Model
Marathon MFF122*
Rank #414 means 413 of the 1,000 refrigerator models we track cost less to run each year; the 69th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 69% of those models.
What does the Marathon MFF122* cost to run per year?
The Marathon MFF122* costs about $58 a year to run, a fairly typical figure for the class; it ranks #414 of 1,000. It uses 10% less energy than the U.S. federal standard model in its class, which would cost about $65/yr to run, a saving of roughly $7 a year. Efficiency-wise, once size is accounted for, it edges out 69% of the class, a modestly above-average showing. This class has no published efficiency-factor figure beyond annual kWh itself, so at 12.1 cu ft (the class spans 1.2 to 31.7), size is the clearest lever we can point to for this model's running cost.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Upstreman UF212 at $58/yr runs a little cheaper and the Vissani VS217HSUPSS at $58/yr runs a little more, a sense of how tightly models are packed at this point in the ranking. A refrigerator typically stays in service for somewhere around 12 years; over that span, the Marathon MFF122*'s $58/yr adds up to roughly $696 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
By the numbers
The Marathon MFF122* 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 $58/yr, here is what the Marathon MFF122* 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 MFF122* costs about $580. That is roughly $70 less than a standard model in its class, which would run closer to $650 over the same ten years.
How the Marathon MFF122* compares
The refrigerator class we track runs from $8 to $149 a year. At $58/yr, it runs about $6 a year cheaper than the class median of $64, and it is about $50 a year more than the cheapest refrigerator to run at $8. Against the US federal standard model for its class at about $65/yr, the Marathon MFF122* uses 10% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 12.1 cu ft, the Marathon MFF122* is a mid-size refrigerator for its class, which spans 1.2 to 31.7 cu ft with a median of 12.6 cu ft, right in the middle of the capacity range, so capacity is roughly a wash compared with the rest of the class.
- Interior volume. More cubic feet of cold air to maintain generally means a bigger compressor and a higher running-cost figure, even among efficient models.
- Counter depth vs standard depth. Standard-depth models generally offer more interior volume per unit of width than counter-depth models, a tradeoff between built-in looks and cubic feet.
- Compressor technology. How a compressor cycles, full on/off versus a variable-speed inverter design, is one of the biggest hidden differences behind two fridges with similar cubic feet but different running costs.
- Placement and ventilation. Ventilation clearance around the back and top matters more than most owners expect; a fridge starved of airflow runs its compressor longer to hold the same temperature.
Common questions
Is the Marathon MFF122* cheap to run?
Roughly, yes. Its $58/yr figure is close to the class median, ranking #414 of 1,000, neither a bargain nor a splurge on running cost.
How much does the Marathon MFF122* cost per month?
About $4.87 a month, which is the $58 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: 315 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $58 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Marathon MFF122* for its size?
69th percentile once size is factored in, a fairly typical result for the class.
Cheaper to run in the same class
Source
ES_1137295_MFF122*_12312019025813_1093963View certified refrigerator listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Marathon and MFF122* 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.