Best Side-by-Side Refrigerators of 2025
Easy access to fresh food and freezer compartments makes these top-performing models appealing
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Side-by-sides were once the refrigerator style Americans favored—they’re much cheaper and cost less to repair. But in our most recent member survey, only 16 percent of members who purchased a refrigerator bought a side-by-side fridge, while 56 percent bought a French-door model.
Despite the category’s fall in popularity, side-by-side refrigerators still hold plenty of benefits. More and more side-by-side models 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
- Why Should You Consider a Side-by-Side Fridge?
- How CR Tests Refrigerators
Best 33-Inch-Wide Side-by-Side Refrigerators
The 33-inch-wide models below all earn excellent scores for thermostat control and at least a very good score for temperature uniformity. Ranging between $1,100 to $1,600, they also feature an icemaker and a stainless steel-look option.
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. But like their smaller counterparts, they also earn top-level marks for thermostat control and temperature uniformity.
Why 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
To test each refrigerator that enters our labs, we outfit it with thermocouples in a climate-controlled chamber and monitor it for a month, collecting more than 5.4 million temperature readings that identify warm and cold spots. This helps us determine which models will keep food fresh for as long as possible.
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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