Best cheap fridge freezers for 2024

Need a new fridge freezer but worried about the cost? We're here to help. Our testing uncovers the best cheap fridge freezers that are great at the basics and less expensive than average.

Average fridge freezer prices are £818 for a freestanding model (the most common type), £885 for an integrated model and £1,270 for an American-style model.

But it's perfectly possible to get a good model for less than that, as our best cheap fridge freezer round up proves.

Head to best fridge freezers to help you decide what type of fridge freezer you need.

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Best cheap fridge freezers

To help you find the best cheap fridge freezer for your needs, we’ve rounded up some top-scorers.

To see all our top-scoring models, check out our fridge freezer reviews.

Cheap fridge freezers to avoid

Don't waste your money on a rubbish appliance. The following cheap fridge freezers should be avoided at all costs, as they'll struggle to chill and/or freeze your food.

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Can I buy a fridge freezer for under £150?

Yes you can, but not a good one. Rarely, you can buy a good fridge freezer for under £200. In general, you need to spend at least £350 to get a decent one. If you can up your budget to £500, you'll have reasonable pool of good models to choose from.

If your budget doesn't stretch to that,  you'll need to shop carefully: a third of models under £250 are Don't Buys. 

When all fridge freezers have the same basic job of chilling and freezing your food, it's reasonable to wonder where your money is going if you buy a pricier model. 

Buying a cheap fridge freezer means you'll most likely get a basic model without many fancy features. However, two features in particular are worth paying extra for:

• Frost-free freezers save you the hassle of manually defrosting your freezer every time ice builds up.
• Door alarms can save you from wasting energy or potentially losing a freezer full of food if you're prone to accidentally leaving the doors open. 

Splashing out doesn't guarantee a good fridge freezer. Filter our fridge freezer reviews to see the best models in your price range.

Can I buy a cheap American fridge freezer?

Not really. American-style fridge freezers tend to cost more than conventional fridge freezers.

Prices start at around £600 and go up to more than £3,200. The average cost for an American fridge freezer is over £1,250. 

To find the best American fridge freezer for your budget, visit our fridge freezer reviews and use the 'American' and 'Price (low to high) (Best Buy only)' filters.

Our head straight to our round-up of the best American fridge freezers to see models that aced our tests.

Where should I shop for a cheap fridge freezer?

Some of the best discounts we've seen are offered on older ranges when they start to sell through, usually around springtime.

Don't forget to factor in the cost of disposing of your fridge freezer, if you need to, and delivery costs. 

Buy a model that lasts. Find out which fridge freezer brand is the most reliable.

Will a cheap fridge freezer cost more to run than a more expensive one?

In some cases, yes. But there's no point buying a cheaper fridge freezer if all your savings are going to be swallowed up in running costs. 

That's why finding the best model for you is a delicate balancing act between size, up-front cost, running costs and performance. For example...

• If you've a large family to feed, or you hope to make savings by buying food in bulk, a smaller, cheaper-to-run fridge freezer might not be a wise decision in the long run as you'll frequently run out of space.
• If you choose a model that's cheap and doesn't use much energy for its size, your upfront costs and running costs will be low, but you could find yourself throwing away more food than if you bought a better model.

You can use our fridge freezer running costs tool to find out how much each fridge freezer we've tested costs to run under typical conditions. Your personal usage may be a bit more or less depending on on how your use it, but it should give you a general idea.

It's also worth knowing that some of the cheapest models we've tested use a lot of energy for their size, and some of the most energy-efficient models we've tested (models that use little energy for their size) are expensive. 

If you're looking for a balance of size, purchase price and running costs, and solid performance, one of our Great Value fridge freezers could be a good choice. These aren't necessarily Best Buys, or the absolute best on test (though some are). But they marry good cooling and chilling with a cheaper-than-average upfront cost and good energy efficiency (lower than average running costs for a model of that size). 

Read more about Great Value fridge freezers in how we test fridge freezers.

Should I buy an ex-display fridge freezer?

Ex-display fridge freezers are sold by retailers such as The Appliance Depot, Appliances Direct, Appliance Superstore and Marks Electrical . Currys sells them too – although, at the time of writing, there's no easy way to see its full range of ex-display items on the Currys website. If you live near a Currys branch, it could be worth checking if there are any ex-display models in store.  

Ex-display fridge freezers might have minor marks or scratches, but you may not mind that too much in view of the money saved. Remember to give it a good clean before putting your food into it.

Also, before you buy, make sure that you understand whether or not your fridge freezer comes with a manufacturer guarantee or warranty. 

Regardless of whether it has a guarantee or warranty, an ex-display model must be sold as fit for purpose and not faulty. If it isn't, your rights are the same as if you'd bought it new, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. See our guide to how to get a return, repair or replacement.

You don't have the right to complain about anything that was pointed out to you before you bought it, though – for example, if it was clearly pointed out to you that it was scuffed. The retailer should play its part by highlighting any faults to you: it's not enough for it to mark the appliance as 'sold as seen'. 

Prefer to buy new? We scour the internet for the best fridge freezer deals each month.