Compare the Best FridgesSeptember 2018

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.

Other Features To Consider

Refrigerator Prices

In total we found 48 refrigerators ranging from $105 to $1,324. The average price of a new fridge is $604 and the 80% of refrigerators are priced between $147 and $1,131. The AEG RKB73924MX is the most expensive refrigerator that we found at $1,324, and the LEC R50052W is the cheapest at only $105.

Fridge Brands - Price Range

The highest average fridge price out of all brands is Frigidaire fridges with an average price of $1,299. Frigidaire fridges range in price from $1,299 to $1,299.

The average price of AEG fridges is $831 which is the second highest average price of all fridge brands. AEG fridges start at $487 and their most expensive fridge costs $1,324.

Siemens fridges start at $608 and their most expensive fridge costs $608. The average price of Siemens fridges is $608 which is the third highest average price of all fridge brands.

Refrigerator Brands - Average Ratings

We have evaluated 18 expert reviews and 10,799 user reviews for fridges written online and used this information to evaluate the average rating for each brand of refrigerator. The top rated refrigerator brand is Beko with an average rating of 92%. The second best brand is Whirlpool with 90% and the third best brand is Indesit with 89%.

Biggest Refrigerator Retailers

We found 45 current offers for refrigerators from eBay making it the biggest fridge retailer. That is over 7 times bigger than the second biggest retailer, Walmart for whom we found 6 current offers for refrigerators. The third biggest retailer is Amazon US with 6 current fridge offers.

When Are Most New Refrigerators Released?

We couldn't see any evident pattern in the release dates for new fridges over the last 3 years. Last year most new refrigerators were released in March, with 66 new refrigerators released that month. 119 new refrigerators were released in October 2016 making it the biggest month that year for new fridge releases. July was the biggest month in 2015 for new refrigerators, with 65 new refrigerators released that month.

How Fast Do Refrigerator Prices Drop After Release?

New refrigerators drop in price by an average of 7% in the first 6 months after they wer first released. That means a saving of $41 on a typical $604 new refrigerator if you wait 6 months before buying.

Case Designs

The case design shows whether the fridge is freestanding, or designed to be built into fixtures.

The most common case design amongst new fridges is freestanding. We found 981 fridges that are freestanding refrigerators. We found 676 refrigerators that are integrated refrigerators, making this the second most popular case design amongst new refrigerators.

Fridge Net Capacities

'Fridge Net Capacity' is the total usable (net) capacity of the fridge, measured in litres.

The fridge net capacities of fridges range from 15L to 991L. The fridge net capacities of most fridges range from 140L to 180L. The refrigerator with the biggest fridge net capacity is the Frigidaire FPRU19F8RF, which is a 526L capacity fridge and is on sale for $1,299.00. The LEC R50052W, which is available at $105.40, has the smallest fridge net capacity and is a 46L capacity refrigerator.

Heights

The heights of fridges range from 370mm to 2,150mm. The AEG RKB73924MX, which can be purchased for $1,324.00, has the tallest height and is a 1,850mm high fridge. The refrigerator with the shortest height is the LEC R50052W, which is a 492mm high fridge and is available at $105.40.

Widths

The widths of refrigerators range from 260mm to 1,430mm. The Frigidaire FPRU19F8RF, which can be purchased for $1,299.00, has the widest width and is an 812.8mm wide refrigerator. The Avanti SHP1799CAD-IS, which is priced at $179.99, has the narrowest width and is a 431.8mm wide fridge.

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 popular energy efficiency rating amongst new fridges is A+. We found 889 fridges that have an energy efficiency rating of A+. We found 784 fridges that have an energy efficiency rating of A++, making this the second most frequently found energy efficiency rating amongst new fridges.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Fridges?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying fridges. For each retailer it shows the total number of fridges where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying refrigerators. For each retailer we took all of their prices and looked at what proportion of those prices where the cheapest on the market. The cheapest retailer that we found was eBay. 44 of their refrigerator prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of Fridges for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

Assessing how cheap each retailer is for refrigerators by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of fridge prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's fridge prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was eBay. 97.8% of their refrigerator prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.