Smart home hub vs. smart plug: running cost
A smart plug is cheaper to run: about $1 a year versus $5 for a smart home hub at typical use and 17.99¢/kWh, a $4 difference.
| Smart home hub | Smart plug | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical watts | 3 W | 1 W |
| Watt range | 1–10 W | 0–2 W |
| Typical use | 24 hours a day | 24 hours a day |
| Energy per year | 26 kWh | 4 kWh |
| Cost per hour | 0.05¢ | 0.01¢ |
| Cost per day | 1.3¢ | 0.2¢ |
| Cost per month | $0.39 | $0.07 |
| Cost per year | $5 | $1 |
| Per year in Hawaii (43.51¢) | $11 | $2 |
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What drives the difference
- Smart home hub: Smart home hubs and bridges draw about 1-4 W continuously; Home Assistant on a mini PC is closer to 6-10 W.
- Smart plug: Smart plugs themselves use about 0.3-1 W around the clock, roughly 3-9 kWh a year each, which is less than the standby they can eliminate.
Ways to cut either cost
Energy monitoring smart plug
Shows real-time watts so you can find phantom loads.
See options on Amazon Multi-protocol smart hub
Replaces several single-brand bridges with one low-power device.
See options on AmazonWe may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. It never changes the numbers we show. Disclosure.
Frequently asked questions
Which costs more to run, a smart home hub or a smart plug?
At typical use and the U.S. average rate (17.99¢/kWh), a smart home hub costs about $5 a year versus $1 for a smart plug. That's $4 more, or 6.0× as much.
How many watts do smart home hub and smart plug use?
A smart home hub typically draws 3 W (range 1–10 W). A smart plug draws 1 W (range 0–2 W). Watts alone don't decide cost. Hours of use, cycling and standby matter just as much.
Rates: EIA, 12 months ending 2026-07. Methodology.