Compact refrigerators are a great convenience for college students living in dorms, professionals with room at their desk, and those who enjoy cold snacks and drinks during home recreation.

The mini fridges are a great place to stash your lunch, cool your favorite drinks, and store extra groceries when you need more space than your primary fridge allows. Small, space-saving refrigerators are very important to those who live in apartments or homes where space is limited.

Small refrigerators have less storage space than their traditional counterparts, but otherwise have many of the same features, including crisper drawers for fruits and vegetables and freezer space. You probably won't be able to buy a mini fridge with its own ice maker, but you can buy one with space for a couple of ice cube trays.

Begin your search for a small refrigerator by identifying the primary purpose of the appliance. Do you want a place to store drinks in your home theater? Are you looking for a fridge that fits in a dorm room? The second step is to establish your budget.

As you review the options, you'll find that there is a range of prices. Setting a price range keeps you on track financially and helps you stay focused on what you need from the appliance, rather than giving into impulse buying.

Small Refrigerators FAQs

How We Came Up With Our List

A top-quality refrigerator does more than act as a cold storage location. When reviewing small refrigerators, we looked at the options from several angles.

How loud or quiet does the fridge run? Are they energy efficient? Are there any unique features? What were the main highlights and points of concern for previous users? How did the cost of the appliance compare to the quality of the refrigerator?

Our ratings are influenced by the reviews of customers and come from the point of view of a consumer. We compared several top models available on today's market, looking for great products at competitive prices. We invested time in our research, focusing our efforts on providing you with an unbiased list of the best small fridges in 2018.

Overall Price Range of Small Refrigerators

Most of the fridges we considered fall into the $100 to $250 range. Naturally, there are more expensive options, but you can get a pretty good mini fridge without spending several months' worth of paychecks.

You should probably keep a few things in mind as you approach this purchase. One of the most important steps to take is to measure your space and then measure it a second time.

Make sure you look up the exterior dimensions of the unit before you make a purchase. Small fridges come in many sizes, and you don't want to end up with a four cubic foot fridge when you really need a much smaller 18 cubic inch fridge.

The next factor to consider is whether you want a freezer. At first, this seems like a simple question. Why wouldn't you want a freezer? It's important to remember that any freezer space means less available room for refrigeration.

Finally, consider what you're most likely to store in the fridge. If you regularly buy milk, be sure to purchase an appliance that can hold those tall milk cartons.

If you have a lot of vegetables and fruit on your grocery list, you should look for a fridge with a crisper drawer. A compact fridge is probably best if you just need somewhere to stash your lunch and a few drinks under your desk.

Top Ten Mini Fridges for 2018

Comparison table

The Verdict

Our overall favorite was the Danby Designer Compact Refrigerator. It offers great performance and a beautiful design. It runs quietly and has excellent energy efficiency ratings. Previous buyers were very happy with their experiences.

It's not quite as entertaining as some of our other choices, but it does offer several attractive features and should make an excellent addition to your home, office, or rec room.