There is no reliable universal bill difference between a gaming PC and an office PC running a YouTube stream around the clock. The answer depends on each computer’s average power draw at the wall under the same streaming workload, how long it runs, and your electricity rate. Measure both PCs in comparable conditions, then use the formula below; a power supply’s rated wattage or a GPU’s TDP is not a measurement of the whole computer’s actual draw.
How to calculate the monthly electricity cost
Use average wall draw in watts and the electricity price per kilowatt-hour (kWh):
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Monthly cost = average watts × hours per day × days ÷ 1,000 × price per kWh.
For continuous operation over a 30-day month, that becomes:
#1 Best Overall
- 【Insightful Energy Tracking】Track your plug's energy use with clear and easy-to-understand statistics and intuitive charts, helping you optimize power usage.
- 【Estimate Your Energy Bill】 Enhance energy management by integrating with billing systems for clear cost visualization (both single and periodic readings). Additionally, programmable scheduling allows automatic operation of high-consumption devices during off-peak hours with lower electricity rates, resulting in cost savings.
- 【Smart Charging for Devices】Automatically cuts power once your device reaches the low-battery limit you set, preventing overcharging.
- 【Auto-Shutoff】Prevents electrical overload by automatically shutting off devices that use too much power.
- 【Voice & Remote Control】 With built-in support for both Alexa and Google Assistant, issue simple voice commands to adjust settings, turn devices on or off, or even access specific functions without lifting a finger. Manage Tapo P115 and its connected devices from anywhere with the user-friendly Tapo app.
Monthly cost = average watts × 24 × 30 ÷ 1,000 × price per kWh.
Use the marginal electricity rate that applies to the additional usage, as shown on your current bill or tariff. Rates vary by location and utility, so a calculation using someone else’s rate may not reflect your cost.
Rank #2
- Various Monitoring Parameters: The power meter plug can monitor the power (W), energy (kWh), volts, amps, hertz, power factor, cost, minimum and maximum power (W), cumulative days and time of your appliances. By switching 7 display modes, you can easily know the various parameters while the appliance is working. The home energy monitor can also calculate and display how much power your appliance uses and how much electricity bill it cost in cumulative time
- Upgraded LCD Display: With large screen size 2.36 inch x 1.85 inch, clearer monitor backlit, our electrical usage monitor can display the data clearer and more visible no matter day or night. 180°full wide viewing angles is great for reading and recording the data in any angles. No need to stand on the front of the display and bend over to read the numbers
- Adjustable Backlight Time: Our upgraded watt meter has 5 options of backlight time. The default backlight time duration is 10 minutes(bL-0). If you want to change the backlight time, you can press and hold "UP" and "DOWN" button at the same time to enter backlight time setting, then press "UP" and "DOWN" to select the backlight time (bL-0 =10 minutes, bL-1=1 hour, bL-2=4 hours, bL-3=8 hours, bL-4=always on), finally press the "COST" to save the backlight time settings
- Overload protection: When the power of the appliance exceeds the overload power, the LCD will display “OVERLOAD” to warn the user. All the buttons will quit working and can only be workable when you lower or remove the load power. The default overload power is 3680W and is adjustable from 0 to 3680W. In general, you need to set the overload power to 1800W before using. Just press the "function" button for more than 3 seconds to enter the setting
- Data Memory Function: The wattage meter will record your power consumption data when you remove it from socket, or remove appliances from the electricity monitor. You can directly see the last data when you use it next time. This function can also automatically save the data when there is a sudden power failure
Worked example: 102 W at an illustrative rate
Microsoft’s 2011 example measured an older test PC at 102 W while idle. At the article’s historical example rate of $0.10/kWh, the arithmetic is 102 W × 24 × 30 ÷ 1,000 = 73.44 kWh per month, and 73.44 × $0.10 = $7.34. This is an illustration of the calculation—not a current electricity price or a representative result for today’s office PCs. The reported PC-only reading excluded peripherals. Microsoft’s measurement and calculation example also notes that electricity rates vary by region and utility.
Recommended Free Tools
Measure both computers under the same streaming workload
A fair comparison requires readings from the actual machines while they are doing the job you intend to leave running. A plug-in electricity usage monitor can measure wall draw. Microsoft’s 2011 article names a P3 International Kill-A-Watt P4400 as its example meter; that historical mention does not establish current availability or price.
Rank #3
- 【Insightful Energy Tracking】Track your plug's energy use with clear and easy-to-understand statistics and intuitive charts, helping you optimize power usage.
- 【Estimate Your Energy Bill】 Enhance energy management by integrating with billing systems for clear cost visualization (both single and periodic readings). Additionally, programmable scheduling allows automatic operation of high-consumption devices during off-peak hours with lower electricity rates, resulting in cost savings.
- 【Smart Charging for Devices】Automatically cuts power once your device reaches the low-battery limit you set, preventing overcharging.
- 【Auto-Shutoff】Prevents electrical overload by automatically shutting off devices that use too much power.
- 【Voice & Remote Control】 With built-in support for both Alexa and Google Assistant, issue simple voice commands to adjust settings, turn devices on or off, or even access specific functions without lifting a finger. Manage Tapo P115 and its connected devices from anywhere with the user-friendly Tapo app.
- Choose what the meter covers. Decide whether you are measuring the PC alone or the PC, monitor, and other peripherals together. Apply the same scope to both systems. Microsoft’s example explicitly measured its PC without peripherals.
- Use the same stream settings. Match resolution, frame rate, encoder, and the workload being streamed. YouTube’s recommended incoming bitrate depends on resolution, frame rate, and codec; bitrate guidance does not tell you how many watts a particular PC will use. See YouTube’s encoder settings, bitrates, and resolutions guidance.
- Measure over a representative period. Record average watts while the stream is running rather than relying on a single instantaneous reading. Include the conditions that could change the result, such as whether the computer is encoding continuously or spending time idle.
- Calculate kWh and cost. Convert the measured average watts using the formula above, then apply your current rate per kWh. Keep the same runtime and rate assumptions for both computers.
YouTube describes the encoder’s role this way: “An encoder converts your video into a digital format to stream on YouTube.” Its guidance explains stream settings and viewer-side transcoding, but does not quantify the electricity use of the encoder PC. See YouTube Help’s encoder guide.
What the available figures do—and do not—show
Published figures can provide context, but none establishes a current, matched 24/7 test of an office PC and a gaming PC running the same YouTube stream. In particular, a historical gaming-use model or an older idle measurement should not be used as a substitute for measuring your own machines.
Rank #4
- Control Your Appliances and Devices: Control lights, fans, lamps, humidifiers, and any other appliances or electronics that plug into 120V outlets with a 10A Maximum Continuous Load (15A Max Peak Load for up to 1hr/day)
- Monitor Your Home Energy Like a Pro: Emporia smart plugs let you stay on top of energy used by your devices and appliances. Eliminate wasteful stand-by power, save on electricity, and extend product life.
- Smart Scheduling for Maximum Control: With built in on/off scheduling capability, use your smart plugs to automatically switch on and off appliances and devices. Want freshly brewed coffee at 7am? Just schedule it with an Emporia plug!
- Remote Control. Anytime, Anywhere. Control your home remotely using the Emporia App on your phone. Leave the lights on? Forget to turn off an appliance? Check the real-time status and toggle it on or off anytime, anywhere!
- Requires 2.4GHz Wifi Connection to control your devices remotely from your phone with an internet connection. 5.0 GHz Wifi networks are not supported.
| Published figure | What it represents | Why it is not a direct answer to this comparison |
|---|---|---|
| 1,394 kWh per year, including a display | A 2016 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory research estimate for typical gamer use, modeled at an average of 4.4 hours per day in gaming mode. | It is not a 24/7 streaming result. The paper uses a specific older configuration and says high-performance work-computer use was not included. LBNL paper (2016) |
| About $200 per year | The same 2016 paper’s approximate cost for its modeled annual gaming-computer energy estimate at typical household electricity prices. | It is not a current local bill quote. The estimate assumes one display, no peripherals, no overclocking, and power-saver settings. LBNL paper (2016) |
| 25% energy savings across a benchmark test cycle | A result in the 2016 paper’s specific Unigine Heaven test for a more efficient GPU, excluding the display. | It is not an expected saving from an arbitrary GPU swap or from a YouTube streaming workload. LBNL paper (2016) |
| 102 W idle; 125–165 W under listed CPU loads; 4 W in S3 sleep | Measurements reported for Microsoft’s named older test setup in a 2011 article. | These are not current office-PC averages, nor measurements of a matched YouTube stream. Microsoft article (2011) |
Because the available evidence does not provide a current representative head-to-head streaming test, there is no defensible average wattage or bill difference to quote for “office PC versus gaming PC.” A gaming PC may have more capable components, but that alone does not establish its wall draw during a particular streaming workload.
Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteWindows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallWhat changes the comparison
- Actual workload: encoding method, stream settings, and what the PC is doing while live all affect the relevant measurement. YouTube’s bitrate recommendations vary with stream format, but do not convert directly into PC power use.
- Measurement scope: a PC-only reading will not include a display or peripherals. Include them only if they are part of the setup you want to compare, and be consistent.
- Runtime and tariff: calculate both systems at the same number of hours and days, using the applicable current price per kWh.
- Rated component values: PSU capacity and component power ratings are not the same as measured wall draw for the complete system.
Or let it run in the cloud
If the goal is a 24/7 YouTube channel playing uploaded videos, another option is to run the stream from StreamNeo’s cloud rather than leave a home PC on. Upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key, and go live; StreamNeo loops the uploaded video from the cloud. It streams to YouTube and does not broadcast from a camera.
Best Value
- 【Matter-Certified】Matter-certified devices, regardless of brand, can work together and are compatible with most major smart home platforms like Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings. Enjoy more flexible and unified control.
- 【Insightful Energy Tracking】 Monitor your energy consumption with in-depth statistics and clear visuals, helping you optimize power usage.
- 【Estimate Your Energy Bill】 Enhance energy management by integrating with billing systems for clear cost visualization (both single and periodic readings). Additionally, programmable scheduling allows automatic operation of high-consumption devices during off-peak hours with lower electricity rates, resulting in cost savings.
- 【Overcharge Prevention & Power Management】 Automatically cuts off power based on user-set thresholds and durations to prevent overcharging, conserve energy, and protect connected devices from overcurrents by shutting off when power exceeds set limits.
- 【Voice & Remote Control】 With built-in support for both Alexa and Google Assistant, issue simple voice commands to adjust settings, turn devices on or off, or even access specific functions without lifting a finger. Manage Tapo P110M and its connected devices from anywhere with the user-friendly Tapo app.
- Nothing at home has to stay on for the stream to continue.
- Each slot streams the upload as made, up to 4K 60fps, at one flat price per slot with no quality tiers.
- StreamNeo attempts automatic recovery if YouTube drops the stream.
- The first day is free with no card required; it is one free day per account.
The same product is included on every plan: one always-on stream, 10 GB of storage per slot pooled across active slots, looping and playlists, automatic recovery if YouTube drops the stream, and support from the StreamNeo team. Billing options are a day, a week, a month, six months, or a year, with cancellation any time. UPI and cards are available in India; card checkout is available worldwide. For five or more slots, contact support.
Quick Recap
Monthly: $9.99 per month.
See StreamNeo, then start your free day.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
