Buying a fridge is a highly personal (and complicated) decision, contingent on many things: how much room do you have within your kitchen? How many people do you need to keep fed? What features do you need? On that note, if you're interested in learning more about the pros and cons of different ice maker types, read our article on Refrigerator Ice Makers Explained: Pros, Cons, Types, and More. However, it's much harder to judge fridges in the store based on their performance. Worry note, we've done this work for you! We've tested 25 units to date, and our recommendations for the best refrigerators are based on their temperature uniformity, their produce preservation performance, and how effectively their internal capacity utilizes their footprint.
No matter how good the refrigerators we list below are, you might be limited by the space available in your kitchen. We've gone in-depth about the size classes available in Refrigerator Sizes: How To Find The Perfect Fit. If you're trying to get oriented with a new design, we go through everything you need in our Refrigerator Types Explained guide. And finally, be sure to check out our picks for best refrigerator brands, the best French door fridges, and the best counter-depth refrigerators for other options.
Quick Look
We've recently started testing refrigerators. We independently purchase each unit from major retailers, just like you, to keep our reviews free from manufacturer influence. Each refrigerator goes through the same tests to measure objective data for metrics like temperature uniformity, produce preservation, and actual storage capacity so you can easily compare the results.
Want to learn more about how we operate? Check out our about us page.
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Best Refrigerator
Everyday Use8.4Temperature Uniformity8.6Produce Preservation8.6Standard Width36" (91 cm)StyleFrench DoorCounter-DepthNoIce MakerRefrigerator DoorSee all our test resultsWater DispenserIn-DoorThe best refrigerator we've tested is the Bosch 500 Series B36FD52SNS. This 36-inch-wide, standard-depth French door refrigerator offers incredible produce preservation performance, great capacity, and excellent temperature uniformity. There are numerous height-adjustable storage options in the fridge, including split shelves for storing tall objects like wine bottles, large produce bins, a full-width deli drawer that provides ample space for meats and cheeses, and two very deep door bins for storing large juice containers. The freezer is a little more utilitarian yet still large and practical, consisting of two pull-out drawers with dividers. Temperatures are very uniform, especially in the freezer, although the fridge door bins are slightly warmer than the shelves. The in-door ice and water dispenser delivers a decent amount of ice for a small family, but not enough for large gatherings.
The Bosch 800 Series B36CT80SNS is Bosch's flagship fridge and costs more because it's not only equipped with dual evaporators but also dual compressors like commercial refrigerators, which is very rare in consumer refrigerators. Because of this, the Bosch 800 has excellent temperature uniformity and better produce preservation performance than the Bosch 500. It should also preserve produce outside of the crisper drawer better than the Bosch 500, as it maintains high humidity in the fridge compartment. However, this counter-depth fridge cannot offer the same capacity, which makes it a little less suitable for larger families. For those determined to have a standard-depth fridge, the Café CGE29DP2TS1 is a very good alternative, featuring twin evaporators, a separate temperature-controlled pull-out drawer, and an auto-filling water pitcher. That said, its freezer temperature uniformity lags slightly behind.
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Best Mid-Range Refrigerator
Everyday Use8.0Temperature Uniformity8.5Produce Preservation8.0Standard Width36" (91 cm)StyleFrench DoorCounter-DepthNoIce MakerFreezer CompartmentSee all our test resultsWater DispenserInternalThe best mid-range fridge we've tested is the Samsung Bespoke RF30BB6200QL. This fridge's dual evaporators lead to excellent temperature uniformity, particularly in the freezer. Since the dedicated evaporator for the fridge maintains high humidity, the produce preservation performance is very good. There's a water dispenser that refills a dedicated Autofill pitcher inside the refrigerator; this leaves a lot of space in the fridge, but you can't refill a glass directly from the dispenser. It offers good temperature uniformity in the refrigerator and superb temperature uniformity in the freezer. It produces two types of ice in the freezer and stores them in its large ice tray, although this reduces capacity in the relatively small freezer.
Another Samsung fridge offering comparable performance to the high-end Bespoke refrigerator is the Samsung RF32CG5400SR. It offers greater capacity in both the fridge and freezer, and it even produces three types of ice using three ice makers with an impressively large ice capacity. However, its produce preservation performance is significantly worse than that of the Bespoke model, as it features a single evaporator, which creates very low humidity in the fridge, causing produce to dry out much more quickly.
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Best Budget Refrigerator
Everyday Use7.7Temperature Uniformity7.7Produce Preservation7.7Standard Width33" (84 cm)StyleTop FreezerCounter-DepthNoIce MakerFreezer CompartmentSee all our test resultsWater DispenserNo Water DispenserThe best budget refrigerator we've tested is the GE GTS22KGNRWW. You'll generally find top freezer designs in the budget space, with few features. This GE fridge is no exception, but it performs remarkably well. It excels at produce preservation; its well-sealing crisper drawers will keep produce wilt-free for a long time. It offers good capacity for a 33-inch wide fridge, though its lack of split shelving may make it difficult to fit taller items in the refrigerator compartment. There's a lot of capacity in the freezer, even with its high-capacity ice tray in place, and the tray is fed by an ejector-style ice maker that introduces fewer failure points than a twist-tray design. The ice maker has a good production rate. Temperature uniformity in the fridge and freezer is good, especially considering this fridge uses an older fixed-speed compressor design.
If you don't have the space for this 33-inch GE fridge, consider the 30-inch Frigidaire FFTR1835VW. This fridge offers better temperature uniformity in the fridge and freezer, and has a larger ice tray. However, you give up some capacity with this narrower fridge, and produce preservation performance isn't quite as good because the crisper drawers don't seal as well.
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Best Counter-Depth Refrigerator
Everyday Use7.8Temperature Uniformity8.1Produce Preservation8.0Standard Width36" (91 cm)StyleSide By SideCounter-DepthYesIce MakerFreezer DoorSee all our test resultsWater DispenserIn-DoorIf your kitchen design relies on a fridge sitting flush with the edges of your counters and you're willing to make a few trade-offs, consider the KitchenAid KRSC703HPS. This 36" wide refrigerator uses a side-by-side design, which means some compromises in capacity, even in standard-depth fridges, since the compartments are narrow. The capacity in the fridge isn't low, though, and it's actually very good in the freezer. The produce preservation performance is excellent, thanks to dual evaporators that maintain high humidity in the fridge and its crisper drawers, which seal in moisture quite well. Its ice maker has a high production rate, and its ice bucket is large enough for medium to large families. Both refrigerator and freezer temperature uniformity are impressive; the dual evaporators control temperature very well in this fridge.
Counter-depth fridges are constrained in capacity. The LG LRFLC2706S breaks the mold with its 'Counter-Depth MAX' design, which maximizes space by eliminating the in-door water and ice dispenser, replacing it with an unobtrusive water dispenser inside the fridge compartment, and adding a tall, full-width deli drawer to increase capacity. It has even better temperature uniformity than the KitchenAid despite having only a single evaporator. However, its ice maker is a little slower, and this fridge is much worse than the KitchenAid at produce preservation.
Notable Mentions
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Bosch 100 Series B36FD10ENS:
The Bosch 100 Series B36FD10ENS has an identical internal layout to our top pick, the Bosch 500 Series B36FD52SNS, offering the same high capacity at a significantly lower cost. Unfortunately, the produce drawer doesn't seal nearly as well, resulting in significantly poorer produce preservation performance, and the 100 Series delivers inferior temperature uniformity in the fridge.
See our review -
GE Profile PGE29BYTFS:
The GE Profile PGE29BYTFS has a faster, higher-capacity ice maker than our top recommendation, the Bosch 500 Series B36FD52SNS. Its separate pull-out drawer maintains food items at a different temperature from the fridge, increasing flexibility, though this makes the freezer shorter and reduces its capacity. It also doesn't offer the same outstanding produce preservation performance as the Bosch.
See our review -
LG LTCS20020S:
The 30" budget LG LTCS20020S offers better produce preservation performance than our alternate 30-inch recommendation, the Frigidaire FFTR1835VW, and has a faster ice maker. However, its capacity is just a bit lower in both the fridge and the freezer, and its temperature uniformity is much worse.
See our review -
Samsung Bespoke RF24BB6600QL:
The Samsung Bespoke RF24BB6600QL is effectively a counter-depth variant of the Samsung Bespoke RF30BB6200QL, and is worth a look if you like the features and layout of the latter but would prefer a closer to flush-fit installation in your kitchen and can stomach the hit to capacity.
See our review -
Maytag MRFF4236RZ:
The Maytag MRFF4236RZ is a 36-inch standard-depth French door fridge with few frills, but good overall temperature uniformity and produce preservation performance. Compared to the more feature-rich Samsung Bespoke RF30BB6200QL, it's lacking capacity in its fridge and freezer cabinets, however.
See our review -
Hisense HRM260N6TSE:
The Hisense HRM260N6TSE is a 36-inch standard-depth French door fridge with an additional temperature-controlled drawer. It offers similar overall performance to the Samsung Bespoke RF30BB6200QL, although its in-fridge ice maker reduces usable space.
See our review
All Reviews
We offer our recommendations for the best refrigerators based on our testing. Your requirements may differ due to the space available for your fridge, your budget, and your needs, so please look at all our refrigerator reviews below. These appliances are available with a wide range of features, prices, sizes, and designs, so you can find the best fridge to meet your needs.