The best electric heaters in the UK, ranked by running cost
A 2 kW heater costs 52.6p an hour at the current Ofgem cap. A 1.5 kW one costs 39.5p. Below, every heater shows its real cost per hour, per 4-hour evening and per month, using the wattage published on its Amazon.co.uk listing.
Quick answer: which electric heater is cheapest to run?
None of them is cheap, and all of them turn electricity into heat at the same efficiency: 1 kWh of electricity makes 1 kWh of heat, whatever the marketing says. At 26.32p/kWh a 2,000 W heater costs 52.6p for every hour it runs flat out, and a 1,000 W setting costs 26.3p. The only ways to pay less are a lower wattage, a thermostat that cycles the element off, and heating one person instead of a whole room.
If you heat a small room for a few hours, a 1.5 kW ceramic fan heater with a thermostat (Dreo 316, Russell Hobbs) is the sensible pick. For a bedroom or office you sit in all day, an oil-filled radiator (De'Longhi Dragon 4, VonHaus 11-fin) on its low setting is quieter and keeps the temperature steadier. If you only need to warm yourself, an electric blanket at 1–2p an hour beats every heater here.
Electric heaters are the one purchase where the price on the box is almost irrelevant. A £25 fan heater and a £120 oil-filled radiator both cost 52.6p an hour at 2 kW. What changes the bill is how many hours the element is actually on — which comes down to the thermostat, the wattage settings, and whether the heater matches the room.
We checked the wattage of every heater below on its Amazon.co.uk listing (the Heat Output or Wattage field and the title), then calculated the cost at the Ofgem price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026: 26.32p per kWh. Change the tariff in the calculator further down if you are on a fixed deal.
Our picks
#1Best overall for small rooms
Dreo Heater 316 (1,500 W ceramic fan heater, remote)
Dreo
39.5pRunning cost per hour
TypeCeramic fan heater
Max power1,500 W
ThermostatElectronic, 5–35 °C
SafetyTip-over, overheat, child lock
The most-reviewed heater on this list, and the one that makes the most sense for a bedroom, office or nursery: 1.5 kW is enough for a room of around 15–20 m², and the electronic thermostat holds a set temperature rather than running flat out.
Since September 2025 the 316 ships with a remote control and a timer, which is what you want for a heater you switch on from bed.
Best for: a small room you heat for a few hours a day and want quiet. Skip it if: large living rooms — at 1.5 kW it will run continuously and still struggle.
An oil-filled radiator stores heat in the oil, so it keeps radiating after the thermostat cuts the element — that is why it costs the same per hour as a fan heater but usually uses fewer hours in a room you occupy all day.
De'Longhi's 'chimney' fin design and the 24-hour timer make this the standard choice for a home office; it is silent, which no fan heater is.
Best for: a home office or living room heated for 6–8 hours a day. Skip it if: quick warm-ups — it takes 15–20 minutes to feel the heat.
VonHaus 11-fin oil-filled radiator, 2,500 W with 24 h timer
VonHaus
65.8pRunning cost per hour
TypeOil-filled radiator
Max power2,500 W (1,000 / 1,500 / 2,500)
Timer24 h
CoverageUp to 30 m² (listing)
The best-selling oil radiator on Amazon.co.uk by review count. Three power settings matter here: on the 1,000 W step it costs 26p an hour and is enough to keep an insulated bedroom warm overnight.
At its full 2,500 W it is the most expensive heater on this page to run — 66p an hour — so the thermostat and timer are not optional.
Best for: larger rooms where you want to run it low for long periods. Skip it if: anyone who will leave it on the 2,500 W setting.
Russell Hobbs 13-inch oscillating ceramic heater, 2 kW
Russell Hobbs
52.6pRunning cost per hour
TypeCeramic fan heater (oscillating)
Max power2,000 W
Thermostat5–36 °C, 5 modes
CoverageUp to 20 m² (listing)
A compact oscillating ceramic heater with a proper temperature range rather than just high/low. The 5–36 °C thermostat and 5 modes mean it can idle at a low setting instead of cycling the full 2 kW.
Russell Hobbs is a UK-serviced brand, which matters for a heater you will run every winter.
Best for: a living room where you want fast heat spread across the room. Skip it if: bedrooms — the fan is audible at the higher settings.
The classic cheap fan heater: two heat settings plus a cool-fan mode and a simple dial thermostat. Almost 10,000 reviews and a 4.3 average say it does the job.
It costs exactly the same per hour as a premium 2 kW heater — the difference is build quality and noise, not the bill.
Best for: occasional use — a garage, a cold bathroom, a spare room. Skip it if: all-day heating; it is loud and the thermostat is coarse.
QEXREED 2,000 W PTC tower heater with ECO mode and remote
QEXREED
52.6pRunning cost per hour
TypePTC ceramic tower
Max power2,000 W
Thermostat15–35 °C, ECO mode, 24 h timer
CoverageUp to 20 m² (listing)
A tower heater with the features that actually reduce running hours: an ECO mode that steps the power down as the room reaches temperature, a 24-hour timer and 90° oscillation.
Not a household name, so we would not buy it without the overheat and tilt protection it lists.
Best for: a living room where you want remote control and a timer without paying brand prices. Skip it if: anyone who prefers a known brand for electrical safety.
Devola 2,500 W smart glass panel heater (Wi-Fi, wall or free-standing)
Devola
65.8pRunning cost per hour
TypeGlass panel heater
Max power2,500 W
ControlApp, Alexa, Google; open-window detection
CoverageUp to 30 m² (listing)
The one heater here that can replace a radiator: wall-mountable, app-controlled with schedules per room, and open-window detection that shuts it off when the temperature drops suddenly.
The 2,500 W rating makes it the priciest per hour at full power (66p), so its value is entirely in the scheduling and thermostat keeping actual hours low.
Best for: a room without central heating that you want on a schedule. Skip it if: renters who cannot wall-mount — it works free-standing but is large.
A small desk-sized ceramic heater at 1.8 kW — 47p an hour — with a dial thermostat and a fan-only mode. Good reviews, simple controls, nothing to learn.
The compact size suits a desk or under a table, where you heat yourself rather than the whole room.
Best for: a desk or a small cold corner. Skip it if: heating a whole room.
A 7-fin oil radiator for small rooms, with a 600 W low setting that costs under 16p an hour — the cheapest 'on all evening' option on this page apart from an electric blanket.
Silent and safe to leave on with the thermostat, which is what you want next to a bed.
Best for: a bedroom you keep at a steady low temperature overnight. Skip it if: rooms over about 15 m².
Running cost = rated power in kW × hours × your unit rate. We use the maximum rated power published on each listing, so the figures are a worst case: with the thermostat set sensibly, a heater cycles off and uses less. The Ofgem cap rate of 26.32p/kWh is the GB average for Direct Debit customers from 1 October 2026 (electricity VAT removed until March 2027); standing charges are not included because you pay them whether the heater runs or not.
We do not add an "efficiency" factor: every resistive electric heater (fan, ceramic, oil, panel, halogen) converts 100% of the electricity it draws into heat. Claims of "energy saving" refer to thermostats, timers and eco modes that reduce running hours, not to the element itself.
How we chose
Wattage published on the Amazon.co.uk listing or in the product title — no estimates.
A real thermostat or temperature control, so the heater can cycle off.
Tip-over and overheat protection on every portable model.
At least a few hundred UK reviews, except where a brand-name model is new in 2026.
Each pick serves a different use: short bursts, all-day rooms, bedrooms, wall mounting.
How much does it cost to run a 2 kW electric heater for an hour in the UK?
52.6p at the Ofgem price cap of 26.32p/kWh (1 October to 31 December 2026). That is 2 kWh × 26.32p. A 4-hour evening costs £2.11 and a month of 4-hour evenings about £63. On a 1 kW setting, halve all of those figures.
Are oil-filled radiators cheaper to run than fan heaters?
Not per hour: a 2 kW oil radiator and a 2 kW fan heater both cost 52.6p an hour at full power. Oil radiators often use fewer hours because the oil keeps radiating after the thermostat switches the element off, and they are silent, so people leave them on low for long periods instead of blasting a fan heater. For short bursts a fan heater wins because it heats the air immediately.
Is it cheaper to run an electric heater or the gas central heating?
Gas is far cheaper per unit of heat: the Ofgem cap puts gas at 7.97p/kWh against 26.32p/kWh for electricity. Even allowing for a 90%-efficient boiler, gas heat costs roughly a third of electric heat. An electric heater makes sense when you heat one room for a few hours instead of the whole house, or where there is no gas.
Which electric heater is the cheapest to run?
The lowest-wattage one that keeps you comfortable. A 600 W setting on a small oil radiator costs 15.8p an hour; a 1.5 kW ceramic heater 39.5p; a 2.5 kW radiator 65.8p. The cheapest option of all is to heat the person rather than the room: an electric blanket draws around 60–150 W, which is 1.6–3.9p an hour.
Do 'energy-saving' or 'eco' heaters really save money?
Only through their controls. Every resistive heater turns 100% of the electricity into heat, so a 2 kW 'eco' heater and a 2 kW basic heater produce exactly the same heat for the same money while the element is on. Eco modes, thermostats, timers and open-window detection save money by reducing the number of minutes the element is on. Infrared panels feel warm sooner because they heat you directly, but a watt is still a watt.
What size heater do I need for my room?
A common rule for a reasonably insulated UK room is about 100 W per square metre, so a 12 m² bedroom needs around 1.2 kW and a 20 m² living room about 2 kW. Poorly insulated or high-ceilinged rooms need more. Buying a bigger heater does not cost more per degree, only per hour at full power — the thermostat does the rest.
APWritten by André Pires · ELEVA ONLINE LTDA · Updated 2 October 2026
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