The 14 Best Dorm Room Refrigerators of 2022

If you have a condo, mother-in-law suite, vacation rental, tiny home, accessory dwelling unit or entertainment space, a smaller refrigerator might be right for you. Good Housekeeping participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. We updated this story in November 2022 to ensure all picks tested and vetted by the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab were available, in stock and correctly priced. In addition to red, the Frigidaire 1.6-Cubic-Foot Compact Fridge is available in several color options to match your decor or school colors, including purple, blue, green, and orange.

A compact mini fridge makes a great addition to your dorm room or work space. Whether it is to store soft drinks or ingredients for Arctic King your favorite meal, a sleek mini fridge is just what you need. At Target, find a wide range of mini fridges you can choose from.

The specific size of mini refrigerator that you need will depend on what you plan to use it for, but most often range from 30 to 35 inches in height, 18 to 24 inches in width, and 19 to 26 inches in depth. The US federal government issues the certification to the most energy-efficient appliances available. The goal is to save you money on your utility bills when you choose the most efficient ENERGY STAR model. You’ll find a light blue and white ENERGY STAR logo on certified refrigerators or a yellow card that displays its efficiency with an estimate of how much it will cost you to run the mini fridge per year. Many mini fridges use between 55 and 85 watts of electricity per hour, which means that over the course of a year, it will cost less than $20 to run one in your home. You can always opt for an Energy Star certified model for even better energy efficiency and lower operating costs throughout the year.

You can read more about how we evaluate mini fridges in our Lab — plus everything you need to know to shop for your perfect mini fridge for your dorm or office — at the end of this guide. When you’re using a mini fridge for snacks and beverages in your dorm room or home office, you want something small. Since this is a convenience item, affordability is also important. After taking apart fridges and talking to expert technicians, we found that there’s little difference between mini fridges. A mini fridge with a separate freezer is a great package for galley kitchens, dorms, and wet bars where you want to have all possible storage options.

When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET Arctic King nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers. Some of these small refrigerators even come with their own freezers.

The GE Double Door Mini Fridge has a separate freezer on top with plenty of storage , and the refrigerator includes a clear crisper drawer as well as shelving and a can rack on the door. You can even remove the glass shelves to create more room if you have larger soda bottles or just want to stack beer cans high. To select our best mini fridges, we relied on our years of experience testing refrigerators and in-depth knowledge of the category. We also checked to see what other reviewers recommend as well as what home users have to say. Our most important criteria was the ability to maintain safe temperatures for food storage, but we also took into consideration size and features. On this list you’ll find a variety of models for different needs and situations.

whirlpool mini refrigerator

You have a choice of black or a finish that mimics stainless steel or black stainless steel. You may have to defrost the freezer, an “ancient” procedure that may not be familiar to you. It involves turning the fridge off and allowing all Arctic King the ice that builds up on the walls of the freezer to melt off. Kyle Hamilton is a product tester at Reviewed, specializing in home appliances and technology. Fridge temperatures higher than 40°F allow bacteria to proliferate quickly.