The Whirlpool WRS321SDHZ is a midrange 33-inch standard-depth side-by-side refrigerator. This model sits higher in Whirlpool's hierarchy of 33-inch side-by-side fridges since it has an in-door ice and water dispenser, unlike some base models. It uses a single evaporator, with a conventional fixed-speed compressor. There are four glass shelves in the fridge, with a shallow deli drawer underneath and two deep crisper drawers on the bottom. You can't reposition the glass shelves, but they're removable for more vertical storage space. The fridge door has a covered dairy container on top, three deep, adjustable-position bins underneath, and a fixed bin on the bottom. The freezer has three removable frameless glass shelves, with a deep drawer on the bottom. The freezer door has three fixed-position bins, with the upper bin having a restricted height, and there's an additional very small bin behind the ice chute in the door.
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Our Verdict
The Whirlpool WRS321SDHZ is a fair choice for everyday use. It has very good temperature uniformity, with little temperature variation shelf-to-shelf or between the shelves and the door bins, despite its conventional fixed-speed compressor and single evaporator. It offers decent capacity given the limits of its side-by-side design and 33-inch width, with fairly narrow fridge and freezer sections. It'll be difficult to accommodate wide items like pizza boxes, especially in the freezer. Unfortunately, it delivers mediocre produce preservation performance since it can't maintain high humidity in the crisper drawers, leading to wilted lettuce and shrunken celery in a short period of time.
Decent capacity, especially for a side-by-side design.
Great temperature uniformity in the freezer.
Two deep crisper drawers at the bottom of the fridge.
Mediocre produce preservation, humidity inside the crisper drawers doesn't rise high enough.
Narrow freezer compartment, making it hard to store wide items.
The Whirlpool WRS321SDHZ does an unremarkable job of preserving produce. The fridge compartment humidity is fairly low, typical of a single evaporator refrigerator. Although the crisper drawers keep humidity much higher, it doesn't stay high enough, and it's unable to keep lettuce from wilting and celery from drying out and going soft within a few days.
Mediocre produce preservation, humidity inside the crisper drawers doesn't rise high enough.
The Whirlpool WRS321SDHZ offers decent refrigerator capacity, especially considering the side-by-side design. The frameless fridge shelves maximize their usable width, and there are two deep crisper drawers at the bottom of the fridge, providing ample space for storing bags of carrots, large heads of lettuce, or other large produce like whole broccoli heads. The three fridge door bins are deep and can be positioned at various heights to accommodate tall items like gallon milk jugs or wine bottles.
Decent capacity, especially for a side-by-side design.
Two deep crisper drawers at the bottom of the fridge.
Deep, variable height door bins in the fridge.
The Whirlpool WRS321SDHZ delivers satisfactory freezer capacity. While the freezer compartment is tall and deep, it's quite narrow, and there's a lot of space taken up by the ice maker and the chute leading to the in-door ice dispenser. You'll have a hard time storing wide items horizontally, and if you store them vertically, you might have to remove a shelf to accommodate the height. The door bins are small and fixed in position, with two of them being so small that they'll only fit items like ice packs, individual frozen entrées, or frozen juice concentrate tubes.
Decent capacity, especially for a side-by-side design.
Narrow freezer compartment, making it hard to store wide items.
Small, fixed-position freezer door bins.
The Whirlpool WRS321SDHZ exhibits very good temperature uniformity throughout the fridge and freezer. It's especially impressive in the freezer, where the temperature variation is quite small. It also maintains very tight control of the freezer temperature, with only a slight variation as its fixed-speed compressor cycles. It's not quite as good in the refrigerator compartment, but it still offers decent performance. It's colder towards the top of the fridge where cold air enters from the freezer, so you may want to keep especially temperature-sensitive items in the middle or bottom of the fridge.
Great temperature uniformity in the freezer.
Tight temperature control in the freezer as the compressor cycles.
Colder temperatures at the top of the fridge.
The Whirlpool WRS321SDHZ's ice-making performance is very good. Its ice tray's capacity is great, storing enough ice for even large gatherings. Filling the ice tray may take a while, though; its ice-making rate is only satisfactory, so start filling the tray well in advance of a major event.
Impressive ice tray capacity.
Performance Usages
Changelog
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Updated Mar 12, 2026:
We've added a link to the Maytag MRT311FFFE in the Refrigerator Storage section of the review to provide an alternative with superior capacity.
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Updated Mar 05, 2026:
We've added a link to the GE GSS25GYPFS in the Freezer Storage section of the review to provide an alternative with more room in its freezer cabinet.
- Updated Mar 04, 2026: Version 1.1 of our refrigerator test bench provides new information regarding authorized service provider coverage for different manufacturers, the availability of replacement parts, and operating noise. For a more detailed breakdown of the changes made, see our full changelog.
- Updated Oct 08, 2025: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Whirlpool WRS321SDH is available in several different colors and finishes. We tested the fingerprint-resistant stainless steel finish version, the WRS321SDHZ. Here's a photo of our unit's label.
| Model | Color and Finish |
|---|---|
| WRS321SDHV | Black Stainless |
| WRS321SDHB | Black |
| WRS321SDHW | White |
| WRS321SDHZ | Fingerprint-Resistant Stainless Steel |
If you find another variant of this fridge, please let us know in the comments so we can add it to our review.
Popular Refrigerator Comparisons
The Whirlpool WRS321SDHZ is a 33-inch side-by-side refrigerator that isn't much of a standout in any real way. Its 33-inch width severely compromises its usability next to wider 36-inch side-by-sides like the Frigidaire FRSS2623AS, with very narrow fridge and freezer cabinets. You'll also have to contend with the in-freezer ice maker, which takes up a big chunk of available real estate within this space. If you can live without the Whirlpool's in-door ice and water dispenser, consider a comparably-sized top-freezer model like the GE GTS22KGNRWW instead. This relatively simple top-freezer unit offers more usable space in both cabinets and does a better job of keeping produce crisp and fresh thanks to its better-sealing crisper drawers.
The GE GSS25GYPFS outperforms the Whirlpool WRS321SDHZ in most ways. The GE provides more space inside its fridge and freezer cabinets, does a marginally better job of keeping fresh produce crisp, and is equipped with a more robust ejector-style ice maker that can produce more ice and offers a higher max capacity, useful for bigger get-togethers.
Test Results
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