Gas vs Electric Stove: The Full Cost Guide

The short version

Gas wins by $0.12 an hour at the defaults — $0.135 an hour against $0.255 for electric — which is $43.80 a year at 1 hour of cooking a day. But the gas stove costs $800 against $700 for electric, so the $100 premium takes 2.28 years to repay, and electric wins year 1 by $56.20. Cook 2 hours a day and the saving doubles to $87.60 a year, with a 1.14-year payback. Cook half an hour a day and it halves to $21.90 a year, with a 4.57-year payback. At $2.50 a therm, gas saves only $10.95 a year. And there is one flip: gas at $2.00 a therm with electricity at $0.10 a kWh makes electric win outright — by $0.03 an hour, $10.95 a year, and year 1 by $110.95.

The math in plain words

Gas and electricity are sold in different units, so the first step is putting them on the same footing: dollars per hour of cooking. A therm of gas is 100,000 BTU, so a 9,000 BTU burner burns 0.09 therms an hour — $0.135 an hour at $1.50 a therm. A 1,500 W electric burner draws 1.5 kW, so at $0.17 a kWh it costs $0.255 an hour. The difference is $0.12 an hour in gas’s favour. At 1 hour a day — 365 hours a year — gas is $49.28 a year against $93.08 for electric. Add the stoves: year 1 is $849.28 for gas against $793.08 for electric, so electric wins year 1 by $56.20. The payback is $100.00 divided by $43.80, which is 2.28 years.

The default case, line by line

A 9,000 BTU gas burner at $1.50 a therm and a 1,500 W electric burner at $0.17 a kWh, cooking 1 hour a day. The gas burner burns 9,000 divided by 100,000, which is 0.09 therms an hour, and 0.09 times $1.50 is $0.135 an hour. The electric burner draws 1.5 kW, and 1.5 times $0.17 is $0.255 an hour. The saving is $0.12 an hour. Over 365 hours a year, gas is $49.28 and electric is $93.08 — a saving of $43.80. Year 1 adds the stoves: gas $849.28 against electric $793.08, so electric wins year 1 by $56.20. The payback is $100.00 divided by $43.80, which is 2.28 years. Brand, burner count, and oven do not matter — only burner size, fuel prices, and cooking hours enter the bill.

Every branch, checked

Cook 2 hours a day and everything doubles: 730 hours a year, so the saving is $87.60 a year — gas $98.55 against electric $186.15 — and the payback halves to 1.14 years. Cook half an hour a day and everything halves: 182.5 hours a year, so the saving is $21.90 a year — gas $24.64 against electric $46.54 — and the payback stretches to 4.57 years. Raise gas to $2.50 a therm and the burner costs $0.225 an hour against $0.255 for electric: the saving shrinks to $10.95 a year, the payback stretches to 9.13 years, and year 1 is $882.13 against $793.08 — electric wins by $89.05. Lower gas to $1.00 a therm and the burner costs $0.09 an hour: the saving grows to $60.23 a year and the payback shrinks to 1.66 years.

The honest flip: cheap electricity and dear gas

There is one realistic case where electric wins outright, and it needs both prices to move: gas at $2.00 a therm and electricity at $0.10 a kWh — the kind of prices found where gas is dear and power comes cheap. Gas then costs $0.18 an hour, while electric costs $0.15 an hour. Electric wins by $0.03 an hour, which is $10.95 a year at 1 hour a day. Year 1 is gas $865.70 against electric $754.75 — electric wins by $110.95. The flip needs both halves: dear gas alone leaves gas ahead by $0.03 an hour, and cheap electricity alone leaves gas ahead too. Check your own bills before deciding: read both prices off the two bills, and let your prices answer instead of the national average.

Induction: the third option

An induction burner heats the pan directly with a magnetic field instead of heating a coil or burning gas, so far less heat escapes into the kitchen — roughly 90% of its energy reaches the food, against roughly 40% for gas. It also heats faster, so a pot reaches a boil in less time and the burner runs for fewer minutes per meal. That does not automatically make induction cheaper to run: it still buys electricity at your local price, and usually costs more to buy. What induction changes is the cooking, not the arithmetic — the same cost-per-hour math applies, with a smaller burner size and a shorter cooking time.

Three common mistakes

Mistake one: comparing the fuel bill and forgetting the stove. Gas saves $43.80 a year at the defaults, but the gas stove costs $100 more, so the first year belongs to electric by $56.20 — always add the purchase price before declaring a winner. Mistake two: using national average prices for a local decision. Averages hide the $0.10 power regions where electric wins and the $2.50 gas regions where it nearly does; your bill, not the national bill, is the one you pay. Mistake three: buying a gas stove to save money when you barely cook. At half an hour a day the saving is only $21.90 a year — pick the stove you like cooking on instead.

The bottom line

At 1 hour a day and average prices, gas costs $49.28 a year and electric costs $93.08 — gas saves $43.80 a year, but electric wins year 1 by $56.20 because the stove costs $100 less, and gas only pulls ahead after 2.28 years. Heavy cooking doubles the saving and halves the payback; light cooking halves the saving and doubles it. Dear gas or cheap electricity narrows the gap, and the two together flip it: at $2.00 a therm and $0.10 a kWh, electric wins by $0.03 an hour and year 1 by $110.95. Run your own prices through the gas vs electric stove calculator and choose the stove you will enjoy cooking on.