And LG doesn’t sell as wide a variety of that type of fridge as other brands do. But judging from the little info we do have, those models seem to be solid, too. LG’s bottom-freezer models also earned high marks in our reader survey. The shelving and organization in LG fridges earned especially high ratings in our reader survey, as LG beat the other major brands in satisfaction with perceived capacity, storage ability, and accessibility of contents. Among refrigerators from the five major brands, LG fridges seem to make their owners the happiest.
If you need a fridge on short notice and a Samsung model looks like a top bet, it probably won’t be a disaster. But most people seem to think that a built-in ice maker is worth having. Some upscale fridges even have specialty ice features, like LG’s Craft Ice clear spheres (38% of the owners of one model whose reviews we analyzed cited Craft Ice as one of their favorite features). Normally priced at $139.99, the mini fridge can hold just about anything with its two shelves, such as cans of soda, two-liter bottles, and even frozen pizza and ice cream.
Think through what you want for capacity, shelving, and organization. These closely related qualities are highly important to most fridge owners. For higher-end models with specialized organization features (such as a door-in-door system or a two-drawer French-door model), size and layout were usually cited in more than 50% of reviews, and the sentiment Arctic King was largely positive. If you find yourself in constant awe at how fast your fridge fills up, it may be time to consider investing in some extra real estate with a mini fridge. These compact appliances can suit any space and still have ample room to comfortably house everything from extra soda cans and wine bottles to leftovers and groceries.
Mini Fridge with Top Freezer has an interior light for spotting exactly what you need inside. Emily Belfiore is a Buying Guides writer for Meredith brands including InStyle, People, Food & Wine, and more. Always in pursuit of the best reviewer-vouched products, she covers topics spanning across the fashion, beauty, and health and wellness whirlpool mini refrigerator verticals. In her free time, you can find her testing products for articles, watching beauty tutorials, or catching up on the latest binge-worthy show. Take a look at your school’s housing policy to find out what dimensions are acceptable (many schools require ones that are 5 cubic feet or smaller, though some max out at 3.5 feet).
But maybe that’s because the brand’s slightly higher prices discourage people from buying the truly lowest-end models, so they don’t drag down the overall rating. Whirlpool’s reliability for this style also seems to be a little better than that of the other two brands. But we just don’t have enough data to say how these Whirlpools compare to similarly priced models with comparable features from LG or Samsung, so we don’t want to endorse one brand over another.
This UL- and ENERGY STAR-certified refrigerator is quality built and made to last. 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.
(That’s counting the handles in both cases, but not the 2 inches you should leave between the back of the fridge and the wall for circulation). The doors aren’t flush with cabinetry like those of a “true” counter-depth model, but the overall design tends to feel less obtrusive than a standard-depth model, which can jut way out beyond your cabinets. It’s common among models of both types to have separate cooling systems for the fridge and freezer compartments , which their makers advertise as an upgrade over the single systems used in most fridges.