Model
Marathon MCF36W-1
Rank #3 means 2 of the 622 freezer models we track cost less to run each year; the 19th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 19% of those models.
What does the Marathon MCF36W-1 cost to run per year?
Do the math and the Marathon MCF36W-1's $31/yr running cost puts it at rank #3 of 622, among the least expensive freezer models we track to keep running. It uses 13% less energy than the U.S. federal standard model in its class, which would cost about $36/yr to run, a saving of roughly $5 a year. Size-adjusted, this model ranks near the bottom of its class on efficiency, ahead of just 19% of freezer models we track. This class has no published efficiency-factor figure beyond annual kWh itself, so at 3.4 cu ft (the class spans 1.1 to 23), size is the clearest lever we can point to for this model's running cost.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Epic ECF36W-1 at $31/yr runs a little cheaper and the Kalamera KCF-100E at $32/yr runs a little more, a sense of how tightly models are packed at this point in the ranking. A freezer typically stays in service for somewhere around 14 years; over that span, the Marathon MCF36W-1's $31/yr adds up to roughly $434 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs. At rank #3 of 622, it is one of the single cheapest freezer models we track to run, in the top one percent on cost.
Also sold as: Epic ECF36W-1.
By the numbers
The Marathon MCF36W-1 normalized against its whole class, so each figure means something.
What it costs you over time
Running cost is an every-year number, so it compounds. At $31/yr, here is what the Marathon MCF36W-1 adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Marathon MCF36W-1 costs about $310. That is roughly $50 less than a standard model in its class, which would run closer to $360 over the same ten years.
How the Marathon MCF36W-1 compares
The freezer class we track runs from $25 to $120 a year. At $31/yr, it runs about $44 a year cheaper than the class median of $75, and it is about $6 a year more than the cheapest freezer to run at $25. Against the US federal standard model for its class at about $36/yr, the Marathon MCF36W-1 uses 13% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 3.4 cu ft, the Marathon MCF36W-1 is a small freezer for its class, which spans 1.1 to 23 cu ft with a median of 13.8 cu ft, at the small end of the class, capacity itself is doing a lot of the work to keep that figure down, separate from how efficient the unit actually is.
- Interior volume. As with refrigerators, more cubic feet of frozen storage generally means a bigger compressor and a higher annual energy figure.
- Insulation and defrost type. Better-insulated cabinets lose less cold to the surrounding room, and frost-free (automatic-defrost) freezers run a periodic heating element that a manual-defrost model does not.
- Chest vs upright design. Door orientation affects how much cold air escapes per opening: top-opening chest designs generally hold cold better than front-opening upright ones.
Common questions
Is the Marathon MCF36W-1 cheap to run?
Yes. Its $31/yr running cost puts it at rank #3 of 622, below what most freezer models we track cost to run.
How much does the Marathon MCF36W-1 cost per month?
About $2.58 a month, which is the $31 annual estimate spread across twelve months at the US average rate of $0.1856/kWh. Your own bill scales with your local electricity rate and how heavily you use it.
How is this running-cost figure calculated?
The formula is annual kWh times price per kWh: 167 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $31 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Marathon MCF36W-1 for its size?
19th percentile once size is factored in. That means its size-adjusted efficiency is not the main reason for the running-cost figure above; its capacity plays a large role too.
Cheaper to run in the same class
| Rank | Model | Cost/yr |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Epic ECF36W-13.4 cu ft | $31 |
| 2 | Liebherr UF36512.5 cu ft | $29 |
| 1 | Avanti CF24Q0W2.5 cu ft | $25 |
Source
ES_1137295_MCF36W-1_031620210048866_1794793View certified freezer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Marathon and MCF36W-1 are used here for identification only and are not endorsements. Figures are computed by WattWise Labs from public ENERGY STAR data, not measured in our own lab.