Fridge freezers: How to buy the best fridge freezer Freestanding fridge freezers

Freestanding fridge freezers are the most popular fridge freezers on the market - they're the cheapest, and the easiest to fit in your kitchen. But what freestanding features and trends should you look out for? We're taking a closer look inside a typical freestanding fridge freezer to help you find out.

Freestanding fridge freezers

Pros

• Widely available, tend to be the cheapest fridge freezer option.
• Easy to fit into a kitchen.
• Can be taken with you if you move house.

Cons

• Smaller capacity than side-by-side fridge freezers.
• Not as stylish as an American-style fridge freezer, or discreet as a built-in model.

Inside a freestanding fridge freezer

1. Digital display and temperature settings can help you keep your fridge freezer at the correct temperature.

2. Handy door units can be used to store delicate items like eggs.

3. Door shelves should be able to house larger-sized bottles and items too tall to stand up in the main fridge section.

4. Most freezers will usually have between three and five compartments - larger bottom drawers can be used to store big items such as frozen turkeys.

5. Frost-free freezers will save you the hassle of having to defrost it yourself.

6. Salad crisper compartments will keep fruit and veg fresher for longer - but can take up a lot of fridge space.

7. Look for shelves you can adjust according to what you've got in the fridge.

Freestanding fridge freezer price and running costs

Freestanding fridge freezers are the cheapest type of fridge freezer model available. The cheapest freestanding appliance we tested cost just £139.99. To get an idea of the true overall cost of a fridge freezer, you also need to factor in the day-to-day running costs and reliability of the model - particularly because your fridge freezer is on 24 hours a day.

Fridge freezer running costs can be as little as £18 per year, but can stretch up to £100 depending on the model. We've calculated an annual average running cost for each one of the 125 fridge freezer models we test to help you find an efficient appliance. You can see running costs for each model in its 'Specification' tab. And our fridge freezer reliability survey asks Which? members how they rate brands like Beko, Bosch, LG, Neff, Hotpoint and Whirlpool for reliability and aftercare.