5 Best Budget Fridge Freezer Under £300 UK 2018 – Cheap But Quality

Once again the appliance hunter hit the trail, this time searching high and low for the Best Budget Fridge Freezer Under £300.

And once again he has had great success!

I’ve found 5 great contenders for the best budget fridge freezer and reviewed them further down.

Before that I’ve gone into some of the features you might want to look out for when shopping for yours, but before that I’ve put them all into table so you can have a quick over over, just click the name if you want to find out more.

Energy Consumption

A very important question when buying a fridge.

How much is going to cost to run?

Because if you’re looking for a budget freezer the chances are you don’t want to buy one that’s going to be very expensive to run.

Well, each fridge freezer comes with an energy rating and this helps as a rough guide to how much power it will use but what about actual cost?

In general you want an energy rating of A+ or higher, that works out at about £25-£30 a year. It varies for each fridge but I’ve included the cost per year when I review them further down so you can get an idea.

A good fridge freezer (like the ones recommended here) should last about 9-13 years, so a £5 difference in energy cost will be about £60 over its lifetime. Not a huge amount but I bet if 10 years ago you suddenly gave you £60 you’d be pretty pleased right?

Height And Width

The other need to know is the dimensions of the whole thing.

More important if you have a specific space in your kitchen you want to put it in, but you definitely don’t want it to arrive and not be able to put it in your kitchen. Disaster!

So a quick check of the dimensions and making sure it’ll fit is a good idea just to prevent any unpleasant situations.

Fridge On Top Or Bottom?

You also have to decide if you’d like the fridge compartment at the top or the bottom.

I prefer fridge on top because you use it far more often than the freezer making it easier to get to.

But if you want more storage bottom fridges normally have a smaller freezer compartment on top.

Like Taking Ice?

Most fridge freezers have ice trays built into them which is so much handier than having to try squash a loose ice tray filled with water onto a crowded shelf.

But if you don’t like taking ice then you can just remove the trays and have a little more space in the drawers underneath.

Best Place To Buy a Cheap Fridge Freezer

As the Appliance Hunter I personally recommend John Lewis, they’ve got great customer service, a 2 year guarantee on all fridge freezers, free delivery and they dispose of your old machine as part of the service. It’s where I do my hunting and their online store is nice and easy to use.

I’ve linked each one through to where you can buy it at John Lewis so you can read some other reviews and check out the price.

Best Budget Fridge Freezers Under £300

These are all freestanding and are the best fridge freezers you can buy for under £300. I’ve included everything you need to know so check it and click the price & review button for more info and prices over at John Lewis.

This is the most popular fridge freezer under £300, which is no surprise because it’s fantastic. It’s great value, has a 2 year guarantee and and a 10 year warranty on parts.

One thing I really loved was the anti-bacterial liners that are included in the fridge. This keeps the air inside fresh and helps your food last longer by keeping bacteria out of the air. Nothing worse than all your veggies going off at once.

The salad drawer is split into two separate drawers which I love, one drawer can be a pain in the neck because you can’t keep things separate and so it piles up and gets lost until you smell something at the bottom. No good.

Overall, the most popular and best fridge freezer under £300 hand down. I love the antibacterial lining and the price.

This Zanussi fridge freezer is the cheapest on the list, there’s certainly nothing special about it but it’ll do what it says on the tin and keep doing it for years to come.

The price is kept lower because it has a bigger fridge and smaller freezer. So it’s perfect for an individual or a couple but a family might struggle unless they eat a lot of fresh food (which I fully advocate).

The fridge has everything you need, safety glass, plenty of room in the door, although it could do with another shelf personally.

Overall, the best budget pick on the list. Does what it says in the tin and will be a reliable fridge freezer.

This one didn’t quite make it under the £200 category like Zanussi above because it’s got a bigger freezer space. But it’s still a great fridge freezer, freezes quickly, keeps your food cold and enough space for two people.

One thing is that the fridge door can be a little hard to open, this is good really because it means it has a good seal to keep the cold in but it can be a little annoying.

The energy rating is still an A+ and the cost per year is a little more but still very cheap.

Overall, a great budget fridge freezer, the second cheapest on the list ideal if you were looking for a bigger freezer than the Zanussi.

The biggest disappointment? It’s a hoover but doesn’t vacuum anything!

Just kidding.

Hoover have a great range of electronic appliances and their budget fridge freezer is as good as the rest of them.

It’s got a really great capacity in it’s fridge and you’ll have loads of space to put a ton of shopping inside. The freezer is a good size too and is frost free so you won’t have to go through the trouble of defrosting it periodically.

The downside is it’s a bit noisey, all fridges freezers are of course but this one is especially so. If you have an open plan kitchen living room then there’s a good chance you’ll notice the noise, otherwise it’ll just fade into the background.

Overall, it’s the best washing fridge freezer for people who need a lot of space.

Best Budget Fridge Freezer For Garage

The Beko is cool (pun absolutely intended) because it can operate in temperatures down to -15 C so you can keep it in a garage, shed, work cabin, anywhere like that.

The only downside is that it’s the least efficient on the list, not by a huge amount just a couple of extra pound a year so it’s not too bad really.

The freezer has technology in it to stop excessive frost build up which is great. Because defrosting the freezer just sucks, you have to empty it reliving all your past bad food decisions and then water gets everywhere, no fun.

The door also has an antibacterial seal to stop germs getting in and spoiling your food which is, of course, great.

Overall, a great fridge freezer best for outdoor use but great for indoor use too.

F.A.Q On The Best Budget Fridge Freezers Under £300

My freezer is full of frost and the drawers won’t go in, what can I do?

First off, DON’T try and scrape the ice off!

Scraping the ice off with a nice would be fine, but you’re quite likely to stab into one of the cooling pipes, then the whole thing is broken and needs replaced.

What you need to do is defrost the freezer compartment. That involves turning it off and leaving the freezer door open. Best put down a load of towels to catch the run off and leave it overnight.

If you leave the fridge door closed it should stay cold and keep your food if you just leave it overnight. But I wouldn’t leave much in their just incase. You don’t want to come through and find all your food spoiled.

What do I do with my old fridge?

If you order through John Lewis they provide a pick up and disposal of your old appliance. Otherwise you’ll want to get in touch with your local council to organise a pick up and disposal. They might want it taken outside as a heads up but that depends on where you are I think.