Best Side-by-Side Refrigerators of 2025, Lab-Tested and Reviewed
Easy access to fresh food and freezer compartments combine with great performance in these highly rated models from companies including GE, LG, and Whirlpool
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Side-by-side refrigerators were once America’s favorite style—they’re much cheaper and cost less to repair than some other refrigerator configurations. But in our most recent member survey, only 16 percent of CR members who purchased a refrigerator bought a side-by-side fridge, while 56 percent bought a French-door model.
But side-by-side refrigerators still hold plenty of benefits. Many of these refrigerators come with premium features, and their narrow doors make them well suited for tighter kitchens. “Side-by-sides let you put some fresh food and some frozen items at eye level, meaning you won’t have to bend over as much as you would with a top- or bottom-freezer,” says Breann Chai, who tests refrigerators at CR. “But the narrow compartments can make it difficult to store certain items, such as frozen pizza boxes.”
- Best Side-by-Sides by Width: 33 Inches 36 Inches
- Should You Consider a Side-by-Side Fridge?
- How CR Tests Refrigerators: Video
Best 33-Inch-Wide Side-by-Side Refrigerators
The 33-inch-wide models below all earn excellent scores for thermostat performance and at least a very good score for temperature uniformity. They also feature an icemaker and the option for a stainless steel finish.
Best 36-Inch-Wide Side-by-Side Refrigerators
With an extra few inches, these 36-inch-wide models come with an ice/water dispenser, and some feature WiFi connectivity. Like their smaller counterparts, they also earn top-level marks for thermostat performance and temperature uniformity.
Should You Buy a Side-by-Side Refrigerator?
There are plenty of reasons to consider a side-by-side refrigerator. They’re distinct for their dedicated tall and narrow compartments for fresh and frozen food.
Cost: Side-by-side refrigerators are usually less expensive than French-door models. From 2019 to 2024, members surveyed by CR paid a median price of $1,388 for side-by-sides with icemakers, way less than the $2,069 for French-door refrigerators with icemakers.
Features: More and more side-by-sides are equipped with many of the premium features typically found in French-door refrigerators, such as door-in-door designs.
Size: The narrow doors of side-by-sides are easier to open in tight kitchens.
Maintenance: According to data from a previous member survey, side-by-sides often cost less to repair than French doors. (Find out whether you should repair or replace your broken refrigerator.)
How CR Tests Refrigerators
Engineers use CR's environmental chambers and extensive instrumentation to test refrigerators.
We rate refrigerators based on their thermostat performance, temperature uniformity, noise output, ease of use, energy efficiency, crisper performance, and icemaker performance (if they have one).
Every refrigerator we test gets wired with 15 temperature sensors. We then monitor those thermocouples for more than a month in one of three temperature-controlled chambers, collecting more than 5.4 million temperature readings for each fridge we test. The results tell us how well a refrigerator maintains a set temperature and how temperature varies in different areas of a fridge, so we can determine which models will keep your food fresh longer.
Our testers measure the noise when the compressor starts up and the steady hum while the fridge is running. For ease of use, we examine the fridge’s layout, controls, and lighting.
Our process includes tests for icemaker performance based on how much ice a fridge produces per day and how much it can hold in its reservoirs. We evaluate crisper performance to judge how well the crisper drawers retain moisture to keep your food fresh for longer periods of time.
We also factor in survey data from thousands of CR members to judge brand reliability and satisfaction. All of that data and more inform CR’s refrigerator ratings and each model’s Overall Score.
For more information, see how we test refrigerators.
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