How much it costs to cook is on everyone's minds this winter. To find definitive answers, we pitted a range of kitchen appliances against each other to cook popular foods.
We picked a range of popular food items that could reasonably be cooked in a variety of different appliances, including steamed vegetables, a sponge cake and a roast chicken.
Our lab testers used several smaller kitchen appliances, including a microwave, an air fryer, a slow cooker, a pressure cooker and a halogen oven, and compared them against a built-in electric oven and an induction hob.
We recorded how long each dish took to cook, how much electricity it used and, crucially, how much it cost. We also rated the final dishes out of five on the quality of the cooking.
We chose the models we used as typical examples of each type of appliance from our lab tests. When it comes to their cooking ability, other models may perform better or worse than the ones we tested here. Our air fryer reviews, for example, score each model for how well they cook chips and some get better results than others.
In terms of energy costs, our results should be a useful guide. To make our calculations, we used the current average price of a unit of energy under the government's Energy Price Guarantee - 34p per kWh.
Read more: find out how much it costs to use common household appliances
Is it cheaper to use an air fryer?
In short, yes. Our research found that you can make considerable energy savings with an air fryer and microwave as compared to an oven or hob, particularly if you're only cooking small amounts. Often the air fryer used less than half the energy to cook the same food items.
However the savings soon drop off if you have to double up on batches, and air fryers don't have as much space as a typical oven or hob. So if you're cooking a large amount of food, the oven or hob is sometimes still the best bet.
It’s important to consider the initial outlay when looking at cost savings. The air fryers we’ve tested cost anywhere between £30 and £300 to buy. So even though it may save you money compared to using an oven it could be a while before it starts to pay for itself if you go for a pricier model.
Convinced to buy an air fryer? Find out which did best in our test lab in our air fryer reviews.
How much does it cost to cook roast chicken?
| Built-in electric oven | Pressure cooker | Air fryer | Slow cooker | Halogen oven | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooking time | 76 minutes | 32 minutes | 53 minutes | 180 minutes | 54 minutes |
| Energy used to cook | 1.157kWh | 0.336kWh | 0.54kWh | 0.9kWh | 1.166kWh |
| Cost to cook | 39p | 11p | 18p | 31p | 40p |
| Saving (compared to oven) | N/A | 28p cheaper | 21p cheaper | 8p cheaper | 1p more |
| Quality of cooking (max 5) | 4 - meat was a little dry but the skin was crispy and browned | 4 - cooked rather than roasted, skin not crispy | 5 - juicy flavoursome meat with a crispy brown skin | 4 - well cooked but skin only slightly crispy | 5 - full of flavour with a crispy skin |
Our verdict: roast chicken
- Cheapest appliance: pressure cooker
- Best overall: air fryer
While the pressure cooker was the quickest and cheapest way of cooking the chicken, costing only 11p, it didn’t give the distinctive crispy skin that the other appliances did.
The oven cost 39p to cook a delicious looking roast chicken, although the meat was a little dry. The air fryer cooked a perfect roast chicken, and cost only 18p. This may not sound like much of a difference, but if you were to cook a roast chicken this way once a week for a year, this equates to a saving of nearly £11.
Many people claim that halogen ovens are cheap to run, but we found that the halogen oven we tested used slightly more energy than the oven to cook the chicken, and so it cost more. Although the chicken looked and tasted great, there are cheaper ways to get the same results.
If you're interested in trying out a pressure cooker, head to our pressure cooker reviews for more information.
How much does it cost to cook chips?
| Built-in electric oven | Air fryer | Halogen oven | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooking time | 33 minutes | 23 minutes | 35 minutes |
| Energy used to cook | 0.863kWh | 0.287kWh | 0.679kWh |
| Cost to cook | 29p | 10p | 23p |
| Saving (compared to oven) | N/A | 19p cheaper | 6p cheaper |
| Quality of cooking (max 5) | 3.5 - inconsistent cooking as some were too crispy | 3 - some cooked perfectly, but the ones on the bottom were undercooked | 3.5 - some overcooked and some undercooked |
Our verdict: chips
- Cheapest appliance: air fryer (as long as you're not cooking large amounts)
The saying “as cheap as chips” rang true when it came to our air fryer. It only cost 10p to cook two portions of chips. It cost three times that to cook the same quantity of chips in the oven.
The chips cooked by all three appliances were similar in quality, with a mixture of over-cooked and under-cooked ones, even though we stirred or shook them halfway through cooking.
The main drawback with the air fryer is the amount of food you can cook. The cooking capacity of the air fryers that we’ve tested ranges from 0.3kg and 2.2kg, so it’s important to choose a model that will give you the space you need.
The model we used recommended only filling the basket halfway and using a maximum of 500g of chips - enough for two to three portions. If you’re feeding several people, or want to cook a few different food items at the same time, the oven is more versatile than the air fryer.
If you're in the market for a new built-in electric oven, make sure you check out our built-in oven reviews.
We've also got average annual oven running costs for all the individual models we test, so you can choose one that will be efficient to use over time.
How much does it cost to bake a cake?
| Built-in electric oven | Air fryer | Slow cooker | Pressure cooker | Halogen oven | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooking time | 56 minutes | 33 minutes | 120 minutes | 65 minutes | 72 minutes |
| Energy used to cook | 0.71kWh | 0.223kWh | 0.599kWh | 0.76kWh | 0.922kWh |
| Cost to cook | 24p | 8p | 20p | 26p | 31p |
| Saving (compared to oven) | N/A | 16p cheaper | 4p cheaper | 2p more | 7p more |
| Quality of cooking (max 5) | 4 - slightly dense in the middle but well risen | 5 - perfect cake, well risen and fluffy inside | 3.5 - slightly flat, burned on one side, fell apart | 4 - fluffy on the inside but the upper crust was too firm | 5 - perfect cake with good height and light centre |
Our verdict: cake
- Cheapest appliance: air fryer
- Best overall: oven for larger bakes
If Bake Off has inspired you to create your own showstoppers, once again the air fryer offers good results at the lowest cost. At only 8p, and baking in half the time of the oven, the air fryer is ideal for a quick and delicious cake when cake cravings strike.
The oven cost 3 times more than the air fryer at 24p.
However, due to the size limitation of the air fryer we did have to make a smaller cake than we did in the other appliances. If you’re planning a multi-tiered masterpiece it would be more efficient to stick to the trusty oven.
The pressure cooker and halogen oven produced good cakes, but they took longer than the oven and used more energy, costing 2p and 7p more respectively.
The cake made in the slow cooker was rather disappointing. It was flatter than the other cakes we made due to the shape of the pot and burned on one side thanks to inconsistent heating. It also fell apart when we tried to get it out of the pot. For baking on a budget, the air fryer can't be beaten, though keen bakers may prefer to stick to the trusty oven.
Read more: find out how cake baking quality is affected by different oven temperatures
How much does it cost to make soup from scratch?
| Induction hob | Pressure cooker | Slow cooker | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooking time | 26 minutes | 21 minutes | 182 minutes |
| Energy used to cook | 0.273kWh | 0.272kWh | 0.901kWh |
| Cost to cook | 9p | 9p | 31p |
| Saving (compared to hob) | N/A | Same price | 22p more |
| Quality of cooking (max 5) | 5 - well cooked with the perfect consistency | 4 - consistency slightly too thick due to liquid evaporating | 3.5 - too thick as lots of liquid evaporated during cooking |
Our verdict: soup
- Cheapest appliance: induction hob or pressure cooker
- Most convenient: slow cooker
As those cold winter nights draw in, there’s nothing more appealing than a bowl of soup. We found that both the induction hob and pressure cooker are cheap ways to make yours. These appliances cooked our veggie soup quickly and efficiently, both using only 9p worth of energy to do so.
We included in our calculations the time and energy used for a stick blender to puree the soup to a smooth consistency. We found the soups from the pressure cooker and slow cooker were a little too thick as it’s less easy to control the liquid during cooking. However, this is easy to fix by adding a little hot water from a kettle when you are blending your soup.
Even though the slow cooker cost more to use, our lab testers were impressed by the convenience of this method of cooking. If you like to prepare ahead of time and don't want to labour too long over the hob, the slow cooker is a handy option.
Slow cooker size is key
As with air fryers, you may find yourself limited by the size of a slow cooker or pressure cooker in a way that wouldn't be an issue with a hob. Make sure you check the manual for your slow cooker's usable volume. The model we used has a stated capacity of 6.5 litres, but according to the instructions the maximum quantity that can be cooked is 6 litres - most recommend you fill them about two-thirds full.
We've tested models with useable volumes from 0.88 litres to over 5 litres, so if you're investing in a slow cooker it's crucial to find one to suit your needs.
Head to our slow cooker reviews to find one that's the right size for you.
How much does it cost to cook steamed vegetables?
| Induction hob | Microwave | Pressure cooker | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooking time | 9 minutes | 5 minutes | 12 minutes |
| Energy used to cook | 0.192kWh | 0.086kWh | 0.204kWh |
| Cost to cook | 7p | 3p | 7p |
| Saving (compared to hob) | N/A | 4p cheaper | Same price |
| Quality of cooking (max 5) | 5 - perfectly steamed | 4 - a little too firm | 4.5 - slightly overcooked |
Our verdict: steamed vegetables
- Cheapest appliance: microwave
There’s very little to choose between the three appliances we used to steam our broccoli in terms of cooking quality. The induction hob gave the best results - but at more than double the cost of using the microwave - 7p compared to 3p.
The pressure cooker used more energy than the induction hob and also overcooked the broccoli. Both the microwave and hob are easier to control than the pressure cooker, so we'd recommend using one of these to whip up a quick side of veggies.
Get all our microwave buying advice and test results in our microwave reviews.
How much does it cost to cook a jacket potato?
| Built-in electric oven | Microwave | Pressure cooker | Air fryer | Halogen oven | Slow cooker | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooking time | 68 minutes | 8 minutes | 32 minutes | 48 minutes | 51 minutes | 300 minutes |
| Energy used to cook | 1.084kWh | 0.149kWh | 0.26kWh | 0.392kWh | 0.917kWh | 1.502kWh |
| Cost to cook | 37p | 5p | 9p | 13p | 31p | 51p |
| Saving (compared to oven) | N/A | 32p cheaper | 28p cheaper | 24p cheaper | 6p cheaper | 14p more |
| Quality of cooking (max 5) | 5 - well cooked with a signature crispy skin | 5 - fluffy and soft inside | 5 - soft and fluffy inside | 5 - soft and tender inside, crispy skin | 5 - tender and soft inside | 5 - well cooked with a slightly crispy skin |
Our verdict: jacket potato
- Cheapest appliance: microwave
- Best for crispy skin at a low cost: air fryer
The microwave easily beats the other appliances on costs when cooking a large potato. It took just 8 minutes to cook a soft and fluffy jacket potato and only used 5p in energy, too.
The oven took an hour longer and cost 37p - over seven times more than the microwave. You won't get a classic crispy skin when using a microwave to cook a jacket potato, but when you’re in a rush it’s a quick and efficient way to cook.
The air fryer once again proved its credentials against the oven, taking half the time and around a third of the electricity costs. However, as with a lot of the other recipes we cooked, space was an issue and we could only fit one jacket inside at a time.
If you want to cook more than one, an oven would be your best bet. But for a single potato, an air fryer is ideal.
Our research explained
The appliance models we used in our test lab were chosen as typical examples of each type of product. We based this on a combination of their performance, energy usage, price and other factors. We selected several recipes and food types that could be cooked using multiple products. The quantities of all the foods were the same in each appliance (except for the cake in the air fryer) to ensure the tests were comparable.
The cooking times above include preheating time where required, and also blending time for the soup. The energy consumption figures include the energy used during preheating and cooking, and for the hand blender during the soup test. We assumed an electricity cost of 34p per kWh.
We cooked:
- A 1.3-1.4kg roast chicken, enough for around three to four portions
- 320g of frozen chips, enough for two to three portions
- A basic three-egg sponge cake. The quantity had to be reduced for the air fryer in order to fit into the basket.
- A smooth butternut squash soup.
- 300g of steamed broccoli, divided into florets. Steamed using a steaming basket/insert.
- One jacket potato, approximately 200g. The microwave we tested had an automatic programme for cooking jacket potatoes.
The appliances we used:
- Built-in electric oven - Bosch Serie 2 HHF113BR0B
- Induction hob - Grundig GIEI623410MX
- Microwave - John Lewis JLSMWO08
- Air fryer - Morphy Richards Health Fryer 480003
- Slow cooker - Cookworks 6.5L Slow Cooker - 699/2679
- Pressure cooker - Ninja OL750UK Ninja Foodi MAX 15-in-1 SmartLid Multi-Cooker 7.5L
- Halogen oven - TZS First Austria FA-5030-1
For more help with reducing your expenses this winter, head to Which's cost of living advice and tips.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/oven-air-fryer-slow-cooker-or-hob-comparing-the-cheapest-ways-to-cook-a0kmu7Z7tBhJ