"Fürst Bismarck" was propelled by three vertical four-cylinder, triple-expansion engines. The engines were powered by four Thornycroft boilers—which had been built under license by Germaniawerft—and 8 cylindrical boilers. The Thornycroft boilers had two fire boxes apiece, for a total of eight, while the cylindrical boilers each had four fire boxes, for a total of 32. Each of the three engines drove a three-bladed screw propeller. The center propeller was in diameter, while the two outer screws were slightly larger, at in diameter. The engines produced and a top speed of . On trials, the engines were pushed to , but still only provided a top speed of . Electrical power was supplied by five generators that provided 325 kilowatts at 110 volts.