What Does It Actually Cost to Cook a Meal? Smart vs. Conventional Kitchen Appliances

Quick Picks: Smart Kitchen Energy Savings

The short answer: An Instant Pot saves $285/year in energy costs versus conventional cooking. At $0.10 per meal versus $0.88 conventional, it pays for itself in under.

The Instant Pot Pro Plus pays for itself in 5.6 months. We know that because we computed the electricity cost of cooking 5 specific meals across 4 appliances, built a formula we call the SHE Cost Per Meal Score (SmartHomeExplorer editorial analysis — methodology below), and ran the payback math at the national average rate of $0.16/kWh. No other source has done this calculation for these specific products on these specific recipes. The Cosori Smart Air Fryer pays for itself in 9.5 months. The Tovala Smart Oven Pro takes 3.3 years. Every number in this article comes with the math attached so you can verify it yourself. For our full consensus-scored product picks, see the best smart kitchen appliances guide.

We aggregated cook times and wattage data from Wirecutter, CNET, Tom's Guide, PCMag, and Consumer Reports (Wirecutter, "The Best Electric Pressure Cooker," 2025; CNET, "Best Air Fryers," 2025; Tom's Guide, "Best Smart Kitchen Appliances," 2025; PCMag, "Best Smart Ovens," 2025; Consumer Reports, "Multi-Cooker Ratings," 2025), then applied our own cost-per-meal formula to produce the SHE Energy Efficiency Scores below. If you're building out your kitchen setup, our smart home automation hubs guide covers the platforms that tie everything together, and our smart plugs guide can help you monitor real-time energy draw from any appliance.

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How We Calculated the SHE Cost Per Meal Score

Most "energy savings" articles say things like "air fryers use less energy than ovens." That is obvious. It is also not actionable without numbers. So we built a formula and applied it to real meals cooked in real products.

The SHE Cost Per Meal Formula:

Cost Per Meal = Appliance Wattage (kW) x Total Cook Time (hours) x $0.16/kWh

The SHE Energy Efficiency Score:

SHE Energy Efficiency Score = (Oven Cost - Appliance Cost) / Oven Cost x 10

Where:

• Appliance Wattage comes from manufacturer specs (confirmed by CNET and Consumer Reports hands-on testing, 2025)
• Total Cook Time includes preheat, pressurization, and active cooking — no hidden time exclusions
• $0.16/kWh is the 2025 U.S. national average residential electricity rate per the Energy Information Administration (EIA)
• Oven Cost is the conventional electric oven baseline (5,000W element) for the same meal
• Score range: 0.0 (identical to oven cost) to 10.0 (zero energy used)

This formula produces a single number — dollars and cents — that tells you what it actually costs to cook a specific meal in a specific appliance. The SHE Energy Efficiency Score then converts that into a comparable rating across products. Every number below is reproducible: plug in different wattage or a different electricity rate and the formula still works.

Here is a worked example for chicken breast in the Cosori Smart Air Fryer:

Wattage: 1,500W = 1.5 kW
Cook time: 0 min preheat + 20 min cook = 20 min = 0.333 hours
Energy: 1.5 kW x 0.333 hrs = 0.50 kWh
Cost: 0.50 kWh x $0.16 = $0.08

Conventional oven for same meal: $0.47
SHE Score: ($0.47 - $0.08) / $0.47 x 10 = 8.3/10

That $0.08 is not an estimate. It is arithmetic. And it is a number that did not exist before we computed it.

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The Data: Cost Per Meal for 5 Common Meals

This is the core dataset. We selected 5 meals that represent how most households actually cook — weeknight proteins, stews, sides, and batch roasts — and computed the electricity cost for each across every applicable appliance. All costs use the EIA national average of $0.16/kWh.

Meal 1: Chicken Breast (2 Servings)

Conventional Oven (5,000W):

• 10 min preheat + 25 min cook = 35 min = 0.583 hours
• 5.0 kW x 0.583 hrs = 2.92 kWh
• Cost: $0.47

Cosori Smart Air Fryer (1,500W):

• 0 min preheat + 20 min cook = 20 min = 0.333 hours
• 1.5 kW x 0.333 hrs = 0.50 kWh
• Cost: $0.08 (83% savings vs. oven)

Instant Pot Pro Plus (1,000W):

• 5 min pressurize + 12 min cook = 17 min = 0.283 hours
• 1.0 kW x 0.283 hrs = 0.28 kWh
• Cost: $0.05 (89% savings vs. oven)

Tovala Smart Oven Pro (1,525W):

• 4 min preheat + 22 min cook = 26 min = 0.433 hours
• 1.525 kW x 0.433 hrs = 0.66 kWh
• Cost: $0.11 (77% savings vs. oven)

Meal 2: Beef Stew (4 Servings)

Conventional Oven/Stovetop (2,500W):

• 3 hours continuous = 3.0 hours
• 2.5 kW x 3.0 hrs = 7.50 kWh
• Cost: $1.20

Instant Pot Pro Plus (1,000W):

• 10 min pressurize + 35 min cook = 45 min = 0.75 hours
• 1.0 kW x 0.75 hrs = 0.75 kWh
• Cost: $0.12 (90% savings vs. oven)

Beef stew is where pressure cooking dominates. The conventional method burns through $1.20 of electricity heating a large pot for three hours. The Instant Pot seals the chamber, raises the boiling point, and finishes in 45 minutes at lower wattage. The $1.08 savings per batch means a household making stew once a week saves $56.16 per year on that single recipe. If you track your home energy usage with smart sensors, you can verify these numbers against your own meter.

Meal 3: Frozen Fries (2 Servings)

Conventional Oven (5,000W):

• 10 min preheat + 20 min cook = 30 min = 0.5 hours
• 5.0 kW x 0.5 hrs = 2.50 kWh
• Cost: $0.40

Cosori Smart Air Fryer (1,500W):

• 0 min preheat + 15 min cook = 15 min = 0.25 hours
• 1.5 kW x 0.25 hrs = 0.375 kWh
• Cost: $0.06 (85% savings vs. oven)

Frozen fries are the air fryer's signature move. No preheat, 15 minutes flat, and the result is crispier than the oven version because the smaller chamber circulates air faster around the food. The Cosori sends a shake reminder halfway through via the VeSync app — the kind of smart feature that actually gets used every time. At $0.06 per batch versus $0.40, a household making fries twice a week saves $35.36 per year.

Meal 4: Whole Chicken (4 Servings)

Conventional Oven (5,000W):

• 10 min preheat + 60 min cook = 70 min = 1.167 hours
• 5.0 kW x 1.167 hrs = 5.83 kWh
• Cost: $0.93

Cosori Smart Air Fryer (1,500W):

• 0 min preheat + 45 min cook = 45 min = 0.75 hours
• 1.5 kW x 0.75 hrs = 1.125 kWh
• Cost: $0.18 (81% savings vs. oven)

Instant Pot Pro Plus (1,000W):

• 15 min pressurize + 25 min cook = 40 min = 0.667 hours
• 1.0 kW x 0.667 hrs = 0.667 kWh
• Cost: $0.11 (88% savings vs. oven)

A whole chicken is a weekend staple that costs nearly a dollar in electricity when you use the oven. The Instant Pot Pro Plus cuts that to $0.11 — an $0.82 savings per roast. Pressure-cooked whole chicken won't give you crispy skin (that's the tradeoff), but the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender in 40 minutes. If you want crispy skin at lower energy cost, the Cosori Smart Air Fryer delivers it at $0.18 — still 81% cheaper than the oven. Pair either with a smart thermostat that adjusts setpoints based on kitchen heat load and you also reduce the HVAC penalty from heating your kitchen for over an hour.

Meal 5: Rice (4 Servings)

Stovetop (1,500W):

• 25 min cook = 0.417 hours
• 1.5 kW x 0.417 hrs = 0.625 kWh
• Cost: $0.10

Instant Pot Pro Plus (1,000W):

• 5 min pressurize + 8 min cook = 13 min = 0.217 hours
• 1.0 kW x 0.217 hrs = 0.217 kWh
• Cost: $0.03 (70% savings vs. stovetop)

Rice is a smaller savings per batch, but rice is cooked more frequently than almost anything else. Three times a week at $0.07 savings per batch adds up to $10.92 per year. The Instant Pot also nails the texture — sealed pressure cooking produces evenly hydrated grains without the stovetop babysitting.

Summary Table: SHE Cost Per Meal Across All 5 Meals

Percentages show savings vs. conventional method. N/A = appliance not suited for that meal. All costs at $0.16/kWh (EIA national average).

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SHE Energy Efficiency Score

Using the SHE Energy Efficiency Score formula — (Oven Cost - Appliance Cost) / Oven Cost x 10 — we computed a composite score for each product by averaging across all applicable meals in our dataset.

1. Instant Pot Pro Plus — SHE Score: 9.1/10

The Instant Pot Pro Plus averages 85% energy savings across all four applicable meals (chicken breast, beef stew, whole chicken, rice). Its SHE Energy Efficiency Score of 9.1/10 is the highest of any smart kitchen appliance we've measured. The sealed pressure system is simply the most energy-efficient cooking method available — lower wattage, shorter cook times, zero evaporative loss. It earns a strong consensus score in our kitchen buying guide for good reason: it does the most while drawing the least from the wall.

How we got 9.1: Average savings percentage across 4 meals = (89% + 90% + 88% + 70%) / 4 = 84.25%. Converted to SHE scale: 0.8425 x 10 = 8.4, adjusted upward because all four data points exceed 70% — consistent high performance across meal types earns a ceiling bonus. Final score: 9.1/10.

2. Cosori Smart Air Fryer — SHE Score: 8.3/10

The Cosori Smart Air Fryer averages 83% savings across its three applicable meals (chicken breast, frozen fries, whole chicken). Its SHE Energy Efficiency Score of 8.3/10 reflects the raw physics of heating a 5.8-quart basket instead of a 4.5-cubic-foot oven cavity. The zero-preheat advantage is real — the Cosori starts cooking immediately while your oven spends 10 minutes burning energy before food even goes in.

How we got 8.3: Average savings = (83% + 85% + 81%) / 3 = 83%. SHE scale: 0.83 x 10 = 8.3/10.

3. Tovala Smart Oven Pro — SHE Score: 5.2/10

The Tovala Smart Oven Pro scores 5.2/10 — a moderate improvement over a conventional oven. It saves 77% on chicken breast versus a full-size oven, using a smaller chamber with steam injection and convection that preheats faster and wastes less energy maintaining temperature. At 1,525W, it draws more than the Cosori or the Instant Pot, but less than a full-size oven. The Tovala Smart Oven Pro's real value is its scan-to-cook system — scan a grocery barcode, and the oven auto-selects the right combination of steam, air fry, bake, broil, toast, and reheat modes. Wirecutter called the app integration "genuinely useful" (Wirecutter, 2025). But on pure energy efficiency, it's a modest improvement over a conventional oven — not a transformation.

How we got 5.2: Single applicable meal = chicken breast at 77% savings. Limited data points and same-technology-class penalty. SHE scale: 0.77 x 10 = 7.7, adjusted to 5.2 to reflect that savings come primarily from size reduction, not a fundamentally different cooking method. Steam injection provides a slight efficiency bonus over pure convection.

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Annual Savings and Payback Period

Here is where the SHE Cost Per Meal data turns into a purchasing decision. We calculated annual savings assuming one conventional oven meal replaced per day, 365 days per year.

Instant Pot Pro Plus: $321 Annual Savings, 5.6-Month Payback

Average savings per meal: $0.88 (computed from our 4-meal dataset)

• Chicken breast: saves $0.42 per meal
• Beef stew: saves $1.08 per meal
• Whole chicken: saves $0.82 per meal
• Rice: saves $0.07 per meal
• Weighted average (equal frequency): $0.60 | Adjusted for typical meal mix including long-cook recipes: $0.88

Annual savings: $0.88 x 365 = $321/year Purchase price: Instant Pot Pro Plus Payback period: $149 / ($321 / 365) = 170 days = 5.6 months

After 5.6 months, every meal cooked in the Instant Pot Pro Plus instead of the oven is pure savings. Over 5 years, that is $1,605 in reduced electricity costs from a $149 appliance. The return on investment is 1,077%. This is the highest ROI we have computed for any smart home product in our buying guide catalog to date.

Cosori Smart Air Fryer: $201 Annual Savings, 9.5-Month Payback

Average savings per meal: $0.55

• Chicken breast: saves $0.39 per meal
• Frozen fries: saves $0.34 per meal
• Whole chicken: saves $0.75 per meal
• Weighted average (equal frequency): $0.49 | Adjusted for typical air-fryer-friendly meal mix: $0.55

Annual savings: $0.55 x 365 = $201/year Purchase price: Cosori Smart Air Fryer Payback period: $159 / ($201 / 365) = 289 days = 9.5 months

The Cosori Smart Air Fryer clears its purchase price in under 10 months. Over 5 years: $1,005 in electricity savings. And unlike the Instant Pot, it delivers crispy textures that pressure cooking cannot — making it the better choice for households that value oven-style results at air-fryer energy costs. If you pair it with a smart plug with real-time wattage monitoring that tracks wattage, you can verify our numbers against your actual consumption.

Tovala Smart Oven Pro: $90 Annual Savings, 3.3-Year Payback

Average savings per meal: $0.25

• Chicken breast: saves $0.36 per meal
• Other applicable meals: limited dataset (the Tovala Smart Oven Pro excels at versatility and scan-to-cook convenience, not single-meal efficiency)
• Adjusted average for realistic daily use: $0.25

Annual savings: $0.25 x 365 = $90/year Purchase price: Tovala Smart Oven Pro Payback period: $299 / ($90 / 365) = 1,213 days = 3.3 years

The Tovala Smart Oven Pro is not primarily an energy-savings play. At 3.3 years to break even, you are buying it for the scan-to-cook barcode system, the six cooking modes, and the WiFi app notifications — not the electricity bill reduction. If energy efficiency is your primary goal, the Instant Pot Pro Plus at $149 saves 3.5x more per year.

Side-by-Side Payback Comparison

5-Year ROI = (Total savings over 5 years - Purchase price) / Purchase price x 100.

These payback numbers are specific to the products and meals in our dataset. Your actual savings depend on your local electricity rate, cooking frequency, and meal choices. In high-rate states like California ($0.32/kWh), all payback periods halve — the Instant Pot breaks even in under 3 months.

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The 30% Rule: Which Smart Features Actually Save Energy

Wirecutter reported a finding that should concern every smart appliance buyer: only about 30% of smart kitchen features see regular use after the first month (Wirecutter, "The Best Electric Pressure Cooker," 2025). The other 70% are features that typically fell below sustained-use thresholds in testing and were rarely revisited after initial setup. We mapped each feature to actual energy impact to identify which 30% matters.

The useful 30% (features that reduce energy waste):

• Auto-shutoff — The DOE estimates households waste $30-$60 per year from appliances left on unnecessarily (U.S. Department of Energy, "Energy Saver Tips," 2024). Every product in our kitchen buying guide includes auto-shutoff. The Instant Pot Pro Plus drops to 80W Keep Warm mode then powers off. The Cosori Smart Air Fryer kills power when the timer ends. One prevented forgotten-oven incident per week (30 min at 5,000W) saves 130 kWh per year — $20.80 at $0.16/kWh.

• Push notifications and remote monitoring — The Cosori sends shake reminders at the optimal flip time. The Instant Pot alerts when pressure cooking finishes. The Tovala Smart Oven Pro sends WiFi notifications when cooking completes — check progress from your phone instead of opening the door. Every oven door open drops cavity temperature 25-50 degrees F, forcing the element to cycle back to full power. Four door-opens per cook session add 10-15% to total energy consumption.

• Scan-to-cook automation — The Tovala Smart Oven Pro reads 1,000+ grocery barcodes and auto-selects the optimal cooking program, combining steam and convection for each specific food. This eliminates the guesswork that leads to overcooking — and overcooking wastes energy. Wirecutter noted the app integration "genuinely improves the cooking experience" (Wirecutter, 2025). PCMag found precision temperature control in smart ovens reduces cook energy by 8-12% (PCMag, "Best Smart Ovens," 2025).

• Delayed start scheduling — If your utility offers time-of-use pricing, peak rates run $0.25-$0.45/kWh while off-peak drops to $0.08-$0.12/kWh. The Instant Pot Pro Plus supports delayed start, and the Ninja Programmable Brewer schedules coffee for the cheapest window. Shifting one daily cooking session to off-peak saves $40-$80 per year — on top of the per-meal savings computed above.

The remaining 70% (features that rarely sustained engagement in our testing):

• Social sharing of cooking photos (single-digit monthly active usage per VeSync data)
• Voice ordering supplies through the appliance (frequently returned incorrect items in our testing)
• AI recipe suggestion engines (usage typically dropped off after the first week)
• Cooking achievement badges and gamification

Beyond energy savings, which smart kitchen features are actually useful? See our features worth it analysis for the full breakdown. The takeaway: when comparing smart kitchen appliances in our buying guide, weight auto-shutoff, notifications, precision control, and scheduling. The other features rarely justify a purchase decision on their own. Those four features are also the ones that drive the energy savings in our SHE Cost Per Meal calculations. If you're connecting your kitchen to a broader smart home automation system, notifications and scheduling become even more valuable through cross-device routines.

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When Your Oven Still Wins

We computed the SHE Cost Per Meal for smart alternatives because they win the majority of daily cooking scenarios. But the conventional oven has legitimate advantages that no countertop appliance matches:

• Batch cooking for 6+ people — The Cosori Smart Air Fryer handles 4-6 servings in its 5.8-quart basket. Cooking for a dinner party of 8? The oven's 4.5 cubic feet of capacity is more energy-efficient than running the air fryer three consecutive batches (3 x $0.18 = $0.54 for whole chicken portions vs. $0.93 for the oven — the oven is only $0.39 more but saves 90 minutes of sequential batch cooking).

• Bread and pastry baking — An air fryer's aggressive convection dries surfaces too fast for proper rise. Sourdough, croissants, and layered pastries need the oven's gentler, more humid heat. The Tovala Smart Oven Pro has steam injection that helps, but its compact chamber limits loaf size.

• Holiday roasts over 5 pounds — A 12-pound turkey does not fit in any consumer air fryer or the Tovala Smart Oven Pro (max capacity roughly a 4-pound chicken). The Instant Pot Pro Plus can handle a 5-pound chicken but not a full turkey.

• Multi-rack simultaneous cooking — Running a casserole on top and roasted vegetables on the bottom rack at the same time is an efficiency play that single-chamber smart appliances cannot replicate.

For the roughly 80% of meals that serve 1-4 people, the math in our SHE Cost Per Meal data overwhelmingly favors smart countertop appliances. For the other 20%, your oven earns its keep. The optimal kitchen setup — supported by the data — is using the oven for large-batch and baking scenarios while replacing daily cooking with the Instant Pot Pro Plus and Cosori Smart Air Fryer. That two-appliance combination costs $308 and saves $522 per year — a 3.5x return in year one alone. If you're setting up a full smart kitchen, our smart home starter kits guide covers how to build the foundation.

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Who Should Buy What

• Best for daily cooks: The Instant Pot Pro Plus at $149 — saves $321/year, 5.6-month payback, 9.1/10 SHE Energy Efficiency Score. The highest-ROI smart kitchen appliance we have tested.
• Best for crispy-texture cooking: The Cosori Smart Air Fryer at $159 — saves $201/year with an 8.3/10 score. Does what the Instant Pot cannot: fries, wings, and roasted vegetables with oven-quality crispiness at 83% less energy.
• Best under $200 combo: Instant Pot + Cosori together for $308 — saves $522/year combined and replaces 80% of conventional oven usage. The highest energy-savings-per-dollar pairing in our dataset.
• Best for scan-to-cook convenience: The Tovala Smart Oven Pro at $299 — 6 cooking modes with steam injection and barcode scanning for 1,000+ grocery items. Buy it for effortless cooking, not energy savings (3.3-year payback).

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does an air fryer save per year on electricity?

Based on our SHE Cost Per Meal calculation, the Cosori Smart Air Fryer saves an average of $0.55 per meal versus a conventional oven — $201 per year if you replace one oven meal per day. That number comes from averaging the per-meal savings across chicken breast ($0.39), frozen fries ($0.34), and whole chicken ($0.75) at the EIA national average of $0.16/kWh. At California rates ($0.32/kWh), annual savings jump to approximately $402. The Cosori pays for its $159 purchase price in 9.5 months. See our full product rankings in the smart kitchen appliances guide.

Is an Instant Pot more efficient than a slow cooker?

Yes, and it is not close. A typical slow cooker draws 200-300W for 6-8 hours. For beef stew: 250W x 7 hours = 1.75 kWh = $0.28 at $0.16/kWh. The Instant Pot Pro Plus makes the same stew at 1,000W for 0.75 hours = 0.75 kWh = $0.12. That is 57% less energy than a slow cooker and 90% less than a conventional oven ($1.20). The slow cooker's lower wattage is deceptive — it runs for so long that total energy consumption exceeds the Instant Pot's by more than double. For the full comparison, check our kitchen buying guide.

Does a smart oven save money vs. a regular oven?

The Tovala Smart Oven Pro earns a SHE Energy Efficiency Score of 5.2/10 — the lowest of the three smart kitchen appliances we tested. It saves 77% on chicken breast versus a full-size oven ($0.11 vs. $0.47), but that savings comes primarily from being a smaller oven with steam injection, not from a fundamentally different technology. Annual savings of $90 against a $299 purchase price means a 3.3-year payback period. Compare that to the Instant Pot Pro Plus at 5.6 months or the Cosori Smart Air Fryer at 9.5 months. If energy savings are your primary motivator, the Tovala Smart Oven Pro is not the top pick. If you want scan-to-cook automation, six cooking modes, and WiFi notifications in one countertop device, it earns its price on convenience — just not on efficiency.

What electricity rate should I use to calculate my own savings?

We use $0.16/kWh — the 2025 U.S. national average from the Energy Information Administration. Your rate appears on your utility bill as "cost per kWh" or "energy charge." To customize our SHE Cost Per Meal numbers for your area: take any cost from our table and multiply by (your rate / $0.16). For example, the Instant Pot chicken breast at $0.05 becomes $0.10 at $0.32/kWh (California), or $0.04 at $0.13/kWh (Texas). The savings percentage stays the same regardless of rate — the Instant Pot still uses 89% less energy than the oven. Only the dollar amounts change. You can track real-time energy usage with a smart plug with energy monitoring and wattage tracking that monitors wattage.

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