Best Side-by-Side Refrigerators of 2022
Easy access to fresh-food and freezer compartments gives these top-performing models their appeal
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When youāre shopping for a new refrigerator, youāll see far more French-door models than side-by-sides.
It wasnāt always that way. Side-by-sides were once the refrigerator style Americans favored. But in Consumer Reportsā latest survey results, 64 percent of new refrigerators bought by CR members from the beginning of 2020 through the first half of 2021 were French-door models. Side-by-sides have the next largest share at just 20 percent. (Top-freezers, bottom-freezers, and built-ins make up the rest of the pie with a combined 16 percent.)
But there are still plenty of good reasons to consider a side-by-side, which has tall and narrow dedicated compartments for fresh and frozen food:
- Side-by-side refrigerators are typically less expensive than French-door models.
- More and more side-by-sides have many of the premium features typically found in French-door refrigerators, such as door-in-door designs.
- The narrow doors of side-by-sides are easier to open in tight kitchens.
- They often cost less to repair, with a median out-of-pocket cost of $209 vs. $250 for French-door fridges, according to our 2021 survey.