Electrochemical cells with inert turbulence promoters (ITP) and plain cells of the same geometry have been compared with respect to their productivity and specific energy consumption. As cathode reaction the diffusion controlled copper ion deposition process has been used, while the anode reactions were either metal dissolution or oxygen evolution on a stable anode. It has been found that in the ITP cells with an insoluble anode the contribution of ITP to the mass transfer enhancement is higher. The relationship between pumping energy and process energy has also been analysed as a function of hydrodynamic conditions for each cell separately. The application of ITP cells has significant advantages in electrowinning and plating processes, while they are not suitable, from an energy perspective, in galvanising processes, in which soluble anodes are used. In the case of electrowinning the minimum energy consumption is found to be in the region of 0.1 - 1 g dm-3 of reacting ions, depending on the kind of cell used.