How much does an AGA really cost to run?

Search for what an AGA costs to run and you might come across some steep weekly figures. The good news is that they generally belong to the older, always-on gas and oil models, and some of the early electric ones – rather than to any AGA you would buy new today. A modern AGA cooker is a different proposition altogether, and running costs for these more flexible electric models are far lower than most people expect.

Edwards & Godding has been working with these cookers since 1932, when we became one of AGA's original five distributors. We are a family business and for three generations we've installed and serviced AGA cookers for customers across Oxfordshire, Berkshire and the South East and South West of England – not to mention living with and cooking on them in our own homes.

The exact amount your AGA costs to run comes down to the model, the fuel it uses and, more than anything, how you use it. The various elements of a modern electric AGA can be turned up and down as you need them, and can even be programmed to your routine – warm in time for breakfast, resting while you’re out during the day, back up in time for your supper, which dramatically reduces the cost compared to an always-on option. 

In this article we set out the various models and fuel types, costed at July 2026 prices and broken down by day, week, month and year. We also look at what an always-on hotplate adds to the bill, what you can expect to pay for servicing each year (nothing at all, for a modern electric one), and how during the winter a kitchen warmed by an AGA offsets heat you'd otherwise pay the boiler to provide.

AGA running costs at a glance

A modern, controllable electric AGA costs approximately £8 to £21 a week in typical use, depending on the model and the season. A traditional gas or oil AGA, which runs continuously year-round, costs approximately £18 to £23 a week at current fuel rates. All figures in this article come from AGA's own test data, priced at the OFGEM July 2026 electricity rate of 26.11p/kWh. For the full model-by-model breakdown, read on.

Why an AGA's running costs work differently to a normal oven

Most of the energy consumption of a conventional oven is spent getting the oven up to temperature. You switch it on, it climbs to temperature over ten or fifteen minutes, cycles its element to hold the temperature there while you cook, then cools down again when you switch it off. The cost is tied directly to how often you cook.

With an AGA on the other hand, the cast iron absorbs heat slowly and holds onto it, releasing it gently into the ovens and hotplates and out into the room around it. Once the cooker is up to temperature it stays there, replacing only what it loses, so what an AGA costs isn't tied to how often you cook the way a conventional oven's bill is. Keeping the cooker warm is the main cost; cooking in an already warm oven adds only a little on top. That's also why you'll see two figures against every electric model below: one for holding the cooker at a low, steady warmth – slumber mode – and one for keeping every oven at full temperature. With a controllable AGA you decide which ovens are on and when, so in practice most households land somewhere between the two rather than at either end – closer to the low figure than the high one, for most of the year.

AGA running costs by model – the complete July 2026 figures

The figures below cover every model at July 2026 prices; you'll find them in more detail on our full AGA running costs page.

Figures based on AGA's own kWh test data at the OFGEM July 2026 rate of 26.11p/kWh electricity and 7.33p/kWh gas. Test conditions exclude cooking and are measured with all doors and lids closed. Oil priced at 88.75p per litre (Boilerjuice, 20 July 2026); oil prices vary, so do check the current rate. Annual estimates reflect typical flexible household use, not continuous full-temperature operation. Updated quarterly – last updated July 2026.

A word on where these numbers come from. They are AGA's own test data, measured with the doors and lids closed and no cooking taking place – the cooker holding its temperature. That makes for a sound basis for comparing one model against another, but it isn't quite accurate to a working kitchen. Cooking changes those figures, as you'd expect – opening a roasting oven lets heat out and the cooker tops it back up – but not dramatically so.

For most households with a controllable electric model, the eco or slumber column is the most realistic one. Slumber keeps the cast iron warm and ready rather than hot: the kitchen stays comfortable, the ovens come up to full temperature in ten to fifteen minutes when you want them, and the cooker draws very little the rest of the time. This is how we run our own AGA Signature Induction for most of the year. 

You'll notice the induction options show the same running costs as their non-induction counterparts. That's because the ovens are identical. The induction hob is controlled separately and draws power only while it's in use, heating the pan quickly and directly, which makes it very efficient. 

How much does an AGA cost to run per day, month and year?

Day to day, an AGA Compact (eR3) used flexibly comes to somewhere between £1.15 and £2 – less than a coffee out. An AGA Signature (eR7) on economy mode is around £2 a day, or about £61 a month. Run it with all three ovens up to temperature continuously and that figure rises to roughly £4 a day or £125 a month. Of course, most of us simply don't use our ovens in that way.

Over a year, an AGA Compact comes to between £900 and £1,200, and a Signature on economy mode between £732 and £1,100. What you pay depends most on how you use it, then on the model, its age and your tariff: a fixed rate below the price cap comes in under these numbers, a standard variable tariff in a large, draughty kitchen a little over.

The hotplates – an easy place to save

The AGA cooker’s hotplates are an easy place to keep running costs down. A cast iron boiling plate on full uses 0.54kWh an hour – about 14p at July 2026 rates –whereas bringing it up to heat for a task and then switching it off costs only pennies a meal. Bring a pan to the boil on the boiling plate, then move it to the simmering oven to finish the job, and switch the boiling plate off. Each hotplate works independently, so turning one off doesn't affect the rest of the cooker. Habits like these make the biggest difference to what you pay. Learn more in our article, How to Reduce Your AGA Running Costs.

On the AGA Signature Induction (eR7i) and AGA Compact Induction (eR3i), the induction hob draws power only while a zone is in use and heats the pan directly.

Winter vs summer – how seasonal use changes your bill

An AGA cooker's running cost fluctuates through the year. The cost tends to be highest in the depths of winter and lowest in summer, and the reason is straightforward: the way you use an AGA changes with the seasons.

From November to March a good share of the cost is keeping the kitchen warm through the morning – warmth you'd otherwise be paying for via your boiler. Come summer, modern AGA owners tend to use the cooker more like a conventional one: on when you're cooking, off when you're not. 

Caroline and Ed are a good example – their AGA Signature Induction (eR7i) sits on slumber for much of the year and costs around £22 a week. In the coldest weeks they have the ovens up through the day, and costs come to around £25 to £27 a week. In the summer months they switch the elements on just for cooking, and the cost comes right down to about £5 a week. Meanwhile, Naomi Hansell runs her AGA Compact (eR3) to suit her: the simmering oven on all year, the baking oven on a timer, on in the morning and off at night. Every AGA owner finds the right rhythm for them.

Gas vs electric vs oil – the true cost comparison

Most comparisons stop at pence per kWh, where gas at 7.33p looks unbeatable against electricity at 26.11p. A traditional gas or oil AGA is a fantastic cooker, and plenty are going strong in kitchens up and down the country. But the unit price is only part of the story – two other things in particular contribute to the cost of a cooker across a year.

The first is servicing. A traditional gas AGA needs an annual service at £289 a year; an oil AGA needs servicing twice a year, £518 annually including wicks; a modern electric AGA needs no service at all. Over ten years that difference is substantial.

The second is that gas and oil models have no slumber setting. They're always on by design – wonderful through the winter, but it means the summer savings aren’t there – a traditional model costs the same in August as in January, where an electric one costs a fraction of its winter figure.

At July 2026 rates, a traditional three-oven gas AGA burning around 45kWh a day costs about £23 a week – around £1,200 a year in fuel, plus £175 servicing. An AGA Signature (eR7) in economy mode costs £14.07 a week, or £732 a year, with nothing to pay for servicing. 

LPG runs at roughly double the mains gas rate, which puts a traditional LPG AGA at £46 to £55 a week, or £2,600 to £3,200 a year.

If the time has come to upgrade your old AGA for a modern electric AGA, we will be very happy to talk you through some options. We offer a trade-in programme, with a generous discount on a new AGA when you trade in your old range cooker. Simply get in touch.

Can solar panels reduce your AGA running costs?

Absolutely. And by more than most people expect. One of our customers, Lucy, had an 8kW solar system installed alongside her AGA Compact (eR3), and her monthly AGA running costs are now virtually nothing. Read the full story in our article: AGA Cooking with Solar Panels.

The reason the two pair so well is in the way an AGA draws power. Solar gives you a steady trickle of power throughout the day, and an AGA draws in much the same way – a slow, even pull as it tops up the heat it loses, rather than the short bursts required for a conventional oven. With battery storage, the evenings are covered too, and any surplus can be sold back to the grid through the Smart Export Guarantee.

This is why a modern electric AGA makes sense for anyone thinking ahead about where their energy comes from. Gas and oil can only get more expensive; electricity from your own roof will not. 

Quick wins: How to cut your AGA running costs

If you'd like to bring your AGA running costs down, these few things will make the most difference.

• Drop to slumber or the eco setting overnight or whenever the kitchen is empty.
• Once a pan is up to heat, move it from the boiling plate to the simmering oven and switch the plate off.
• Put the baking oven on a timer so it's hot just when you need it and off when you don't.
• Through the summer, turn on only the oven you're about to use.
• Invest in draught-proofing and insulation, which pay for themselves twice over with an AGA.
• Keep up to date with your AGA servicing – annual for gas and twice a year for oil cookers, because an AGA cooker burning cleanly burns less.

For more on this read our article, How to Reduce Your AGA Running Costs.

Are AGA running costs worth it?

So — is an AGA worth it? A modern AGA costs a manageable amount to run – and you can bring the costs down further with some good habits. The thing that any AGA owner will tell you is that an AGA is more than a cooker – it makes the kitchen the warm heart of the home – the place where family gathers and traditions take shape. The question isn't really whether the running cost is worth it – it's whether you'd like the kind of kitchen an AGA makes, and most people who've lived with one would tell you they wouldn't be without it.

If you’re weighing up the decision, please do get in touch. Our family has lived and worked with these cookers for three generations and we’ll be very happy to answer any questions and help you find the perfect cooker for your home. Give us a call, drop us a line or book an appointment and visit one of our showrooms in Woodstock or Reading.