How much does a PS5 cost to run per year?

At 2 hours a day plus rest mode, a PS5 uses about 151 kWh a year: roughly $28 in the US, $11.64 in India and $67 in Ireland at average household rates.

Does Xbox instant-on standby use a lot of electricity?

Yes: 9 W around the clock is about 72 kWh a year, 39% of a Series X's total at 2 h/day of play. Energy-saver mode (0.8 W) cuts the console's yearly use from about 185 to 119 kWh.

Is a console cheaper to run than a gaming PC?

Yes. A 250 W gaming PC at 4 h/day uses about 365 kWh a year, versus about 285 kWh for a PS5 at the same hours and under 15 kWh for a docked Nintendo Switch.

Console Power Cost: What PS5, Xbox & Switch Cost to Run (36 Countries, 2026)

39%

Of a Series X’s yearly power is standby

$1.80 vs $27.80

Switch vs PS5 per year (US, 2 h/day)

66 kWh/yr

Saved by one Xbox setting

Countries, sourced rates

The finding nobody checks: at two hours of play a day, an Xbox Series X with the default-off “instant-on” mode enabled uses 185 kWh a year — and 39% of that is spent doing nothing, waiting in standby at 9 W for the other 22 hours. Switching it to energy saver (0.8 W standby) cuts the console’s yearly electricity from 185 to 119 kWh. That one setting saves more electricity per year than a Nintendo Switch uses in six. A PS5 rests at ~2 W, so its standby bill is small; a docked Switch is almost free to run everywhere on Earth.

Console power cost calculator

Console (measured average draw)

Hours played per day

Country (average household rate, USD, Q3 2026)

Or your electricity price ($/kWh)

Rest of the day is counted at the console’s standby draw. Presets are measured averages (sources below), not PSU ratings.

What each console costs per year in 36 countries

Two hours of play a day, the rest in default standby mode (PS5 rest mode 2 W, Series X instant-on 9 W, Switch sleep 0.4 W), at each country’s average all-in household electricity rate.

#	Country	PS5 (185 W)	Series X, instant-on (154 W)	Switch docked (9 W)
1	Qatar	$4.84	$5.91	$0.31
2	Malaysia	$7.40	$9.05	$0.48
3	Saudi Arabia	$7.86	$9.60	$0.51
4	Turkey	$10.12	$12.37	$0.66
5	India	$11.64	$14.22	$0.75
6	United Arab Emirates	$12.09	$14.78	$0.78
7	Indonesia	$13.75	$16.81	$0.89
8	Mexico	$16.17	$19.76	$1.05
9	Canada	$18.59	$22.72	$1.20
10	South Korea	$19.04	$23.27	$1.23
11	Thailand	$19.19	$23.46	$1.24
12	Norway	$23.88	$29.18	$1.55
13	Brazil	$24.33	$29.74	$1.57
14	Finland	$26.44	$32.32	$1.71
15	United States	$27.80	$33.98	$1.80
16	Hong Kong	$27.96	$34.17	$1.81
17	South Africa	$29.92	$36.57	$1.94
18	Philippines	$31.13	$38.05	$2.02
19	New Zealand	$31.28	$38.23	$2.02
20	Japan	$34.60	$42.29	$2.24
21	Poland	$35.21	$43.03	$2.28
22	Singapore	$35.36	$43.22	$2.29
23	Sweden	$35.66	$43.59	$2.31
24	Portugal	$35.66	$43.59	$2.31
25	Spain	$37.78	$46.17	$2.45
26	Australia	$38.68	$47.28	$2.50
27	France	$41.86	$51.16	$2.71
28	Netherlands	$42.92	$52.45	$2.78
29	Austria	$52.59	$64.27	$3.40
30	Denmark	$55.00	$67.23	$3.56
31	Switzerland	$55.31	$67.60	$3.58
32	United Kingdom	$60.60	$74.06	$3.92
33	Germany	$61.05	$74.61	$3.95
34	Belgium	$61.05	$74.61	$3.95
35	Italy	$63.01	$77.02	$4.08
36	Ireland	$67.24	$82.19	$4.35

Yes, the Series X column is higher than the PS5’s in every country despite the lower gaming draw — that is the instant-on standby tax. In energy-saver mode the Series X drops below the PS5 (119 vs 151 kWh/yr).

Methodology & sources

Gaming draws are measured averages, not power-supply ratings: PS5 185 W and Xbox streaming/standby figures from FlatpanelsHD meter tests (Dec 2020); PS5 Slim 217 W and PS5 Pro ~225 W from Digital Foundry measurements (Nov 2024, via Tom’s Hardware); Xbox Series X 154 W and Series S 74 W are Microsoft’s own published lab baselines across 200+ titles (Xbox sustainability documentation, Mar 2023); Switch docked 7-11 W from Nintendo’s data and independent measurements (Nintendo Life, 2022). Switch 2 (~20 W docked) is a preliminary community meter figure — no lab-grade measurement is published yet, treat it as an estimate. Annual energy = (gaming W × hours + standby W × remaining hours) × 365. Electricity rates are GlobalPetrolPrices average household prices (Q3 2026), full bill divided by kWh — the same basis as our PC power cost calculator, where the per-country caveats are documented. Running costs are only half the picture – see also what the same subscriptions cost in 30 different countries. The 2 h/day default reflects the ESA’s ~13 hours/week US player average.

Microsoft Xbox sustainability lab baselines - official measured gaming averages (Mar 2023)
FlatpanelsHD PS5 measurements - gaming 155-215 W, rest mode ~2 W (Dec 2020)
Digital Foundry PS5 Slim/Pro measurements (Nov 2024)
NRDC console energy testing - standby and streaming corroboration (Jan 2021)
Nintendo Life Switch power comparison (Sep 2022)

FAQ

Does leaving a console in standby really matter?

Only on Xbox with instant-on enabled: 9 W around the clock is ~72 kWh a year - in Ireland that is about $32 of standby alone. PS5 rest mode (~2 W) costs a few dollars a year; a sleeping Switch is negligible.

Is a gaming console cheaper to run than a gaming PC?

Much cheaper. A typical 250 W gaming PC at 4 h/day uses ~365 kWh/yr; a PS5 at the same hours ~285 kWh, a Series X in energy-saver mode ~231 kWh, and a Switch under 15 kWh. See the PC power cost calculator for the full comparison.

Why is the Series X column higher than PS5 if it draws fewer watts?

Standby. At 2 h/day the console idles 22 hours: instant-on (9 W) adds 72 kWh/yr, more than erasing the 31 W gaming advantage. Turn on energy saver and the Series X becomes the cheaper console.

Can I reuse this data?

Yes - the CSV is CC-BY 4.0, credit Computer Multiverse with a link.

What a PS5, Xbox or Switch Really Costs to Run - and the Setting That Wastes 39% of It