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How Much Does It Cost to Run a Laptop in Montana?
The short answer
Running a 60W laptop in Montana costs about $0.01 an hour. At 8 hours a day, that’s roughly $2.19 a month and $26.26 a year.
The estimate uses Montana’s average residential electricity price of 15.0¢/kWh from EIA (July 2026) — 18% below the national average.
Source: U.S. EIA, July 2026 data · Updated
Laptop cost by daily use in Montana
| Daily use | kWh/month | Per day | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 hour/day | 1.8 | $0.01 | $0.27 | $3.28 |
| 2 hours/day | 3.7 | $0.02 | $0.55 | $6.57 |
| 4 hours/day | 7.3 | $0.04 | $1.09 | $13.13 |
| 8 hours/day | 14.6 | $0.07 | $2.19 | $26.26 |
| 12 hours/day | 21.9 | $0.11 | $3.28 | $39.39 |
| 24 hours/day | 43.8 | $0.22 | $6.57 | $78.79 |
Montana vs other states
At typical use, a laptop costs $26.26 a year in Montana — $57.83 less than in Hawaii and $3.98 more than in Louisiana.
Montana has the 14th-cheapest residential electricity of the 50 states and DC. electricity prices in Montana · all states ranked
Electricity price trend in Montana
15.0¢/kWh in July 2026 — ▲ +5.0% from a year earlier.
How to lower the cost of running a laptop
Laptops are designed to run on batteries, so they're inherently efficient. Typical use draws 30–60W from the charger, with gaming laptops and mobile workstations reaching 100–200W under load. Even working full time on a laptop costs only a few dollars a month in most states.
- Use battery-saver mode and lower screen brightness.
- Unplug once charged if your laptop lacks charge-limiting features.
- Put it to sleep instead of leaving it idle overnight.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to run a laptop for 24 hours in Montana?
Running a 60W laptop for 24 hours uses about 1.44 kWh, which costs about $0.22 at Montana’s average rate of 15.0¢/kWh.
How many kWh does a laptop use per month?
At 8 hours a day, a typical laptop uses about 14.6 kWh a month. In Montana that costs $2.19.
Is it expensive to run a laptop in Montana?
Montana has the 14th-cheapest residential electricity of the 50 states and DC at 15.0¢/kWh — cheaper than most. Running a laptop here costs about $26.26 a year at typical use, compared with $32.08 at the national average rate.
What is the electricity rate in Montana right now?
The average residential electricity rate in Montana was 15.0¢ per kWh in July 2026, according to the latest EIA data — up 5.0% from a year earlier.
Laptop costs in nearby states
Other appliances in Montana
Cheapest and priciest states
Comparisons
Sources & method
- Electricity rates: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly — average residential retail price, July 2026 (latest available). Retrieved .
- CO₂: EIA State Electricity Profiles, 2024 emissions rate of in-state power generation.
- Default usage for laptop: 8 hours a day. Typical power 60W.
- Formulas, duty cycles and limitations: methodology. Data download: open data (CC BY 4.0).