Best Smart Plugs to Save Money on Your Electric Bill

Your landlord isn’t paying your electric bill — you are. So when you see a smart plug on sale for $10-15, it’s fair to wonder whether it’s a legitimate money-saver or just another gadget that ends up in a drawer. The honest answer: it depends entirely on what you plug it into. Smart plugs save money in two specific, measurable ways, and how much you save depends on how many “always-on” devices you have and how disciplined you already are about turning things off. Here’s what the real numbers say.

What Is Phantom Load (and How Much Does It Cost)?

Phantom load — also called standby power or “vampire power” — is the electricity a device draws when it’s plugged in but not actively in use. Cable boxes, game consoles, TVs, printers, and anything with an always-on display or Wi-Fi connection sip power around the clock, even when you think they’re “off.”

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, standby power accounts for roughly 5-10% of residential electricity use, adding up to as much as $183 per year for the average American household. A 2015 Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) study found idle electronics — cable boxes, DVRs, game consoles, computers, and audio equipment — were the biggest offenders, though newer devices have gotten more efficient thanks to updated energy standards.

That efficiency push matters: a modern LCD TV built after 2013 typically draws less than 0.5 watts in standby, versus 10-15 watts for older electronics before federal standby-power regulations tightened. As a rule of thumb, every continuous watt of standby draw costs roughly 9 kWh of electricity per year — at 2026 U.S. average electricity rates of around 17-19 cents per kWh, that’s about $1.50-$1.70 per year, per watt, left running nonstop.

Game consoles show how this adds up. The NRDC found Xbox Series S/X consoles left in “Instant On” mode draw about 9-10 watts on standby, versus less than 1 watt in “Energy Saving” mode — a gap that, projected across millions of U.S. households, was estimated to waste nearly 4 billion kilowatt-hours and cost consumers over $500 million a year. A PlayStation 5 in Rest Mode, by comparison, typically draws 1 watt or less. One console, one setting, real money.

How Smart Plugs Actually Save Money

Smart plugs save money through two distinct mechanisms, and they don’t apply equally to every device.

Eliminating phantom load. A smart plug lets you cut power completely to a device during hours you know it isn’t needed — overnight, while you’re at work, or during a long weekend away. Unlike unplugging manually (which most people simply won’t do consistently), a schedule does it automatically every day. This targets standby/vampire power directly.
Reducing active runtime through scheduling. This is separate from phantom load — it’s about controlling when a device draws full power, not just idle power. Think of a space heater shutting off after two hours, string lights turning off at 1 a.m. instead of running until morning, or a window AC unit only running during hours you’re actually home. This can save more than phantom-load elimination alone, but it depends heavily on the device and your existing habits — someone already diligent about turning things off will see less benefit here.

What a smart plug does not do is make a device more efficient while running. A hair dryer, space heater, or lamp draws the same wattage whether it’s on a smart plug or a regular outlet. The savings come entirely from cutting the hours a device draws power it doesn’t need to.

Here’s a realistic (not best-case) walkthrough, using 2026 average U.S. electricity rates of about 17 cents per kWh. Treat this as an illustrative estimate, not a guarantee — your actual savings depend on your devices and local rates.

Say you have an entertainment center with a TV, soundbar, and a game console left in “Instant On” standby — a combined idle draw of roughly 15 watts. You put the setup on a smart plug and schedule it to cut power for 16 hours a day (overnight plus work hours), instead of staying in standby around the clock.

15 watts × 16 hours = 240 watt-hours saved per day
240 Wh/day × 365 days = 87.6 kWh saved per year
87.6 kWh × $0.17/kWh = about $14.90 saved per year

That’s one entertainment center. Add a coffee maker with an always-on clock, a printer, or a charging station with old wall-wart adapters, and a renter with three or four plugs deployed thoughtfully might realistically save $25-$50 per year from phantom-load elimination alone. Scheduling-based savings (heaters, window units, lamps) can push that higher, but those numbers are far more household-specific.

Worth noting honestly: smart plugs themselves draw a small amount of power to stay connected to Wi-Fi — typically under 1 watt — which modestly eats into your net savings. It doesn’t erase them, but it’s part of the real math. At $15-20 per plug, a payback period of one to two years is realistic for phantom-load-heavy setups — a legitimate return, just not a dramatic one.

Which Devices Are Worth Putting on a Smart Plug

Worth it:

Game consoles (especially older ones or any left in “Instant On”/quick-resume modes)
Cable boxes and DVRs
TV + soundbar + streaming device combos
Space heaters (with a schedule and, ideally, a plug rated for the wattage)
Window AC units used only certain hours
Coffee makers, printers, and other devices with always-on clocks or displays
Holiday and string lights
Older phone/laptop chargers (“wall warts”) that stay plugged in 24/7

Not worth it:

Modern LED bulbs and lamps (already draw very little power; a smart bulb is often a better fit than a smart plug here)
Newer USB-C phone/laptop chargers (most draw well under 1 watt at idle — the savings are negligible)
Refrigerators and freezers (never put these on a smart plug — they need continuous power, and cycling them can cause compressor damage)
Routers, modems, and security systems (need to stay on for obvious reasons)
Anything already Energy Star-certified with genuinely low standby draw

Best Smart Plugs With Energy Monitoring

If you want to actually see the savings rather than estimate them, look for a smart plug with built-in energy monitoring — it tracks wattage over time so you can identify your real phantom-load offenders instead of guessing.

TP-Link Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug Slim (KP125M) — around $29. Tracks real-time energy use and lets you enter your local electricity rate to see costs in dollars, not just kilowatt-hours.
Eve Energy (Matter-compatible) — around $40. Works natively with Apple Home, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa via Matter, with real-time usage tracking and cost estimates in the app.
TP-Link Kasa EP25 — sold in multi-packs (a 4-pack runs around $35-50, roughly $10-13 per plug), a budget-friendly way to add monitoring across several devices at once.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do smart plugs use electricity themselves?

Yes, a small amount — typically under 1 watt to stay connected to Wi-Fi. It’s a minor offset to your savings, not a dealbreaker, but it’s part of the honest math.

Can I put a space heater or window AC unit on a smart plug?

Generally yes, but check the plug’s maximum wattage/amperage rating first — most standard smart plugs are rated for 15 amps (about 1800 watts), which covers most space heaters and window units. Don’t rely on a smart plug as your only safety control for a heater; use one with a physical auto-shutoff feature too.

How long until a smart plug pays for itself?

For a device with genuine phantom load — an entertainment center, an always-on cable box — a $15-20 smart plug typically pays for itself in one to two years. For devices with minimal standby draw, it may never fully pay for itself in pure electricity savings, though the scheduling convenience can still be worth it.

Do I need a smart hub to use a smart plug?

No. Most smart plugs sold today connect directly to your home Wi-Fi and are controlled through a smartphone app. Some Matter-compatible models can optionally work through a hub (like an Apple HomePod or Amazon Echo) for extra features, but it isn’t mandatory.

The Bottom Line

Smart plugs can save you real money, but let’s be honest about the scale: this is a “tens of dollars a year,” not a “slash your electric bill in half,” situation. If you have older electronics with genuine standby draw — an entertainment center, a game console in Instant On mode, appliances with always-on clocks — a $15-20 smart plug with a sensible schedule will likely pay for itself within a year or two and keep saving modestly after that. If your home is already full of newer, efficient devices, the savings will be smaller and the main benefit becomes convenience rather than a lower bill. Either way, buy one with energy monitoring first, use it to see what your devices actually draw, and then decide whether it’s worth expanding to more outlets — that beats guessing.