Mid-size upright freezers, 7 to 15 cubic feet
Where uprights earn their premium: enough capacity to matter, still organised enough to use daily.
Every figure here is taken from the manufacturer’s published listing and measured against the rest of the group. We do not test freezers. Where a listing is silent on a specification, this site prints not stated rather than a plausible default.
What this group looks like
| Measure | Middle half | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity (cu ft) | 7.1 – 13.8 | 11 |
| Capacity per sq ft of floor | 2.06 – 2.43 | 2.15 |
The middle-half column spans the 25th to 75th percentile, so it describes where most of this group sits rather than being pulled about by one unusual unit.
Against the market as a whole this group is more efficient with floor space than average — a median of 2.15 cubic feet per square foot of floor against 1.44 overall, a difference of 50%. That is a property of the form factor and size, not of any particular brand.
What these listings publish
Specification coverage is uneven, and knowing where it runs out is part of shopping honestly. A missing figure does not mean a worse freezer — it means a less completely described one — but it does mean you cannot compare on that axis without going to the manufacturer.
| Specification | Stated | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 39 | 100% |
| External dimensions | 39 | 100% |
| Defrost type | 15 | 38% |
| Garage-ready claim | 10 | 26% |
What they cost
Bands, not prices. A price captured when the data was collected is wrong by the time you read it; the figure shown at checkout is the one that applies.
| Band | Units | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $150 | 4 | 10% |
| $150–300 | 2 | 5% |
| $300–700 | 15 | 38% |
| $700–1,500 | 18 | 46% |
This is the best case for an upright
Below this size the shelf overhead costs proportionally too much of the interior; above it the door becomes heavy and the cold loss on opening becomes significant. Between seven and fifteen cubic feet an upright gives up meaningfully less to its own structure while remaining something you can actually find things in.
Watch the defrost type closely
Auto-defrost is far more common in this band than in chest freezers, and it is the specification most worth checking before buying. It is a genuine convenience and a genuine cost to long-term storage quality — not a neutral upgrade.
This is where an upright starts to pay for its footprint
Cubic feet per square foot of floor rises sharply between the small and mid-size upright bands in this corpus, while the equivalent figure for chest freezers stays flat. Uprights gain capacity by growing upward and chests by growing outward, so at this size an upright delivers considerably more storage per square foot of floor than a chest freezer of the same capacity. In a garage or utility room where floor space is the constraint, that difference is the argument.
Auto-defrost is largely an upright feature
Where defrost type is stated in this corpus, roughly two in five uprights are automatic against almost none of the chest freezers. That reflects how the two are used: an upright is opened often, admits humid air each time, and accumulates frost on the shelves where it is most annoying. Auto-defrost costs energy and warms the cabinet briefly on each cycle, which matters less for a freezer used as a working larder than for one used as long-term storage.
The running cost nobody publishes
Not one listing in this corpus states an annual energy figure. For an appliance that runs continuously for ten to fifteen years, the electricity it consumes over its life is comparable to what it cost to buy, and it is the specification most worth comparing and the only one universally absent. Where an efficiency label exists it is worth finding on the manufacturer’s own site, because the listing will not carry it. This site prints not stated rather than estimating, and the gap is a fact about how freezers are sold rather than about the freezers.
Door hinge, and the wall it opens against
Around half the cabinets in this corpus state a reversible door and the rest are fixed to one side. In a corner, an alcove or a narrow utility room that is the specification that decides whether the appliance is usable at all — a door opening into a wall is a freezer that can only be half loaded. It costs nothing when it is right and cannot be fixed when it is wrong, so it is worth confirming before delivery rather than assuming reversibility is standard.
Shelves, drawers, and what each is good at
Mid-size uprights are sold with either fixed shelves or pull-out drawers, and the choice decides how the cabinet is used. Drawers keep categories separated and are easier to search without holding the door open; shelves take awkward large items that no drawer will accept. Neither is stated consistently in listings, and the photographs are the reliable guide. For a freezer opened daily the drawers usually win, because the time the door spends open is the running cost.
Before you buy
Measure the route, not just the space
External dimensions describe the cabinet alone. They exclude the ventilation gap manufacturers ask for at the back and sides, the room a lid or door needs to open, and the doorway, stairwell or turn the unit has to pass through to reach where it will live. A freezer that fits the alcove but not the stairs is a returned appliance and a wasted afternoon.
Buy for your peak, not your average
Capacity should be sized to the fullest the freezer will ever get — a bulk meat order, a harvest, a Christmas — not to a typical week. But buying well beyond that peak is the more expensive mistake: a half-empty freezer costs more to run per unit of food stored, because the air in the empty space is re-cooled every time the door opens, and it holds food safely for roughly half as long in a power cut as a full one of the same size.
Treat marketing language as a claim, not a specification
Where a phrase on a listing matters to your decision, look for the number behind it: a rated ambient temperature range rather than a sentence about cold weather, a stated dimension rather than a description of compactness. Where this site could not find that number, it says not stated rather than inferring one.
Compare them
The finder below is already filtered to this group. Widen or narrow it from there — every result is measured against the median for its own form factor and size class.
129 freezers match
11 Cu.Ft Upright Freezer, Garage Ready Stand Up Freezer
- W x D x H
- 24×29×61in
- Floor area
- 4.7sq ft
- Weight
- 112lb
- Shelves
- 5
- Door hinge
- right
Capacity
11cu ft
Garage-ready · 7-15 cu ft · 11 freezers
Space efficiency
2.34cu ft per sq ft of floor
+68% vs the 1.39 median — more freezer for the floor space
Capacity is +57% against the class median of 7.
Kenmore 14.0 Cubic Feet Capacity Upright freezer – Convertible Refrigerator/Freezer, 4 Shelves, Garage Ready, Meat Storage, Auto Defrost, Congelador For Home, Apartment, Basement, Dorm, White
- W x D x H
- 28×30×62in
- Floor area
- 5.7sq ft
- Weight
- 136lb
- Shelves
- 4
- Door hinge
- right
Capacity
14cu ft
Convertible · 7-15 cu ft · 46 freezers
Space efficiency
2.44cu ft per sq ft of floor
+7% vs the 2.29 median — typical for its class
Capacity is +27% against the class median of 11.
13.8 Cu.Ft. Upright Freezer, Automatic Defrost, Electronic Thermostat
- W x D x H
- 28×33×62in
- Floor area
- 6.4sq ft
- Weight
- 148lb
- Shelves
- 5
- Door hinge
- right
Capacity
13.8cu ft
Upright · 7-15 cu ft · 21 freezers
Space efficiency
2.17cu ft per sq ft of floor
0% vs the 2.18 median — typical for its class
Capacity is +84% against the class median of 8.
11 Cu.Ft Upright Freezer with Garage Ready Design
- W x D x H
- 24×29×61in
- Floor area
- 4.7sq ft
- Weight
- 112lb
- Shelves
- 5
- Door hinge
- right
Capacity
11cu ft
Garage-ready · 7-15 cu ft · 11 freezers
Space efficiency
2.34cu ft per sq ft of floor
+68% vs the 1.39 median — more freezer for the floor space
Capacity is +57% against the class median of 7.
11 Cu.Ft Convertible Upright Freezer Refrigerator
- W x D x H
- 24×29×61in
- Floor area
- 4.7sq ft
- Weight
- 112lb
- Shelves
- 4
- Door hinge
- right
Capacity
11cu ft
Convertible · 7-15 cu ft · 46 freezers
Space efficiency
2.35cu ft per sq ft of floor
+3% vs the 2.29 median — typical for its class
Capacity is 0% against the class median of 11.
KoolMore 7 Cu. Ft. Garage Ready Convertible Upright Manual Defrost Freezer/Refrigerator in Stainless Steel
- W x D x H
- 22×22×50in
- Floor area
- 3.3sq ft
- Weight
- 89lb
- Shelves
- 7
- Door hinge
- reversible
Capacity
7.1cu ft
Convertible · 7-15 cu ft · 46 freezers
Space efficiency
2.15cu ft per sq ft of floor
-6% vs the 2.29 median — typical for its class
Capacity is -35% against the class median of 11.
KoolMore 7 cu. ft. Convertible Garage Ready Upright Freezer/Refrigerator in White (KM-RUF-7S)
- W x D x H
- 22×22×50in
- Floor area
- 3.4sq ft
- Weight
- 89lb
- Shelves
- 7
- Door hinge
- reversible
Capacity
7.1cu ft
Convertible · 7-15 cu ft · 46 freezers
Space efficiency
2.10cu ft per sq ft of floor
-8% vs the 2.29 median — typical for its class
Capacity is -35% against the class median of 11.
7.1 Cu. Ft. Upright Freezer with Adjustable Temperature, Space-Saving Design, and 4 Shelves – Stainless Steel Look
- W x D x H
- 23×24×54in
- Floor area
- 3.9sq ft
- Weight
- 80lb
- Shelves
- 4
- Door hinge
- reversible
Capacity
7.1cu ft
Upright · 7-15 cu ft · 21 freezers
Space efficiency
1.81cu ft per sq ft of floor
-17% vs the 2.18 median — takes more floor space for the capacity
Capacity is -5% against the class median of 8.
Frigidaire 7.0 Cu. Ft. Upright Convertible Fridge/Freezer, Reversible Door, Removable Glass Shelves, Adjustable Controls, Platinum Finish
- W x D x H
- 21×22×56in
- Floor area
- 3.3sq ft
- Weight
- 45lb
- Shelves
- 4
- Door hinge
- reversible
Capacity
7cu ft
Convertible · 7-15 cu ft · 46 freezers
Space efficiency
2.11cu ft per sq ft of floor
-8% vs the 2.29 median — typical for its class
Capacity is -36% against the class median of 11.
Hamilton Beach HZ4941 14 cu ft Upright Convertible Fridge/Freezer-Frost Free-Reversible Door-Removable Glass Shelves-LED Interior Light, White
- W x D x H
- 30×29×71in
- Floor area
- 6.1sq ft
- Weight
- 135lb
- Shelves
- 13
- Door hinge
- reversible
Capacity
14cu ft
Convertible · 7-15 cu ft · 46 freezers
Space efficiency
2.28cu ft per sq ft of floor
0% vs the 2.29 median — typical for its class
Capacity is +27% against the class median of 11.
14 Cu. Ft. Convertible Freezer Refrigerator, Upright Freezer with Glass Shelves, Frost Free, White
- W x D x H
- 28×28×68in
- Floor area
- 5.4sq ft
- Weight
- 157lb
- Shelves
- 4
- Door hinge
- right
Capacity
14cu ft
Convertible · 7-15 cu ft · 46 freezers
Space efficiency
2.58cu ft per sq ft of floor
+13% vs the 2.29 median — more freezer for the floor space
Capacity is +27% against the class median of 11.
"Kenmore Upright freezer – Convertible Refrigerator / Freezer, 4 Shelves, Garage Ready, Meat Storage, Auto Defrost, Congelador For Home, Apartment, Cottage, Basement, 14.0 Cubic Feet Capacity, White "
- W x D x H
- 28×30×63in
- Floor area
- 5.7sq ft
- Weight
- 136lb
- Shelves
- 4
- Door hinge
- right
Capacity
13.78cu ft
Convertible · 7-15 cu ft · 46 freezers
Space efficiency
2.40cu ft per sq ft of floor
+5% vs the 2.29 median — typical for its class
Capacity is +25% against the class median of 11.
Related
- The full freezer finder — unfiltered, every form factor.
- Upright freezers — the full category, with baselines by size class.
- How we compile these figures.