Bosch or Siemens: the same built-in freezer at three different prices

Series 4, Series 6, or the sister brand Siemens: with built-in freezers, the choice looks like a ladder of rising quality, with the price climbing step by step alongside it. We compared the technical data sheets of three real models currently on sale, same capacity, same parent company, and the ladder does not hold up the way it looks.

The Bosch GIN81VEE0 (Series 4), the Bosch GIN81ACE0 (Series 6) and the Siemens GI81NVEE0 declare eleven out of eleven identical fields on EPREL, the European energy register: same energy class, same consumption, same volume, same dimensions. The price gap reaches 22.5%, and it comes from almost everywhere else.

Three freezers, one identical data sheet

We read the European EPREL register for all three models, not the retailer's product page. Energy class E, energy efficiency index 100, 212 litres of freezer volume, 235 kWh a year of declared consumption, 35 dB(A) of noise in class B, four stars at minus eighteen degrees, automatic defrosting, dimensions of 1,772 x 558 x 545 millimetres and a built-in niche of 1,775 x 560 x 550. Every single field in the register matches, including the eight hours of power-failure autonomy and the 13.8 kg freezing capacity in 24 hours. It is not an isolated case in our archive: on dishwashers and ovens we had already found pairs with eleven identical fields, but here it is three appliances, two brands, and the overlap is total.

The one real difference: a hinge

The full technical data sheets from Bosch and Siemens, richer than the energy label, add something EPREL does not record. The Series 4 has a plain "flat hinge". The Series 6 has a "soft-closing flat hinge" that shuts itself without slamming, and its feature list adds the line "Inverter technology". The Siemens goes back to the plain hinge of the Series 4, not a different one, and talks about "electronic temperature control" instead of an inverter. Net weight follows the same logic on a smaller scale: 64.4 kg for the Series 4, 65.0 kg for the Series 6 (the extra half a kilo is the hinge mechanism), 64.6 kg for the Siemens, right in between. Everything else, from the number of drawers to the fault-signalling system, is identical across the three data sheets.

The list price nearly matches, the discount does not

On 9 November 2026, on OpportunityCommerce, the Bosch Series 4 has a list price of 1,806.19 euro and a 30.0% discount, final price 1,264.33 euro. The Bosch Series 6 has a list price of 2,064.24 euro, the same 30.0% discount, final price 1,444.97 euro: 14.3% more than the Series 4, fully explained by the higher list price. The Siemens has a list price of 2,065.72 euro, practically the same as the Series 6, but a 25.0% discount: final price 1,549.29 euro, 7.2% more than the Series 6 and 22.5% more than the Series 4. Between the two models that start from the same list price, five fewer points of discount are enough to explain the entire price gap between Bosch and Siemens.

What it costs to keep it running

On the 235 kWh declared by all three, at the ARERA fourth-quarter 2026 rate of 0.4343 euro per kWh, the energy bill is identical: 102.06 euro a year. If today's rate held steady, that would be roughly 1,020 euro over ten years, a figure higher than the entire price gap between the three models, 284.96 euro from the Series 4 to the Siemens. Anyone choosing the cheaper freezer to save upfront loses nothing on energy afterwards: the declared consumption is the same, euro for euro, on all three.

When each of the three makes sense

The Series 4 makes sense for anyone who wants the same freezer as the other two, paying only for the niche size and the capacity, without the self-closing hinge. It is the most rational choice on paper: same data sheet, lower price. The Series 6 makes sense if the soft-closing hinge and the "inverter" label are worth, to whoever pays for them, the 180.64 euro more than the Series 4: a day-to-day detail, not an energy advantage, since the declared consumption does not change. The Siemens, in this comparison, has no technical edge to offer: its hinge is the plain one of the Series 4, its list price is almost that of the Series 6, and its final price beats both only because today's discount is lower.

PortosEunostos advice

What to check on the product. Before choosing between two brands from the same parent company, compare the full technical data sheet, not just the energy label: the hinge, the weight and the word "inverter" are the only things that genuinely change here. If the retailer does not publish the extended data sheet, look it up directly on the manufacturer's site using the model code.

How to judge the seller. Do not trust the discount percentage alone: always check the starting list price, because a lower discount on an equal list price can cost more than a higher discount on a lower list price. In this comparison, the Bosch Series 6 and the Siemens start from almost the same list price: what decides who costs less is only the percentage discounted on the day of purchase.

The Portos take

Among three freezers with eleven identical EPREL fields, the right question is not which one cools or freezes better, because there is no measurable difference on that front. It is how much a hinge that does not slam is worth to whoever uses it every day. If the answer is "nothing", the Series 4 is the choice that pays for exactly what it offers.

You can check today's prices on the OpportunityCommerce product pages for the Bosch GIN81VEE0, the Bosch GIN81ACE0 and the Siemens GI81NVEE0, or compare other offers on SniffaPrezzi.

Also worth reading: how long a fridge really lasts, what temperature a freezer should be kept at, chest or upright freezer, how much space a fridge or freezer really needs and what it costs to run your appliances for the current euro-per-kWh rate.

Sources

• European EPREL register, refrigerating appliances category (refrigeratingappliances2019), data sheets for the GIN81VEE0, GIN81ACE0 and GI81NVEE0 models, re-read on 9 November 2026.

• Bosch, extended technical data sheet GIN81VEE0 and GIN81ACE0; Siemens, extended technical data sheet GI81NVEE0; official site bosch-home.com.

• OpportunityCommerce, product pages for the three models, prices and list prices recorded on 9 November 2026; SniffaPrezzi, independent search on the same product code.

• ARERA, fourth-quarter 2026 tariff announcement, 0.4343 euro/kWh.