# Laundry Cost Calculator | Launderwise

---

# Laundry Cost Calculator

Official water and energy figures, your own utility rates — a year of laundry in money, US or EU.

[← All launderwise tools](/tools/index.md)

Estimate a year of laundry costs — enable JavaScript. The sourced energy and water figures are in the cards below.

## Where the figures come from

Only the water and energy quantities are sourced — your utility rates are yours to enter, so the cost is an estimate for your bill, not a published number. US and EU figures stay in separate panels because the two test procedures are not comparable.

- **US, ENERGY STAR:** certified washers use about 14 gallons a load vs 20 for a standard machine, about 300 loads a year, and save about $530 in energy over their lifetime; about 90% of a washer's energy goes to heating water. [Source](https://www.energystar.gov/products/clothes_washers).
- **US, DOE:** ratings assume 295 cycles a year, and washing warm instead of hot can roughly halve a load's energy. [Source](https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/laundry).
- **EU, European Commission:** the average machine used about 96 kWh a year and 36 litres a cycle in 2020. [Source](https://energy-efficient-products.ec.europa.eu/product-list/washing-machines_en).

To cut what each wash costs, the biggest lever is temperature (most of the energy is water heating) and not overloading or underloading — size the load with the [laundry weight calculator](/tools/laundry-weight-calculator/index.md) and dose right with [How Much Laundry Detergent to Use](/blog/how-much-laundry-detergent-to-use/index.md).