13 best fridge freezers, expertly tested
Doing the all-important job of preserving the freshness of your food, fridge freezers are a kitchen staple.
They are, however, an investment buy and finding the best fridge freezer for you depends on a range of factors, from how many people you’re feeding to the design of your kitchen and how much you like to organise your fridge.
To help you decide, the Good Housekeeping Institute set out to find the most reliable buys, testing 61 fridge freezers to find the ones worth investing in. Here are our experts' winners at a glance but keep scrolling for our full reviews.
If you’re replacing an existing fridge freezer, there are plenty of places for you to safely recycle your old one. Find your nearest electrical recycling point, or read our guide on how to donate or dispose of your appliances and tech for extra guidance.
Which type of fridge freezer should I buy?
There are three different types to consider: integrated, freestanding and American-style. Here’s what you need to know for each.
Integrated
These built-in fridge freezers are designed to be hidden behind a cupboard, so you can coordinate the finish with the rest of your kitchen.
Most are designed to fit within a 60cm wide cupboard and tend to measure about 178cm high. They also tend to be more expensive than freestanding models.
Freestanding
These can sit anywhere in your kitchen and are ideal if you need to store food for a large family – some can reach over 200cm high. There are plenty to choose from and they’re cheaper than the other types of fridge freezer.
American-style
American-style fridges are double the width of typical fridge freezers, boasting full-length double doors and plenty of storage space.
You’ll need a large kitchen to accommodate one of these, and they tend to be costly both to buy and run. However, they often come with useful extra features such as water filters and ice-cube makers.
What is a smart fridge and do I need one?
Modern internet-connected fridge freezers have smart features that can detect the contents of your fridge and show you what’s there via a smartphone app.
This helps you monitor when food needs to be used by or when you need to restock. Some smart models also allow you to download recipes to make the most of what’s in your fridge.
If you have the budget, they make a great kitchen addition, but smart features aren’t essential.
What should I look for when buying a fridge freezer?
Settled on the right type for your kitchen? Here’s what to consider next.
Size
First, make sure your new fridge freezer will fit inside your allocated kitchen space. This is particularly key if you’re buying an integrated model. Note, you’ll also need to factor in extra space, as recommended by the manufacturer, so the appliance can operate properly.
Then you need to decide on the fridge-to-freezer split; most tend to be a 70/30 or 60/40 split, with a bigger fridge and smaller freezer. You can find 50/50 models though, should you wish for an equal division of fresh and frozen food.
Next is capacity or, in other words, the litres of food a fridge freezer is able to hold. The bigger the household, the more important a generous capacity will be. It's worth bearing in mind that capacity tends to be measured excluding any shelves.
Lastly, consider how many drawers there are, as well as compartments in the fridge door. Some shelves and storage features may be adjustable, which allows for greater flexibility, while other fridge freezers have extra features such as bottle racks.
Energy efficiency and running costs
Since new energy ratings were introduced in 2021, all appliances are now rated A to G rather than up to A+++. Many had their ratings downgraded to account for better efficiencies across the board and allow room for new technological innovations. Models on our list range from A to F, which means they are still reliable when it comes to energy efficiency.
However, given the current cost of energy bills, opting for a fridge freezer with a high rating will mean lower running costs.
Frost-free tech
Gone are the days where you have to lay down newspaper and start the time-consuming process of defrosting your freezer. Many models now claim to be frost-free, which means there should be no more ice build up (taking up precious food space) and it helps the appliance run more efficiently.
Door design
Models with a reversible door hinge mean you can decide which side the fridge freezer opens from, based on what works best in your kitchen.
If you (or family members) often forget to shut the door properly, also look for a model with an alarm that will go off when the door is left open.
Fresh food preservation
Varying by model, many fridge freezers come with features designed to keep the food in your fridge fresher for longer, cutting down on food waste.
Some have flexible cooling zones and humidity controls that allow you to adjust the temperature of a drawer or area in the fridge to suit your shopping.
Others use light technology – such as Beko’s HarvestFresh – to create the conditions for photosynthesis to continue, meaning your fruit and veg maintain their vitamins and nutrients.
You can find other additional features we recommend considering below, along with our brief installation guide.
How we test fridge freezers
The GHI experts find the best fridge freezers by monitoring the stability of each model’s temperature regulation over 24 hours, examining which spots are the coolest and the warmest at set times.
They also measure how much electricity each fridge freezer consumes over the same period and check how well it recovers to its set temperature when the doors are left open for two minutes.
The sturdiness and design of shelves and drawers are also assessed, as well as how easy it is to use. Any accompanying instructions and guidance are also reviewed before each fridge freezer is awarded a final score.
Read on for the best in test.
Note: energy prices are based on the Energy Price Guarantee (£0.249/kwh).
Family Hub AI Vision Inside RF65DG9H0EB1 Fridge Freezer
Score: 90/100
Fridge freezers don’t come much more advanced than this one. There’s a big touch screen panel on the door (the Family Hub) where you can see your calendar, build shopping lists, meal plan, access recipes and even stream TV (although our testers found the sound a tad muffled). It’s even voice controlled, something that was very reactive on test.
Then there’s AI Vision. Internal cameras identify and record groceries as you pop them in for an automatic inventory. It can’t recognise everything yet, and our tester said it felt a bit slow, so they'd opt for recording shopping and expiry dates via the Family Hub when in a hurry. But they loved seeing the fridge contents in Samsung’s SmartThings app, which is handy if you’re in the shops and want to check if something is still fresh (or don’t want to leave your sofa, we’re not judging).
It's also spacious, well-lit and neatly designed. Our testers particularly liked the folded shelf for flexibility with taller items, and if you need extra fridge space, one of the lower zones can switch from freezer to fridge.
It maintained a generally consistent temperature, especially in the fridge, and its temperature recovery was relatively efficient. This should improve with use too as the AI monitors usage and adjusts the temperatures accordingly. For example, if you do your weekly shop at the same time every week, it could preemptively lower temperatures to minimise the impact of leaving the doors open to put away groceries.
It has a hefty price tag, but it’s at the cutting edge of smart home appliances with game-changing features.
InstaView Door-in-Door GSXV91BSAE American Style Fridge Freezer
Score: 86/100
Ideal for large households and kitchens, this premium fridge freezer has plenty of space for all your food, plus a wine rack and (self-cleaning) water dispenser. It connects to wifi so you can control settings from your phone (testers found the app very intuitive), and to see what’s inside without having to open it, you simply knock twice on the door.
You can’t reconfigure the shelving layout, but there’s still plenty of room for flexible storage and with four doors, you can just open the specific section you need. Its temperature fluctuated when we monitored it over an extended period, but testers noted that it stabilised quickly after the door had been left open for two minutes.
MoodUp 617L Multi-Door Fridge Freezer GMV960NNME
Score: 86/100
There's no need for a stash of magnets to zhuzh up this fridge freezer. Its front panels change colour to suit your decor, the time of day (they act as a nightlight), your mood or even in time with the music you can play through its speaker. There are literally thousands of colours and combinations available, so you can find your perfect match.
As well as bringing the fun, this intuitive fridge freezer is practical too; there's the same knock-to-view fridge door as the LG InstaView above, as well as separate controls for the fridge and freezer, and you can adjust settings via the intuitive LG ThinQ app. Testers liked how this would flag any issues (such as an open door or overfilled fridge) and keep an eye on maintenance too with its ‘Smart Diagnosis’ feature.
Importantly, the inside is well-designed to neatly accommodate ample groceries and testers were satisfied with how the fridge recovered when we left the door open. The temperature was evenly distributed throughout, too. Yes, it’s expensive, but it’s a refreshing alternative to your classic bland box.
KitchenFit RB5K330GSFC Smart 60/40 Fridge Freezer
Score: 85/100
Hisense’s KitchenFit range is a smart choice if you’re looking to make the most of your kitchen space. At 60cm deep, the fridge freezers are designed to sit flush with your cupboards, and instead of having vents at the back, they sit at the front near the floor, again taking up less space. This one still manages to boast an impressive 330L capacity, and (yes, we’re not done), you can combine different units from the range to create your perfect configuration – ideal if you’re looking for the sort of capacity you’d get with an American style.
This fridge is smart too, connecting to your phone via the intuitive ConnectLife App, so you can adjust the temperatures, be notified if the door has been left open, pop on a child lock or even turn on the ‘Super Cool’ or ‘Super Freeze’ functions, which will ramp up the settings for a limited time to speed the chilling or freezing process along.
As its high score shows, it’s also a reliable buy – the fridge scored full marks for maintaining an even temperature, and the freezer wasn’t far behind. It generally recovered well from the doors being left open, too.
In fact, our testers’ only niggles were that there’s no ice drawer in the freezer and they'd like to be able to customise the shelf positions more. Hardly dealbreakers though.
Series 6 Freestanding Fridge Freezer KGN39AIAT
Score: 85/100
This Bosch offers versatility thanks to its adjustable shelves, including one that folds in half should you need even more height. It also has a wine rack that can house five bottles, and its internal lights make it easy to see all your food. Testers would have liked more spacious freezer drawers, though.
With an A rating, it’s no surprise it achieved a perfect score for energy efficiency, using 0.5 kilowatts over 24 hours (costing 12p). The fridge was also excellent at maintaining the desired temperature even after we left the door open to test its recovery skills. However, the freezer fluctuated somewhat, creeping over the maximum desired temperature at times and taking half an hour to recover from our open-door test, so be sure to close it quickly after retrieving food.
£1549.00 at appliancecity.co.uk
FAB38 Fridge Freezer
Score: 85/100
Smeg appliances always look the part and this one performed well on test, too. Built for large kitchens – it’s over two metres tall and has a huge capacity, just shy of 500 litres – its fridge has two roomy storage drawers (including one with adjustable vents), while its freezer has a clever ice cube system. You simply turn a dial and any ice cubes in the tray will be released into a drawer below, for you to either store or use.
If the door is left open for longer than two minutes, an alarm will sound and lights will flash, which will come in handy as we found that its recovery time varied; the freezer in particular took a while to return to temperature.
The appliance also ran slightly warm over the course of 24 hours, averaging 0.4 degrees above the recommended temperature for a fridge and 1.9 degrees above that of a freezer. Note, for perishable food, the fridge’s lower shelves proved the coolest place to store things.
With no obvious dirt traps, smooth-running drawers and accessible controls, it scored the highest for its ease of use, making it the ideal choice for busy kitchens.
Fridge Freezer RFN31831I
Score: 84/100
ASKO is known for its high-end appliances, and this integrated fridge freezer is no exception. Testers found it easy to use and set up, with drawers that moved smoothly, adjustable shelves and ample compartments for keeping groceries neatly organised. It also comes with some nice extra touches including an egg tray, a small ice cube holder and a quick-reacting audio alarm that will notify you if a door is left open after a minute and a half.
You can only adjust the fridge temperature (the freezer is set automatically in relation to this), but the thermostat is simple to use. It maintained good temperatures and the fridge stayed cool when our experts left the door open. The freezer took longer to recover, and its temperature did rise, but given the fast-reacting alert, the door will never really be open for the two minutes we leave it on test.
£1099.00 at longeatonappliances.co.uk
American Style PureFlat Fridge Freezer RS818N4TIE
Score: 82/100
If you like the sound of water features but your kitchen isn’t configured to plumb your fridge freezer in, then this Hisense would make a great alternative. It still has a water and ice dispenser; you’ll just need to keep liquid levels topped up yourself.
Testers liked its intuitive digital display, simple child-lock and smooth-to-remove drawers. Shelving is fixed though, so you can’t reconfigure them. There was some temperature fluctuation on test, particularly in the fridge, and, as is the way with bigger fridge freezers, it used more energy than most. It’s still expensive, but as American-style fridge freezers go, this is a more affordable option.
Pro HarvestFresh BCND4VE73 Integrated 70/30 Fridge Freezer
Score: 81/100
If you’re looking for a fridge freezer that will fit in with your kitchen aesthetic, this integrated model is a smart choice. It keeps food fresh, as you can adjust the salad drawer’s humidity, and it comes with Beko’s HarvestFresh technology, which uses lights to prolong the shelf life of fruit and veg.
Over the course of 24 hours, we found both the fridge and freezer stayed cool in general, although the top shelf in the fridge was a bit warmer than we’d have liked. That shelf also took a while to recover when we left the fridge door open, but the freezer readjusted quickly.
While its freezer drawers are fairly small, the fridge shelves are adjustable, its controls are intuitive and easy to read, and it’s easy to clean. Its holiday mode is simple to activate, too.
Multi Door Fridge Freezer Cube 90 Series 7 HCR7918EIMP
Score: 81/100
This American-style design has French doors, which is different to the others on our list – whereas many are set up with the fridge on one side and the freezer on the other, this one is divided horizontally, meaning all your fresh goods are in the top, and frozen below, ultimately giving you more freezer space.
Testers found the controls easy to use, and the internal light well-positioned to avoid shadows. You can adjust the height of the shelves, but they were stiff to remove at first. It achieved a perfect score for its steady optimum temperatures and used less electricity (just over one kilowatt for 24 hours) than many of the other American-style models we tested.
Freestanding Aeroflow Dual Cooling HarvestFresh CNB3G4603VPS
Score: 80/100
If you like your fridge freezer to have lots of cool features, stop scrolling. This freestanding model is frost-free, with a rapid freezing function, a holiday mode and external controls for easy temperature adjustment and monitoring. Not to mention, it’s spacious inside the fridge with five easily adjustable shelves for your food and drink. There’s even a wine rack, although our experts noted this was fiddly to remove.
The fridge scored full marks for its steady temperature over 24 hours, and while the freezer didn’t score quite as highly, it still proved reliable. That said, both compartments produced mixed results in our open-door tests, so it’s worth being vigilant and ensuring you close the door quickly. It’s a great design if you’re after maximum flexibility with your food storage but can’t accommodate an American fridge freezer.
RH180FFFF55B-WD
Score: 80/100
Enjoy chilled water on tap with this fridge freezer’s simply designed dispenser – you can either remove it fully and fill it at the tap or use a jug to top it up. It also has adjustable shelves, so you can configure the layout to suit your shopping, and testers found all its zones remained at steady, desirable temperatures.
Our experts noted that it wasn’t very energy efficient in comparison to others tested. There isn’t a way to lock the temperature settings either and it didn’t have any alerts if temperatures were to suddenly rise. But it’s reliable and well-priced with a sleek look.
H-Fridge 500 HOCE4T620EWK Fridge freezer
Score: 79/100
This compact fridge freezer has easily adjustable shelves, bringing welcome flexibility to the kitchen. The door is reversible too, so you’re not restricted on where you place it in the kitchen, and testers liked its loud open-door alert and the simple, frost-free design, declaring it a great buy if you’re after something straightforward to use.
It kept an even and cool temperature in both the fridge and the freezer, earning full marks over the course our day-long test. The fridge didn’t heat up when we left the door open either. The freezer warmed a tad, but nothing that would impact your food. It was one of the less energy efficient models we tested, though.
What additional features should you look for?
There are a raft of features to choose between when investing in a fridge freezer. Here we break down what you need to know.
Water dispenser – a nice-to-have that comes into its own during warm weather, water dispensers serve cool, filtered water. Some are plumbed in while others will need refilling manually.
Childproof features – if you’ve got little ones foraging around, look for a model with temperature dials that can’t be easily knocked or that require unlocking to adjust the settings.
Holiday mode – a must-have for regular jet-setters, this allows you to switch off the fridge while the freezer stays running.
Digital displays: Along with indicator lights and audible signals, these allow you to monitor the temperature easily and will tell you if the door has been left open or if there’s a fault with the appliance.
Separate controls: Setting the fridge and freezer controls independently helps them run better and keeps your food fresh, chilled or frozen at the right temperatures.
Auto defrost: Defrosted water in the fridge section will drain into a trough at the back of the appliance and evaporate to stop your fridge from freezing up and becoming damp.
Solid drawers in the freezer and glass shelves in the fridge: Freezer drawers can be expensive to replace so check they’re made of sturdy plastic to ensure a longer lifespan. For your fridge, glass shelves retain cold most effectively and are easier to pack and clean.
Door alarms: This will alert you if you’ve left either door open, helping to avoid any unwelcome puddles of defrosted water or thawed food.
Climate class: Look out for a "climate class" rating when buying a new freezer as this will tell you the range of temperatures the appliance can cope with and where it’s best to keep it. The “N (normal)” class is for a room with a temperature range of 16-32C. If the room drops below 16C at night or you’re planning to keep the freezer in a garage where temperatures can fall as low as 10C, then an “SN (sub-normal)” model may be more suitable.
Fast freeze: This keeps the temperature low when you add large quantities of fresh food to the freezer, and it also means the food will be fresher when it’s defrosted. It also helps retain the texture and quality of certain foods, such as bread. Some models automatically revert to the normal setting once the food has frozen but others must be switched back manually.
Cold accumulation block: Store this in the freezer so the appliance stays cold for longer if there’s a power failure.
Pull-out drainage spout: Having one of these means water can be drained away more easily when you defrost the freezer.
What do you need to know about installation?
After your new appliance is delivered, keep it upright. You should leave it to stand for a few hours before plugging it in too, as this allows the gases inside to settle.
Once you’ve switched it on, try to leave it overnight to give it time to reach the correct temperature before being packed with food.
Installing plumbed-in models can be trickier as the water hose must be securely fastened at the back. But the retailer should offer to come and install it for you (and in many cases, take your old one away too).
How long should your fridge freezer last?
Your fridge freezer should last you a good 10 years, but key to that is taking good care of it, cleaning it regularly and replacing any filters when needed.
Follow our guide to deep cleaning your fridge (which includes advice on how to stop any unpleasant smells) to keep it in tip top condition.
The verdict on the best fridge freezers
If you're looking for bells and whistles and have a big enough kitchen, LG's InstaView American-style fridge freezer impressed with its intuitive app, flexible design and added extras (aka an integrated wine rack and the InstaView panel, which lets you choose your snack without having to open the door).
And for a blow-the-budget buy with all the latest tech, opt for the Samsung Family Hub AI Vision Fridge Freezer, which has cameras inside to help keep track of your food and a smart screen that can serve you recipes and keep you entertained.
For something better suited to smaller kitchens, consider the Hisense KitchenFit RB5K330GSFC Smart 60/40 Fridge Freezer. or for something more affordable, we recommend the Beko Pro HarvestFresh BCND4VE73 Integrated 70/30 Fridge Freezer.
Why should you trust the Good Housekeeping Institute?
We've been testing products at the GHI for 100 years. Over that time, we've learnt a lot about what makes a great appliance for our homes. We've also developed rigorous protocols to ensure everything we recommend to you will live up to its claims.
Blossom Boothroyd, our senior homes tester, and Hannah Mendelsohn, our homes editor, have also reviewed and written about hundreds of products, so they know exactly what they're looking for, from performance to energy efficiency.
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