3p/kWh becomes £0.263/kWh in the calculator.
Should I add the standing charge to get my real cost?
Not for an individual appliance. The standing charge is fixed and unrelated to how much any single device runs, so including it would overstate the appliance's own running cost — it belongs in a whole-bill estimate instead.
Does the price cap mean my bill can't go up?
No — the cap limits the rate per unit and per day, not the total bill. If you use more energy, you pay more, even though the unit rate itself is capped.
I'm on a fixed tariff — does the price cap apply to me?
No. Fixed-term tariffs keep the rate agreed at signup for the length of the contract and are not affected by quarterly price cap changes, for better or worse.
Why do my unit rate and standing charge differ from a friend's in another city?
Both figures are set regionally as well as by payment method, so households in different Ofgem regions — or paying by different methods — see different capped rates even on the same supplier.
Is VAT included in the rate on my bill?
Usually yes for a quoted all-in rate, but confirm on your bill or supplier portal, since VAT treatment for domestic electricity has changed temporarily more than once in recent years.
EuroWattCalc is an independent calculator site and is not an energy supplier, regulator or tariff-comparison service. Figures describing the United Kingdom's billing structure are provided for general orientation and can change; always confirm current rates with Ofgem, the energy regulator for Great Britain, which sets the quarterly price cap or your own supplier.
