Switch, Xbox, PS5 Energy Consumption Comparison – How energy efficient is the Nintendo Switch?
Whether you’re in a country with expensive energy bills, or you just want to cut your overall costs or even help save the environment (every little thing helps!), you might want to look into your consoles – especially as a well-known British energy company recently called their “vampires” and advised us to turn them off completely.
Whether that’s a fair estimate or not, the fact is that many of us are looking to tighten our belts as the global cost-of-living crisis permeates every aspect of our lives, and any household device that’s constantly plugged in is worth examining to see what you can save.
Is your console(s) currently in instant-on mode? Sleeping mode? Energy saving mode? Do you know the difference in the first place, or how much each one is actually costing you each month? We can help you!
Check out our guide to console efficiency and power consumption, and how to reduce the amount of money you’ll pay each month.
Console Power Consumption Comparison – How much power does my Switch/Xbox/PlayStation use?
Below you will find some important statistics for each Nintendo Switch model currently on sale, as well as Sony and Microsoft consoles for comparison, as well as some hourly and weekly power consumption estimates based on information from manufacturers and other sources.
A few notes before we start:
Nintendo Switch (base model)
Docked
| Application | Draw energy | Cost per hour | Estimated cost per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Play games | 7-11 W | £0.01 | £0.08 (2 hours per day) |
| Play while charging | 15-17 W | £0.01 | £0.06 (1 hour per day) |
| Streaming media | 6 W | <£0.01 | £0.02 (1 hour per day) |
| On the main menu | 3 W | <£0.01 | <£0.01 (1 hour per week) |
| Sleeping mode | 0.3-0.5W | <£0.01 | £0.04 (20 hours per day) |
| Sleep mode (charging) | 9.8-12.1W | <£0.01 | £0.04 (1 hour per day) |
| Shutdown | 0.3-0.5W | <£0.01 | £0.04 (20 hours per day) |
undocked
| Application | Draw energy | Cost per hour | Estimated cost per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Play while charging | 8-9 W | £0.03 | £0.06 (2 hours per day) |
| Sleep mode (charging) | 8-9 W | £0.03 | £0.06 (2 hours per day) |
Average cost per week
- £0.08 (1 hour game per day) – £0.30 (5 hours game per day)
Nintendo Switch Lite
The Switch Lite cannot be docked, so it’s important to consider how much power it consumes when you’re playing a game and charging.
| Application | Draw energy | Cost per hour | Estimated cost per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Play games | 5-7.5W | £0.03 | £0.05 (2 hours per day) |
| Play while charging | 7.5-13.5W | £0.05 | £0.05 (1 hour per day) |
| Sleep mode (charging) | ~ 13 W | £0.05 | £0.09 (2 hours per day) |
Average cost per week
- £0.10 (1 hour game per day) – £0.30 (5 hours game per day)
Nintendo Switch OLED
Nintendo does not provide power consumption for the OLED display when charging, but we can assume that it is more or less similar to the base Nintendo Switch model. These numbers are owned by Nintendo and not by a third party, so take them however you like. We also have data for docking mode only.
Docked
| Application | Draw energy | Cost per hour | Estimated cost per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Play games | 6 W | £0.02 | £0.04 (2 hours per day) |
| Streaming media | 5 W | £0.02 | £0.02 (1 hour per day) |
| On the main menu | 3 W | £0.01 | <£0.01 (1 hour per week) |
| Sleeping mode | 0.3-0.5W (Wi-Fi) 2.2W (wired) |
< £0.01 (Wi-Fi) £0.01 (wired) |
£0.04 (20 hours per day) £0.16 (20 hours per day) |
| Shutdown | 0.3-0.5W | <£0.01 | £0.04 (20 hours per day) |
Average cost per week
- £0.08 (1 hour game per day) – £0.25 (5 hours game per day)
For comparison, we present the cost of Xbox Series S / X and PS5 (from Xbox as well as Sony places):
Xbox Series X
| Application | Draw energy | Cost per hour | Estimated cost per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Play games | 153 W | £0.08 | £1.09 (2 hours per day) |
| Streaming | 47 W | £0.02 | £0.34 (2 hours per day) |
| Instant On Mode | 13 W | £0.01 | £0.93 (20 hours per day) |
| Stand next to | 0.5W | <£0.01 | £0.04 (20 hours per week) |
Average cost per week
- £1.62 (1 hour play/day/instant on) – £3.61 (5 hours play/day/instant on)
Xbox Series S
| Application | Draw energy | Cost per hour | Estimated cost per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Play games | 74 W | £0.04 | £0.53 (2 hours per day) |
| Streaming | 31 W | £0.02 | £0.22 (2 hours per day) |
| Instant On Mode | 10 W | £0.01 | £0.71 (20 hours per day) |
| Stand next to | 0.4W | <£0.01 | £0.03 (20 hours per day) |
Average cost per week
- £1.08 (1 hour play/day/instant on) – £2.00 (5 hours play/day/instant on)
prefix 5
| Application | Draw energy | Cost per hour | Estimated cost per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Play games | 200 W | £0.10 | £1.43 (2 hours per day) |
| Streaming | 54 W | £0.03 | £0.39 (2 hours per day) |
| Stand next to | 2 W | <£0.01 | £0.14 (20 hours a day) |
Average cost per week
- £0.87 (1 hour game per day) – £3.71 (5 hours game per day)
Switch/Xbox/PlayStation Quick Comparison Table
Here, we’ll just summarize the information above to illustrate the main points of comparison between “flagship” consoles from the top three manufacturers:
| Console | Application | Draw energy | Cost per hour | Estimated cost per week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toggle OLED | Play games | 6 W | £0.02 | £0.04 (2 hours per day) |
| PS5 | Play games | 200 W | £0.10 | £1.43 (2 hours per day) |
| Xbox Series X | Play games | 153 W | £0.08 | £1.09 (2 hours per day) |
| Toggle OLED | Standby/Sleep | 0.3-0.5W (Wi-Fi) 2.2W (wired) |
< £0.01 (Wi-Fi) £0.01 (wired) |
£0.04 (20 hours per day) £0.16 (20 hours per day) |
| PS5 | Standby/Sleep | 2 W | <£0.01 | £0.14 (20 hours a day) |
| Xbox Series X | Standby/Sleep | 0.5W | <£0.01 | £0.04 (20 hours per week) |
Tips for Reducing Power Consumption and Improving Switch Efficiency
As you can see (and as you would expect from a smaller mobile console), the Switch is by far the least power-hungry of the current consoles when it comes to gaming, and the more modest power cost to run it – especially when compared to other consoles. and more energy-intensive household appliances – some relief may come.
However, every little does Help, so here are some tips to make your Switch as energy efficient as possible:
- If possible, charge your Switch in the dock when it’s turned off rather than while you’re playing – it will charge much faster.
- Turn your switch off rather than hibernate it (although you won’t have access to fast resume or downloads when it’s off)
- If you are using wired internet on your OLED display, be sure to enable the “low power” option.
- Turn down the brightness
- Disable WiFi and Bluetooth
- Keep Joy-Con Connected
- Fully charge the Switch before using it in portable mode.
- Upgrade your Switch to a newer, more efficient model
In fact, you are not going to save massive amount by changing the settings and playing less. The most you can save is a few pennies here and there, even with a relatively demanding OLED display with wired internet access. You may decide it’s not worth the effort, but it’s still good to know.
However, we very We recommend that you take a look at the power saving settings for your Xbox, as an Xbox Series S and X in Instant On mode can consume almost as much as a Switch that is charging. as well as I play Zelda. Be sure to visit our Pure Xbox sister site for all the details..
As with the PS5, cutting back on hours and using power saving features can help reduce those whopping power bills – if you have all three consoles, you can fork out almost £5 a week just to keep them running in the background. mode!
Do you have any helpful tips for dealing with rising electricity prices? What do you think of the Switch’s power consumption compared to other consoles? Can Nintendo help? Let us know in the comments!
