Answering the question how many watts does a toaster use implies talking about the two main types of toasters: pop-up toasters and toaster ovens.
Moreover, we also have to take into account that we can buy 2-slice or 4-slice pop-up toasters.
Obviously, the size of a kitchen appliance also leads to different watts being consumed. I also discussed that when I wrote an article on how much electricity air fryers consume.
Moreover, if you’re buying an appliance for your RV, you’ll absolutely want to know how many watts they use. It was a central feature when reviewing the best low watt microwave ovens for camping and when recommending the best portable toasters.
So let’s see what numbers we get for all these different types of appliances that toast bread, bagels, frozen waffles, and make our pop tarts even more delicious.
Basically, the answer is:
- a 2 slice one can usually use between 850 watts and 1,000 watts
- 4 slice models can use 1,300, 1,500, up to 1,800 watts
- a toaster oven can use between 900 and 1,400 watts with a few bigger toaster ovens using 1,800 watts
If we were to make an average for how many watts a toaster uses, we would say that it uses 1,200 watts on average. Although, keep in mind that a 2-slice model will use considerably less.
How Many Watts Does a Toaster Use? Types of Toasters
I’ve already mentioned which types of toasters we must talk about when answering the question how many watts does a toaster use so let’s jump to answering this question.
Popup toasters
These are the classic models that most of us have on the kitchen countertop. When we remodeled our kitchen, one of the first things I did was to pick a new toaster to match the overall design. From a black model I switched to a butter white one.
Usually, these appliances have pretty decent prices and they can be used for a very long time. Among the many kitchen appliances that we use regularly, I would call toasters some of the most long-lasting appliances.
2-slice
Among all, 2 slice models are the least power hungry.
Generally, they don’t need more than 1,000 watts.
These smaller models are great if you only need to toast bread for one or two people.
You can toast enough bread for 2 in the time it takes you to make a juice or to blend a smoothie to join your table.
A popup toaster uses heating elements to toast bread or bagels or frozen waffles. If you want to know more about that, check out my article discussing how hot does a toaster get.
The heating elements always reach the same temperature, no matter which level we select.
The timer is the variable in this equation. Thus, when we select level 3 and not level 5, the slices will popup more quickly.
If we want a nearly burned slice, we must wait quite a while for that.
My favorite is level 5 for thinner slices. And level 6 for thicker slices of homemade sourdough or other artisan breads.
But you can toy with different levels to see which one you prefere, depending on what you throw in the slots.
4-slice
4-slice models are the ones more power hungry. However, as you saw, the watts consumed by a 4-slice mostly don’t double those used by a 2-slice.
1,800 watts 4-slice toasters are not the norm, we don’t often come across them.
The Breville Die-Cast 4-Slice Smart Toaster is such a model, which puts it in the exception category. It also puts it in the exception category for another reason. While most brands make affordable popup toasters, Breville sells very expensive models that can cost $100-$200.
This brand also follows the halving method because their 2-slice Smart Toaster has a power of 900 watts.
Overlooking Breville, the average power for 4-slice models is around 1,300-1,500 watts.
How many watts does a toaster oven use?
Toaster ovens are countertop ovens that have a toast function. However, unlike with our 2-slice or 4-slice appliances, toaster ovens range from simple to complex.
Toaster ovens can use between 1,100 and 1,800 watts, depending on their size. Once again, size is the factor that determines the power of an appliance when it comes to toasters.
Small toaster ovens
Some ovens will have just 3 buttons: one for temperature, the other for selecting the functions, and the third for time.
These are the smaller countertop toaster ovens but they can still accommodate 4-6 slices. They’re also the cheaper ones, with prices around $50-$100.
Functions include: toast, bagel, bake, keep warm, broil.
Temperature will go up to 450 degrees F.
And the timer button is where we can also select the type of toast we want. In some cases we get 2 or 3 pictograms that illustrate how well-toasted we want our slices to be done.
They’re very easy to use and they offer the possibility to bake whatever dishes we want, while getting a toast function on top.
On average, these smaller toaster ovens will use 1,100-1,200 watts.
Big toaster ovens
More expensive, complex, and bigger toaster ovens are the ones with a bunch of other functions.
Some will even be air fryer toaster ovens, including an air fry basket and dedicated function.
On average, bigger toaster ovens use 1,800 watts. Some can toast 9 slices at the same time, bake a 12 inch or 13 inch pizza and be able to fit a 12-cup muffin tray.
These bigger models offer a lot more cooking versatility, especially if they also include an air fry function and other interesting features.
More than that, they’re better for bigger families because you can make enough toast in 2-3 quick sessions for the whole family, no matter how many people you have to feed.
How to pick the perfect toaster for you
The first thing you need to figure out is what type of toaster would be best for you: a popup model or a countertop oven with the toast function.
If you just want to make toast or throw some bagels/waffles/pop tarts in the slots, then we only need a popup toaster.
If we want to also bake in the same appliance, a countertop toaster oven is the one we need.
Next, for popup models, we need to determine if we need a 2-slice or a 4-slice one.
Even if we buy a 4-slice model, we can also toast only 2 slices at a time if we buy a model with 4 slots and 2 buttons/controls, one button per 2 slots.
If we want to toast long slices of bread, we need a long slot toaster. This will use 1,300-1,500 watts. They’re perfect if you bake or buy round loaves (boule) and you don’t want to cut the long slices in half.
The oven, if it’s big, will usually have a power of 1,800 watts but it might not need all those 1,800 watts when the toast function is used. It might use less for toasting slices of bread or bagels but we don’t precisely know that because we don’t get individual watts for each function that these ovens have.
Smaller toaster ovens consume less, about 1,100 or 1,200 watts.
How to save energy
We can save a bit of energy if we select a lower shade setting because the slices will popup or be done more quickly.
If we only eat 2-4 slices of bread in the morning, it makes sense to choose a 2-slice model.
Nowadays, we can also pick energy-efficient models. However, I prefer choosing my appliances based on reliability. I want models that offer the possibility of being used for years to come.
All in all, we could say that the answer to the question how many watts does a toaster use is a range of 900 watts up to 1,800 watts, depending on the type of appliance we have or plan to buy.
