How does the lifespan of stars with relatively small mass compare to more massive stars?

Stars with relatively small mass, such as red dwarfs, indeed have a long lifespan compared to more massive stars. This is primarily because they consume their nuclear fuel at a very slow rate.

Smaller stars possess a lower core temperature and pressure relative to their more massive counterparts. This leads to a less rapid fusion of hydrogen into helium in their cores. Consequently, they can sustain nuclear fusion for billions to trillions of years, while massive stars, which have much higher core temperatures, burn through their fuel quickly, often in just a few million years.

The slower rate of nuclear fusion in smaller stars results not only in a longer duration of their life cycle but also in a different evolutionary path compared to massive stars, which may end their life cycles in dramatic events such as supernovae. Thus, the long lifespan of smaller stars highlights the relationship between stellar mass and the rate of energy consumption.