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A Raspberry Pi 5 running continuously can cost only a small amount in electricity, but the exact bill depends on the complete setup’s average wall-power draw and your electricity rate. For a 30-day month, estimate it with watts × 0.72 × your price per kWh. At the U.S. 2025 average residential rate of 17.30¢/kWh, illustrative draws of 2–10 W work out to about $0.25–$1.25 per month. Those are calculations, not measured results for a Pi 5 streaming setup.
Calculate the monthly electricity cost
Use the average power draw of the entire setup at the wall, not the capacity printed on its power supply:
Monthly cost = average watts ÷ 1,000 × hours operated × price per kWh
A 30-day month has 720 hours. For a device running all month, the formula becomes:
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Monthly cost = average watts × 0.72 × price per kWh
Use the electricity price in the same currency and units as your bill. For example, if your measured average is 4 W and your rate is $0.20 per kWh, the estimate is 4 × 0.72 × $0.20 = $0.576, or about 58 cents for 30 days.
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Example costs at the 2025 U.S. residential average
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an annual average residential rate of 17.30¢/kWh for 2025, published in 2026. Applying that rate to several assumed continuous average draws gives these approximate costs:
| Assumed average wall draw | Energy in 30 days | Cost at 17.30¢/kWh |
|---|---|---|
| 2 W | 1.44 kWh | $0.25 |
| 4 W | 2.88 kWh | $0.50 |
| 6 W | 4.32 kWh | $0.75 |
| 10 W | 7.20 kWh | $1.25 |
These are transparent scenario calculations, not independent tests and not claims that a streaming Pi 5 draws one of these amounts. Your local rate may differ substantially: EIA’s 2025 state averages ranged from 8.20¢/kWh in North Dakota to 35.72¢/kWh in Hawaii. Treat the national average as an illustration, not a prediction of your bill.
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What changes the Pi 5’s actual draw?
Raspberry Pi’s hardware documentation lists 800 mA as the Pi 5’s typical bare-board active current and reports workload power measurements, including H.264 playback. These figures are approximate and are not a guaranteed wall reading for a complete video-streaming setup. The documentation cautions that additional USB devices and HATs can increase consumption.
Raspberry Pi recommends a 27 W USB-C supply for the Pi 5. That is the supply’s recommended capacity, not evidence that the computer continuously uses 27 W. Power-supply losses and connected equipment also mean a board-side figure should not be treated as the wall draw.
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- Include any USB storage, cooling fan, HAT, or other powered accessory that is part of your real setup.
- Streaming workload, encoding, and playback settings may affect consumption, but the available official platform guidance does not establish a measured Pi 5 draw for a particular prerecorded-video workflow.
- YouTube’s encoder requirements describe accepted streaming settings; they do not certify or guarantee a specific Raspberry Pi 5 setup.
Measure your own 24/7 setup
- Connect the complete Pi 5 setup—including its normal peripherals and power supply—to a plug-in electricity meter that reports energy in kWh.
- Run the prerecorded-video streaming workflow for a representative period. A longer measurement captures changing workloads better than a momentary reading.
- Read the meter’s kWh total for that period. If it measured fewer than 30 days, scale the energy to your planned monthly operating hours: kWh measured × 720 ÷ hours measured for a 30-day continuous estimate.
- Multiply the estimated monthly kWh by the per-kWh energy rate shown on your electricity bill. If your bill has separate fixed charges or time-of-use rates, account for those separately; the simple formula estimates energy charges at one rate.
Measuring the complete setup at the wall is the most useful household estimate because it includes power-supply losses and peripherals. Raspberry Pi’s approximate board measurements are not interchangeable with that reading.
Run the stream without leaving a computer on at home
If your goal is to keep a prerecorded YouTube stream running, StreamNeo is a cloud alternative to operating a Pi or another computer locally. Upload your recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live; StreamNeo loops the uploaded video from the cloud. It does not stream from a camera or to platforms other than YouTube.
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- Nothing has to stay powered on at home.
- Uploaded video streams as made, up to 4K 60fps, at one flat price per slot with no re-encode or quality tiers.
- It automatically recovers if YouTube drops the stream.
- The first day is free with no card; one free day is available per account.
The monthly option is $9.99 per month. See StreamNeo for the service details, or start the free day.
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