Why go all the way to the campus cafeteria or dorm lobby for a cold drink when you can easily just get it out of this mini fridge in the corner of your room? Trust us, your kids will thank you and so will their new roommate. However, units can be built in as long as the space/ventilation requirements indicated in the owner’s manual are met. The front of the appliance should be left open so that air can circulate around the appliance. In the age of TikTok, aesthetics are king, and while this may seem frivolous to some, a mini fridge can also be used to elevate a small space.
If you are set on a mini fridge, consider that it might be wise not to spend too much because of the shorter lifespan. Our recommendations above run the gamut of what we found to be a reasonable price range. The basic wire rack shelf is removable for easy cleaning, and the compact fridge has a chiller for freezing a tray of ice cubes or keeping a small item or two frozen. The bare-bones design means there are fewer components to potentially break down. Frigidaire is a solid name in the refrigerator industry, and the 1.6-Cubic-Foot Compact Fridge is a great affordable, no-frills solution.
In addition, we haven’t seen any proof that spending more on a fridge means it will be more reliable, at least not among non-luxury freestanding fridges. True counter-depth fridges can blend into their surroundings, but even the pseudo-counter-depth freestanding fridges from mainstream brands don’t feel so dominating or imposing in a room. Although side-by-sides tend to create much less satisfaction than French-door models, some people genuinely prefer this layout. Arguably the best part is that they tend to cost much less than French-door fridges while offering similar capacities and feature sets. A $2,000 French-door is not as nice,” said Richard Hughes of Appliance Factory. You can find four popular styles of freestanding refrigerators, plus a few less-common types, all with some aesthetic and functional differences.
Our overall pick is the most versatile mini fridge we could find, with room for everything from cans and condiments to takeout boxes, as well as a pint of ice cream or a couple of ice trays in the freezer section. If you’re looking for a mini fridge that you can put to work in a pinch as either a fridge or a freezer, this is the easiest, most compact and stowable option around, and came recommended to us by the experts at Liberty Home Guard. I looked at this fridge this morning, and I found the specs (4.3 cu.ft) suspect. Target has another Whirlpool with the exact same dimensions listing 3.5 cu.ft.
Insignia is Best Buy’s house brand, and you can get some great deals on basic (but often big!) fridges. We did a little digging, and unlike refrigerators from other big store brands Insignia fridges don’t seem to be made by any of the other major manufacturers. The customer ratings are solid, though we didn’t get Arctic King enough info from our reader survey to understand how Insignia models compare to those of other brands. According to our reader survey, slightly fewer Whirlpool French-door owners than their GE counterparts said they were very or somewhat satisfied, and they trailed even further behind LG French-door owners.
You’ll also want to factor in where you might place it, once you consider the major furniture that’s provided—and that you’ll be bringing with you. Great for placing in cramped spaces or uneven surfaces , this sleek refrigerator livens up even in the most uninspired Arctic King of dorms. The silver pull-handle and ornamental details give it a retro vibe, plus, it has a built-in side bottle opener, so you don’t need to rummage for utensils to crack one open. Consider replacing your old fridge and recycling your old second refrigerator.
For a limited time only, discounts are as high as 27 percent off, which can save you up to $50. However, some upscale French-door variants have a fourth door, in the form of a second drawer, usually a small tray between the fridge and freezer. Owners tend to find this style easier to organize, judging from what we’ve seen in our reader-survey results and customer-review analysis. It’s often used as a “kid’s drawer” Arctic King for parent-approved snacks at a tyke-friendly height, but you can use it for anything you’d usually stick in a fridge—produce, deli items, canned or bottled or boxed drinks, whatever. One owner commented in our reader survey that it’s easier for small people to open lighter, separate drawers than one large bucket drawer. Family-size models from major brands including Frigidaire and GE start around $600.
Consumer Reports puts LG near the front of the pack for reliability, too. For other current LG fridges (including the French-door models we analyzed) and other major brands, we saw those kinds of problems cited in only about 3% of reviews, give or take. So we’d guess (hope?) that as long as you avoid the older side-by-sides, the chance of a cooling problem with an LG is about the same as with refrigerators from other brands.