Best refrigerators 2023: our expert's top picks

The secret to loving your kitchen is having one of the best refrigerators. Whether you’re looking for color and chrome or smart technologies and a viewing window, there’s a variety of sizes and models on the market.

As the focal point of your kitchen, it’s important that your refrigerator can look good whilst keeping food fresh and safe. It needs to be efficient, smart, practical, and reliable, because you never appreciate a good fridge until you don’t have one.

I’ve thoroughly researched the best refrigerators on the market. I looked for refrigerators that made bold claims about their cooling capacities, then examined if they lived up to them. After scouring reviews from users and professionals, I’ve collated this list of the best fridges to give you a helping hand.

Best Refrigerators 2023

The Quick List

If you're looking for the best refrigerator, but you don't have much time, these are our top picks. If there's one which piques your interest, we go into more detail below.

Best family refrigerator

Samsung has taken all the frustration out of busy lives with this refrigerator. If you’re in the grocery store and can’t remember what you need, there’s a camera inside the refrigerator to check. That’s not all - this refrigerator offers a timer, a note board, a shared calendar, and links to your doorbell. This refrigerator can do it all, but what’s more, it delivers on the basics. This can hold a huge 26.5 cubic feet and the wide drawers can fit platters inside. Users loved the overall performance of this refrigerator, after they had mastered the technology.

Note that the ice dispenser has a water filter which you’ll need to replace every three months. It’s optional and inevitable with filters, but is an ongoing cost. The ice maker is a little clunky for storing food around too.

Best value refrigerator

Maytag brings reliable performance. Reviewers all commented on the temperature control of this refrigerator: it maintains a cool, constant temperature throughout, including the door shelves. This is really useful if you want to put dairy products in the refrigerator doors without worrying about warmer temperatures. 

The deli drawer is a well-designed feature, because you can store wide plates and platters without any awkward positioning. With a reasonable fridge and freezer capacity, there’s more than enough room for all of your groceries. Some users thought that the refrigerator would benefit from adjustable sections, but didn't find this limiting.

The digital interface is really useful when it works, but a number of users found it a little tricky to use. However, it looks good alongside the stainless steel finish, which is fingerprint resistant.

Best side-by-side refrigerator

KitchenAid always delivers on quality, so we expect great things from this refrigerator. It’s pretty basic, but it does these basics well. The dedicated refrigerator has drawers and shelves which you can re-organise to suit your needs. A handy air filter keeps odors minimal and the drawers absorb ethylene to help slow the ripening of fruits and vegetables. This isn’t something many users noticed, but it’s a subtle helping hand which you probably would only notice if it wasn't there.

Reviewers commented that this was compact, so even if you use the storage and organization well, it’s not made for big families. It also doesn’t have a dual ice-maker either, so, if your mind is elsewhere you might end up with a glass of ice rather than water.

Best French door refrigerator

It seems to be unanimously agreed that this refrigerator is beautiful. Almost every review comments on how good it looks, many enjoy simply looking at the refrigerator, especially in the customisable colors. However, beauty is not the only selling point. 

The autofill water dispenser fills containers with filtered water using dispensers to stop when your glass is full. It’s surprisingly useful. As is the convertible drawer which has a range of settings, including soft freeze. Reviewers often suggested that this was a useful place to store drinks at lower temperatures than a generic refrigerator .

Some users said that the ice box was a little small and that the overall refrigerator  capacity was on the lean side. Lots of reviews also commented on how delicate the refrigerator  feels or how often they find themselves cleaning it: I think this care derives from having a beautiful refrigerator though.

Best refrigerator for small kitchens

Smeg wins big points for style. This fridge harks back to retro 1950s style and the early days of kitchen appliances. Smeg even collaborated with Dolce and Gabbana on an infamous $10,000 hand-painted version of this fridge. The full-sized fridge is capacious but compact - at 60 x 23.6 x 30 in, it's  smaller than the other refrigerators in this roundup. The shelves are adjustable, there is a crisper drawer, and an integrated freezer. You can coordinate the color with your kitchen, or other Smeg appliances too.

When installing the refrigerator, leave a 175mm gap for the hinge door to open: it’s a pain if you can’t open the door properly. In the latest energy efficiency test, Smeg got an E, so some reviewers say that older models are  inefficient.

Best smart refrigerator

If you want a hands-off, smart refrigerator, look no further. The main feature is a panel on the door which becomes a window when tapped, so you can see inside if needed. The same panel opens as a small door, giving you access to cartons and jars without opening the whole refrigerator. If you have your hands full, swipe your foot under the food and it will open. Similarly, the freezer drawers slide out when the freezer is open. If that wasn’t smart enough, LG has a smart app for troubleshooting and monitoring the filter and any problems.

When tested against other smart refrigerators, such as the Samsung this was less energy efficient. It’s still not bad, but not at the top of the market. If you want all the additional features, it can get a little expensive too.

Best counter depth (and most energy efficient)

Bosch is reliable when it comes to good refrigerators. Whilst the Bosch 800 came a close second for the best counter-depth option, this French door model won overall. 

It has a built-in look when positioned alongside countertops and is great for energy efficiency. People liked the adjustable bar and shelves, especially in conjunction with the adjustable temperature drawer. In controlled tests it held a consistent temperature well. The Home Connect act is really useful: you can create an inventory of your groceries and get a notification before your food goes off; it will notify you if your refrigerator temperature has changed significantly; and it can troubleshoot any issues.

Considering that this is a French door refrigerator , it should have a bigger capacity. Compared to the Samsung 28 cu ft, this is expensive for its limited refrigerator real estate. However, when you look at the efficiency, it performed better: this Bosch is estimated to use 568 kWh per year as opposed to Samsung’s 716 kWh. 

Best top freezer

This refrigerator is good value. The variety of features means that you can make the most of your refrigerator’s capacity. The adjustable shelves readily cater for tall bottles and large boxes; the crisper drawer is a cool space to store fresh fruit and vegetables; the deli drawer suits wider platters and plates; and the butter keeper is a hygienic place to put your dairy products too.

This comes in a range of finishes, so you can tailor it to suit your interior style. Having an ice maker is rare in top-freezer fridges, but is very useful for freeing up storage space in the freezer. 

Although this isn’t the most expensive freezer on the market, it’s more expensive than similar fridges like the Frigidaire 20.5 cu ft Top Freezer Refrigerator, which I didn’t include because it lacks an ice maker. A few users commented that it is noisier than the standard fridge. Other reviewers suggested that the ice maker is slow, so maybe keep some ice in the freezer just in case. 

Best bottom freezer

Smeg makes a second appearance in our roundup, and while I like to give a range of brands, I couldn’t miss this off the roundup. As expected with Smeg, this is a stylish refrigerator. Even though it has an E energy rating, which is quite low, users commented on a good temperature regulation throughout the fridge.

For more heat-sensitive products, such as dairy or meat, there is a special cooler drawer with separate digital temperature control, so you can easily adjust the temperature of the whole fridge, or drawer separately. 

Whilst the different adjustable compartments are great, the refrigerator is still very slim. There isn’t room for bulky foods, but this doesn’t mean that it’s a counter-depth design either. It’s almost the worst of both worlds. You also won’t have a water or ice dispenser, which it would be reasonable to expect for the price. Some users commented on the gurgling noise which it makes occasionally and that the shelves can be a little awkward to move.

Best sustainable refrigerator

Beko have been pushing the boundaries for sustainability time and time again with their appliances and this refrigerator is no exception. The crisper drawer uses light technology to change color, reflecting the sun's natural light. They claim that this helps to preserve the vitamins in your fruits and vegetables, keeping them fresher for longer. It also has an energy star rating, so will be easy on you utility bills too. A number of customers found this really useful, especially for storage. Although the space is relatively compact, the shelves are adjustable, so many customers could make full use of the space.

If you're a larger household or are looking for more capacity, this might not be the best option for you. It's compact and efficient, but lots of customers who have children said that they wished they had more room, especially on the doors.

Best bespoke refrigerator

If you're looking to have a truly unique décor, this is the refrigerator for you. It comes in a range of colours, from stainless steel and black to sunrise yellow and rose pink. You can mix and match and add an interior beverage center, a popular addition amongst users. It's an additional cost, making this an expensive purchase, but it's worth it. Rather than have an eyesore drinks dispenser, this keeps everything cool, behind the sleek front. Customers loved the app, which notifies you on a range of topics, including if you've left the door open. Often, bespoke sizes don't sit flush with counters, but lots of customers were really pleased with the size and capacity of this refrigerator.

A few customers found that the freezer was too aggressive, over-freezing and icing up their food. You'll also want to install it carefully; if you don't leave a gap behind the refrigerator, the doors won't open fully.

Our verdict

You can’t go wrong with any of these refrigerators. They make bold claims and live up to them. For me, the Samsung Smart has to be the most useful. The camera feature would be a game-changer for doing the groceries. I love the look of the Café, but know that I would find a high-maintenance refrigerator  too much of an extra stress. I would admire all of the others in any kitchen regardless.

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