Are Clothes Dryers Expensive to Run?
Quick answer
A full-size ENERGY STAR electric dryer is rated at around 530 to 690 kWh a year, which is roughly $95 to $125 a year at the July 2026 US average of 18.31¢/kWh. Older non-certified dryers use more. Heat pump dryers use much less, and the cheapest drying of all is a clothesline.
A clothes dryer is one of the bigger electricity users in a home, because it heats air with a large electric element for the length of every load. How much it costs depends on the dryer type, how many loads you run and your electricity rate.
What a dryer costs to run per year
The most reliable figure is the annual energy use on the dryer’s ENERGY STAR listing, which comes from the US Department of Energy test procedure and assumes a standard number of loads a year. From the ENERGY STAR certified models in our data:
| Dryer type (ENERGY STAR certified, electric) | Typical annual use | Cost per year at 18.31¢/kWh |
|---|---|---|
| Full-size vented (7 cu ft and up) | 531 to 687 kWh (median 608) | about $97 to $126 (median $111) |
| Compact ventless (under 7 cu ft) | 122 to 608 kWh (median 283) | about $22 to $111 (median $52) |
Costs use the July 2026 US residential average from the EIA. Your rate may be higher or lower; multiply the annual kWh by your own rate to check. The full method is on how we calculate, and you can compare individual models on our clothes dryer running costs pages.
A dryer that is not ENERGY STAR certified will use more than these figures. ENERGY STAR says certified dryers use about 20% less energy than conventional models.
What a dryer costs per hour
If you know the dryer’s wattage, you can estimate the cost of an hour of running:
watts ÷ 1,000 × hours × price per kWh
The wattage is on the rating plate inside the door or on the back. Full-size electric dryers draw several thousand watts, but the heating element cycles on and off during a load, so the average draw over an hour is lower than the rating. As a ceiling, a 5,000 W dryer running flat out for an hour uses 5 kWh, which is about 92¢ at 18.31¢/kWh. Most loads cost less than that.
Which dryer type is cheapest to run?
- Heat pump dryers recycle warm air in a closed loop instead of venting it outdoors. They use the least electricity of any dryer and are the type most likely to earn ENERGY STAR’s Most Efficient label. They cost more to buy and loads take longer.
- Standard vented electric dryers are the cheapest to buy but use the most electricity.
- Gas dryers use gas to make heat and electricity only for the drum, fan and controls. Whether gas is cheaper per load depends on your local gas and electricity prices. We leave gas dryers out of our running-cost tables because their electricity rating does not include the gas.
- Ventless condenser dryers (often compact) avoid the need for an outside vent, which suits apartments.
How to lower the cost of drying
- Spin faster in the washer. Clothes that come out drier need less time in the dryer.
- Use the moisture sensor setting instead of a fixed timer, so the dryer stops when the clothes are dry. Automatic moisture sensing is one of the ways ENERGY STAR certified dryers save energy.
- Clean the lint filter before every load. A clogged filter slows drying and is a fire risk. Clean the vent duct at least once a year too.
- Dry full loads, but don’t overload, and dry similar fabrics together so towels don’t keep the dryer running for a load of shirts.
- Dry loads back to back while the drum is still warm.
- Line-dry when you can. It costs nothing to run.
How long should a load take?
Most full loads on a normal cycle take somewhere between 40 minutes and an hour, depending on the fabric, load size and dryer. If loads that used to take 45 minutes now take much longer, check the lint filter and the vent duct for a blockage. A restricted vent wastes energy and is a common cause of dryer fires.