A dishwasher costs roughly 26p a load on an efficient eco cycle at the standard UK electricity rate of about 26p a unit, which works out at around 60 to 70 pounds a year for a household running it five times a week. Almost all of that cost is electricity spent heating the water, not the motor turning the spray arms, so the setting you choose matters far more than the size of the machine. This short guide gives the real per-load and yearly figures and the handful of habits that keep them down.
The short answer. A modern dishwasher uses about 1 kWh of electricity on an eco cycle, so at roughly 26p per kWh a load costs about 26p. Run it five times a week and that is around 68 pounds a year. Hotter and faster programmes use more, often 1.4 to 1.8 kWh, costing 37p to 47p a load. The eco setting is the cheapest despite running longer, because it heats the water more gently.
Why nearly all the cost is heat
A dishwasher does two things that draw power: it spins a pump to fling water at the dishes, and it heats that water with an element. The pump is cheap to run; the heater is where the money goes. Warming a tankful of water from cold to 50 or 60 degrees takes real energy, which is why the choice of programme, and the temperature it heats to, sets the bill far more than anything else. It is the same reason a washing machine costs what it does: the wash motor is trivial, the heat is not. Understanding that one point tells you where every saving on a dishwasher comes from.
What a load costs, and what a year costs
The sum is the one the running cost calculator does for any appliance: the energy a cycle uses multiplied by your price per unit. The energy per load depends almost entirely on the programme, so the table sets out the common ones at the standard price-cap rate of about 26p per kWh, current in mid 2026. The yearly figures assume five loads a week.
| Programme | Energy per load | Cost per load | Year at 5 loads/week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eco | ~1.0 kWh | ~26p | ~£68 |
| Standard / auto | ~1.4 kWh | ~37p | ~£95 |
| Intensive / quick-hot | ~1.8 kWh | ~47p | ~£122 |
At an example 26.11p per kWh, the Ofgem price cap for July to September 2026. Energy per load varies with the machine, the water temperature and how full it is. The eco programme is the cheapest even though it takes longer, because it heats the water less hard.
The counter-intuitive line is the one people trip over: the eco cycle is the cheapest to run despite being the longest. It uses less energy because it heats the water to a lower temperature and soaks the dishes for longer instead of blasting them hot and fast. The clock time is longer, but the meter turns more slowly, and the total is smaller. If you want the exact figure for your own machine, read the energy per cycle off its energy label or measure it with a plug-in energy monitor.
How to run a dishwasher for less
A few habits keep the cost down without any spend. Run the eco programme as your default, since it is the cheapest despite the longer time. Only ever run it full, because a half load uses almost as much energy as a full one, so part loads waste money. Skip the pre-rinse under the tap, which wastes hot water the machine would have handled anyway, and just scrape plates instead. Use the machine at all rather than washing by hand: a modern dishwasher on eco uses less hot water than washing the same load under a running tap, which the dishwasher versus hand washing guide sets out in full. For more on getting the best from the machine itself, see dishwasher efficiency.
The bottom line
A dishwasher is a modest line on the bill: about 26p a load on eco, or roughly 68 pounds a year at five loads a week, almost all of it the cost of heating the water. Default to the eco programme, run only full loads, and skip the pre-rinse, and you keep it at the cheap end. For where the real money hides across the house, the what uses the most electricity in your home guide ranks every appliance.