Does a chest freezer cost more to run than a refrigerator?

No — usually less, despite being colder, because a chest design loses far less cold air when opened.

At the default usage on each page, refrigerator costs about 1.7× as much to run as chest freezer — $84.35 against $48.20 a year.

Why chest freezer wins, and when it does not

• Cold air sinks. Opening a chest lid keeps it in the box; opening an upright door lets it pour out onto the floor.
• A freezer is also opened far less often than a kitchen refrigerator, so it cycles less.
• A full freezer cycles less still, because the frozen mass holds temperature between compressor runs.

What the difference is worth where you live

The 1.7× above holds at any price: both a chest freezer and a refrigerator scale with whatever you pay per kilowatt-hour. The money does not. Choosing chest freezer over refrigerator saves about $36.15 a year at the U.S. average, and $104 a year in Hawaii at 52.72¢ — against $25.84 in Nevada, the cheapest jurisdiction in the country. Swapping refrigerator for chest freezer is worth 4.0× as much in Hawaii as in Nevada, so what you pay per kilowatt-hour decides this more than the wattage on either label.

Both figures use each appliance’s typical wattage and default usage at the U.S. average of 18.34¢ per kilowatt-hour, and exclude fixed charges, taxes and time-of-use rates. Change the wattage, usage or state on either appliance’s own page to compare them on your terms, or read how to check a running-cost figure before trusting any of them.