UK prices, checked 1 October 2026

What things actually cost, per wash, per cup, per mile.

Everything here is worked out from the same four line sum, priced at the current cap, with the arithmetic shown. No round numbers borrowed from somebody else's article, and no figure without the date it was last checked.

Six comparisons worth knowing

These are the rows where the gap is large enough to change what you would buy. Running cost is what it takes to use the thing. Cost per use adds what you paid for it, divided across a realistic lifetime.

Work out your own

Pick something, or choose the last option and enter your own numbers. Nothing is sent anywhere.

What are you working out

Purchase price (£) Zero if you already own it and only want the running cost.

Expected life (years)

Uses per year

Energy per use (kWh)

Unit price Prefilled from the current price cap. Put your own rate in.

Consumable per use (£) Pod, tablet, dose, cartridge.

Upkeep per year (£) Servicing, insurance, filters.

Cost per use 0p

Running only 0p

Per year £0

Over its life £0

Latest

• Fence care: cost per square metre per year1 October 2026What fence treatment really costs per square metre per year in the UK once coverage, coats and how often you redo it are counted, from one coat to premium paint.
• 2kW electric heater: cost per hour, per evening and per winter19 September 2026What a 2kW electric heater costs per hour, per evening and per winter: fan heater, oil filled radiator, convector and halogen, against gas central heating.
• Printer running cost: per page, per month and on standby19 September 2026What an office printer costs per month in the UK: the machine divided across its life, ink or toner at a stated volume, and the standby draw between jobs.
• Cost per wash: pressure washer or a hand car wash7 September 2026A pressure washer against a hand car wash at UK forecourt prices, per wash and at the number of washes it takes to pay for itself.
• Cost per kWh of heat: gas, electric, wood and heat pump31 August 2026The fuel price is not the cost of heat. Divide by how much of it a boiler, a heater, a stove and a heat pump actually turn into warmth in the room.

Start with a room

• Kitchen14 pricedThe room with the most plugs in it, and the one where the difference between an oven and an air fryer is a genuine number rather than a feeling.
• Laundry6 pricedWhere the biggest single running cost in most homes hides, because drying clothes with electricity is expensive and everyone does it anyway.
• Heating and damp9 pricedPer hour costs for heaters, heat pumps and dehumidifiers, and the reason every plug in electric heater costs exactly the same to run.
• Home office7 pricedCost per page, cost per hour, and the arithmetic that explains why a printer is cheaper than the ink inside it.
• Motoring4 pricedWhat a mile costs on August 2026 pump and charging prices, and why having a driveway changes the answer more than the car does.
• Garden and DIY5 pricedThe hire or buy question, worked out properly. Most shed tools are used a handful of times a year, and that changes everything.
• Furniture and sleep2 pricedThings with no running cost at all, used every single day, where the whole question is the purchase price divided by time.

Prices used on this page

• Electricity, 26.32p per kWh. Ofgem price cap, direct debit, average of England, Scotland and Wales, including 5% VAT.. Ofgem energy price cap unit rates and standing charges. Checked 1 October 2026.
• Mains gas, 7.97p per kWh. Ofgem price cap, direct debit, average of England, Scotland and Wales, including 5% VAT.. Ofgem energy price cap unit rates and standing charges. Checked 1 October 2026.
• Petrol, E10 unleaded, 174.88p per litre. UK average pump price, ultra low sulphur unleaded.. Weekly road fuel prices, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Checked 6 October 2026.