Gas vs. Electric Appliances: The Real Cost Differences, Appliance by Appliance

“Gas is cheaper” is folk wisdom with a real basis and important exceptions. Here’s the appliance-by-appliance truth, and the simple conversion that lets you compare fuels yourself.

The conversion that makes fuels comparable

Gas is sold in therms (about 29.3 kWh of raw energy each). At a typical residential gas price of $1.20–2.00/therm, raw gas energy costs roughly 4–7¢ per kWh-equivalent — versus electricity’s 11–43¢ per kWh depending on your state. Raw gas energy is nearly always cheaper.

But raw energy isn’t the whole story. Combustion appliances waste some heat (vented outside), electric resistance converts at ~100%, and heat pumps multiply — delivering 2–4 kWh of heat per kWh purchased. Fixture matters too: a gas connection often carries a fixed monthly service charge ($10–30) regardless of use, which quietly changes the math for light users.

Appliance by appliance

Water heater

Gas tanks beat electric resistance tanks on running cost almost everywhere — often $150–300/yr for a family. But the heat pump water heater rewrote this category: it typically beats gas on running cost too, especially in moderate-rate states. Ranking for most homes: heat pump electric < gas < resistance electric, with tankless variants shaving standby losses within each fuel.

Clothes dryer

A gas dryer costs roughly half as much per load as a standard electric dryer at average prices — $15–40/yr difference for typical families, more with heavy use. The heat pump dryer again complicates the ranking, matching or beating gas per load without the hookup. If you already have a gas connection in the laundry, gas or heat-pump electric are both sound; buying a resistance electric dryer when alternatives exist is the money-losing pick. Full comparison.

Cooking

The cost gap here is small enough to ignore — cooking is a minor bill line (~$5–15/month either way). A gas burner sends much of its heat around the pan; induction puts ~85–90% into it, largely erasing gas’s raw-fuel advantage. Choose the stove by cooking preference, indoor air quality, and what your kitchen supports; the electricity-vs-gas cost difference won’t buy you lunch. (Induction vs. radiant electric is the comparison with actual money in it.)

Heating

The big one — and the nuanced one. Gas furnaces beat resistance electric decisively. Against a modern heat pump, it’s a live contest decided by your gas price, electric rate, and climate: cheap-gas states favor the furnace, high-gas or moderate-electric states favor the heat pump. We walk the full decision in Heat Pump Economics 101.

The fixed-charge trap

If your only gas appliance is a stove — common in condos — you may be paying a $15–25 monthly service charge to fuel $8 of cooking. Dropping the gas connection entirely (induction + electric or heat-pump alternatives at replacement time) saves the fixed charge forever. Conversely, if your home already burns gas for heat and water and drying, the marginal service cost is spread across enough use to be irrelevant.

Bottom line by scenario

• Already have gas everywhere: keep it for the dryer and furnace until replacement time; at replacement, compare heat-pump options honestly.
• All-electric home: don’t add a gas connection; upgrade resistance appliances to heat-pump versions — that captures most of gas’s advantage without the hookup.
• Gas stove only: run the fixed-charge math; you may be paying a subscription fee for a burner.
• Everyone: the fuel matters most for the appliances that make lots of heat — heating, hot water, drying. For everything else, the electric meter’s rate is what decides.