HomelabWatts: what does your homelab cost to run?

Know exactly what your homelab costs to run.

A homelab's electricity cost is simply its average power draw multiplied by how long it runs and your price per kilowatt-hour. A 50 W always-on mini-PC at the US average of $0.17/kWh costs about $74.46/year; a used 2U enterprise server idling at 110 W costs roughly $163.81/year. Enter your own numbers below, or look up a device in our wattage database to estimate before you buy.

Source: HomelabWatts wattage database. Data as of 2026-06-13.

Popular devices

Estimated cost assumes 24/7 operation at the US average price of $0.17/kWh.

Intel N100 mini-PC

7-22 W (Mini-PC)

~$17.87/yr

Synology DS923+ (4-bay NAS)

10-35 W (NAS)

~$26.81/yr

Dell PowerEdge R720 (2U server)

110-250 W (Rack server)

~$226.36/yr

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)

4-12 W (Single-board computer)

~$8.94/yr

NVIDIA RTX 3060 (12GB)

15-170 W (GPU)

~$92.33/yr

Ubiquiti Dream Machine Pro

22-33 W (Router / gateway)

~$37.23/yr

Explore

Cost calculator

Watts × hours × kWh price → monthly & annual cost and CO₂.

Wattage database

Idle and load watts for 26 common homelab devices.

Compare devices

Side-by-side annual running cost across categories.

Electricity prices

Regional kWh presets for the US, EU, UK and more.

Guides

Answers to common r/homelab power and cost questions.

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What a 2-bay, 4-bay or DIY NAS actually costs in electricity per year at US, UK and German prices — and how to cut the bill without turning it off.

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Seven practical, measured ways r/homelab users cut their electricity bill — from consolidation and C-states to drive spin-down — with real annual savings.

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What this site is

HomelabWatts is an independent reference for homelab power & energy cost. Every figure is an estimate clearly labelled as typical or measured, and every data page shows its source and date. See our methodology for how the wattage database is curated and how we source electricity prices.

Last updated: 2026-06-13