I thought it was. I own a Honda Inverter. I paid about $3500 for a 6500 watt. You are not just paying for the inverter technology, but Honda’s engines are much better quality and they are much quieter. They always start. They do not burn oil. Their small power equipment is better than pretty much anything else made. The only product that was not that great was their riding lawn tractors(good engines, cheap everything else). Stihl is the only other small equipment worth buying.
The other difference is if you want to be able to run your big screen TV, especially a plasma.
IF you do not care about any of the above. Buy a Generac for about 1/3 the price.
Best motorcyle and mower I’ve ever owned were Hondas(as is my current 10 year old car)
What would be a good cheap efficient model/brand if you only cared about keeping the freezer running? I’d alternate power between the freezer and fridge until the fridge was empty. Also, switch it over to the microwave for quick meal cooking. From charts, the microwave pulls the most 925 watts, a fridge at 725, and freezer at 600. Order of need is #1 fuel efficiency, #2 cost, #3 ease of maintenance and reliability over the long haul and #4 noise.
A big plasma tv during any outage wouldn’t even make it onto my list.