Best Freezers of 2024 – Consumer Reports

We test freezers under both normal and adverse conditions. If there’s ever a power outage (or if you live in an area that experiences power outages frequently), you want a model that keeps your food frozen for as long as possible.

We start by evaluating how well each freezer maintains food at a constant temperature on a daily basis. To do this, we pack each one with boxes of frozen spinach and measure the internal temperature of the cavity in 15 different places over the course of six weeks to assess how well they keep the packages frozen.

The results allow us to judge their thermostat control and temperature uniformity (the ability to maintain the same temperature throughout the freezer cavity). Our engineers also measure usable storage capacity, which doesn’t always match what manufacturers claim.

To see how well a freezer fares under adverse conditions, we simulate a power outage by raising the temperature in the test chamber to 90° F and unplugging the loaded freezer for 9 hours. “We test them in a warm room because summer is often when the power goes out,” says Larry Ciufo, who analyzes our freezer test data. In the best freezers, the temp rises by just a few degrees. But the worst models show a temperature spike of 25° F or more, which means food can start to thaw.

In addition to these tests, we also calculate energy efficiency and measure noise output. 

To help you find the best model for your needs, Consumer Reports’ freezer ratings make it easy for you to compare them by grouping freezers by size and capacity (small, medium, large, and extra-large) as well as by configuration (chest or upright). That way, you’re not comparing the performance of a chest freezer as big as a bathtub to one the size of a dishwasher.