Hi! I’m Philip, and out of the dozens of mini fridges I’ve tested, I found 7 that stood out, so I reviewed them below so you can choose a mini fridge that’s right for you.
By Siem
Everybody loves cold drinks and chilled food, but sometimes a huge refrigerator is not accessible, or portable. A mini fridge will solve that problem, letting you enjoy your favourite food and drinks in the comfort of your bedroom, or your boat. Either way, your life is about to get easier.
What is the best mini fridge for you?
As with so many products, mini fridges come in a huge variety. Some may have a larger freezer compartment while others fall within a better energy class, or a more spacious fridge section. Luckily, though, there is always a product to fully suit your needs. Here we will break down our choices of the 7 best mini fridges and consider their features, price, size, energy consumption, and more so you won’t have to. Without further ado, let’s jump in!
The Best Overall
Coolui
This is more than just a mini fridge. It has 15L of fridge capacity, automatic warmer, and temperature control. This is an appliance ideal for food, drinks, make-up, and although it is fairly pricey, it is our choice for the best overall due to its size, multi-functionality, and sleek design.
The compact design allows you to store this anywhere, from a desk to a car to a boat. The best part is the glass exterior on the door which doubles as a wipe board, allowing you to send yourself and others good vibes through daily positive affirmations.
- Large capacity
- Glass wipe board
- Portable
- Multifunctional
- Glass may be fragile
- No ice cooler
The Best Buy Option
Russell Hobbs RHTTLF1
This is a proper mini fridge, suitable for any space or environment. Coming in as our best buy of 2024 is this Russell Hobbs mini fridge that comes with 43L of capacity and a removable ice box. This spacious mini fridge is ideal for dorm rooms and home offices, and is our best buy choice because it comes at an excellent price, relative to it’s quality and convenience. The only negative point about this device is its poor energy efficiency rating (F), and no space for frozen goods, other than the ice box. Despite this, this table top fridge is a great purchase to store drinks in small spaces like in a home bar.
- Great value for money
- Ideal for any space
- 1.8m cord length
- Simple, portable design
- Poor energy efficiency
- No frozen food section
The Perfect Solution for an Office or Student Dorm Room
Coca Cola Mini Fridge
This is a great option for smaller rooms with less space to offer. Store six cans of cola, make-up, or beer in this compact refrigerator. It’s design is bright and interesting, and adds colour to any student room or office space, and is large enough to hold drinks for one or two. The best part about this option is its energy rating (A). Furthermore, couple this with its price, and you have a very good economical choice here. Although its size is not suitable for everyone, it is small enough to fit on an office desk, and can keep food for lunches.
- Ideal for an office or dorm
- Very energy efficient
- Compact and light
- Road trip option
- Tiny capacity
- Costly for size
The Best Retro Alternative
Koolatron Retro
Another compact drinks cooler capable of storing up to six canned beverages at once, this mini fridge is old-fashioned in its design. Coming in either black or turquoise, it resembles a 50s style diner, and has a small window and nostalgic latch on the door. The best part about this mini cooler is its adjustable shelves, so you can create a more convenient portable mini fridge should you wish. Perfect for personal use, this is either another ideal fridge for the office, or a great mini fridge for bedroom settings.
- Stylish retro design
- Compact and portable
- Very energy efficient
- Lockable
- Limited storage capacity
The Mini Fridge with the Best Design
Kuhla Mini Fridge
Our choice for the mini fridge with the best design is this ‘Game Zone’ appliance – perfect for garages, man-caves, and home bars. Store your drinks in its 45 litre capacity with adjustable shelves interior, and enjoy its design that looks great next to a bar, gaming rig, or pool table.
Although there is no interior light, the chiller comes with a removable ice box and adjustable shelves for maximum flexibility. Store enough canned drinks in this mini fridge for a whole group, and enjoy hosting events with convenience thanks to its capacity.
- Great design
- Simple operation
- Removable ice box
- Spacious interior
- No freezer compartment
- Poor energy efficiency
- No interior light
The Best Mini Fridge Without a Freezer Compartment
Husky HUS-EL196
Store your snacks and drinks in this popular freestanding mini fridge with no freezer compartment. It is a mini fridge for drinks, so if you need to store frozen goods, then use your main fridge, as this 43 litre mini fridge is perfect for housing cans and bottles. Although it has not got a locking door, the reversible door is handy and the design is appealing for a garage, office, or bedroom setting. It is our pick for the best option without a freezer compartment because the extra space can be used to store enough drinks for parties (you have to source ice elsewhere, however).
- Simple design
- Perfect for drinks
- Reversible door
- Great temperature range
- Not energy efficient
- No ice box
- Expensive
The Best Mini Fridge for Make-up & Beauty
Koolatron Cosmetic Personal
Maybe you don’t need a mini fridge to store drinks and snacks – perhaps you want an appliance that is ideal for chilling skincare products, make-up, and cosmetics. If this is you, then look no further than this option. With a mirror on the door, and 6 litre capacity, this is a compact beauty fridge, perfect for dorm rooms and bedrooms. This portable appliance also comes with LED lighting and thermoelectric cooling, and despite its small design, it is ideal for multiple purposes.
- Great design
- Multifunctional
- Energy efficient
- Small capacity
- Expensive for size
- No lockable door
What do you look out for when buying small refrigerators?
So, that was our list of the best mini fridges on the market this year. You may be thinking, what do I need to consider when choosing the right small fridge for me? Well, first consider your budget before looking as that will give you a strong guideline for you to be realistic when assessing needs, functions, and features. Secondly, measure the dimensions of the space you had in mind and compare them to the dimensions of mini fridges that you like the look of. Finally, assess your needs. What features would you like? What design looks best to you? What would be planning to store in there – just drinks, or food as well? Once you have answered these questions, I am sure that you will have found the right one, and if not, we recommend all of the excellent choices on this list.
A couple of extra things to consider:
- Brand reputation and customer reviews: Reviews say what the advertisement and product description won’t. Reading real world interactions with the product will provide a more well rounded knowledge of the product and the brand that is supplying it.
- Energy efficiency: Models that have higher energy efficiency will waste less energy over time through heat, noise, and light. If you are determined to keep energy costs at a minimum, then check the energy rating in the product description before making a purchase.
- Noise rating: Sometimes a noisy appliance can be distracting, especially in a work setting where concentration is required. Therefore, also consider the decibel rating of each mini fridge, found in the product description. For reference, anything below 39dB is quiet, and above 41dB is noisy.
Conclusion: The best mini fridge for you
Mini fridges, they’re great. We all want the convenience of chilled drinks and snacks less than an arms reach away, but so few of us make the choice to actually have that for ourselves. If you have the confidence to actually step into that breach and made the decision to buy a mini fridge, then we hope that this list guides to the best one to suit your needs. If you still can’t decide, however, then let us recommend our pick for the best buy of this year: the Russell Hobbs RHTTLF1, for its great value, and excellent capacity. Or, if you are looking for a make-up fridge, then the Koolatron Cosmetic Personal is also great.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Russell Hobbs, Koolatron, IKEA, and Husky are just some of the great brands who provide quality home appliances at an affordable rate, and while brand recognition is important, its not everything, it all depends on your preferences!
Most are quite energy efficient, however, a few of the larger models with ice boxes and >40 litre capacities tend to waste energy in the form of heat or noise. The product energy rating will show which are the most energy efficient mini fridges in the form of letters, going from G (worst) to A (best), and often, the smaller 6 litre capacity mini fridges are less wasteful.
Depends on what you plan to store in it, where you plan to store it, and how many people will be sharing it.