Laundry Method Cost & Time Calculator
This calculator compares three common laundry setups—in-home machines, self-serve laundromats, and pickup & delivery services—so you can see how each one affects your monthly cash outlay and your time. It turns your estimates into a simple comparison of dollars per month, hours per month, and an effective hourly cost that includes the value of your time.
Use it when you’re deciding whether to buy a washer and dryer, keep using the laundromat, or justify a pickup service. It also works if you want to mix methods; you can run the calculator multiple times with different assumptions to see how your overall picture changes.
What this laundry calculator measures
Behind the scenes, the tool converts all of your inputs into monthly costs and monthly hours for three scenarios:
- In-home laundry: Upfront machine cost, maintenance, utilities, detergent, space, and your active time per load.
- Laundromat: Per-load wash/dry pricing, travel cost per trip, time spent per trip, and your value of time.
- Pickup & delivery: Per-bag price, per-order fees, tip percentage, and any time you still invest (bagging clothes, scheduling, handling delivery).
The goal is not just to find the cheapest option, but to show what you effectively pay per hour of your time saved or spent in each method.
How the math works
Each scenario is normalized to a monthly basis. The calculator starts from your loads per week and scales up to an approximate number of loads per month. It then applies cost and time formulas for each approach.
Core formulas in plain language
- Loads per month ≈ loads per week × 4.33 (average weeks per month).
- Time cost for any scenario = (hours per month) × (your time value in $/hour).
- Total monthly cost = cash expenses per month + time cost per month.
Here is a more formal way to express the total cost per month, including the value of your time:
Where:
C_cashis your out-of-pocket monthly spending on that method.T_hoursis the total number of hours per month you spend on laundry using that method.V_timeis the dollar value you assign to an hour of your time.
For in-home machines, the calculator also spreads your purchase price over the expected lifespan. In simplified form:
That monthly equipment cost is then added to utilities, space cost, and detergent to get the in-home cash total.
Interpreting your results
After you hit Calculate, you’ll see a comparison of the three scenarios with:
- Monthly cost: Estimated cash plus monetized time for that method.
- Monthly hours: How many hours you spend dealing with laundry.
- Notes: Quick context, such as which option is fastest or which has the lowest cash cost.
Focus on two questions:
- Which method has the lowest total monthly cost? This optimizes for pure efficiency (money + time).
- How much time am I really buying back? If pickup costs more, divide the extra dollars by the hours saved versus another method to see your effective hourly rate of time saved.
If you often combine laundromat trips with other errands, your effective travel cost and time are lower. In that case, consider using an Errand Consolidation Savings Calculator to estimate how much of the trip should really be attributed to laundry versus other tasks.
Worked example: Household with in-home machines vs laundromat
Imagine a household doing 6 loads per week. They’re evaluating whether their existing in-home machines are really worth it compared to a nearby laundromat.
They enter values similar to the defaults:
- Loads per week: 6
- Machine purchase price: $1,500, lifespan: 10 years
- Annual maintenance: $120
- Electricity per load: 1.6 kWh at $0.18/kWh
- Water per load: 30 gallons at $0.004/gallon
- Detergent & supplies: $0.35 per load
- Active time per home load: 12 minutes
- Laundromat cost: $5.50 per load
- Travel cost per trip: $3, time per trip: 90 minutes, 3 loads per trip
- Your time value: $22/hour
- Monthly space cost for machines: $35
When they run the calculator, they might see something like:
- In-home: Lowest cash cost and moderate time, especially if they can do other things while machines run.
- Laundromat: Higher cash cost due to per-load pricing and travel, plus more continuous time spent supervising loads.
- Pickup: Highest cash cost but very little active time, which might still be attractive if their time value is high.
If pickup saves 6 hours per month versus the laundromat but costs $90 more, that’s $15 per hour of time saved. If they value their time at $22/hour, pickup is worth considering; if they value it at $10/hour, the laundromat (or in-home machines) may be better.
Quick comparison of laundry methods
| Method | Typical strengths | Common trade-offs | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-home washer & dryer | Low ongoing cost per load; flexible timing; minimal travel. | Upfront purchase; uses space; responsible for maintenance and repairs. | Families or households with space who do frequent laundry. |
| Laundromat | No equipment purchase; many machines at once; useful if you lack in-home hookups. | Travel time; carrying loads; per-load costs can add up; schedule tied to business hours. | Renters without machines, small apartments, or temporary situations. |
| Pickup & delivery | Maximizes time savings; convenient in dense urban areas; predictable weekly routine. | Typically highest cash cost; tipping and fees; less control over wash preferences unless specified. | Busy professionals, high-income households, or anyone with very limited free time. |
Assumptions and limitations
To keep the calculator usable, a few simplifying assumptions are built in. Keep these in mind as you interpret your results:
- Steady laundry volume: The tool assumes your loads per week are roughly consistent throughout the year. Seasonal spikes (holidays, kids home from school) are not modeled separately.
- Average month length: Converting weekly loads to monthly uses an average of about 4.33 weeks per month. Actual calendar months vary slightly.
- Flat pricing: Utility rates, laundromat prices, and pickup fees are treated as constant. Real-world tiered pricing, discounts, or surge rates aren’t captured.
- Time value is personal: The hourly value you assign to your time is subjective. Try running the calculator with a few different values (for example, your after-tax hourly wage versus a lower number reflecting your free time).
- Active vs passive time: For in-home laundry, you only enter active minutes per load (sorting, starting machines, folding), not the full cycle length. At laundromats, most of the visit is usually active or at least “tied up,” so the calculator treats trip time as fully committed.
- Pickup time is minimal: Time spent scheduling pickups or handling deliveries is not explicitly entered, so results assume it is very small compared with the other methods.
- Estimates, not quotes: This is a planning tool to compare options, not a binding price from any provider. Always check real quotes and your actual bills before making big decisions.
Use the output as a directional guide: it can highlight which method is likely to be cheapest overall and how much your time is really worth in this decision. For precise budgeting, refine your inputs with real utility rates, actual laundromat prices, and any discounts or memberships you use.
Why compare laundry methods?
Laundry is a never-ending chore with a price tag that is easy to ignore. Whether you rent an apartment with coin machines, haul baskets to a neighborhood laundromat, or invest in high-efficiency appliances, each choice carries both cash and time consequences. This calculator is built for families, roommates, and busy professionals who want the numbers behind those decisions, not marketing promises. The tool converts capital costs, utilities, detergents, travel, and tips into a clear monthly view. Because it also values your time, the comparison captures the hidden expense of waiting for dryers to finish or folding shirts at midnight. The result is a grounded, human-scale analysis that speaks to anyone who has juggled laundry around a toddler’s nap or squeezed a laundromat trip between night shifts.
The calculator starts with how many loads you run per week and converts that to a monthly volume using a 4.345 multiplier (the average number of weeks per month). For in-home machines, it amortizes your washer and dryer purchase over their lifespan, adds maintenance and space costs, and layers in per-load utilities. Laundromat costs fold in per-load pricing, travel expenses, and the opportunity cost of time spent guarding machines. Pickup and delivery services often quote prices per bag, so the tool estimates how many bags your laundry volume requires, applies service fees, and even accounts for the tip you leave a hardworking driver.
Under the hood, the formulas balance cost per load with the value of your time. Let represent weekly loads, the amortized monthly machine cost, the utility plus detergent cost per load, and the active minutes per load. The home method’s monthly total becomes:
where is the hourly value of your time. Similar equations handle laundromat and pickup scenarios by substituting their respective cost structures. For laundromats, cost per trip is multiplied by the number of trips required each month, then time per trip is converted into hours and priced at your time value. Pickup and delivery calculate the number of bags required, multiply by the service price, add fees, and apply a tip percentage. By keeping the formulas transparent, you can easily adjust inputs to reflect energy-efficient machines, off-peak utility rates, or a roommate who splits costs.
Worked example
Consider a household of four running six loads per week. They can buy a \$1,500 washer/dryer set expected to last ten years, spending \$120 per year on maintenance and \$35 monthly on the closet they could otherwise rent out. Each load uses 1.6 kWh of electricity at \$0.18 per kWh, 30 gallons of water at \$0.004 per gallon, and \$0.35 of detergent. Active time per load is about twelve minutes. At the laundromat, each load costs \$5.50, plus \$3 in travel and 90 minutes per trip for three loads. A pickup service charges \$28 per bag holding three loads, with a \$4 fee and 10% tip. Valuing time at \$22 per hour, the home setup costs about \$196 per month including time, the laundromat about \$236, and pickup/delivery around \$309. The planner highlights the home method as the least expensive in both dollars and hours, saving roughly \$40 compared with the laundromat and almost \$113 versus pickup.
Looking closer, the in-home method commits 5.2 active hours per month, the laundromat about 8.7 hours (including travel), and pickup only 1 hour for bag prep. Assigning a value to that time clarifies whether it is worth keeping machines even if rent is higher. If you live in a building that includes laundry space in rent, reduce the space cost input to zero and watch the total fall even further in favor of in-home machines. If your local laundromat has large machines that handle six loads at once, increase the loads per trip input to see how dramatically that changes the hours required.
Scenario table
| Strategy | Monthly Cost | Monthly Time | Ideal For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home high-efficiency machines | $180 | 5.0 hours | Families with stable housing and space |
| Laundromat batch nights | $235 | 8.5 hours | Apartment dwellers who enjoy batching chores |
| Pickup and delivery | $315 | 1.0 hour | Busy professionals trading money for time |
The scenario table shows that the cheapest option is not always the fastest. Pickup services cost more but reclaim hours. A laundromat can win if you treat it as a batching day and use giant machines, especially when paired with the pack lunch vs. school lunch calculator to evaluate meal prep done while clothes spin. If you already manage a household budget with the home maintenance reserve planner, feeding laundry data into this tool lets you see how a one-time appliance purchase compares to steady service payments.
Limitations and adjustments
These calculations rest on averages. Your utility rates may include tiered pricing or sewer fees tied to water usage, and pickup services often discount subscription customers. The calculator values your time equally across methods, yet some people fold clothes while watching TV, making the time feel less costly. Others may place a premium on privacy and hygiene, which is harder to quantify. Finally, the tool assumes you run full loads; if you often wash half loads to keep uniforms ready, adjust the loads-per-week input upward to capture the true cost.
Experiment with the inputs every few months. If electricity rates spike, plugging new data into the calculator shows when it might be cheaper to switch to a laundromat temporarily. When your washer nears the end of its lifespan, increase the maintenance input or shorten the lifespan to see how the amortized monthly cost rises. Use the insights alongside other tools like the grocery inflation budget adjuster and the utility bill levelized budget planner to keep your whole household spending plan consistent.
Most importantly, let the numbers help you negotiate. Landlords may be more open to installing machines when you can show how the current laundry setup consumes hours and dollars. Conversely, if a delivery service gives back six hours a month that you can dedicate to freelance work or caretaking, the higher cost may still be the smartest move. The calculator does not judge your priorities; it shines a light on the trade-offs so you can make decisions with clarity instead of guesswork.