Though most modern refrigerators come with a built-in freezer storage space to hold many of your household's favorite frozen items, a separate freezer can provide you with additional space, savings, and benefits. In this freezer buying guide, we introduce the benefits of owning one of the several types of freezers available, so you can choose the best freezer for your frozen food needs.

Why Buy a Separate Freezer?
Types of Freezers
Best Freezer Door Options
Best Freezer Capacities
Best Freezer Features

Why Buy a Separate Freezer?

If your refrigerator's built-in freezer is struggling to contain all of your frozen items, a separate freezer is a must-have. Whether you choose to use a drawer freezer, upright or chest freezer, freezing is one of the best ways to preserve food for long periods of time without much nutrient-loss. It's also an excellent way to cut down on food waste; frozen food stays fresh for much longer than refrigerated or room-temperature food, which starts to degrade within hours.

With an additional freezer storage space in your home, you'll find yourself throwing away less spoiled food. If you want to enjoy seasonal produce year-round, freezing is an excellent alternative to canning, which can be a difficult and costly process. Frozen food storage can facilitate meal-planning, cooking, and storage, as frozen meals can be reheated and eaten in no time. Being both cost- and time-effective, the best freezer will provide a robust food storage method with few drawbacks.

Tip!

Do you live in an area that experiences frequent power outages? If so, you should have a plan in place for what to do with your frozen items during outages. Though freezers can save you lots of money in the long run, power outages can be incredibly costly, wiping out a freezer's entire stash of frozen goods in only a few hours.

Types of Freezers

There are different types of freezers, which we categorize by door option and capacity.

Best Freezer Door Options

Upright: Upright freezers resemble the built-in refrigerator freezers with which you're probably already familiar. With outward swinging doors, upright freezers can be placed under bars or countertops. These types of freezers require free space in front of them to open properly. Accessing food in upright freezers is fairly simple – many have built-in shelves and storage that allow you to organize and access food via different levels without too much difficulty, even if they’re at the back of the freezer.

Chest: Thanks to their liftable tops, chest freezers don't require as much floor space to open as upright models, though they do require some space above them to open. Many chest freezers are portable, some are rechargeable, and others run on solar power. The layout of the storage baskets in these types of freezers allow for maximum storage space so you can really pack in frozen food items. Overall, they are excellent for long-term freezing and can hold many tightly-packed food items because they don't have built-in shelves.

Best Freezer Capacities

As a general rule, 1 cu. ft. of freezer space can hold 35 to 40 lbs. of frozen food. If you tend to freeze oddly-shaped food items or food items with bulkier packaging, your freezer's storage space will decrease. When shopping for a freezer, keep this rule in mind so you purchase a freezer that can comfortably accommodate your frozen food.

• Small and compact freezers have capacities of up to 6 cu. ft., or up to 240 lbs. of tightly-packed frozen food and are the most common size for separate freezer units.
• Midsize freezers are less common than small and compact freezers. They can hold between 6 and 10 cu. ft. (240 to 400 lbs.) of frozen food. Because they are larger, midsize freezers work best in larger size kitchens with enough space to accommodate them.
• Large freezers are the way to go if you have the space and the need to store a lot of frozen food at once. Large freezers can hold anywhere between 10.1 to 20.0 cu. ft. (about 350 to 700 lbs-worth) of frozen food, so the possibilities are endless. Store large slabs of meat, frozen homemade soups, or garden-fresh fruits and vegetables for a year-round supply of food with room to spare. Choose from tall and narrow or short and wide configurations to best accommodate your space.
• Extra-large freezers are only suitable for large scale food storage, especially for restaurants or catering. These start at 20.1 cu. ft. and continue upwards.

Best Freezer Features

Door options and capacities aren't the only characteristics to consider when shopping for a freezer. Many types of freezers are designed with additional features that improve their functionality. Check out these features so you can choose a freezer that works best for your home.

Door Lock: Opting for an upright or chest freezer with a door lock will ensure that little hands can't make their way inside to snatch ice cream without permission. It can also be an essential safety feature if you plan on storing alcoholic beverages or raw food items. Many lockable freezers also have alarms that go off when the freezer door has been opened or left open.

Automatic/Frost-Free: Though freezer burn and frost don't impact the nutritional value of frozen food, they can dramatically impact the texture, flavor, and appearance of frozen food, rendering it pretty unappetizing. Frost-free freezers ensure constant airflow throughout the freezer, which cuts down on the likelihood that frost will develop. Many frost-free freezers also have auto-defrost functions that melt and evaporate frost without raising the temperature of the freezer enough to damage the food. With one of these no-frost freezers, you’ll no longer have to worry about removing your freezer's contents to perform a manual defrost.

Energy Star–Compliant: Energy Star–certified freezers use less energy than non-certified freezers and therefore are the best freezers on the market for energy-efficiency. Adding a separate freezer to your home can negatively impact your home's energy-efficiency, so choosing an Energy Star–certified freezer is the best way to ensure your home's energy usage doesn't skyrocket.

Now you know all about the best freezers and their features, you will be able to easily identify the type of freezer most suited to your needs.