How many watts does a slow cooker use?

Roughly 70 to 150 watts on low and 150 to 250 watts on high for a 6-quart family cooker, with small 2-quart models near 70 watts and large 8-quart units near 300. That is less than most light-bulb-era assumptions suggest and about a tenth of what a toaster oven draws. The elements are wrapped around the outer housing and stay energized more or less continuously rather than cycling hard, which is why the wattage is low but the duty cycle is high.

What does it cost to run a slow cooker for eight hours?

About 15 to 20 cents. A 6-quart cooker averaging 120 watts on low over eight hours uses roughly 0.96 kilowatt-hours, and at the approximately 17 cents per kWh the Energy Information Administration reports as the recent US residential average, that lands near 16 cents. On high the same pot uses about 1.6 kWh over eight hours, closer to 27 cents. Used twice a week all year, a slow cooker adds under 20 dollars to an electricity bill.

Is a slow cooker cheaper than using the oven?

Considerably, for a long braise. A full electric oven holding 325 degrees Fahrenheit for four hours consumes on the order of 6 to 8 kilowatt-hours once cycling is accounted for, against roughly 0.5 kWh for a slow cooker over the same period. That is a difference of about a dollar per meal, plus the oven heats the kitchen. For a short 20-minute bake the oven advantage flips, because the slow cooker cannot do the job at all.

Does a slow cooker use more electricity on low or high?

High uses more per hour, but low usually uses more in total because the cook runs two to three times longer. A slow cooker on low averages roughly 70 to 150 watts and on high roughly 150 to 250. A dish that takes four hours on high and eight on low therefore lands at broadly similar total energy, with low often slightly higher. The choice should be made on texture and schedule, not on cost, because the difference is a few cents.

Is it cheaper to use an Instant Pot than a slow cooker?

Per meal, usually yes, though both are cheap. A multicooker draws 700 to 1,000 watts but reaches pressure and finishes a braise in 45 to 90 minutes, so total consumption is roughly 0.5 to 0.9 kilowatt-hours against 0.8 to 1.6 for a slow cooker. The gap is under 15 cents a meal. Choose between them on results and convenience — pressure cooking is fast, slow cooking gives a different texture and lets you leave the house.

Do Slow Cookers Use a Lot of Electricity?

Written & researched by Derek Holt Home & Appliances Editor

Updated August 2026

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No. A slow cooker draws about 70 to 150 watts on low and 150 to 250 watts on high, which is roughly a tenth of what a toaster oven or kettle pulls. Eight hours on low uses close to one kilowatt-hour, or about 16 cents at the recent US residential average of roughly 17 cents per kWh reported by the Energy Information Administration. Even used twice a week year-round, the appliance adds under 20 dollars to an annual bill. It is one of the cheapest ways to cook a braise, and considerably cheaper than running a full oven for the same hours.

How many watts does a slow cooker actually draw?

Less than most people guess, because the appliance is designed around low, sustained heat rather than fast heating. Resistance elements wrapped around the outer housing hold the crock at roughly 190 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit on low and 200 to 300 on high, and holding a temperature takes far less power than reaching one.

Size	Low setting	High setting	8 hours on low
2 qt	~70–90 W	~120–150 W	~0.6 kWh / ~10¢
4 qt	~90–120 W	~150–200 W	~0.8 kWh / ~14¢
6 qt	~120–150 W	~200–250 W	~1.0 kWh / ~17¢
8 qt	~150–200 W	~250–300 W	~1.4 kWh / ~24¢

Costs above use 17 cents per kilowatt-hour. Substitute the rate printed on your own utility bill — US residential prices span roughly 12 to 30 cents depending on the state, which changes the figures by more than the appliance size does.

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How does it compare with using the oven?

It is not close. A full electric oven holding 325 degrees Fahrenheit for a four-hour braise consumes somewhere in the region of 6 to 8 kilowatt-hours after preheat and thermostat cycling, because it is maintaining a 5-cubic-foot insulated cavity at a much higher temperature. A slow cooker doing the same job over eight hours uses about one. That is roughly a dollar a meal in favor of the slow cooker, before you count the air conditioning load of a hot kitchen in summer.

The comparison reverses for short cooking. Nothing about a slow cooker helps with a 20-minute roast of vegetables, and for that a toaster oven at 1,500 watts for 20 minutes uses about 0.35 kWh — cheaper than an hour of anything else. Cost per kilowatt-hour varies widely by state; the national average is published in the US Energy Information Administration's published average retail price of electricity to residential customers. Match the appliance to the job and the energy question mostly answers itself.

Golden-hour view of a person's hands lifting food from a countertop appliance in a bright kitchen

Low or high — which is cheaper?

They land in roughly the same place, and it is not worth optimizing. High draws about twice the wattage of low but finishes in about half the time, so total energy for the same dish comes out broadly similar, often marginally in favor of high because the pot spends less total time losing heat to the room.

The choice matters for texture, not cost. Long, low cooking is what breaks collagen down into gelatin in chuck, shoulder and shank, which is the entire point of the appliance. Choose low when you want the meat to fall apart and you are out of the house, and high when you started late.

Low-angle view of a person's hands lifting food from a countertop appliance in a bright kitchen, in soft early-morning light

Is it safe and economical to leave it running all day?

Yes on both counts, and the appliance was designed for exactly that. Slow cookers are certified to run unattended for extended periods, they operate at low wattage with no exposed flame, and the cost of a 10-hour cook is around 20 cents. On the food-safety side the USDA says food stays safe for as long as the cooker is operating, and that meat and poultry should always be thawed before they go in. The safety practices worth keeping are the ordinary ones: place it on a heat-resistant surface away from the wall and from anything flammable, do not run it under a low cabinet where steam collects, use a wall outlet rather than an extension cord, and inspect the cord for damage. The USDA advises that a slow cooker should bring food out of the 40 to 140 degree Fahrenheit danger zone promptly, which means starting with thawed rather than frozen ingredients and keeping the crock between half and two-thirds full.

Where to go next

If the all-day question is what brought you here, leaving a slow cooker on all day and leaving one on overnight cover it directly. For results, see what temperature a slow cooker reaches on low and whether you can overcook meat. Weighing appliances? Slow cooker versus Instant Pot compares them, and the best slow cookers ranks models on aggregated owner ratings, inside the small kitchen appliances hub.

We never buy or physically handle the products we rank — our picks come from aggregated owner reviews and expert consensus, explained on how we rank.