InputTestHub

Heat Pump vs Gas Boiler Running Cost Calculator

Compares the yearly running cost of a heat pump against a gas boiler from your gas use, boiler efficiency and energy prices, and gives the break-even SCOP.

Calculators Nothing uploaded No sign-up Free, unlimited
Calculators tool
Enter your figures and press Compare running costs.
In short A heat pump is cheaper to run than a gas boiler only when its seasonal efficiency beats the ratio of the two fuel prices. The break-even point is the electricity price times the boiler’s efficiency, divided by the gas price. At the UK price cap for October to December 2026 — 26.32p per kWh for electricity and 7.97p for gas — and an 85% efficient boiler, that is a SCOP of 2.81. Burning 9,500 kWh of gas costs £757.15 a year and delivers about 8,075 kWh of heat; a heat pump with a SCOP of 3 makes the same heat from about 2,692 kWh of electricity, costing £708.45, so it is £48.70 a year cheaper. If you also remove the gas supply, you stop paying the £108.33 gas standing charge, the break-even falls to 2.46 and the saving rises to £157.04. These are running costs only: installation, grants and servicing are not included, and a cheaper heat-pump electricity tariff changes the answer a lot.

How to use the Heat Pump vs Gas Boiler Running Cost Calculator

  1. Enter the gas you use in a year for heating and hot water, from your annual statement.
  2. Enter your boiler’s efficiency and the heat pump’s expected seasonal efficiency (SCOP).
  3. Leave the prices at the price cap or enter your own, and tick the box if you would remove the gas supply.
  4. Read the yearly difference, the break-even SCOP and the table of SCOP values.

About the Heat Pump vs Gas Boiler Running Cost Calculator

The Heat Pump vs Gas Boiler Calculator compares what each costs to run for a year from the gas you use now, and gives the seasonal efficiency a heat pump must reach to break even.

Why the break-even SCOP is the number to watch

A boiler turns a kWh of gas into a little under a kWh of heat. A heat pump turns a kWh of electricity into several kWh of heat — its seasonal coefficient of performance, or SCOP. Electricity costs about three times as much as gas per kWh at the UK cap, so the heat pump has to deliver roughly three units of heat per unit of electricity just to match the boiler. The exact figure for your prices and boiler is shown at the top.

The gas standing charge

Keep the gas supply for cooking and you still pay its daily standing charge. Remove it and that charge goes too, which lowers the SCOP needed to break even. The tick box shows both cases.

Where this tool stops

Running costs only. It does not include installation, grants, servicing, a hot-water cylinder or changes to radiators, and a real SCOP depends on the house, the radiators and the flow temperature. The defaults are examples to replace with your own figures, not claims about a typical home.

Explained in our guides

All guides

Frequently asked questions

Is a heat pump cheaper to run than a gas boiler?
Only if its seasonal efficiency is above the break-even point for your prices. At the UK price cap for October to December 2026 and an 85% boiler, that is a SCOP of 2.81; a heat pump with a SCOP of 3 saves about £49 a year on 9,500 kWh of gas.
What SCOP does a heat pump need to beat gas?
Electricity price times boiler efficiency, divided by gas price. At 26.32p and 7.97p with an 85% boiler, 2.81. Removing the gas supply and its standing charge lowers it.
What is SCOP?
The seasonal coefficient of performance: the heat a heat pump delivers over a whole heating season divided by the electricity it uses. A SCOP of 3 means three kWh of heat for each kWh of electricity.
Does this include installation costs?
No. It compares running costs only. Installation, grants, servicing and any changes to radiators or hot water are separate.
Do I need an account to use the Heat Pump vs Gas Boiler Running Cost Calculator?
No charge and no sign-up. There is no free tier to run out of because there is no paid tier — inputtesthub.com is funded by advertising rather than by metering the page.
Does anything I enter leave my computer?
No. The Heat Pump vs Gas Boiler Running Cost Calculator runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Nothing is transmitted, logged or stored, which you can verify yourself in the Network tab of your browser's developer tools.
Can I check the maths myself?
It uses Heat = gas kWh × boiler efficiency. Heat pump electricity = heat ÷ SCOP. Break-even SCOP = electricity price × heat ÷ what the gas costs now. The full working is printed under the result, so you can follow every step rather than trusting a black box.
What is the Heat Pump vs Gas Boiler Running Cost Calculator used for?
In practice it gets used for three things: checking whether a heat pump would cut a heating bill at today’s prices. Seeing how much the installer’s quoted SCOP matters. Weighing up removing the gas supply entirely. It is built for exactly those cases rather than being a general-purpose tool with this bolted on.
Is there a catch?
Running costs only, on the figures you enter. Defaults are the UK price cap for October to December 2026 and example efficiencies, not claims about your home.
What figures does the Heat Pump vs Gas Boiler Running Cost Calculator work from?
Break-even SCOP at the cap is 2.81 with an 85% boiler. If the gas supply is removed is 2.46. Gas standing charge is £108.33 a year at the cap. These are printed on the page itself, so you do not have to take them on trust.
Can I rely on this for exact work?
The calculation runs in double precision and the result is shown to ten significant figures, so converting a value and converting it back returns the original. What is displayed is rounded for readability; what is copied is not.

Related calculators tools

All 382
01

Loan Calculator

Works out the monthly payment, total interest and full repayment schedule for any loan from…

02

EMI Calculator

Calculates your Equated Monthly Instalment with a full principal-versus-interest breakdown and…

03

Mortgage Calculator

Estimates a full monthly housing payment including principal, interest, property tax…

04

Car Loan Calculator

Calculates a car finance payment from the price, deposit, trade-in, interest rate and term…

05

Personal Loan Calculator

Works out instalments and total cost for an unsecured personal loan, including any processing…

09

SIP Calculator

Projects the maturity value of a monthly Systematic Investment Plan, showing invested amount…