No, you don’t need a mini-fridge at home when you’ve already got a perfectly good fridge in the kitchen. Unless, of course, you dislike having to walk over there every time you need to enjoy some cold refreshments. If you spend a lot of time in another part of the house, like the garage, the workshop, or the bedroom, it just might be worth it to get a mini-fridge for the space.
The best mini-fridges give you enough room to chill a small selection of your favorite drinks and snacks, sparing you from having to trek on over to the kitchen every time you need a quick fix. We prefer models that have freezer space, so you can keep ice cubes and various frozen treats, although some might prefer non-freezer models if they’re looking for one with a smaller profile. This makes them an incredible convenience, allowing you to focus on whatever tasks you’re doing in the room, instead of being sidelined every time you need a quick drink or a small snack.
The best mini-fridges can range in size from 1.5 to five cubic feet, with freezer-equipped models usually coming in the larger sizes. Naturally, you need to consider what kind of space you have available before making the choice, although most mini-fridges should be small enough you can arrange to make room for them as needed.
What kind of features should you look for in the best mini-fridges? Mostly, you want to stick with standard fridge options, such as adjustable temperature control, auto-defrost, and adjustable legs. Some will have some of them and some won’t. For us, the temperature control is the non-negotiable feature, although your own mileage may vary.
Whether you want one for the garage, the bedroom, or the dorm room, these are the best mini-fridges to keep chilled drinks and snacks within easy reach.
Midea 1.6 Cubic Feet Mini Fridge WHS-65LB1
Pros
- Fits under desks and workbenches
- Chills effectively
- Maximizes interior space
Cons
- No freezer
Size: 18.6 x 19.4 x 17.7 inches (width x height x depth)
Capacity: 16 cubic feet
The smallest mini-fridge in the list, this one has been deliberately designed to fit under work desks and gaming desks, making it easy to stash a small fridge in your home office or workshop. As you can imagine, space is very tight, although it should manage to fit a couple dozen cans (if you stack them sideways) on the lower shelf and a few items on the upper shelf, even accommodating one tall bottle, along with other smaller bottles on the shelves right behind the door. There’s no freezer area, although it does have a colder fast chiller section if you need to cool down a couple of cans quickly. Truth be told, we probably won’t be using that feature much. The lone shelf in the main compartment can be removed if you want to store tall bottles inside (like two-liter sodas or wine bottles), as well, but this is definitely best for cans and smaller drink containers. We appreciate a few of the other details here, too, such as the adjustable legs, the reversible door hinges, the mechanical temperature control, and the Energy Star certification.
Midea Double Door Mini Fridge
Pros
- Excellent value for money
- Stable temperature
- Effective at chilling and freezing
Cons
- Temperature adjustment doesn’t seem properly calibrated
Size: 18.5 x 32.95 x 19.4 inches (width x height x depth)
Capacity: 3.1 cubic feet
We love this mini-fridge largely because it’s an excellent value, giving you a two-door design with freezer space for under $200. It’s well appointed, too, coming with two levels of shelves and a crisper drawer on the main fridge, while a vertical can rack and a tall bottle rack sit behind the fridge door. We love that it has a separate freezer area with its own door, too, allowing you to leave those frozen items undisturbed until you need them. Both the fridge and freezer reach adequate and stable temperatures, too, so you can properly chill drinks in the fridge and keep ice cream frozen in the freezer. The only catch is, we don’t think the temperature control is properly calibrated. As in, you’d want to set it to a colder temperature than what you’d like to make sure it cools down to your liking. It’s not that big an issue, but it might take you by surprise during first use, so keep that in mind when picking this one up. Other than that, this thing is great, with very quiet operation (just a low hum), easy to open doors, handy LED lights, reversible door hinges, and adjustable legs. Like we said, it’s really great value for the money.
Whirlpool Mini Refrigerator
Pros
- Premium looks
- Consistent temperature and humidity levels
- Solid build
Cons
- Cramped shelf spaces on fridge
- Freezer door a bit hard to open
Size: 19.3 x 32.8 x21.1 (width x height x depth)
Capacity: 3.1 cubic feet
This two-door stainless steel mini-fridge looks a lot more premium than its reasonably affordable price tag would suggest. There’s just a certain classy aesthetic to it that reminds us of those expensive French door fridges you’ll find in well-appointed kitchens. It has a pretty standard layout for a 3.1-cubic foot fridge, so you get a freezer space on top with extra shelf storage behind the top door and a three-level main fridge with a crisper drawer at the bottom. Compared to the Midea, the crisper drawer is a bit taller on this one, so the two shelves on top are a bit too cramped for our liking. Basically, you’ll have to store bottles and tall cans horizontally here. Truth be told, we like the Midea layout better, but your own tastes may vary. What we do love about this is the consistent temperatures and humidity levels, which barely fluctuated through our tests. The thermostat seems accurate, too, as far as the fridge is concerned, although you might want to crank it up a bit to ensure the freezer gets frosty enough temperatures. It also feels very solid, with quite a bit of heft, so you can keep this in a busy garage with no worries whatsoever.
hOmeLabs Beverage Refrigerator and Cooler
Pros
- Fits 120 cans
- Three height-adjustable shelves
- Transparent door
- Premium looks
Cons
- No freezer
Size: 18.9 x 33.3 x 17.3 inches (width x height x depth)
Capacity: 3.2 cubic feet
If you want a mini-fridge exclusively for keeping cold beverages, you might want to skip the traditional fridge-freezer combos for this beverage cooler design. Basically, it looks like those drink chillers you see at the local bodega, but much smaller at 3.2 cubic feet. Despite the seemingly compact size, it can hold a lot, accommodating a whopping 120 standard-sized cans. Even better, it comes with thee adjustable wire shelves that you can place at various levels, so you can rearrange the layout to match whatever beverages you plan to store inside. We love the transparent door, as it lets you see what drinks you have stored inside without having to open the fridge, along with the built-in LED light that keeps things easily visible even with the lights off. It offers a temperature range of 34 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which is perfectly fine for chilling drink, as well as a built-in sensor for auto-defrosting, so you can just keep it running year round (well, maybe wipe it clean every now and then). We also like the capacitive temperature controls, as well as the small temperature display out front. Very sleek.
Whynter Beverage Refrigerator
Pros
- UV-protective double-pane glass door
- Internal fan spreads cold air fast
- Five slide out shelves for customizing layout
Cons
- Fan is a bit noisy
Size: 17 x 32.5 x 18.8 inches (width x height x depth)
Capacity: 3.1 cubic feet
Another chiller-style mini-fridge, this one is actually slightly more compact than the hOmeLabs model. Despite that, it actually comes with more shelves (five, in fact), allowing you to partition the fridge into even smaller compartments. With the shelves arranged in a specific layout, you can even fit up to 127 cans inside, which is pretty nuts. The door is made from double-pane tempered glass that’s UV protective, which, the outfit claims, will prevent any possible heat damage from the sun on drinks like beer and wine. That seems like a nice feature to have, especially if you plan to keep this in a room where the sun can shine onto it through a window. The temperature setting seems consistent and precise, with a built-in fan even circulating air inside, so the cold air is evenly spread throughout the space. We feel like this is very useful for those times when the fridge is packed, as it forces the cold air into the tightest nooks and crannies. The LED light here, by the way, is a bit more subdued than the one in the hOmeLab. Truth be told, we like it better as it’s less distracting at night. You can also turn the LED off by simply tapping on it. This is the basic model, by the way, and is the most affordable. If you’re willing to spend more, you can opt for variants with a digital display and a security lock, with the latter being really useful if you want to restrict access to your alcoholic beverages.
GE Double Door Mini Fridge with Freezer
Pros
- Accurate temperature and humidity levels
- Reliable operation
- Partial automatic defrosting
- Good fridge layout
Cons
- Small handles on doors
Size: 20.1 x 33.4 x 18.8 inches (width x height x depth)
Capacity: 3.1 cubic feet
This mini-fridge takes on a similar layout as other two-door models in the list, separating the main fridge compartment into three sections with a crisper drawer at the bottom. We really do like the layout here, as it accommodates more varied items better, so much so we were even able to fit a gallon of milk inside (we removed the top shelf), which wasn’t possible with the Whirlpool model above. It also gets all the usual elements for two-door mini fridges, such as a can dispenser, a bottle rack, and all others. So why is it more expensive than similar designs? Mostly because it’s a lot more reliable. We set the thermostat to medium, for instance, and it was all we needed to do – the freezer was cold enough to maintain icy temperatures and the fridge was adequately chilled, which weren’t the case with the cheaper models. It also maintained consistent temperatures with proper amounts of humidity (the others above ran a bit too high), so it’s hand down way better than similar designs we tested. Is it worth the much higher price tag? If it slots into your budget, the more reliable operation is definitely worth it. Plus, you get partial automatic defrost, which we really appreciate.
