Mid-size chest freezers, 7 to 15 cubic feet
The size households buy when a small chest freezer has already proved too small.
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 – 10 | 7 |
| Capacity per sq ft of floor | 1.27 – 1.85 | 1.46 |
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 about as efficient with floor space as average — a median of 1.46 cubic feet per square foot of floor against 1.44 overall. 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 | 63 | 100% |
| External dimensions | 48 | 76% |
| Defrost type | 18 | 29% |
| Garage-ready claim | 10 | 16% |
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 | 10 | 16% |
| $150–300 | 21 | 33% |
| $300–700 | 24 | 38% |
| $700–1,500 | 8 | 13% |
The step up is bigger than it sounds
Moving from a 5 cubic foot cabinet to a 10 does not double what you can store — it roughly doubles it while more than doubling the floor area, because a chest freezer grows in width faster than it grows in usable depth. The efficiency figure on each result below is what makes that visible.
Depth becomes a real problem
At this size the bottom of the cabinet is a long reach, and anything below the top basket is out of sight until you unstack it. Buyers who stock and rotate seasonally cope with that; buyers who retrieve specific items weekly usually do not.
The footprint grows faster than the capacity
Moving from the small band to this one adds capacity mostly by getting wider, not taller — the median cabinet here is substantially broader than a small one while the height barely moves. Cubic feet per square foot of floor stays essentially flat across the two bands as a result, so a mid-size chest freezer costs proportionally more floor than an upright of the same capacity would. In a garage where the wall is free and the floor is not, that is the trade being made.
Weight, and getting it into place
These are heavy enough that positioning is a two-person job and moving one over a step is a real obstacle. That matters because a chest freezer wants a level, ventilated spot with clearance at the back, and the place it first lands is usually where it stays for a decade. Measuring the route in as well as the space it will occupy is worth doing before delivery rather than during it.
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.
Baskets are rarely enough
Manufacturers ship a chest freezer with one or two hanging baskets and a cabinet deep enough to need four. Without more, the contents stratify: the useful layer sits in the baskets and everything below becomes an archive that gets excavated twice a year. Extra baskets are inexpensive and often model-specific, so checking they exist for a given cabinet before buying is worth the two minutes it takes.
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.
160 freezers match
Kenmore Deep Freezer – Chest Freezer, 1 Basket, Garage Ready, Meat Storage, Front Drain, Congelador For Home, Apartment, Basement, Dorm, Shed, Cottage, Manual Defrost, Stand Up, 14.6 Cubic Feet, White
- W x D x H
- 55×26×34in
- Floor area
- 10.0sq ft
- Weight
- 132lb
- Shelves
- 1
- Door hinge
- not stated
Capacity
14.6cu ft
Garage-ready · 7-15 cu ft · 11 freezers
Space efficiency
1.46cu ft per sq ft of floor
+5% vs the 1.39 median — typical for its class
Capacity is +109% against the class median of 7.
Smad Deep Chest Freezer 14.0 Cu. Ft. Large Freezer with Lock and 3 Removable Baskets, 4 wheels, Adjustable Thermostat, Low Noise, Garage Ready for Home, Kitchen, White
- W x D x H
- 44×25×33in
- Floor area
- 7.6sq ft
- Weight
- 88lb
- Shelves
- 3
- Door hinge
- not stated
Capacity
10.5cu ft
Garage-ready · 7-15 cu ft · 11 freezers
Space efficiency
1.39cu ft per sq ft of floor
0% vs the 1.39 median — typical for its class
Capacity is +50% against the class median of 7.
Danby DCF100A6WM 10.0 cu. ft. Square Model Chest Freezer DOE Front mounted mechanical thermostat: Easy to use, adjustable variable temperature range
- W x D x H
- 44×25×33in
- Floor area
- 7.7sq ft
- Weight
- 83lb
- Shelves
- 1
- Door hinge
- not stated
Capacity
10cu ft
Chest · 7-15 cu ft · 49 freezers
Space efficiency
1.29cu ft per sq ft of floor
-13% vs the 1.49 median — takes more floor space for the capacity
Capacity is +43% against the class median of 7.
14 cu ft Chest Freezer – White, Large Storage for Families, Space-Saving Flat Back, Front Drain, Garage Ready – By Hamilton Beach
- W x D x H
- 70×28×35in
- Floor area
- 13.6sq ft
- Weight
- not stated
- Shelves
- 1
- Door hinge
- not stated
Capacity
14cu ft
Garage-ready · 7-15 cu ft · 11 freezers
Space efficiency
1.03cu ft per sq ft of floor
-26% vs the 1.39 median — takes more floor space for the capacity
Capacity is +100% against the class median of 7.
KoolMore 12 Cu. ft. Commercial Reach-in Freezer in White Manual Defrost (KM-FMD12WH)
- W x D x H
- 24×24×73in
- Floor area
- 3.9sq ft
- Weight
- 156lb
- Shelves
- 6
- Door hinge
- right
Capacity
12cu ft
Upright · 7-15 cu ft · 21 freezers
Space efficiency
3.09cu ft per sq ft of floor
+42% vs the 2.18 median — more freezer for the floor space
Capacity is +60% against the class median of 8.
Commercial Cool Upright Freezer Stand Up Convertible Freezer or Refrigerator with Reversible Door, 10.8 Cubic Feet, White
- W x D x H
- 24×28×65in
- Floor area
- 4.5sq ft
- Weight
- 128lb
- Shelves
- 3
- Door hinge
- reversible
Capacity
10.8cu ft
Convertible · 7-15 cu ft · 46 freezers
Space efficiency
2.38cu ft per sq ft of floor
+4% vs the 2.29 median — typical for its class
Capacity is -2% against the class median of 11.
Commercial Reach-in Freezer,1 Door, 10.4CF, -8°F to 0°F, Frost Free
- W x D x H
- 23×26×76in
- Floor area
- 4.2sq ft
- Weight
- 78lb
- Shelves
- 4
- Door hinge
- reversible
Capacity
10.4cu ft
Upright · 7-15 cu ft · 21 freezers
Space efficiency
2.45cu ft per sq ft of floor
+12% vs the 2.18 median — more freezer for the floor space
Capacity is +39% against the class median of 8.
Cucina Magica 8.5 cu.ft Dual-Door Apartment Refrigerator with Freezer and Adjustable Thermostat – Slide-Out Glass Shelves for Dorms, Offices, RVs, and Homes
- W x D x H
- 21×22×56in
- Floor area
- 3.3sq ft
- Weight
- 78lb
- Shelves
- 3
- Door hinge
- right
Capacity
8.5cu ft
Upright · 7-15 cu ft · 21 freezers
Space efficiency
2.59cu ft per sq ft of floor
+19% vs the 2.18 median — more freezer for the floor space
Capacity is +13% against the class median of 8.
8.5 Cu.Ft Dark Gray Top Freezer Large Capacity Refrigerator for Home Kitchen Apartment
- W x D x H
- 22×59×21in
- Floor area
- 9.1sq ft
- Weight
- 96lb
- Shelves
- 3
- Door hinge
- left
Capacity
8.5cu ft
Upright · 7-15 cu ft · 21 freezers
Space efficiency
0.93cu ft per sq ft of floor
-57% vs the 2.18 median — takes more floor space for the capacity
Capacity is +13% against the class median of 8.
Upstreman 7.7 Cu.Ft. Refrigerator with Freezer Double Door Fridge
- W x D x H
- 21×21×56in
- Floor area
- 3.1sq ft
- Weight
- 77lb
- Shelves
- 2
- Door hinge
- reversible
Capacity
7.7cu ft
Upright · 7-15 cu ft · 21 freezers
Space efficiency
2.51cu ft per sq ft of floor
+15% vs the 2.18 median — more freezer for the floor space
Capacity is +3% against the class median of 8.
Frigidaire, 2 Door Apartment Size Refrigerator/Freezer Combo, 7.5 cu ft, Platinum Series, Stainless, 23" D x 21.5" W x 55.5" H
- W x D x H
- 21×23×56in
- Floor area
- 3.4sq ft
- Weight
- 75lb
- Shelves
- 3
- Door hinge
- reversible
Capacity
7.5cu ft
Upright · 7-15 cu ft · 21 freezers
Space efficiency
2.18cu ft per sq ft of floor
0% vs the 2.18 median — typical for its class
Capacity is 0% against the class median of 8.
Frigidaire EFR786 Retro Apartment Size Refrigerator with Top Freezer – 2 Door Fridge with 7.5 Cu Ft of Storage Capacity, Adjustable Spill-Proof Shelves, Door & Crisper Bins, Black
- W x D x H
- 24×23×57in
- Floor area
- 3.8sq ft
- Weight
- 86lb
- Shelves
- 4
- Door hinge
- reversible
Capacity
7.5cu ft
Upright · 7-15 cu ft · 21 freezers
Space efficiency
2.00cu ft per sq ft of floor
-8% vs the 2.18 median — typical for its class
Capacity is 0% against the class median of 8.
Related
- The full freezer finder — unfiltered, every form factor.
- Chest freezers — the full category, with baselines by size class.
- How we compile these figures.