PS5 Energy Calculator: How Much Power Does PS5 Use?
PS5 Energy Calculator makes it easy to estimate how much electricity your PlayStation 5 uses and how much it costs to run. In this guide, we’ll explain the PS5’s average power consumption in different modes, so let’s start!
Table of Contents
How much power (watts) does a PS5 use?
A PS5 draws about 200 to 220 watts during active gaming, drops to roughly 70 to 90 watts just browsing the menu, and sips only 0.5 to 3 watts in Rest Mode. For a typical gamer playing 2 hours a day, that works out to around $12 to $16 a year at average US electricity rates — less than most people assume for a “next-gen” console.
Gaming Mode
Menu, Streaming and Blu-ray
Rest Mode (Standby)
Estimated Cost
$0.00
per year
Two hundred watts doesn't sound like much until you're staring at a summer electricity bill wondering what changed. If gaming is the answer, the PS5 is a genuinely reasonable place to start looking — not because it's a power hog, but because how you use it changes the math more than almost any other device in your living room.
This guide breaks down exactly what the PS5 draws in every mode, backed by real measured data, shows you how it stacks up against gaming laptops and rival consoles, and gives you a calculator built around how you actually use yours — not just a flat "average."
How Much Power (Watts) Does a PS5 Actually Use?
A PS5 running a demanding game like Spider-Man: Miles Morales or Warzone draws roughly 200 to 220 watts. Lighter, less graphically intensive titles can pull closer to 140 to 160 watts. Step away from gaming, and the number drops fast: browsing the dashboard menu sits around 80 to 90 watts, and Rest Mode — the PS5's version of standby — sips as little as 0.5 to 3 watts depending on your settings.
That spread matters, because "the PS5 uses 200 watts" is only true for the fraction of the day you're actually playing. For most gamers, Rest Mode accounts for the majority of hours in a day — it just barely moves the needle on cost.
PS5 Power Usage by Mode: The Full Breakdown
| Mode | Watts | Est. Cost / Hour* |
|---|---|---|
| Powered off (plugged in) | 0.1–1.3W | ~$0.0001–$0.0002 |
| Rest Mode (standby) | 0.5–3W | ~$0.0001–$0.0005 |
| Idle / Dashboard menu | 70–90W | ~$0.011–$0.014 |
| Streaming (Netflix, etc.) | ~89W | ~$0.014 |
| 4K Blu-ray playback | ~93W | ~$0.015 |
| Downloading / installing a game | 70–110W | ~$0.011–$0.018 |
| Gaming mode (typical) | 140–200W | ~$0.022–$0.032 |
| Gaming mode (demanding titles) | 200–220W | ~$0.032–$0.035 |
*At a US average residential rate of roughly $0.16/kWh.
Watching the PS5's Power Draw in Real Time
Numbers on a page are one thing — seeing the draw change live on a Kill A Watt meter as the console moves from idle to a demanding scene makes it click. This video walks through exactly that, measuring the PS5 during a menu demo and an actual Warzone session:
PS5 vs. Gaming Laptops: Which Uses More Power?
It's a closer race than most people expect. The PS5's 200W peak during gaming lands right in the same range as mid-to-high-end gaming laptops — comparable to an RTX 2080 Max-Q (~200W) and above an RTX 2060 laptop (~180W). Some RTX 2080 Super laptop configurations can exceed 300W, putting them well ahead of the PS5. The PS5's power supply is rated for 350W, giving it headroom above its typical 200–220W gaming draw.
How the PS5 Compares to Other Consoles
Console generations have grown noticeably more power-hungry as graphics capability has jumped — but not evenly. Here's how the PS5 stacks up against its predecessors and its closest current-gen rival:
| Console | Typical Range (Watts) | Est. Cost / Hour* |
|---|---|---|
| Nintendo Switch | 10–18W | ~$0.002–$0.003 |
| Wii U | ~35W | ~$0.006 |
| Xbox One S | 35–90W | ~$0.006–$0.014 |
| PS4 Slim | 55–110W | ~$0.009–$0.018 |
| Xbox Series S | 25–100W | ~$0.004–$0.016 |
| PS4 Pro | 75–160W | ~$0.012–$0.026 |
| Xbox One X | 65–180W | ~$0.010–$0.029 |
| Xbox Series X | 45–200W | ~$0.007–$0.032 |
| PS5 | 50–220W | ~$0.008–$0.035 |
*At a US average residential rate of roughly $0.16/kWh.
The PS5 and Xbox Series X are essentially tied on gaming power draw — both in the 45–220W range depending on the game. The real gap shows up with the Xbox Series S, which uses roughly half the power thanks to its lower-resolution target, and the Nintendo Switch, which isn't really a fair comparison given its much lower graphical ceiling.
A Worked Example: Your Real Annual Cost
Typical Gamer — 2 Hours a Day
- Gaming: 200W × 2 hours = 400 Wh/day.
- Menu / streaming: 85W × 1 hour = 85 Wh/day.
- Rest Mode: 2W × 21 hours = 42 Wh/day.
- Total: 527 Wh/day → 0.527 kWh/day → about 192 kWh/year.
- At $0.16/kWh: roughly $30.75 per year — with gaming mode alone responsible for about 76% of that, despite being under 10% of the day.
How to Reduce Your PS5's Electricity Cost
- Disable "Stay Connected to the Internet" in Rest Mode if you don't need remote downloads or app updates while sleeping — it lets Rest Mode draw closer to its lowest wattage.
- Turn "Supply Power to USB Ports" off in Rest Mode unless you're actively charging a controller overnight.
- Watch movies on a dedicated Blu-ray player or streaming stick instead of the PS5 — a basic streaming device draws a fraction of the ~89–93W the PS5 needs for the same content.
- Fully power down instead of leaving it in Rest Mode for long stretches when you know you won't touch it — a full shutdown drops draw to near zero versus a few watts left running.
- Use a switchable power strip to cut all standby draw at once, just make sure the console has fully shut down first so you don't risk drive corruption.
How to Measure Your Own PS5's Power Draw
For the Most Accurate Numbers
- Use a plug-in power meter (like a Kill A Watt). It sits between your outlet and the PS5's power cable and shows real-time watts, which is far more accurate than any published average.
- Test your actual games, not just the console's rated max. Wattage varies noticeably between a graphically demanding open-world title and a simpler indie game.
- Check Rest Mode separately from "off." The two look identical from across the room but draw meaningfully different amounts of power.
- Don't assume Digital Edition numbers match Disc Edition. The Digital Edition typically draws 5–10W less during gaming since it skips the optical drive entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
A PS5 typically draws 140 to 200 watts during gaming, with demanding titles like Spider-Man: Miles Morales or Warzone pushing it to around 200 to 220 watts. Lighter games can run closer to the lower end of that range.
Rest Mode typically draws 0.5 to 3 watts, depending on whether features like internet connectivity and USB charging are enabled. Sony's own testing has shown figures as low as 0.36W with those features disabled.
For a typical gamer playing about 2 hours a day, a PS5 usually costs $12 to $16 per year in electricity at average US rates. Heavier daily use or a demanding-game-heavy library can push that closer to $25–$30 per year.
It's close. The PS5's 200–220W gaming draw is comparable to a mid-to-high-end gaming laptop like an RTX 2080 Max-Q, and below some RTX 2080 Super laptop configurations that can exceed 300W.
Yes. Rest Mode is designed for exactly this — leaving a PS5 in Rest Mode for a month or longer doesn't harm the hardware, and its power draw is low enough that it has minimal impact on your electricity bill.
Yes, typically 5 to 10 watts less during gaming, since it doesn't need to power an optical disc drive. The gap becomes more noticeable during Blu-ray playback, which the Digital Edition can't do at all.
The most accurate method is a plug-in power meter, like a Kill A Watt, connected between your outlet and the PS5's power cable. It shows real-time wattage so you can see exactly how much your specific games and settings draw.
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