Looking for a New Fridge? Start Here. (2024)

Our Top Picks

If you need more snack space in easy reach, one of the crisper drawers flips around to provide an easy-access bin. Other useful features include an expandable door bin to fit larger items, shelves that flip up to accommodate tall items, and an ethylene filter in the crisper to keep your produce fresh.

_{Dimensions: 70.125 x 35.8 x 29.5 inches | Capacity: 21.5 cubic feet | Installation Depth: Counter | Energy Star Rating: Standard | Additional Features: Water dispenser, ice maker, custom-flex temp zone, humidity-controlled crispers, LED lighting, water filter, air filter}

The freezer also has deep door bins and an adjustable full-width shelf. It doesn’t include a water dispenser or ice maker, but Frigidaire does sell an optional low-profile ice maker that you can install later on if you decide that you need one.

_{Dimensions: 66.375 x 30 x 30.375 inches | Capacity: 18.3 cubic feet| Installation Depth: Standard | Energy Star Rating: Not rated | Additional Features: Humidity-controlled crispers}

Counter-depth refrigerators are just a bit skinnier than standard fridges, so they fit flush with standard kitchen counters. The KitchenAid KRQC506MPS is our favorite counter-depth model because it provides ample space in the fridge compartment, four independent temperature control zones, and a high-end fit and finish both inside and out.

Each compartment features two pull-out drawers and a wood-like bin, and the left compartment includes a Max Freeze option that rapidly brings your frozen goods down to an optimum temperature when you get home from the store before automatically returning to the normal operating temperature.

Our favorite component is the fridge's Max Cool mode, which allows you to quickly chill food and drink for those times when you're in a pinch. The fridge compartment is also quite spacious for a counter-depth fridge of this size, and it includes two adjustable shelves, two crisper drawers, and a wood-like bottom shelf that slides out for easy access.

_{Dimensions: 68.5 x 36 x 28.375 inches | Capacity: 19.4 cubic feet | Installation Depth: Counter | Energy Star Rating: Standard | Additional Features: Ice maker, LED lighting, touch panel controls}

French door refrigerators utilize two doors that swing outward independently, so you can open them one at a time to access half of the fridge or together to see everything at once. Our favorite is the Whirlpool WRF555SDFZ French Door Refrigerator, which has a highly customizable shelving configuration in the fridge, a pull-out freezer drawer on the bottom with two storage baskets, and built-in water filtration that feeds an in-door water and ice dispenser.

This refrigerator takes full advantage of the French door configuration with a flexible split-shelf design. It includes five spillproof glass shelves that you can position together to create long shelves or stagger to accommodate tall items. The ice maker is located in the fridge and does take up a lot of space, but that’s the best way to get an in-door dispenser in a bottom-freezer model like this.

The freezer is a bit small compared to the total fridge volume, but it includes two pull-out baskets that simplify the organization of your frozen foods. Bright LED lighting is provided throughout both the fridge and freezer compartments, which makes it easy to find what you’re looking for.

This model also includes some features that are quite useful to families with small children, including a door alarm and a lock that prevents the ice maker or water dispenser from being activated inadvertently. It’s available in fingerprint-resistant stainless and black stainless steel, along with standard black and white options.

_{Dimensions: 68.63 x 35.63 x 35.25 inches | Capacity: 24.7 cubic feet | Installation Depth: Standard | Energy Star Rating: Standard | Additional Features: Water dispenser, ice maker, LED lighting, sliding freezer baskets, door alarm}

Side-by-side refrigerators place the freezer and refrigerator next to each other, which allows you to place commonly used items right at eye level in both compartments. The GE GSE25GYPFS Side-by-Side Refrigerator is our favorite because it provides ample storage in both compartments, with bright LED lighting and edge-to-edge shelves, and it also includes an ice maker and external water dispenser with built-in filtration.

The freezer includes a low-profile ice maker that doesn’t take up too much space, with a bonus storage shelf squeezed in on top, and a through-door ice and water dispenser. The fridge comes with a very nice water filter cartridge, which does take up valuable space inside the fridge. While annoying, it's easy to access when it’s time to pop in a new filter.

_{Dimensions: 69.625 x 36 x 34.75 inches | Capacity: 25.3 cubic feet | Installation Depth: Standard | Energy Star Rating: Standard | Additional Features: Water dispenser, ice maker, filtration, LED lighting, slide-out freezer basket}

Both compartments feature KitchenAid’s ExtendFresh temperature management system, which uses sensors to monitor airflow and redirect cold air where it’s needed to maintain the selected temperature and keep your food cold and fresh longer.

_{Dimensions: 67 x 29.75 x 33.375 inches | Capacity: 18.67 cubic feet | Installation Depth: Standard | Energy Star Rating: Standard| Additional Features: LED lighting, temperature-controlled drawer, two humidity-controlled crispers}

A narrow refrigerator like the Smeg Bottom Freezer Refrigerator is ideal for compact kitchens with limited counter space. This colorful, retro-styled model is only about two feet wide, so it’s perfect for kitchens that don’t have a lot of room, but it holds enough perishables and frozen items to keep two adults fed without excessive trips to the grocery store.

The classic design features bold colors and simple lines that go perfectly with the throwback and vintage design trends that are bringing a touch of fun and whimsy to kitchens in 2024. This fridge is only retro on the outside, so it includes modern conveniences and design touches that you won’t find in an authentic vintage fridge.

It uses modern refrigerant that’s less impactful on the environment, and it’s Energy Star certified, so it doesn’t cost as much to operate as the vintage models it looks like. It also has modern touches inside, like easy-glide drawers on telescopic guides, controlled temperature zones, a door-ajar alarm, and electronic temperature controls that remain hidden as long as the door stays closed.

_{Dimensions: 77.48 x 23.66 x 30.24 inches | Capacity: 12.8 cubic feet | Installation Depth: Counter | Energy Star Rating: Standard | Additional Features: LED lighting, temperature-controlled drawer, digital LED display and controls}

The freezer door bins are open at the bottom to simplify cleanup, but the space is big enough that smaller items like bagged veggies can fall through, which is a bit of an annoyance. The fridge door bins are much more substantial with a very flexible placement system, and they’re also clear so it’s easy to see exactly what condiments and drinks you have on hand. The crisper drawers are clear as well, and they’re also humidity-controlled to keep your produce fresh longer.

_{Dimensions: 66.25 x 32.75 x 34 in inches | Capacity: 21.3 cubic feet | Installation Depth: Standard | Energy Star Rating: Most Efficient | Additional Features: LED lighting, Humidity-controlled crisper, optional ice maker}

Smart refrigerators include smart home connectivity, so they’re most useful if you have a compatible smart home speaker and other related tech. Fridges in this category have wide-ranging feature sets, but we prefer to keep it simple when it comes to an appliance that you’d like to keep in your kitchen for a decade or more, since compatibility issues are likely to crop up over the years. That’s why our favorite is the LG InstaView Counter-Depth Smart French Door Refrigerator, which is an excellent fridge that won’t stop working altogether if LG were to drop support for its ThinQ smart features in the future.

This counter-depth fridge is spacious, Energy Star certified, maintains both temperature and humidity levels to keep your food fresh, and features LG’s PrintProof stainless steel finish that’s easy to clean.

You control all smart features through the ThinQ app— available for Android and iOS. If you have other LG smart appliances you can control them all using the same app. Voice commands like turning on the ice maker or adjusting the refrigerator temperature work through Amazon Echo or Google smart speakers, too.

This fridge doesn’t include a touchscreen interface, but we prefer a smart fridge without that feature because it doesn’t accomplish anything that you can’t already do with a tablet or phone. Instead of a touchscreen, this fridge features LG’s innovative InstaView window that instantly shifts from opaque to transparent with a gentle knock, allowing you to see inside without opening the door.

_{Dimensions: 35.75 x 70.25 x 31.63 | Capacity: 26.5 cubic feet | Installation Depth: Counter| Energy Star Rating: Standard | Additional Features: InstaView window, ice maker, internal water dispenser, air filter, Wi-Fi with smart connectivity}

The Dacor DRF36C000SR is the ideal option if you’re looking for a large fridge with a lot of useful features that’s also very energy efficient. This fridge carries the Energy Star Most Efficient label, which is granted to the most efficient fridges in categories that are based on capacity and features. This model in particular uses a staggering 24 percent less energy than the maximum consumption allowed by the US Department of Energy for a fridge of this configuration and size.

Despite that high level of efficiency, this fridge is also packed with features like a through-door ice and water dispenser, and a full-width FreshZone drawer with its own independent temperature controls. This fridge uses a dual evaporator system that provides a high level of control over the temperature in each compartment while maintaining a high level of efficiency.

The use of two evaporators also prevents odors from mixing between the compartments for fresher-tasting food. The pull-out freezer drawer provides plenty of convenient storage, and the FreshZone drawer offers a lot of flexibility since you can set it to whatever temperature you need. It’s great for snacks and drinks if you have kids, or for holding meat or other items at a specific temperature.

The fridge shelving layout is very flexible, with a slide-and-fold shelf that can accommodate tall items. The door bins don’t provide the same level of flexibility, but they are spacious. This fridge does have less capacity than some other similarly-sized models, but that’s a small tradeoff for this level of flexibility.

_{Dimensions: 70 x 35.75 x 30.875 | Capacity: 22.6 cubic feet | Installation Depth: Counter | Energy Star Rating: Most Efficient | Additional Features: LED lighting, ice maker, water dispenser, power freeze}

Final Verdict

We selected the Frigidaire Gallery GRQC2255BF as our overall best refrigerator. It features a flexible four-door design, with through-door ice and water, easily customizable shelving and bins, and a compartment that can function as an extra fridge or freezer space to fit your needs. If you’re working with limited space, our best for small kitchens pick is the Smeg Retro-style Bottom Freezer FAB32ULRD3. It combines fun retro styling with modern efficiency and features like easy-glide drawers, controlled temperature zones, and a door ajar alarm.

Jeremy Laukkonen is a commerce updates writer for The Spruce who has over a decade of experience writing about appliances, home improvement, and smart home technology. He's owned a variety of top freezer, bottom freezer, and side-by-side refrigerators over the years, but he especially likes four-door models with through-door water and ice for a ready supply of fresh drinking water along with excellent fresh and frozen food storage and access.

For this story, Laukkonen considered models from all the most popular manufacturers, including KitchenAid, Frigidaire, Whirlpool, LG, Smeg, and many others. Each model was evaluated for factors like size and capacity, layout, and energy efficiency, along with useful features like ice and water dispensers, flexible storage, and convertible compartments that can make your life easier.