UK homelab running-cost index 2026
What it costs to leave home and homelab kit switched on all year in the UK: idle power draw, yearly electricity cost at 26.32p per kWh (the current Ofgem price cap), the three-year cost including the price, and when the maker stops software updates. 51 products, 37 with figures measured by owners or reviewers and the rest from the maker.
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Network switches: cheapest to run first
| Product | Idle | A year | Price | 3 years, all in | Updates until |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TP-Link TL-SG105S 5-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch | 1 W | £2.31 | ~£13.99 | £20.92 | 2024-09-21 |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Flex Mini 2.5G | 1.3 W | £3 | ~£52.99 | £61.99 | not announced |
| NETGEAR GS108 8-Port Gigabit Unmanaged Switch | 1.5 W | £3.46 | ~£24.99 | £35.37 | not announced |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Flex Mini | 1.8 W | £4.15 | ~£33 | £45.45 | not announced |
| NETGEAR GS308E | 2.5 W* | £5.76 | ~£24.97 | £42.25 | 2025-11-30 |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Lite 8 PoE | 3.7 W | £8.53 | ~£111 | £136.59 | not announced |
| Zyxel XGS1210-12 | 3.95 W* | £9.11 | ~£125 | £152.33 | not announced |
| NETGEAR MS305 5-Port Multi-Gigabit (2.5G) Unmanaged Switch | 4 W | £9.22 | ~£127.77 | £155.43 | not announced |
| QNAP QSW-1105-5T | 4 W | £9.22 | ~£93.14 | £120.80 | not announced |
| TP-Link Easy Smart Switch TL-SG105PE | 4.52 W* | £10.42 | ~£39.99 | £71.25 | not announced |
| TP-Link LS108GP | 5.53 W* | £12.75 | ~£39.99 | £78.24 | not announced |
| MikroTik CRS305-1G-4S+IN | 10 W | £23.06 | ~£121.19 | £190.37 | not announced |
| MikroTik CRS310-8G+2S+IN | 10.5 W | £24.21 | ~£185.57 | £258.20 | not announced |
| MikroTik CRS326-24G-2S+RM | 12 W | £27.67 | ~£175.32 | £258.33 | not announced |
| TP-Link TL-SX1008 | 12 W | £27.67 | ~£319 | £402.01 | not announced |
| TP-Link TL-SG3210XHP-M2 | 17.24 W* | £39.75 | ~£340 | £459.25 | 2023-04-08 |
NAS: cheapest to run first
| Product | Idle | A year | Price | 3 years, all in | Updates until |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Synology DiskStation DS124 | 3.44 W* | £7.93 | ~£140 | £163.79 | not announced |
| Synology DiskStation DS223j | 4 W* | £9.22 | ~£167 | £194.66 | not announced |
| UGREEN NASync DXP2800 | 7 W | £16.14 | ~£324.85 | £373.27 | not announced |
| UGREEN NASync DH2300 | 10 W | £23.06 | ~£174.95 | £244.13 | not announced |
| TERRAMASTER F2-425 | 11.5 W | £26.51 | ~£252 | £331.53 | not announced |
| Beelink ME Pro 2-Bay NAS Mini PC | 14.5 W | £33.43 | ~£419 | £519.29 | not announced |
| UGREEN NASync DXP2800 GT | 17.5 W | £40.35 | ~£389.99 | £511.04 | not announced |
| UGREEN NASync DH4300 Plus | 18.8 W | £43.35 | ~£332.99 | £463.04 | not announced |
| UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus | 24.25 W | £55.91 | ~£529.98 | £697.71 | not announced |
| UGREEN NASync DXP4800GT | 25 W | £57.64 | ~£529.99 | £702.91 | not announced |
| UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Pro | 26 W | £59.95 | ~£619.99 | £799.84 | not announced |
Wi-Fi routers and mesh: cheapest to run first
| Product | Idle | A year | Price | 3 years, all in | Updates until |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TP-Link Archer C6 AC1200 Router | 2.6 W | £5.99 | ~£43.78 | £61.75 | not announced |
| MERCUSYS MR80X AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 Router | 5.5 W* | £12.68 | ~£34.99 | £73.03 | not announced |
| GL.iNet Flint 2 GL-MT6000 | 5.6 W | £12.91 | ~£152.99 | £191.72 | not announced |
| TP-Link Archer AX53 | 9 W | £20.75 | ~£59.98 | £122.23 | 2028-04-06 |
Firewalls and security gateways: cheapest to run first
| Product | Idle | A year | Price | 3 years, all in | Updates until |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ubiquiti Cloud Gateway Ultra (UCG-Ultra) | 4.5 W | £10.38 | ~£99.96 | £131.10 | not announced |
| Netgate 2100 pfSense+ Security Gateway | 4.6 W | £10.61 | ~£436 | £467.83 | not announced |
| Firewalla Purple | 7 W* | £16.14 | ~£300 | £348.42 | not announced |
| Protectli Vault Pro VP2420 | 10 W | £23.06 | ~£569 | £638.18 | not announced |
| Netgate 4200 pfSense+ Security Gateway | 13 W* | £29.97 | ~£465 | £554.91 | not announced |
| Ubiquiti Dream Machine Pro (UDM-Pro) | 16 W | £36.89 | ~£396 | £506.67 | not announced |
Mini PCs: cheapest to run first
| Product | Idle | A year | Price | 3 years, all in | Updates until |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Mac mini (M6) | 2.7 W | £6.23 | ~£824 | £842.69 | not announced |
| GEEKOM A6 Mini PC Ryzen 7 6800H | 4.2 W | £9.68 | ~£549 | £578.04 | not announced |
| GEEKOM A5 2027 Edition | 6 W | £13.83 | ~£469 | £510.49 | not announced |
| GMKtec NucBox M6 Ultra Mini PC AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS | 10 W | £23.06 | ~£549.96 | £619.14 | not announced |
Wi-Fi access points: cheapest to run first
| Product | Idle | A year | Price | 3 years, all in | Updates until |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TP-Link Omada EAP653 AX3000 Ceiling Mount Wi-Fi 6 Access Point | 6.16 W* | £14.20 | ~£80 | £122.60 | not announced |
| UniFi U7 Pro | 8 W | £18.45 | ~£180 | £235.35 | not announced |
Single-board computers: cheapest to run first
| Product | Idle | A year | Price | 3 years, all in | Updates until |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arduino UNO Q 4GB (ABX00173) | 0.5 W | £1.15 | ~£59.31 | £62.76 | not announced |
| Raspberry Pi 3 Model B | 1.4 W | £3.23 | ~£33 | £42.69 | not announced |
| Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 1GB | 2.85 W | £6.57 | ~£44.30 | £64.01 | not announced |
| Raspberry Pi 5 4GB | 3 W | £6.92 | ~£105.60 | £126.36 | 2036-01 |
| IceWhale ZimaBoard 2 | 8.2 W | £18.91 | ~£288.89 | £345.62 | not announced |
NAS hard drives: cheapest to run first
| Product | Idle | A year | Price | 3 years, all in | Updates until |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WD Red Plus 4TB WD40EFPX | 3.1 W* | £7.15 | ~£208.99 | £230.44 | not announced |
| Seagate IronWolf 4TB NAS hard drive | 3.96 W* | £9.13 | ~£183.58 | £210.97 | not announced |
| WD Red Pro 4TB WD4005FFBX | 4 W* | £9.22 | ~£259.99 | £287.65 | not announced |
How the figures are worked out
Yearly cost = idle watts × 24 hours × 365 days × 26.32p per kWh. Real use is usually a little higher, because kit isn't idle all the time. Watts marked * are the manufacturer's figure; the rest were measured by owners or reviewers, linked from each review.
Prices marked ~ are the typical UK price when we researched the product. “Updates until” is the end date the maker has announced for software or security updates. How we review.