The 10 Best Fridges - June 2017
Every week we analyse the technical specs, reviews and prices of every fridge on the market in the US to determine our top 10 list.
In total we compared over 2,230 fridges, 554 reviews and 598 prices. Last updated 20 June 2017.
Frigidaire FPRU19F8RF
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$1,599.20View Details
Avanti AR2416B
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$175.00View Details
- More shops: 5
- $212.86 A J Madison
- $277.00 Appliances Connection
No matching products found.
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Fridge Buying Guide
Capacity
A dedicated refrigerator without freezer can often give you larger fridge storage capacity than even a substantial American style fridge freezer. The largest stand alone fridges have up to 400 litres of internal storage capacity. That's enough to store two supermarket trolleys full of food.
Another great advantage of a dedicated fridge is that they often have matching dedicated freezers. Placing the two side by side can create a combined fridge and freezer capacity big enough for even very large families. Just look out for fridges that have reversible doors which will let you create a fridge freezer combination with both doors opening our from the middle.
Moisture Control
Different types of food are best stored at different levels of humidity. Meat and fish are best stored in dry conditions, preserving the natural juices in the meat. Fruit and vegetables are better preserved in more humid conditions, with fruit best stored in semi humid conditions and vegetables best stored in fairly humid conditions.
Many fridges have moisture control compartments which allow you to vary the compartment's humidity level to suit the type of food that is stored inside. This will keep your food tasting fresher for longer.
Shelves
Budget and small refrigerators sometimes come with wire shelves. Whilst these are economical and can be useful for storing bottles and cans, they provide no drip protection if food from one shelf leaks and drips on to the shelf below. Premium fridges come with glass shelves which stop drips and are easy to clean.
Some fridges have folding shelves which fold away to allow you to store tall items like bottles. Others have pull out shelves which slide partially out of the fridge to make it easier to reach items at the back.
Water Dispensers
Some fridges come with built in filtered water dispensers. Unlike American style fridge freezers, often fridge only water dispensers are simple in door reservoirs that you fill manually. This completely avoids the needs for a plumbed water connection.
The water reservoir normally contains a water filter which gives you access to cool filtered water without needing to open the fridge door. Look for models with a child lock on the water dispenser to prevent small hands playing and making a mess.
LED Lighting
Bright LED interior lights make it easy to see everything in your fridge. LED lights are also use very little energy and create very little heat, making them ideal for maintaining a constant temperature inside the fridge.
Great Design
Why not make your fridge the centerpiece of your kitchen with an icon fridge design? The fridge doesn't have to be the boring box in the corner and there are a number of unique fridge designs available, especially from Smeg.
Multi Airflow System
Some premium fridges use a multi airflow system to ensure an even distribution cold air around all parts of the fridge. These systems work by circulating air which often passes through an air filtration system before being recirculated. The air filter removes unwanted odours to prevent odour contamination of other foods in fridge.
Rapid Cooling
Rapid cooling is a feature that allows you to temporarily increase the cooling rate of the fridge so that it cools new items more quickly. This is ideal for those times when you bring home a big shop from the supermarket.
Fridge Retailers, Prices and Features
Fridge Prices
In total we found 9 refrigerators ranging from $104 to $4,999. A new fridge costs on average $1,070 and 80% of fridges are priced between $126 and $1,999. The Thermador T30IR800SP is the most expensive refrigerator that we found at $4,999, and the Curtis FR100 is the cheapest at only $105.
Fridge Brands - Price Range
Thermador fridges start at $4,999 and the most expensive Thermador refrigerator costs $4,999. The average price of Thermador fridges is $4,999 which is the highest average price of all refrigerator brands.
The average price of Smeg refrigerators is $1,999 which is the second highest average price of all refrigerator brands. Smeg refrigerators range in price from $1,999 to $1,999.
The average price of Frigidaire refrigerators is $1,599 which is the third highest average price of all refrigerator brands. Frigidaire refrigerators start at $1,599 and the most expensive Frigidaire refrigerator costs $1,599.
Fridge Brands - Average Ratings
We have evaluated 421 user fridge reviews available online and used this information to evaluate the average rating for each brand of fridge. The top three fridge brands are CDA, Bosch and Zanussi. CDA has an average rating of 95%, Bosch has an average rating of 94% and Zanussi has an average rating of 93%.
Biggest Refrigerator Retailers
We found 6 current offers for refrigerators from eBay making it the biggest refrigerator retailer. That is more than twice as big as the second biggest retailer, Appliances Connection for whom we found 2 current offers for refrigerators. The third biggest retailer is Overstock with 1 current refrigerator offers.
When Are Most New Refrigerators Released?
We couldn't see any clear trend in the release dates for new fridges over the last 3 years. The biggest month last year for new fridge releases was December, with 40 new refrigerators released that month. In July 2015 78 new refrigerators were released making it the biggest month that year for new fridge releases. February was the biggest month in 2014 for new refrigerators, with 104 new refrigerators released that month.
How Fast Do Refrigerator Prices Drop After Release?
On average, in the first 6 months after release, refrigerators drop in price by 5%. If you are prepared to wait then you could save an average of $58 on a typical $1,070 new fridge by waiting 6 months before buying.
Fridge Net Capacities
This is the total usable (net) capacity of the fridge, measured in litres.
The fridge net capacities of fridges range from 5L to 556L. The fridge net capacities of most fridges range from 130L to 180L. The FrigidaireFPRU19F8RF has the biggest fridge net capacity. This fridge is a 526L net capacity fridge and sells for $1,599.20. The FrigidaireFPRU19F8RF has the smallest fridge net capacity. This fridge is a 39.6L net capacity refrigerator and sells for $229.00.
A higher capacity means that more food can be stored in the fridge at a time.
Energy Efficiency of Fridges
The Energy Efficiency Class of a fridge shows how well it uses energy, and how much is unnecessarily wasted. Products are ranked from G to A++ in terms of how little energy they use compared to the norm.
The most common energy efficiency rating amongst new fridges is A+. We found 289 fridges that have an energy efficiency rating of A+. We found 283 refrigerators that have an energy efficiency rating of A++, making A++ the second most popular energy efficiency rating amongst new refrigerators.
A fridge with a better energy efficiency rating will consume less energy whenever they are used, saving you money and making them better for the environment.
Biggest Refrigerator Retailers
The biggest fridge retailer by number of products currently for sale is eBay. We found 6 current fridge offers from eBay. The second biggest fridge retailer is Appliances Connection with 2 offers. That means eBay is more than twice as big as Appliances Connection when it comes to fridges. Overstock is the third biggest retailer with 1 current offers.
Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Fridges?
The cheapest retailer by number of fridge for which they offer the cheapest price is v with the cheapest price on 5 fridges.
Proportion of Refrigerators for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?
With the cheapest price on 83.3% of its fridges, eBay is most frequently the cheapest fridge store.