5 Best Chest Freezers (2023 Guide)

Chest freezers offer long-term food storage by deep-freezing items such as meat, soup, butter, fruit, vegetables, and more. Unlike ordinary kitchen refrigerators or freezers, chest freezers are designed to hold items you don’t frequently access. They’re typically heavy and bulky but deep, offering greater storage than a traditional freezer.

To help you find the best chest freezer for your food storage needs, we researched dozens of models online and narrowed them down to the top five. Keep reading to learn more about our recommendations.

Top 5 Chest Freezers

Based on our research, we found these to be the top five chest freezers available online:

• Best Overall: Koolatron Chest Freezer
• Best Mini Freezer: Midea Mini Chest Freezer
• Best Portable Freezer: Whynter Portable True Chest Freezer
• Best Oversized Freezer: GE Appliances Garage-Ready Chest Freezer
• Best Temperature Control: NewAir Garage-Ready Chest Freezer

Best Chest Freezer Overall: Koolatron Chest Freezer

Pros and Cons

Good for: Small families with average long-term food storage needs.

What Customers Are Saying

According to our buyer-based research, Most customers who reviewed this chest freezer thought it was fairly priced, reliable, and large enough to store a variety of frozen goods for small-to-medium-sized families. However, we also found that customers with critical feedback complained about the chest freezer’s packaging, stating the appliance arrived with dents or slightly damaged parts.

Best Mini Freezer: Midea Mini Chest Freezer

Pros and Cons

What Customers Are Saying

Per our verified-buyer evaluations, customers who reviewed this miniature chest freezer praised its effective cold air distribution, convenient temperature adjustment, and space-saving design. However, customers who left negative reviews thought the freezer frosted inside too easily. Others reported that it couldn’t maintain a consistent temperature.

Best Portable Freezer: Whynter Portable True Chest Freezer

Pros and Cons

Good for: Customers who want to take small amounts of frozen goods outside of the house on trips.

What Customers Are Saying

In the course of our research, we found that most customers who reviewed this portable chest freezer said it was quiet, solidly constructed, and conveniently well-lit inside. They also liked that the AC/DC power operation automatically switched depending on use. However, we also encountered a handful of critical reviews where some customers wished the freezer had a front-facing on/off switch, and others said the controller was difficult to use.

Best Oversized Freezer: GE Appliances Garage-Ready Chest Freezer

Pros and Cons

Good for: Homeowners with large families or those who need to store large amounts of food at a time, such as restaurant owners.

What Customers Are Saying

Overall, our research showed that customers thought this oversized, garage-ready chest freezer functioned reliably. Specifically, they valued its large capacity, convenient storage baskets, and consistent internal temperature. On the other hand, we found that some unsatisfied customers felt the freezer’s lid shut too fast, and others had issues with the product’s lack of longevity.

Best Temperature Control: NewAir Garage-Ready Chest Freezer

Pros and Cons

Good for: Users who want medium storage capacity and precise, intuitive temperature controls.

What Customers Are Saying

Our team found that this mid-range chest freezer received primarily five-star ratings from customers. Satisfied users cited the product’s sturdy build, precise temperature controls, and spacious design in their reviews. Reviewers also liked that the freezer consumed relatively little energy. However, we learned of a few unsatisfied customers that said the freezer demonstrated various performance issues after a few months. Others reported that the interior light flickered.

Buying Guide for Chest Freezers

Chest freezers vary in size, temperature range, storage design, and more. Consider these and other variables when choosing the best chest freezer for your home.

Size (Capacity)

Like upright freezers and other freezer types, chest freezers are measured in cubic feet. The greater the number of cubic feet, the larger the capacity of the chest freezer. A 7-cubic-foot chest freezer is considered medium-sized and should provide suitable long-term food storage for the average user. Compact models can be as small as 3 cubic feet, while oversized models—designed to hold food for large families or businesses—can reach up to 15 cubic feet or more.

Temperature Range

Chest freezers need to reach and maintain temperatures at or below zero degrees Fahrenheit. However, chest freezers are designed to fluctuate slightly in temperature to allow for defrosting and minimize freezer burn. Most models also offer an adjustable thermostat. The temperature range for most chest freezers is from minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Most chest freezers are kept between minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit and 12 degrees Fahrenheit.

Internal Storage Design

Virtually all chest freezers offer internal storage components, such as wire baskets or slide-out drawers. These storage baskets are useful for compartmentalizing different types of food. When you know exactly where certain items are stored, you can limit the time the freezer door is open and reduce the likelihood of items defrosting.

Manual Defrost

Manual defrosting is a common freezer feature that prevents excess ice buildup, freezer burn, and water leakage. A well-designed manual defrost mode may add to a chest freezer’s durability and longevity by reducing stress on the freezer’s compressor and coils. Some models offer a built-in defrost port designed to leak water through the port and into a drain.

Energy Consumption

Purchasing an energy-efficient chest freezer is important if you wish to maintain a lower electricity bill while you keep your food fresh and preserved. A chest freezer is a major appliance, much like your kitchen refrigerator and freezer, so it constantly consumes energy. Look for a chest freezer with an Energy Star rating or compare how many kilowatt hours (kWh) one model uses over another.

Security Locks

Select chest freezer models have a door-locking mechanism to prevent children, pets, or anyone else from opening the door and accessing the freezer’s contents. This is useful if you keep your chest freezer in a public area or wish to keep it sealed until you’re ready to use your stored items.

Interior Light

Some chest freezers feature one or multiple interior lights to illuminate the contents as you open the door. Although this feature is less common in entry-level models, it’s helpful if your chest freezer is in the garage or basement.

Chest Freezer Use and Organization Tips

When used correctly, a chest freezer will last you and your family for over 15 years. For best results, organize your food items so that they receive the same or similar amounts of cold, circulated air. Below, we’ve outlined several organizational and general use tips to help you get the most out of your chest freezer.

• Organize your chest freezer. You can save time and minimize wasted energy by knowing exactly where everything is inside your chest freezer. You can organize it by meat, produce, dairy, and miscellaneous frozen goods for simplicity.
• Re-portion larger items. Taking large quantities of food and placing them into smaller bags or containers reduces food waste and encourages consumption. 
• Routinely clean out your freezer. Although unwanted items may be consumable, it’s better to clear out old food when adding new food to your chest freezer. In addition, you can avoid food waste by cooking what you’ve removed from the freezer or donating non-perished goods to a local food bank.
• Let your food cool before freezing it. Letting food reach room temperature rather than storing it while it is still hot or warm prevents condensation and excess frost buildup. It also freezes the food faster.
• Store fresh meat at the very bottom. The bottom is one of the coldest parts of the chest freezer, so storing it here will keep the meat fresh. It will also prevent the meat from contaminating food near the top of the freezer should accidental leakage occur.
• Purchase additional storage baskets if necessary. If your chest freezer doesn’t come with enough storage compartments for your liking, you can always place separate compartments inside the freezer.

Common Chest Freezer Items

Reference the food list below if you’re unsure whether something belongs in your primary freezer or your auxiliary chest freezer. In general, don’t store frequently accessed items, such as ice, frozen waffles, or ice cream, in your chest freezer unless there’s no room in your primary freezer.

• Bags of frozen potatoes
• Bulk-purchased items
• Breakfast burritos 
• Breast milk or formula
• Casseroles, including lasagna and enchiladas
• Dairy items, including milk, cheese, and butter
• Fresh or nearly-spoiled fruits and vegetables 
• Meats such as steak, ground beef, chicken breasts, pork chops, turkey, and game meat
• Soups and sauces

Frequently Asked Questions About Chest Freezers

What is the most reliable deep freezer?

The most reliable deep freezer has a thick seal and a heavy door that will keep your frozen food insulated and preserved during a power outage. Reliable deep freezer brands include GE Appliances, Midea, Koolatron, NewAir, Whynter, and Frigidaire. 

How long do chest freezers usually last?

Chest freezers usually last 15 to 20 years, depending on their use. The life span of a chest freezer tends to outlast that of a traditional upright freezer, which is around 10 to 15 years. This is primarily because chest freezers are less frequently accessed.

What size chest freezer is the best?

The best size chest freezer depends on how much space you have in your home and what you intend to store in the freezer. Chest freezers with 5 to 10 cubic feet of capacity are best for most homeowners. Chest freezers with 7 cubic feet of space are also standard, as they store an ample amount of food without occupying too much space.

What are the best features of a chest freezer?

The best features of a chest freezer are its size, temperature range, and internal storage options, which consist of various wire baskets or slide-out drawers. If you wish to store game meat and other food for many months at a time, look for a chest freezer that reaches temperatures colder than minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit. If you’re only deep-freezing food for a few weeks, any model that reaches or dips just below 0 degrees Fahrenheit should suffice.

How We Selected the Best Chest Freezers

To provide our readers with the best chest freezer recommendations possible, we rely on several key sources of information to help guide our selection process.

Initial Research: Our research process began by generating a list of chest freezers with a significant number of verified-buyer reviews and an average customer review rating of 4–5 stars. We looked at positive and negative reviews alike, focusing on information from both satisfied and critical buyers. 

Expert Insights: Through our years of experience, we’ve learned that listening to what others have to say is critical to building accurate, well-rounded articles. To complement our in-house expertise, our team looked at reviews and videos from trusted publications and independent testers, spoke with subject matter experts, and drew insights from reader contributions.

Final Product Selection: We then began fine-tuning our list by replacing older models with the latest versions and eliminating any discontinued models. From there, we pared the list down further by comparing each model’s feature set and selecting the best-in-class options for various buyers, budgets, and scenarios.

Why You Can Trust Us

This Old House has empowered homeowners and DIY-ers for more than four decades with top-notch home improvement advice in the form of television programs, print media, and digital content. 

Our Reviews Team focuses on creating in-depth product and service review content. To date, we’ve published over 1,600 reviews on products in the home space, from doorbell cameras and backyard fencing to pool vacuums and snow blowers.

Once we conclude our research, we craft a comprehensive, user-friendly article of recommended products and additional information to help our readers make the right purchase.

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