How Much Does It Cost to Run a Treadmill?
About $1.48 a month — $17.78 a year — for a 600-watt treadmill run 45 minutes, 4 times a week, at the 2024 average rate of $0.16/kWh. One session costs 7.2¢, and a mile costs 1.6¢. The home gym is not what is on your bill — but the console you leave plugged in is 16% of the treadmill's own total. Set your own wattage and rate below.
What the motor pulls while you run — not the horsepower on the nameplate.
Typical draw by what you are doing
Treadmill cost per month
$1.48
9.3 kWh at $0.16/kWh — $17.78 a year, console included.
Per session
7.2¢
45 min — 0.45 kWh
Per mile
1.6¢
4.5 miles a session at 6 mph
The console, per year
$2.80
2 W around the clock — 16% of the total
600 W × 45 min × 4 sessions a week = 7.8 kWh a month of running, plus 1.5kWh for the console, × $0.16 = $1.48. You would need 14 sessions to spend a dollar.
Speed converts your session into miles. It does not move the bill by itself — raise the wattage with it, because a faster belt draws more.
Console standby
A treadmill runs for minutes a week and idles for the rest of it, so 16% of this bill is a console doing nothing. Unplugging it saves $2.80 a year.
A treadmill's draw depends on belt speed and on the weight pressing the belt into the deck, so household machines are quoted as a 300–900 W band rather than a single wattage; the presets above pair each step with a typical speed. Console standby is not covered by any federal standard and is rarely published — 2 W is an assumption, and a plug-in meter will tell you yours. Not sure of your rate? Check average rates by state.
How much electricity does a treadmill use?
Monthly cost = watts ÷ 1,000 × hours you run a month × price per kWh
A treadmill has a middling wattage and a tiny runtime, and runtime is what bills. It draws well under half what a hair dryer does, and you run it for 3 hours a week rather than 3 hours a day. That is the whole story.
Worked example (600 W, 45 min, 4 sessions a week, $0.16/kWh): 600 W × 45 min × 4 a week = 7.8 kWh of running a month, plus 1.5 kWh for a 2W console × $0.16 = $1.48 per month.
Monthly cost at common electricity rates
Rows are what the treadmill draws. Columns are what a kilowatt-hour costs where you live. Every cell assumes 45 minutes, 4 times a week, and includes the 2 W console.
| Draw | Idaho$0.10/kWh | US average$0.16/kWh | California$0.28/kWh | Hawaii$0.39/kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300 WWalking | $0.54 | $0.86 | $1.49 | $2.08 |
| 450 WBrisk walking | $0.74 | $1.17 | $2.04 | $2.83 |
| 600 WJogging | $0.94 | $1.48 | $2.58 | $3.59 |
| 750 WRunning | $1.13 | $1.79 | $3.13 | $4.34 |
| 900 WFast running | $1.33 | $2.11 | $3.67 | $5.10 |
State rates come from the rates by state page. The worst case in this table — running hard, in the most expensive state in the country — is $5.10 a month.
Average treadmill wattage: 300 to 900 watts
A treadmill does not have a wattage, it has a band. The motor is working against the friction of a belt with your body weight pressing it into the deck, so what it pulls depends on how fast the belt is moving and how much of you is on it. A light walker on a flat belt sits near the bottom; a heavier runner at speed sits near the top.
| What you are doing | Draw | Per hour | Per session45 minutes | Per mile | Per month4 a week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walking3 mph · 2.3 miles a session | 300 W | 4.8¢ | 3.6¢0.22 kWh | 1.6¢ | $0.86 |
| Brisk walking4 mph · 3.0 miles a session | 450 W | 7.2¢ | 5.4¢0.34 kWh | 1.8¢ | $1.17 |
| Jogging6 mph · 4.5 miles a session | 600 W | 9.6¢ | 7.2¢0.45 kWh | 1.6¢ | $1.48 |
| Running7.5 mph · 5.6 miles a session | 750 W | 12.0¢ | 9.0¢0.56 kWh | 1.6¢ | $1.79 |
| Fast running8 mph · 6.0 miles a session | 900 W | 14.4¢ | 10.8¢0.68 kWh | 1.8¢ | $2.11 |
At the US average rate of $0.16/kWh, with a 2W console in the monthly column. The 300–900 W band is the one commonly quoted for household machines; the speed paired with each step is typical rather than measured, and exists to turn a session into miles. Your treadmill's real draw is a plug-in meter away.
A mile costs the same whether you walk it or run it
Read the per-hour column against the per-mile column. Running hard costs 3 times as much per hour as walking — but only 1.8¢ a mile against 1.6¢. The reason is that draw and belt speed climb together: the faster belt takes more power and gets the mile done in proportionally less time. Over the whole 300–900 W band the cost of a treadmill mile stays between 1.6¢ and 1.8¢. Speed buys you time, not electricity.
What about incline?
Raising the deck is done by a separate lift motor, and it only runs while the incline is actually changing — a few seconds at a time. It is not a continuous load, and it is not what moves your bill. What moves your bill is the belt motor, and what moves the belt motor is speed and the weight on the deck.
Why a 3.0 HP treadmill does not draw 2,796 watts
Treadmills are sold on horsepower, and horsepower is a rating of what the motor can put out at the shaft, not what the machine pulls from the wall. One mechanical horsepower is 745.7 W of output. Getting that out requires more going in, because the motor and its speed controller take their cut first. Follow the arithmetic and you arrive somewhere impossible.
| Nameplate | Output at the shaft | Draw to deliver itat 80% efficiency | Share of what the outlet can give |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.0 HP | 1,491 W | 1,864 W | 129% |
| 2.5 HP | 1,864 W | 2,330 W | 162% |
| 3.0 HP | 2,237 W | 2,796 W | 194% |
| 3.5 HP | 2,610 W | 3,262 W | 227% |
| 4.0 HP | 2,983 W | 3,729 W | 259% |
A 120 V, 15 A branch circuit supplies 1,800 W at the very most, and electrical code limits a continuous load to 80% of that — 1,440 W. Motor-plus-controller efficiency is assumed at 80%; the conclusion holds anywhere in the plausible range.
The nameplate is headroom, not consumption
Every row of that table wants more power than the outlet can legally deliver, and the treadmill is not tripping your breaker — so the motor plainly is not working anywhere near its rating. That is the point of the rating. Continuous-duty horsepower describes how much the motor could produce before it overheats, which is what keeps it from labouring under a heavy runner or a hard start. Peak horsepower, where it is quoted, is a marketing number for a moment the motor never sustains. Neither tells you what you are paying for. The 300–900 W the belt actually pulls does — and at 600 W that is 21% of what a 3.0 HP nameplate would need if the motor ever delivered it.
Is it cheaper to run outside?
Yes — by 7.2¢. That is the whole prize. A 45-minute run at 600 W uses 0.45 kWh, which at the US average rate costs 7.2¢; the 4.5 miles you covered doing it cost 1.6¢ each. Outside, that electricity is free. Everything else about the choice — weather, daylight, traffic, knees, the fact that you will actually do it — costs or saves you vastly more than the electricity does.
One session indoors
7.2¢
45 min at 600 W
Sessions to spend $1
14
about 3 weeks of training
A year of running outside
$14.98
saved, in electricity
Running outside does not get you to zero
A year outdoors saves the $14.98 of motor electricity — the 84% of this bill that running is actually responsible for. The other 16% does not go anywhere. The console goes on costing $2.80 a year whether you run on it or not, so the treadmill you abandoned in January is still quietly on your December bill. If you are going to stop using it, unplug it too.
The home gym's real energy cost is the room
Every watt the treadmill draws ends up as heat in the room, and so does most of what you are burning on it. In winter that heat is not wasted; in summer your air conditioner has to carry it back outside, and an hour of central air conditioning costs several times an hour of treadmill. A ceiling fan over the treadmill is the cheaper way to feel cooler while you run. If you want to know what is really on your bill, the treadmill is not on the list — see the most efficient appliances breakdown, which ranks everything in the house by what it actually costs to run.
What the console costs while you are not running
A microwave's clock is a rounding error because the microwave is only idle between meals. A treadmill is idle almost always: 180 minutes of running a week against 9,900 minutes of sitting there. That inverts the usual advice about standby power, and it is the one thing on this page worth acting on.
| Console standby | Typical of | Cost a year | Share of the total | Break-evenrun less than this and the console wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 W | Unplugged, or a hard power switch that really cuts it | $0.00 | 0% | — |
| 1 W | A bare LED display | $1.40 | 9% | 17 min/week |
| 2 W | Assumed default — a lit console | $2.80 | 16% | 34 min/week |
| 5 W | A backlit touchscreen console | $7.01 | 32% | 84 min/week |
Share and break-even assume a 600 W treadmill run 45 minutes, 4 times a week. Treadmill standby is not covered by any federal standard and manufacturers do not publish it — these are plausible values for a console, not measurements. Measure yours with a plug-in meter, or read our guide to appliances that drain power when off.
Run less than 34 minutes a week and the console costs more than the running
At 2 W the console burns 1.5 kWh a month doing nothing, against 7.8 kWh for 180 minutes a week of actual exercise. Most standby advice is not worth the walk across the room; this one is a power strip and $2.80 a year. It is also the reason a treadmill you have stopped using is still, quietly, on your bill.
Related Guides
Most Efficient Appliances
What actually costs money to run — the treadmill is nowhere near the top
How to Save on Energy Bills
Practical tips by room with savings
Cost to Run a Ceiling Fan
The cheap way to cool a home gym
Cost to Run Central AC
What it costs to take the heat back out of the room
Compare Appliance Costs
Put the treadmill next to the water heater
Electricity Rates by State
Find your state's average rate
Frequently Asked Questions
How much electricity does a treadmill use?
A home treadmill draws 300 to 900 watts while it is running — walking at the bottom of that band, running hard at the top — with 600 W a fair middle for a jogging pace. Run 45 minutes, 4 times a week, that is 7.8 kWh a month of running, or $1.25 at the US average rate of $0.16/kWh. A single 45-minute session costs 7.2¢. The number that surprises people is not the running: leaving the console plugged in adds 1.5 kWh a month, about 16% of the total.
Is it cheaper to run outside?
Yes, by 7.2¢ a session. That is the entire electricity saving from running outdoors instead of on a treadmill: a 45-minute run at 600 W uses 0.45 kWh, and a full year of 4 sessions a week comes to $14.98. You would have to run 14 sessions before the treadmill had cost you a single dollar. Outdoors is free, and it is also weather, daylight and traffic — electricity is not the reason to choose either one. And running outside does not take the bill to zero: the console keeps drawing $2.80 a year whether you use the machine or not, unless you unplug it.
How much does a treadmill cost per month?
About $1.48 a month — $17.78 a year — for a 600 W treadmill used 45 minutes, 4 times a week, at $0.16/kWh with a 2 W console left on. That is 9.3 kWh, of which 7.8 kWh is running and 1.5 kWh is the console. At the lowest state rate it is $0.94; in Hawaii, the priciest state, $3.59.
Does a 3.0 horsepower treadmill use 3.0 horsepower?
Not while you are on it. Horsepower is the motor's rated output at the shaft, and 3 HP of output is 2,237 W — which, at an assumed 80% motor and controller efficiency, would need about 2,796 W coming in. A 120 V, 15 A household circuit can only supply 1,800 W at all, and just 1,440 W continuously. So a home treadmill never approaches its nameplate for long; the rating describes the motor's headroom for a heavy runner and a hard start, not the load on your meter. What is on your meter is the 300–900 W it actually pulls.
How much does it cost to run a treadmill for an hour?
About 9.6¢ at 600 W and the US average rate of $0.16/kWh — 4.8¢ if you are walking at 300 W, 14.4¢ if you are running hard at 900 W. Measured in the runner's own unit it is steadier still: between 1.6¢ and 1.8¢ a mile across that whole range, because a faster belt draws more power and covers the mile in proportionally less time.
Should I unplug my treadmill when I am not using it?
It is one of the few appliances where the answer is genuinely yes. A treadmill runs for perhaps 180 minutes a week and idles for the other 9,900, so even a 2 W console accounts for roughly 16% of what the machine costs — $2.80 a year. Run it fewer than 34 minutes a week and the console costs more than the running does. Treadmill standby is not federally capped and manufacturers do not publish it, so 2 W is an assumption here; a plug-in meter will tell you what yours actually draws.