How much does it cost to run a pool per month?

Short answer

With these example inputs (an unheated 16 × 32 ft pool, a 1,500 watt pump for 8 hours a day at $0.17 per kWh, $40 of chemicals and 1 inch of top-up a week at $5 per 1,000 gallons) the pool costs about $108.04 a month. The pump is $61.20 of that.

How to work it out

Pump: 1,500 W × 8 h × 30 days ÷ 1,000 = 360 kWh × $0.17 = $61.20
Chemicals: $40.00
Water: 512 sq ft × 1 in a week × 0.623 gal × 30 ÷ 7 = 1,368 gal × $5.00 per 1,000 gal = $6.84
Total: $108.04 a month ($3.60 a day)

This is a worked example, not an average: the rates and amounts are placeholders chosen to show the method. Change any of them to your own and the total follows. What carries over to most pools is which lines tend to be big, and which ones you can actually do something about.

Adjust for your project

Pump power draw

Example. From the spec sheet or a meter. A variable-speed pump on low draws far less — see the pool pump cost calculator.

Pump hours a day

hours

Electricity price per kWh

Example — use your own rate from your bill.

Heating

Chemicals per month

Example. Add up a month of chlorine, acid and anything else you buy; a chlorine calculator gives the amounts.

Pool surface area

sq ft

For the top-up water. 16 × 32 ft = 512 sq ft; the pool volume calculator shows yours.

Water lost a week (evaporation and splash-out)

Example. SNWA’s Las Vegas average works out to about 1.5 in a week; cooler, more humid places lose less. A bucket test measures yours — see the pool evaporation calculator.

Water price per 1,000 gallons

Example — from your water bill. If it is per CCF (748 gallons), multiply by 1.337. Add sewer if it is charged on the same meter.

Salt chlorine cell power (optional)

Blank if you don’t have one. From the power supply’s spec sheet; assumed to run the same hours as the pump.

Total per month$108.04

Pump electricity: $61.20
Chemicals: $40.00
Top-up water: $6.84
Top-up water a month: 1,368 gal
Pump energy a month: 360 kWh
Per day: $3.60

The biggest line is pump electricity: 57% of the total.

Example numbersEvery default here is an example, not a typical or average cost. Prices vary by utility, region and season; use the rates on your own bills and your own usage for a real budget.

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Variable-speed pool pumpThe pump is $61.20 of your month. A variable-speed pump running slower for longer moves the same water for a fraction of the energy.

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Example pool: monthly total by electricity rate

Example pool: monthly total by electricity rate
Rate per kWh	Pump electricity	Total per month
$0.10	$36.00	$82.84
$0.15	$54.00	$100.84
$0.20	$72.00	$118.84
$0.25	$90.00	$136.84
$0.30	$108.00	$154.84
$0.40	$144.00	$190.84

The example budget, line by line

Pump: about $61.20. 1,500 W for 8 hours is 12 kWh a day, 360 kWh a month. Cutting to 6 hours saves a quarter; a variable-speed pump at half speed for 16 hours would use roughly a quarter of the energy.
Chemicals: $40. A placeholder for a month of chlorine and acid. Testing before dosing, and a cover to slow chlorine loss in sun, keep this down.
Top-up water: about $6.84. 512 sq ft × 1 in a week is about 319 gallons a week, roughly 1,370 a month. Water is cheap per gallon in many places, so this is often the smallest line — unless you lose far more than an inch a week, which points to a leak.
No heat. Turn on a heater line and it can easily become the biggest line of all. That is why the cover advice keeps coming back.

Adding a heater or a salt cell

Switch the heating line to heat pump, gas or propane and enter a month’s energy from your bills or from the pool heating cost calculator. For a salt pool, add the cell’s watts and lower the chemical line to what you still buy (mostly acid). The pump-only part of the budget is worked separately on how much it costs to run a pool pump 8 hours a day and 12 hours a day.

Different size? Use the full Pool Running Cost Calculator (per month).

What you’ll need

Solar cover (bubble cover)Mid-range price
The cheapest heating upgrade there is: cuts evaporation and holds heat in overnight. Buy the size up and trim it.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
Variable-speed pool pumpPremium price
Runs slower for longer and uses far less electricity for the same turnover. Check it suits your pipe size and filter.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
FAS-DPD drop test kit (chlorine, pH, TA, CH, CYA)Mid-range price
A drop-count kit reads free chlorine to 0.5 ppm (or 0.2 ppm), plus pH, alkalinity, calcium and stabilizer. Every dose on this site starts from a test, so this is the one thing worth buying first.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab)

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Frequently asked questions

What does it cost per month with a heat pump using 600 kWh?

About $210.04 a month at the example $0.17 per kWh, of which heating is $102.00.

What does a salt water pool cost per month?

With an example 150 W cell running with the pump and $15 of acid, about $89.16 a month; the cell itself adds $6.12.

What if the pump only runs 6 hours a day?

About $92.74 a month, with the pump down to $45.90.

Sources

US DOE Energy Saver — Choosing, installing and operating an efficient swimming pool pump (archived) (opens in a new tab) — Start at 6 hours of filtration a day; fewer hours and a smaller pump cut pumping energy by up to 75% in DOE’s Florida example.
US DOE Energy Saver — Swimming pool covers (archived) (opens in a new tab) — Covers cut heating costs 50%–70%, make-up water 30%–50% and chemicals 35%–60%; evaporation is by far the largest energy loss.
ENERGY STAR — Pool pumps (opens in a new tab) — Halving pump speed uses one-eighth as much energy; certified in-ground pumps use 20% less energy than standard models.
US EIA — British thermal units (Btu) (opens in a new tab) — 1 therm of natural gas = 100,000 Btu; 1 gallon of propane ≈ 91,452 Btu; 1 kWh = 3,412 Btu.
Southern Nevada Water Authority — Pools and spas (opens in a new tab) — In Las Vegas the average in-ground pool loses 48.6 gallons per square foot a year to evaporation; covers reduce evaporation by 90%.