Gas vs Electric Cooking: Real Running Costs Compared for 2026
How much it actually costs to cook on gas versus electric (including induction) under the 2026 Ofgem price cap, with worked examples for an oven, hob and kettle.
The headline number is misleading on its own
Under the current Ofgem price cap, gas costs around 5.74p per kWh and electricity around 24.67p per kWh — electricity is roughly four times more expensive per unit of raw energy. If cooking appliances converted energy into heat with identical efficiency, gas would clearly win every time. But they do not: how efficiently an appliance turns that energy into actual cooking heat matters just as much as the unit price, and this is where electric — particularly induction — appliances claw back much of the apparent gap.
Electricity Cost Calculator
Calculate the cost of running any electrical appliance per hour, day or year.
Open Electricity Cost calculatorWorked example: boiling a pan of water
To bring roughly 1.5 litres of water to the boil:
Gas hob: requires roughly 0.15 kWh of gas energy input (accounting for heat lost around the pan), costing 0.15 × 5.74p ≈ 0.9p.
Induction hob: far more efficient at transferring heat directly into the pan, requiring roughly 0.09 kWh of electrical energy, costing 0.09 × 24.67p ≈ 2.2p.
Electric kettle: highly efficient, typically needing only around 0.08–0.1 kWh for this volume, costing roughly 0.08 × 24.67p ≈ 2.0p.
In this specific case, gas remains cheapest, but the difference between gas and a kettle is only around a penny — nowhere near the fourfold unit-price gap the headline rates suggest.
Worked example: a 45-minute roast in the oven
Gas oven: roughly 1.2 kWh of gas energy over 45 minutes, costing 1.2 × 5.74p ≈ 6.9p.
Electric fan oven: typically more efficient at heat retention, using roughly 0.9 kWh over the same time, costing 0.9 × 24.67p ≈ 22.2p.
Here, gas's lower per-unit price dominates even after accounting for the electric oven's better efficiency — gas remains meaningfully cheaper for a long, high-heat cooking task like roasting.
Comparison summary
Why this matters less than heating
Cooking typically accounts for a small fraction of a household's total annual energy spend compared to space heating and hot water, which dominate a typical dual-fuel bill. Choosing induction over gas for cooking cost reasons alone rarely produces a large saving on the overall annual bill — the bigger financial decisions tend to be around heating system choice, insulation and overall tariff, not hob type.
uk-reduce-energy-billsBottom line
Gas remains the cheaper option per unit of energy, and for long, high-heat cooking like roasting it usually stays cheaper in practice too. But electric appliances — especially induction hobs and kettles — are significantly more efficient at converting energy into usable heat for quick tasks, which narrows the real-world cost gap considerably. Cooking costs are, in any case, a modest slice of most households' total energy bill, so the choice of hob type is rarely the biggest lever available for cutting your overall spend.
Estimate the running cost of specific appliances with the electricity cost calculator and your overall annual bill with the energy bill calculator.
Sources
- Ofgem: Energy price cap unit rates
- Energy Saving Trust: Cooking energy efficiency
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to cook with gas or electric under the current price cap?
Per unit of energy, gas is significantly cheaper than electricity under the Ofgem price cap — but electric appliances, especially induction hobs, are often more efficient at converting that energy into actual cooking heat, which narrows and sometimes reverses the gap depending on the appliance and dish.
What are the current price cap unit rates for gas and electricity?
Under the current Ofgem price cap, the typical gas unit rate is around 5.74p/kWh and the typical electricity unit rate is around 24.67p/kWh — meaning electricity costs roughly four times as much per unit of energy delivered.
Why doesn't gas being four times cheaper per unit mean gas cooking is four times cheaper overall?
Because efficiency differs: a gas hob loses a significant share of its heat around the sides of the pan, while an induction hob transfers heat almost directly into the pan itself, meaning fewer electrical units are needed to achieve the same cooking result, partly offsetting the higher electricity unit rate.
Is an induction hob cheaper to run than a gas hob?
For many typical cooking tasks, induction hobs use meaningfully less energy than gas hobs to achieve the same result due to their higher efficiency, which can bring the running cost closer to, or in some cases below, an equivalent gas hob despite the higher per-unit electricity price.
Is an electric oven cheaper to run than a gas oven?
Electric ovens are generally more efficient at retaining heat than gas ovens, but the gap is smaller than with hobs, and given gas's much lower per-unit price, a gas oven is often still cheaper to run for long cooking times such as roasting.
How does a kettle compare to boiling water on a gas hob?
An electric kettle is highly efficient at boiling water quickly with minimal wasted heat, and for boiling small quantities it is often cost-competitive with or cheaper than a gas hob, despite electricity's higher unit price, because so little energy is wasted.
Does having a dual-fuel household (gas hob, electric oven) make financial sense?
It can be a reasonable middle ground — using gas for tasks where it holds a clear cost advantage (long, low-heat cooking, boiling large volumes) and electric for tasks where efficiency narrows or closes the gap (quick boiling, induction searing) — though the overall saving from mixing is usually modest.
Should I switch from gas to induction purely to save money on cooking?
Cooking costs are a small fraction of most households' total energy bill compared to heating and hot water, so switching hob type purely for cooking cost savings rarely delivers a large financial return on its own, though it may be worth combining with other reasons such as safety, speed or moving away from gas entirely.
Do standing charges affect the gas vs electric cooking comparison?
If a household already pays a gas standing charge for heating, cooking costs are effectively added on top of a charge you are paying anyway; a fully electric household with no gas supply avoids the gas standing charge entirely, which is a separate consideration from the per-meal cooking cost comparison.
Where can I estimate my own cooking-related electricity costs?
The electricity cost calculator lets you input appliance wattage and usage time to estimate cost per use, which can be compared against an equivalent gas appliance's rated energy use at the current gas unit rate.
Try the calculators
Related reading
Energy Direct Debit Credit Balance: When to Ask for a Refund in 2026
Why your energy direct debit builds a credit balance over summer, when you are entitled to a refund under Ofgem rules, and how to avoid overpaying your supplier interest-free.
Energy Debt Repayment Plans 2026/27: What Your Supplier Must Offer You
How to negotiate an affordable energy debt repayment plan with your supplier in 2026/27, what Ofgem rules require, and how to avoid a prepayment meter being forced on you.
Home Battery Storage Payback 2026: Does It Beat the Smart Export Guarantee?
How long a home battery takes to pay for itself in 2026 once you factor in the Ofgem price cap, Smart Export Guarantee rates and typical solar generation.