I have had both and definitely prefer an upright and not frost free.
We started out with a 13 cf upright, not frost free. Somewhere along
the way we out grew it and got a 33 cf upright, not frost free. Loved
it but had to leave it behind when we moved. We now live in a log
house built in 1836 and the doorways are to small to get it in. We
bought an old chest at auction for $30 that had belonged to hubby’s
grandmother. I hated it! I didn’t freeze as many meals and dreaded
having to retrieve things. I have been use to a very organized freezer
and found it harder with the chest. If I put all the same things
together I couldn’t get to everything. If I mix and match so I can get
to things I lost count of what I had, especially if someone else was
nice enough to get it out for me but didn’t mark it off the list. We
were given a small upright but it was frost free and I didn’t like it
either. Had trouble with freezer burn. We used those two for the past
7 years until I was able to get a 15 cf upright, not frost free. If
you keep it full and organized so you don’t spend too much time with
the door open you don’t have to defrost very often. I always defrost
in May and November.
Bre