Budget for the PC and any display as one-time purchases, then estimate the monthly electricity bill from their measured average power draw and your local electricity rate. A 30-day month has 720 hours: a setup drawing an average of 100 watts uses 72 kWh. At the 2025 U.S. residential average of 17.30¢ per kWh, that would cost about $12.46 for electricity—but YouTube’s web playback can pause to ask whether you are still watching, so a dedicated PC is not guaranteed to advance unattended all month.
Separate the upfront cost from monthly costs
Start with the cost of the dedicated desktop PC and, if needed, a display. Those are purchase costs, not part of the monthly electricity calculation. The PC category makes sense for this use, but the right configuration and price depend on what you already own, your target resolution and your budget; there is no single tested model or wattage that applies to every setup.
Then list recurring costs only if they apply to you:
- Electricity: estimate the PC and display separately if both will run continuously.
- Internet: include a new plan only if you need one, or account for extra charges if the playback could push you over a data cap.
- Subscriptions: include one only if you choose it. YouTube Premium is optional, not a requirement for playback; YouTube describes device limits for individual Premium, Premium Lite and Music Premium accounts, with different limits for household plans. Check current terms and local pricing before budgeting.
Estimate 24/7 electricity use
Measure the setup’s average draw
Use the computer’s average power draw at the wall while playing video at the resolution you expect to use. A plug-in power meter can provide a representative reading. Do not use the power supply’s maximum rating as though it were the PC’s actual consumption. If the display will stay on too, measure or estimate its draw separately and add it to the computer’s average.
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Apply the monthly formula
Monthly energy (kWh) = average wall draw (watts) ÷ 1,000 × hours per month. For 30 days running 24 hours a day, use 720 hours. Then calculate monthly electricity cost = monthly kWh × your electricity price per kWh.
The following are illustrative arithmetic examples at the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2025 residential annual average of 17.30¢ per kWh—not measurements of particular PCs. They exclude display power, purchase cost, taxes and fixed bill charges, internet, replacement parts and subscriptions.
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| Assumed average draw | Energy for 30 days at 24 hours/day | Electricity at 17.30¢/kWh |
|---|---|---|
| 50 W | 36 kWh | $6.23 |
| 100 W | 72 kWh | $12.46 |
| 200 W | 144 kWh | $24.91 |
Your own tariff matters more than this benchmark. EIA’s 2025 state range was 8.20¢ per kWh in North Dakota to 35.72¢ in Hawaii; those figures are average retail prices for all utility customer types in those states, not residential-only comparisons. EIA’s July 2026 U.S. national monthly residential average was 18.31¢ per kWh. Rates vary by place and customer type, so use the rate on your bill or tariff for a personal estimate. EIA electricity data
Plan for resolution and internet capacity
YouTube recommends a current browser and operating system for computer viewing. Its published sustained-speed recommendations are 5 Mbps for 1080p and 20 Mbps for 4K UHD; these are recommendations, not guarantees of uninterrupted playback. Choose the resolution you actually intend to watch, then make sure the connection can sustain the corresponding speed. If your plan has a data cap, check how video viewing could affect it before leaving playback running.
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Account for playback interruptions
Autoplay can start another related video after the current one ends. However, YouTube says the web may show a “Video paused. Continue watching?” prompt after 60 minutes of uninterrupted viewing when Autoplay is enabled. YouTube Help explains that the prompt is intended “to protect your watch history and help make sure you don’t use internet data if you’re not actually watching YouTube.” An unattended PC may therefore stop advancing until someone responds; budgeting for a PC does not remove that interruption.
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YouTube Help on Autoplay and the Continue watching prompt
Set up and maintain the dedicated PC
- Choose the playback target. Decide whether the PC will play at 1080p or 4K UHD, and whether its display will also remain on. This sets the relevant bandwidth target and whether you need to include display power in the estimate.
- Check the connection and data plan. Compare sustained available speed with YouTube’s recommendation for your chosen resolution. Review your ISP’s data-cap and overage terms if applicable.
- Measure power under representative playback. Run the intended video and resolution, record the wall draw over a representative period, and use the average in the formula above. Measure the display separately if it will run continuously.
- Enable Autoplay if you want related videos to follow. Remember that this advances to related videos rather than guaranteeing a fixed playlist will loop, and the web prompt can still require a person’s attention.
- Keep the software current and troubleshoot playback. YouTube recommends updating the computer and browser and closing excess tabs. If playback still fails, try Chrome or another supported device. These steps can address common playback problems, but they do not establish that a particular computer will run without interruption for a month.
YouTube playback troubleshooting guidance
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