Model
Marathon MCF50W-1
Rank #13 means 12 of the 622 freezer models we track cost less to run each year; the 34th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 34% of those models.
What does the Marathon MCF50W-1 cost to run per year?
Rank #13 of 622 puts the Marathon MCF50W-1 at the very top of the cheapest-to-run leaderboard for its class, at roughly $34 a year. It uses 15% less energy than the U.S. federal standard model in its class, which would cost about $40/yr to run, a saving of roughly $6 a year. Size-adjusted, this model trails most of its class on efficiency, ahead of just 34% of freezer models we track. This class has no published efficiency-factor figure beyond annual kWh itself, so at 4.9 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 ECF50W-1 at $34/yr runs a little cheaper and the Cool-Living CL-5UFR at $36/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 MCF50W-1's $34/yr adds up to roughly $476 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Epic ECF50W-1.
By the numbers
The Marathon MCF50W-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 $34/yr, here is what the Marathon MCF50W-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 MCF50W-1 costs about $340. That is roughly $60 less than a standard model in its class, which would run closer to $400 over the same ten years.
How the Marathon MCF50W-1 compares
The freezer class we track runs from $25 to $120 a year. At $34/yr, it runs about $41 a year cheaper than the class median of $75, and it is about $9 a year more than the cheapest freezer to run at $25. Against the US federal standard model for its class at about $40/yr, the Marathon MCF50W-1 uses 15% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 4.9 cu ft, the Marathon MCF50W-1 is a small freezer for its class, which spans 1.1 to 23 cu ft with a median of 13.8 cu ft, less capacity to service is usually the first reason a running-cost figure lands on the low side, before efficiency even enters the picture.
- 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 MCF50W-1 cheap to run?
Yes. Its $34/yr running cost puts it at rank #13 of 622, below what most freezer models we track cost to run.
How much does the Marathon MCF50W-1 cost per month?
About $2.85 a month, which is the $34 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: 184 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $34 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Marathon MCF50W-1 for its size?
34th 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Epic ECF50W-14.9 cu ft | $34 |
| 12 | Omnimax 3730-9223.5 cu ft | $32 |
| 11 | Midea MRC04M3C**3.5 cu ft | $32 |
| 10 | Master Chef 043-0292-23.5 cu ft | $32 |
| 9 | Arctic King ARC04B2C**3.5 cu ft | $32 |
Source
ES_1137295_MCF50W-1_031620210140953_3779799View certified freezer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Marathon and MCF50W-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.