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Refrigerators

5 Best Outdoor Refrigerators of 2026, Lab-Tested and Reviewed

We stress-test outdoor fridges. Here are great options from Blaze, Bull, Coyote, and Zephyr.

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Zephyr Presrv 24-Inch (PRB24C01AS-OD) outdoor refrigerator filled with bottled drinks, cheese and fruit in an outdoor kitchen setting.
Outdoor fridges add convenience to backyard kitchens, but they can be expensive to run.
Phoro: Zephyr

If you have an outdoor kitchen or simply want more convenient food storage by your grill, an outdoor refrigerator can be a great addition to your backyard setup. These specialized fridges are designed to withstand extreme temperature changes, and some are even water-resistant.

Our lab testing shows that outdoor refrigerators tend to be noisier and less energy-efficient than their indoor counterparts. Noise isn’t likely to be too much of a concern since these fridges live outdoors, where there is more ambient noise. But given that these small fridges can cost significantly more than full-sized refrigerators, you’ll want to make sure you choose one that works well and won’t ratchet your electric bill too high.

In this article

All of the fridges listed below survived our 110° F stress test—normally used to test garage fridges and freezers—proving they are capable of keeping cool outside on the hottest summer days.

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Most outdoor fridges are built to fit standard 24-inch-wide spaces within cabinetry, but 15- and 21-inch fridges are also common. We focused our testing on 24-inch and 21-inch models. If you already have an outdoor kitchen, you’ll want to measure your space to make sure you pick a fridge that fits.

Below are the best outdoor fridges from our lab tests, made by Blaze, Bull, Coyote, and Zephyr. All of the fridges have stainless steel finishes, LED interior lights, and reversible doors (to change which direction they open). The annual usage cost is an estimate based on a CR formula that uses average U.S. electricity rates.

Best Outdoor Fridges From Our Tests

Here are the five top performers from our tests, along with their usable storage capacity and estimated annual usage cost. To see all of our tested models, head over to our outdoor refrigerator ratings.

How CR Tests Outdoor Refrigerators

We run outdoor refrigerators through many of the same tests we conduct on full-sized refrigerators, rating them for thermostat performance, temperature uniformity, energy efficiency, and noise output.

We wire them up with thermocouples, which are highly precise temperature sensors, and monitor them for more than a month in one of three temperature-controlled test chambers. The results tell us how well a refrigerator maintains a set temperature and how temperature varies in different areas of the fridge. This helps us determine which models will keep your food fresh the longest.

Kyaw Naing placing a thermocoupler in an outdoor refrigerator in a testing lab at Consumer Reports.
CR test technician Kyaw Naning places thermocouples inside an outdoor fridge in our climate-controlled test chamber.

Photo: Scott Meadows/Consumer Reports Photo: Scott Meadows/Consumer Reports

Our testers measure the noise when the compressor starts up and the steady hum while the fridge is running. We also measure the usable storage capacity of every refrigerator, accounting for space taken up by shelving, lights, vents, and more.

Finally, we subject every fridge (and stand-alone freezer) that enters our labs to an extreme heat stress test. We set fridges to their coldest settings and place them in a 110° F test chamber for at least four days. This test can help us judge how well fridges and freezers will work in a hot garage or outside on hot summer days.

Get more information on CR’s refrigerator tests.

Daniel Wroclawski

Daniel Wroclawski

Dan Wroclawski is a home and appliances writer at Consumer Reports, covering products ranging from refrigerators and coffee makers to cutting-edge smart home devices. Before joining CR in 2017, he was an editor at USA Today’s Reviewed, and launched the site’s smart home section. In his spare time, you can find him tinkering with one of the over 70 connected devices in his house. Follow Dan on Facebook and X: @danwroc.