DEAL OF THE DAY: Here are the 21 best products from Walmart's spring deals
Don't Waste Your Money is supported by our readers. When you purchase an item through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The Best Mini Fridge

Last updated on October 18, 2023
Best Mini Fridge

Our Review Process

Don't Waste Your Money is focused on helping you make the best purchasing decision. Our team of experts spends hundreds of hours analyzing, testing, and researching products so you don't have to. Learn more.

Look for the DWYM seal for products that are the best in a category.

When school’s back in session and young adults head off to college, there’s always one must-have item on their shopping list: a mini-fridge. Mini fridges have long been a standby for dorm rooms, but they’re useful in a number of other settings too. Offices, classrooms, community centers, apartments or a home that needs some extra fridge space can all benefit from the mighty mini-fridge.

There are a few different kinds of mini-fridges. Some of them only hold beverages. These are useful for offices — you can have a wide range of beverage choices for new clients, or keep all of your employees’ favorite drinks at the ready. Look for adjustable shelves, quick-cooling fans and easily adjustable controls with beverage mini-fridges. This will help you cool down several drinks of different sizes rapidly. A glass door is a handsome addition that helps people choose their drink without opening the fridge and wasting energy.

Another type of mini fridge is a fridge-only mini-fridge. These are compact, affordable machines for cooling drinks or small meals. (They’re the standard “dorm” fridges.) They’re usually only a few cubic feet and may or may not have a small chamber for ice. Look for a fridge-only mini-fridge if you’re working with a very small space or want to cool snacks or lunches.

Finally, there are mini-fridges with freezers. These operate like standard-sized refrigerators on a smaller scale. They’re definitely larger than beverage mini-fridges or fridge-only mini-fridges, but their additional features make them well worth the extra space. They have enough space to hold several days’ worth of meals or snacks, plus drinks and frozen items. Many also come with crisper drawers to keep vegetables fresh. These are best for homes that need additional food storage space, dorms or apartments with a little extra space for a bigger mini-fridge or workplaces with overflowing standard refrigerators.

Now that you’ve peeked into our frosty facts about mini-fridges, slide on over to our Tips & Advice for more details on selecting the best mini fridge for your needs.

Our Picks For The Top Mini Fridges

View All Recommendations
Product Overview
Our Take
 Top Pick

Chefman Compact Freezerless Mini Fridge

Don't Waste Your Money Seal of Approval

Chefman

Compact Freezerless Mini Fridge

4-liter capacity - Perfect for an office, RV, college dorm or garage, this mini fridge compact in size, yet extremely powerful. It can be used to keep up to six soda cans nice and cold or one large coffee hot and pleasant to drink. The fridge comes in a variety of colors and can be powered using a standard plug or a 12-volt car cha

Overall Take

Economical PickWhen shopping on a budget, this affordable mini fridge is the way to go.

 Best Seller

F40C4TMP Magnetic Door Portable Fridge, 20-Quart

F40C4TMP

Magnetic Door Portable Fridge, 20-Quart

Choose from two capacity options: 20 or 24 quarts. This portable fridge looks like a cooler chest for frozen or chilled items. It's energy-efficient and features a magnetic door. Choose from maximum cooling or energy-saving modes.

Overall Take

Plenty of SpaceThis larger portable fridge works great for trips that require plenty of cold food and drinks.

 Runner Up

MIDEA Reversible Door Mini Fridge With Freezer

MIDEA

Reversible Door Mini Fridge With Freezer

3.1 cubic feet - This mini fridge also has a freezer, which is perfect for keeping ice cubes on hand or having a pint of ice cream at the ready. It's quite spacious and features a bottom drawer for fruits and veggies, two shelves and a door that can hold both canned and 2-liter beverages. The door is reversible, so you can easily s...

Overall Take

Apartment-SizedYou'll find this mini fridge comes in a choice of white, stainless steel or black.

 We Also Like

AstroAI Warming Setting Portable Fridge

AstroAI

Warming Setting Portable Fridge

Use this mini fridge to keep your beverages, fruit and veggies, baby formula or medication nice and cool. The unit is lightweight and comes with an upper handle for portability. It can hold up to 4 liters and also has the option of heating to 150 degrees Fahrenheit if you need to warm your food or beverage.

Overall Take

Multiple Colors AvailableIn addition to blue, this mini fridge also comes in five other attractive colors, including yellow, teal and pink.

What to Look For

  • Measuring your available space is the first step you should take when purchasing a mini-fridge. Buying a fridge that’s too large for your space defeats the purpose of your mini-fridge!
  • To narrow down your choices, consider what you want to store in your mini-fridge. There’s no reason to pay for a mini-fridge with a freezer if you only want to store cans of soda. 
  • Make sure that the spot you’d like to put your mini-fridge in has a power outlet nearby. Mini fridges use up too much power to safely use with an extension cord, so you’ll want to plug it directly into the wall. 
  • There’s no reason your electric bill has to spike when you buy a mini-fridge. Many of them are very energy efficient. Take note of the voltage and wattage of your mini-fridge before you buy, and see if there’s any sort of energy-efficient rating on the fridge. 
  • Clean your fridge thoroughly when it arrives. 
  • Maintaining your mini-fridge will keep it humming for years. Remove food as soon as it starts to turn bad, and wash your fridge’s shelves, drawers, walls and doors at least once a month. Scrape off and clean residue from stuck-on food immediately.
  • Use a rag dipped in warm, soapy water to clean the inside of your mini-fridge. Wash it clean with water, then dry it with a dry towel. Disinfectant cleaners are a good idea to use after you’ve gotten a cold. Keep a small, open box of baking soda in the mini-fridge to cut down on odors.

More to Explore

Refrigeration had a huge impact on the way we consume and store food, and it helped eliminate or reduce many food-borne diseases. In the early 1800s, food and drinks were stored with ice brought in on ships from frozen parts of the globe. Even though ice helped food stay fresh longer, the ice itself could be riddled with potentially dangerous additions from Mother Nature. 

Ice vendors often drilled through the first layer of a lake’s ice to bring more water to the surface, which would harden into thicker blocks of ice and increase the total yield. This practice trapped anything from the lake’s surface into the ice, including dirt, leaves, grass, insects and pollution. It wasn’t unusual to find some frozen bug friends inside your icebox after you bought a fresh bag of ice!

More to explore