X VS Y COMPARISON #93 · HOME · ENERGY
At the defaults — 14 cooked meals a week, gas at $1.60 per therm, electricity at $0.17 per kWh — a gas stove costs $49.68 a year to run, an electric coil stove $83.62, and induction $73.67. Gas wins on energy alone at typical US prices, because even a wasteful burner is fed by cheap fuel. But the ranking flips fast: cheap electricity or expensive gas both hand the win to induction. Enter your own prices and see where your kitchen lands.
Useful cooking heat is assumed at 0.50 kWh per cooked meal. Input energy is useful heat divided by burner efficiency: gas 40%, electric coil 74%, induction 84% (US Department of Energy efficiency figures). Gas is converted at 1 therm = 29.307 kWh, then multiplied by your gas price; electric stoves multiply input kWh by your electricity price.
At typical US prices, gas is the cheapest stove to run on energy alone: $49.68 a year against $83.62 for electric coil and $73.67 for induction. That surprises people who know induction is the most efficient — and it is, at 84% against gas at 40%. But efficiency is not cost. Gas fuel is so cheap per unit of heat that even wasting 60% of it still beats electricity at $0.17 per kWh. The honest verdict is therefore two-part: gas wins the energy bill at average prices, while induction wins on speed, control, and efficiency — and it wins the energy bill too as soon as your prices move off average, in either direction shown below.
Setup: 14 meals a week, gas at $1.60 per therm, electricity at $0.17 per kWh, induction premium $300.
Line 1 — useful heat. 14 × 52 × 0.50 kWh per meal = 364 kWh of heat that actually reaches the food each year.
Line 2 — gas input. 364 ÷ 0.40 = 910 kWh of gas energy = 910 ÷ 29.307 = 31.05 therms, costing 31.05 × $1.60 = $49.68.
Line 3 — electric coil input. 364 ÷ 0.74 = 491.89 kWh, costing 491.89 × $0.17 = $83.62.
Line 4 — induction input. 364 ÷ 0.84 = 433.33 kWh, costing 433.33 × $0.17 = $73.67.
Line 5 — the gaps. Gas beats induction by $73.67 − $49.68 = $23.99 a year, and beats coil by $33.94 a year. Induction beats coil by $83.62 − $73.67 = $9.95 a year.
Drop the power price to $0.10 and induction falls to $43.33, coil to $49.19, while gas stays at $49.68. Induction is now cheapest, saving $6.35 a year against gas. This is the Pacific Northwest and hydro-power story: where electricity is cheap, the efficient stove finally wins the bill too.
Raise gas to $2.50 and gas jumps to $77.63, while coil stays at $83.62 and induction at $73.67. Induction is cheapest again, saving $3.96 a year against gas. Expensive gas punishes the 40% burner hardest, because every wasted unit of heat is bought at the high price.
Double the cooking to 28 meals a week and everything doubles: gas $99.36, coil $167.24, induction $147.33 — same ranking, bigger stakes. For payback, compare induction against coil, not gas: the $9.95 yearly saving repays a $300 premium in 300 ÷ 9.95 ≈ 30.1 years (unrounded). Against gas at the defaults there is no payback at all, because induction costs $23.99 a year more to run. Buy induction for speed and control, not to save money against gas.
Induction boils water roughly twice as fast as a gas burner and holds a simmer steadier than either rival, because its heat responds the moment you turn the dial and stops the moment you lift the pan. Gas keeps one advantage no electric stove can match: it works during a power outage, and many cooks prefer a visible flame for wok work. On air quality, gas burners release nitrogen dioxide and other combustion byproducts into the kitchen, which is why a range hood that vents outside matters far more with gas than with electric cooking.
| Output | Formula | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Useful cooking heat | meals × 52 × 0.50 kWh | 364 kWh a year at the defaults — the heat the food actually receives. |
| Gas annual cost | (useful ÷ 0.40 ÷ 29.307) × gas price | $49.68 at the defaults — 31.05 therms at $1.60. |
| Electric coil annual cost | (useful ÷ 0.74) × power price | $83.62 at the defaults — 491.89 kWh at $0.17. |
| Induction annual cost | (useful ÷ 0.84) × power price | $73.67 at the defaults — 433.33 kWh at $0.17. |
| Induction payback vs coil | premium ÷ (coil cost − induction cost) | 30.1 years for a $300 premium at the defaults. |
Efficiencies are US Department of Energy figures for energy transferred from burner to food, rounded to gas 40%, coil 74%, induction 84%; real burners vary with pan size, burner size, and cooking style, and an oversized gas burner under a small pan wastes far more than 60%. The 0.50 kWh per meal is a planning assumption, not a measurement of your cooking: soups and braises use more, quick breakfasts less. Standing pilot lights on older gas stoves, oven use, and the cost of the gas line or a new circuit are excluded. Error policy: meals outside 1–70, non-positive prices, or a premium outside $0–$5,000 are reported as errors rather than modeled.
Bright Side Kit. "Electric vs Gas Stove: Annual Cooking Cost Calculator 2026." https://brightoolbox.com/electric-vs-gas-stove/ Accessed October 24, 2026.Data sourcesUsually yes, at average US prices. At the defaults, gas costs $49.68 a year against $83.62 for coil and $73.67 for induction. But the gap is small — about $24 a year against induction — and it reverses where electricity is cheap or gas is expensive.
Only when your prices say so. At $0.10 per kWh, induction costs $43.33 against gas at $49.68. At $2.50 per therm, induction costs $73.67 against gas at $77.63. At average prices, gas is still cheaper on energy alone.
Roughly $50 to $84 a year for typical home cooking. At 14 cooked meals a week, the three stove types span $49.68 (gas) to $83.62 (coil). Heavy cooks at 28 meals a week roughly double those figures, to $99.36–$167.24.
Induction, at about 84% burner-to-food efficiency. Electric coil manages about 74% and gas about 40%, per US Department of Energy figures. Efficiency and cost are different questions, because gas fuel is cheaper per unit of heat than electricity in most of the US.
Against a coil stove, very slowly. A $300 induction premium repays in about 30.1 years from the $9.95 yearly saving at the defaults. Against gas at average prices it never pays back on energy, because induction costs more to run. Buy it for speed and control.
Because the fuel is cheap. Gas at $1.60 per therm costs about $0.055 per kWh of heat, while electricity at $0.17 per kWh costs three times as much per unit. Even after gas wastes 60% of its heat, its delivered-heat cost stays lower — until either price moves.
Usually yes, if it has manual ignition or a standing pilot. Most gas burners can be lit with a match when the power is out, though the oven igniter on many modern ranges needs electricity. Electric and induction stoves do not work at all without power.
It adds combustion byproducts to kitchen air, including nitrogen dioxide. A range hood that vents outside, run during and after cooking, is the practical fix, and it matters far more with gas than with electric cooking. This page is general information, not health advice.