How Much Does a PS5 Cost to Run? (UK Electricity Guide)

If rising electricity costs have you thinking about ways to reduce your energy bill, you might be wondering how much your games console costs to run.

After all, gaming sessions can last for hours at a time, and modern consoles are incredibly powerful machines.

The good news is that a PlayStation actually uses far less electricity than most household appliances.

Even the latest consoles typically cost just a few pence per hour to run.

Let’s break down how much electricity the PS5, PS5 Pro and PS4 use, and what that means for your energy bill.

How Much Does a PS5 Cost to Run?

Using the UK electricity price cap of around 25p per kWh, here’s roughly what different PlayStation consoles cost when gaming.

These estimates assume 3 hours of gaming per day, which is fairly typical for many players.

Even the most powerful console — the PS5 Pro — costs only around £1.26 per week if you play for a few hours each day.

Compared with many everyday appliances around the home, that’s still relatively cheap.

If you’re comparing consoles, you might also want to see 👉 how much electricity an Xbox uses.

How Much Electricity Does a PS5 Use Per Hour?

PlayStation electricity usage varies depending on what you’re doing.

Playing modern games uses the most power, while streaming video or sitting on the home screen uses less.

Typical gaming power usage looks like this:

• PS5 Pro: around 230–240 watts
• PS5 (Slim/Base): around 200 watts
• PS4 Pro: around 170 watts
• PS4: around 120 watts

Based on UK electricity prices of around 25p per kWh, that works out at roughly:

• PS5 Pro: about 6p per hour
• PS5: about 5p per hour
• PS4 Pro: about 4p per hour
• PS4: about 3p per hour

Even fairly long gaming sessions still add up to relatively small electricity costs.

PlayStation Power Consumption (Watts)

Here are the typical PlayStation power consumption levels while gaming.

The PS5 Slim, which is the current version sold in most shops, uses roughly the same electricity as the original PS5.

Overall, PlayStation electricity usage is relatively low compared with many appliances around the home.

Rest Mode vs Turning Your PlayStation Off

Like most modern consoles, PlayStations can continue to use electricity even when you’re not playing.

Rest Mode

Rest Mode allows your console to download updates, charge controllers and quickly resume games.

Power usage: around 1–3 watts

Fully Off

Turning the console fully off uses almost no electricity.

Over the course of a year, Rest Mode usually costs around £1–£2 in electricity, so the difference isn’t huge.

Tips to Reduce Your PlayStation Electricity Usage

Although PlayStations are fairly efficient, there are still a few easy ways to reduce electricity use.

Enable Power Saving Settings

PlayStations include built-in power saving features that automatically put the console into rest mode after inactivity.

This prevents the console sitting idle for long periods.

Avoid Using Your PlayStation for Streaming

Many people watch Netflix or YouTube through their console.

However, streaming through a console uses far more electricity than using a TV app.

For example:

• PS5 streaming video: around 50–70 watts
• Smart TV or streaming stick: around 2–5 watts

Using your TV’s built-in apps can therefore use up to ten times less electricity.

Turn the Console Off When You’re Finished

Leaving a console sitting idle on the menu screen still uses electricity.

Turning it off when you finish gaming helps keep energy usage down.

So, Is a PlayStation Expensive to Run?

Not really.

Even if you play every day, a PlayStation will usually cost between £30 and £65 per year in electricity depending on the model.

That’s far less than appliances like kettles, ovens or tumble dryers.

While gaming consoles might feel like luxury items, the actual running cost is surprisingly low.

If you’re trying to cut your electricity bill further, you might also want to look at these 👉 best energy saving devices to help reduce household energy usage.

Or find out how much a PlayStation costs to run compared to the running costs of an Xbox.

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