To estimate home laundry cost per load, add electricity, water and sewer usage charges, detergent, and an optional allocation for owning the machines. Compare that with the laundromat’s wash, dry and other costs for an equivalent amount of clothing. Multiply weekly loads by 52 for a year, or by 52 ÷ 12 for an average month.
Laundry cost calculator
This calculator runs in your browser. This calculator’s code does not send, save, or track your entries. All dollar amounts are USD.
Optional example: Inputs start blank. Load example fills hypothetical figures without calculating. Examples are not current rates, quotes, or recommendations.
Loading calculator. No entries are submitted.
Every default and example below is hypothetical, not a national average or a local quote. The energy model covers electricity only. A gas dryer or gas water heater requires a separate gas-cost calculation; leaving gas out would understate home costs.
What counts as one comparable load?
A large laundromat drum may hold more than a home machine. Compare the same amount of clothing and the same drying outcome, not merely one button press at each location. If one commercial wash handles two home-equivalent loads, allocate its wash price across those two loads, then allocate the actual drying charges on the same basis.
Enter the average number of these equivalent loads you do each week. Five loads a week means 260 loads a year.
How the calculator handles inputs and rounding
The model uses 52 weeks and 12 equal budget months, so five loads a week means 260 loads a year and about 21.67 loads per average month. It does not assume every calendar month has four weeks or forecast the exact date of each payment.
How do you build the home estimate without counting energy twice?
- Electricity: combined kWh per load × applicable dollars per kWh.
- Water and sewer: US gallons per load × combined dollars per 1,000 gallons ÷ 1,000.
- Consumables: detergent and any other home consumables per load.
- Ownership allocation: annual machine ownership allowance ÷ annual loads.
The combined electricity entry must cover the washer, electric dryer and attributable electric water heating, each exactly once. A washer outlet reading may omit a separate water heater; a combined published test figure may already include water heating or drying assumptions. Check its boundary before adding anything.
ENERGY STAR’s washer guidance explains that the integrated energy-efficiency metric considers washer operation and standby, water heating, and drying energy. That efficiency metric is not itself a kWh-per-load reading.
Representative measured kWh across several complete cycles is preferable to multiplying nameplate watts by elapsed cycle time. Nameplate power is not necessarily the average draw: heaters and motors cycle.
Use only monitoring equipment rated for the appliance and circuit; do not connect a standard plug-in meter to an incompatible dryer or hardwired circuit. If using EnergyGuide annual energy, inspect its assumed number of loads and energy boundary before converting it to a per-load input.
The DOE Energy Saver Guide discusses both purchase and operating cost, notes that label estimates depend on actual use, and explains why water temperature and drying settings affect laundry energy. We do not turn its illustrative savings percentages into your personal bill savings.
What do five loads a week cost at home vs. the laundromat?
Inputs. Suppose combined electricity is 3 kWh per load at $0.20/kWh, water is 20 gallons at a combined water/sewer rate of $12 per 1,000 gallons, and detergent is $0.30 per load. The optional machine allowance is $156 a year. A laundromat charges $3.50 to wash, $2 to dry, and $0.50 in other costs per equivalent load.
Formula and result. Home operating cost = (3 × $0.20) + (20 × $12 ÷ 1,000) + $0.30 = $1.14. Ownership allocation = $156 ÷ 260 = $0.60 per load. Home with ownership = $1.74. Laundromat = $3.50 + $2 + $0.50 = $6.
| Option | Per load | Average month | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home operating only | $1.14 | $24.70 | $296.40 |
| Ownership allowance only | $0.60 | $13.00 | $156.00 |
| Home including allowance | $1.74 | $37.70 | $452.40 |
| Laundromat | $6.00 | $130.00 | $1,560.00 |
| Laundromat minus home | $4.26 | $92.30 | $1,107.60 |
What to check. This $1,107.60 difference is conditional arithmetic, not a promise that buying machines saves that amount. Upfront purchase cash, installation restrictions, breakdowns, transportation and differences in convenience can change the decision.
What changes if you do only one load a week?
Keep every per-load input and the $156 annual machine allowance above, but change weekly loads from five to one. Annual loads become 52. Operating cost is still $1.14 per load, but the ownership allocation becomes $156 ÷ 52 = $3 per load.
Home cost including that allowance is $4.14 per load, or $215.28 a year. The same $6 laundromat load costs $312 a year, a modeled difference of $96.72.
The lower annual usage spreads the same fixed allowance over fewer loads. It does not mean either machine uses more electricity per cycle, and the comparison still excludes unentered gas, travel and financing costs.
Which bills and receipts should you use?
Combine the applicable volumetric water and sewer rates only when both apply to the laundry water. Some sewer charges use winter averages, caps or fixed amounts, so a simple combined rate may not match the bill. Convert units first if the utility charges per cubic foot or another volume. Leave unchanged fixed connection charges out of an incremental use estimate.
At the laundromat, include detergent, extra drying time, card or service fees and any allocated travel costs in “other” only if they are not already in wash or dry prices. Count a round trip once per visit and divide across the loads carried, not once for every load.
An ownership allowance can spread net purchase and setup cost over expected ownership years and add a repair allowance. It is not the purchase price every year, a monthly installment or tax depreciation. Do not include the same repairs in two categories.
Set it to zero for an operating-only comparison; retain the warning that machine ownership is omitted. At lower usage, a fixed annual allowance is spread over fewer loads, so ownership cost per load rises.
Unlike our appliance electricity calculator, which estimates energy charges from watts and run time, this calculator starts with combined laundry kWh and adds water, consumables, ownership allocation and laundromat charges. It does not derive your equipment’s consumption from its wattage.
Use a sinking fund for replacement cash, and the housing comparison when laundry access is part of a broader choice between apartments.
When does this laundry cost calculator not fit?
- Gas dryer or gas water heater. The energy model covers electricity only, so gas costs need a separate calculation.
- Deciding whether to buy machines. The difference excludes upfront purchase cash, installation restrictions, breakdowns and financing.
- Fixed or capped sewer charges. A simple combined per-gallon rate may not match how your bill is actually charged.
- Loads that are not comparable. If drum sizes or drying outcomes differ and you cannot convert to equivalent loads, the per-load comparison is not like for like.
Quick decision checklist
- Convert laundromat washes and dries into the same equivalent loads you do at home.
- Enter one combined kWh per load that counts washer, dryer and water heating once.
- Use your own water, sewer and electricity rates and local laundromat prices.
- Rerun with a zero ownership allowance and with your real weekly load count.
- Check upfront cash, installation limits and gas costs before treating the difference as savings.
Sources and review notes
- ENERGY STAR: Clothes Washers, including integrated energy metrics and buying guidance.
- DOE: Energy Saver Guide, 2022, printed pages 28 and 32–33. This is a dated guide, not a current price source.
Sources and hypothetical arithmetic checked September 24, 2026 (UTC). Prepared with AI-assisted research, drafting, and calculation checks. Not independently reviewed by a human financial professional. Read our editorial policy or report a correction.
