I’m a senior staff writer covering large kitchen appliances at Wirecutter, as well as a journalist with nearly 20 years of experience writing about food and cooking. I’ve written guides to French-door refrigerators, side-by-side refrigerators, induction cooktops, and gas and electric ranges. And I also offer advice on how to make the most of large kitchen appliances, including tips on how to avoid cleaning your fridge.

We’ve been evaluating refrigerators since 2013. For this guide, we took the following steps:

• We interviewed repair technicians, appliance-store owners and staff, home cooks, designers, product engineers, and multiple representatives from the brands we cover.
• We traveled to appliance trade shows, and we visited dozens of big-box stores and small showrooms, to get hands-on experience with and a feel for the quality and sturdiness of our picks. We’ve also visited appliance manufacturing facilities, to see how refrigerators are designed, tested, and assembled.
• To identify whether these fridges had any reliability problems or real-world quirks, we evaluated thousands of owner reviews and reader comments. We also read the manuals and other product documentation.
• In 2023, we conducted our second reader survey, in which we asked nearly 1,500 homeowners about their refrigerators (among other appliances). This survey built on the insights from our first refrigerator survey (completed in 2021), which polled 5,000-plus readers about fridge performance, reliability, and features.
• In 2023, we hosted a group of paid testers with diverse backgrounds, builds, heights, and mobility levels to discuss, use, and evaluate large appliances at our Long Island City, New York, office.

You can put any refrigerator in your garage, basement, remote cabin, or backyard hideout, and it will work throughout most of the year. But if you don’t want to worry about your groceries surviving a hot summer weekend or a freezing winter night, a garage-ready fridge is designed to keep working as expected in temperature extremes. Models sold as garage-ready can accommodate temperatures between 38 °F and 110 °F, though a few have a low-end threshold of 45 °F. (Most refrigerators are recommended for use in a space where the ambient air temperature stays between 50 °F or 60 °F and 90 °F or 100 °F; if the room where your fridge is installed falls outside that range, you typically void the warranty.) These temperature recommendations are always listed in the manual.

All garage-ready fridges are a classic top-freezer style, and they don’t have all the frills (fancy ice makers, smart features, flattering lighting, eye- or chest-level fresh-food storage, through-the-door ice and water dispensers) that you’ll find on French-door or side-by-side models. But top-freezer fridges are generally the most affordable, reliable, and efficient models. Our 2023 survey showed that they have the fewest issues—service calls, repairs, parts needed—of any kind of refrigerator by far. Top-freezer models are widely stocked and distributed—even the garage-ready versions. So you’ll be able to find one easily if you need a fridge fast.

The main differences between a garage-ready fridge and a standard top-freezer model are in the technical details. Ideally, a garage-ready refrigerator has digital sensors that track internal temperature, and they are more precise than mechanical versions. Garage-ready models are also “dual-control”: Separate controls adjust the temperature of the refrigerator and the freezer compartments, instead of one control that adjusts the temperature of the entire appliance. Without these features, extreme outside temperatures can wreak havoc on a fridge. Very warm air can make a fridge’s compressor run too often, freezing everything inside. And very cold air can trick the compressor into not running at all, resulting in a fridge that’s too warm.

Because garage-ready fridges and standard top-freezer fridges are often priced about the same—and both styles come in common 30-inch and 33-inch widths—some garage-ready refrigerators are just sold as high-quality top-freezer models. If you’re looking for a top-freezer model for your kitchen, and you see a garage-ready version that you like and can afford, there’s no reason not to get it; it should perform better than a standard model. (An appliance sales clerk at a Home Depot in New York City admitted to us that he didn’t realize our picks were garage-ready; he said he recommends them to anyone looking for a good-quality top-freezer refrigerator.) A garage-ready model is especially ideal as a starter or temporary fridge because it can handle a move to the basement or the garage.

To make our recommendations, we’ve drawn on years of research, including two reader surveys focused on refrigerators. Here are the factors we prioritize most:

Temperature range: A garage-ready refrigerator should be able to handle temperatures between 38 °F and 110 °F. (If they went lower or higher, that would be great—we just haven’t found any that do.) Some fridges marketed as “garage-ready” have a temperature range of 45 °F to 110 °F. Depending on your climate or the location of your second fridge, that might be fine.

Dual-control temperature adjustment and digital sensors: “Dual control” means a refrigerator has controls that separately adjust the temperature of the fresh-food and freezer compartments. With a standard top-freezer refrigerator, there is only one temperature control for the entire appliance. A dual-control system works to keep the freezer and the fresh-food compartment at their ideal temperatures (most brands have specific settings instructions for very cold or hot weather). Garage-ready refrigerators should also have digital sensors for tracking internal temperature, rather than less-precise mechanical versions.

Owner satisfaction: Our picks focus on the brands and, often, the models that earned the highest ratings for long-term satisfaction in our research. In our 2023 survey, 75.5% of respondents who owned LG refrigerators were satisfied with their appliances, and 71.1% of GE Appliances fridge owners were satisfied. (No other brand broke out of the 60% percentile.)

Overall, most fridges, regardless of brand or style, perform reliably. Our 2021 and 2023 surveys showed that any refrigerator from any brand could fail, but major problems—such as compressor failures and other cooling issues—are rare, especially among top-freezer models. Our research shows that top-freezer fridges have the fewest complaints related to reliability or cooling (but people don’t like them as much as higher-end fridges, such as French-door or bottom-freezer fridges).

Layout: Garage-ready refrigerators are all top-freezer refrigerators with a similar layout. The freezer is on top and typically has one shelf. The fridge usually has three shelves on top, two produce drawers at the bottom, and three pockets in the door. Any additional storage functionality or features are considered to be a plus.

Capacity and size: Measured in cubic feet, capacity is the amount of fillable space in your fridge and freezer. The average top-freezer refrigerator has around 20 cubic feet of capacity. For this guide, we focus on 33-inch garage-ready fridges with at least 20 cubic feet of capacity (and more is better). Our 2021 owner surveys showed that bigger fridges tend to make people happier than smaller ones, but that happiness levels off after 20 cubic feet. (If you need a smaller garage-ready fridge because of space constraints, we have a recommendation.)

Reversible doors: The ability to change the direction of the door swing on a top-freezer refrigerator is key. Most good-quality top-freezer models (and all of our picks) have this capability.

Optional ice makers: All of our picks come with the capacity to add an optional, basic ice maker (sold separately) to the freezer. (Note that an ice maker will make the fridge less efficient, not to mention noisier.) A separate ice maker is typically plugged into the freezer, and the water line in the back of the fridge is connected to a water supply. You can have the ice maker installed when your fridge is delivered or have it added later. One great thing about a plug-in ice maker is that you can remove it if it breaks (as they often do) or if you find that you don’t use it.

Warranty: A one-year warranty for parts and labor is standard. We gave extra credit to models that went beyond that.

Energy efficiency and environmental friendliness: In all of our refrigerator guides, we prioritize fridges that are Energy Star–certified. This is less of an important factor for garage-ready top-freezer models, since top-freezer fridges are typically the most efficient style. Energy-efficient models usually have more-sophisticated insulation designed to keep more cold air inside the fridge, as well as components designed to work more efficiently; both are ideal for a garage-ready refrigerator.

Compressors (which power the flow of refrigerant through the refrigerator and freezer) rank among the most important of these efficiency components. Traditional compressors essentially have just one high speed. More-advanced styles are variable-speed models; this means they can change their speed based on how much cooling your fridge actually needs, whether it’s a little (when you open the fridge to grab a drink) or a lot (when you load it up with still-warm leftovers).

Nearly all new refrigerators use climate-friendly R600a refrigerant, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. If the refrigerant leaks, it will have no effect on the ozone layer and a negligible effect on global warming.

Smart-home technology and Wi-Fi connectivity: Unlike French-door fridges, most top-freezer fridges do not come with smart features—perhaps because they’re designed to be affordable. We’d like more of these models to include smart features: A garage-ready fridge is an ideal appliance to monitor remotely via a smartphone or tablet. With a connected fridge, you can get remote alerts if it fails or if a door is ajar. Better still, you could potentially adjust temperature settings remotely, especially when the thermometer plunges—most manufacturers recommend that you adjust the settings on a garage-ready model to keep it running smoothly when it’s very cold outside.

Before you buy a garage-ready refrigerator, be sure to consider the following things:

Exact dimensions: Be sure to measure everything carefully, especially if your garage-ready fridge needs to fit inside a cut-out in cabinetry, under a low ceiling, or in a tight corner, or if it will sit in front of a parked car. Every fridge has slightly different dimensions, according to Jessica Petrino Ball, who runs the education program at the appliance retailer AJ Madison. Your fridge must fit through the doors and hallways of your home to get to wherever it will be placed, she said. You should also confirm that there will be enough space around the fridge for airflow and enough room to fully open the door (otherwise you won’t be able to pull out the drawers completely or remove the shelves for cleaning). Most manufacturers include the measurements in their manuals.

Installation and service: Before you buy a fridge, determine who’s going to install it (especially if you’re hooking up a water line for an ice maker) and who will haul away the old one (if need be). You’ll also want to figure out which local repair companies will be able to service your fridge if it breaks. Many of our 2023 survey respondents noted that they should have learned more about these points before they bought their fridges. Familiarize yourself with your new fridge’s warranty and service plan (and any available extended warranties from the company or the seller).

The addition of an optional ice maker: If you’d like to equip your garage-ready fridge with a separately purchased ice maker, there are a few things to remember. Ice makers are convenient, and people really like them, but they are a primary “point of failure” in a fridge, said Dan Conrad, an appliance reliability and testing expert at the commercial refrigeration company Hussmann. They’re likely to need repairs or costly parts, to work poorly, or to stop functioning altogether. They make a fridge less efficient, and they’re often noisy. And, depending on the weather conditions, when you go on vacation, you’ll have to remember to turn off your ice maker—or possibly even shut off the water altogether if your plumbing pipes tend to freeze.

Garage-ready-fridge guidelines: Garage-ready models have specific instructions for setting the refrigerator and freezer temperatures during very cold or very hot weather. Read your fridge’s manual carefully, and follow the manufacturer’s suggestions.

Finishes: Our 2023 survey indicates that many fridge owners are frustrated with stainless steel finishes—no matter the brand or model. Whether or not a finish is labeled fingerprint-resistant, you will still see smears, smudges, streaks, or even scratches. As one survey taker put it, “The ‘no fingerprint’ surface is more difficult to keep clean than I imagined. It requires the use of a degreasing cleanser rather than a simple wipe-down.”

The 33-inch LG LHTNS2403S is spacious and sleek enough for the kitchen, but it’s also an excellent choice for a garage or other semi-finished space. Here’s why we like it:

It should work within a broad range of temperatures. The LHTNS2403S is designed to operate in temperatures between 38 °F and 110 °F. (This is the ideal temperature range for anything sold as a garage-ready fridge.)

It’s the most spacious garage-ready refrigerator we found. The LHTNS2403S is big for a top-freezer fridge, with 23.8 cubic feet of capacity. That’s nearly 2 more cubic feet (about the size of a mini fridge) than the capacity of our runner-up pick.

The layout is standard (though sufficient). The fridge has three glass shelves, with three extra slots for adjusting their height, and a butter keeper in the door. (The fridge door has two and a half pockets; our runner-up pick has three.) You can adjust humidity levels on the crisper drawers, which have easily graspable handles. The freezer has one glass shelf. Also, the LHTNS2403S’s door is reversible, so it can swing open to the left or to the right.

It looks great. This model has handle-free pocket doors, with a bit of black between the freezer and fridge door, for visual contrast. The refrigerator-door pockets have an appealing textured diamond pattern. The glass shelves in the fridge have wide, white plastic edging, which looks nice and can help contain spills.

Owner satisfaction is high. In our 2021 and 2023 surveys of several thousand appliance owners, LG fridges ranked at the top for customer satisfaction. People really seem to like them. (Since 2021, we’ve recommended the LG LTCS20020S, a standard top-freezer fridge very similar in look and feel to the LHTNS2403S.)

It’s really efficient. The LHTNS2403S is certified by Energy Star as one of the most efficient refrigerators available of any kind (it’s estimated that this model will use 417 kWh of energy per year). The LHTNS2403S has a type of variable-speed compressor (video) that’s designed to cool more efficiently (and quietly) than a traditional compressor (which runs at only one speed). Energy-efficient fridges are also typically designed with even better insulation than traditional refrigerators, and that’s ideal in a garage environment.

It has an effective temperature-control system. Like all of our garage-ready recommendations, the LHTNS2403S lets you control the temperature of the refrigerator and freezer compartments separately. And it uses digital temperature sensors to monitor internal temperature instead of mechanical ones, which are less precise. Both of these features help the fridge withstand temperature extremes. We also noticed that this model has noticeably grippy seals around the doors, and they could help keep cold or hot air out.

The warranty is much better than most. LG’s warranty covers the refrigerator for one year, which is standard, and it covers the compressor and cooling system for five years, which is rare. The warranty also covers parts, but not labor, for the compressor and cooling system for an additional five years; this is even rarer. This model is made in Mexico.

You can install an optional ice maker. As with the majority of top-freezer refrigerators, you can add an optional, plug-in ice maker (sold separately) to the freezer. The LHTNS2403S supports the LK75C ice maker (which makes about 2.2 pounds of ice per day; its bin can store up to 6.6 pounds of ice). The LK75C would need to be installed and connected to a water line.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• It’s available only at Home Depot. But a similar version is sold at a broader range of retailers.
• It’s tall. At 69 inches, the LHTNS2403S sits more than 2 inches higher than other garage-ready fridges we evaluated. But if your fridge doesn’t have to fit tightly under cabinets, this shouldn’t be an issue.
• It doesn’t have handles. The handle-free doors could be harder for some to grasp. (Our runner-up pick has handles.)
• It comes in one finish. Unlike our runner-up pick, the LHTNS2403S is available only in stainless steel. This stainless steel is not fingerprint-proof. To be fair, though, we should mention that when we touched it in person at a showroom, it didn’t seem to pick up as many prints as some other stainless varieties. (It did seem to have a lot of scratches, but that’s common with floor samples.)

The LG LRTLS2403S is very similar to the LG LHTNS2403S, but the LRTLS2403S has an internal water dispenser and a water filter in the refrigerator compartment. (This isn’t a must-have feature, particularly for a fridge kept in a garage.) According to the company-provided specifications, the LRTLS2403S has the same capacity (23.8 cubic feet) as the LHTNS2403S. But due to its water dispenser and filter, it is harder to store taller items on the upper left side of the top shelf. This model is sold at a wider range of retailers than our pick; it’s also usually a bit more expensive.

If you want a smaller garage-ready refrigerator or a finish other than stainless steel, consider the GE GTS22K. We’ve been recommending it as a top-freezer fridge since 2021. Here’s why we like it:

It has the same temperature-control system as our top pick. Like our top pick, the GTS22K is rated for temperatures between 38 °F and 110 °F, which we consider to be the best range for garage fridges. The GTS22K is also a dual-control model, so you can adjust the temperature of the refrigerator and freezer compartments separately, and digital temperature sensors monitor internal temperature, instead of mechanical ones (which aren’t as precise).

It’s not as big as our pick, but it has more freezer space. The GTS22K is about 2 inches shorter than our top pick, and it has less storage capacity—a still-ample 21.9 cubic feet. (Our research shows that 20 cubic feet is both the average for a top-freezer fridge and the point at which owner happiness tends to peak in terms of capacity.) Although this model has less fresh-food storage space than our pick (15.25 cubic feet, versus 17.6 cubic feet), it has a slightly larger freezer (6.68 cubic feet, or about half a cubic foot more than our pick). If size isn’t an issue, the GTS22K also comes in a smaller version.

It’s got slightly better organization than our pick. Like our top pick, the GTS22K has humidity-controlled crispers and a butter keeper in the fridge compartment. Unlike our top pick, it has a small adjustable hanging deli drawer and a third full shelf on the bottom of the fridge door. But it has only two extra slots to adjust the fridge shelves, as opposed to the three on our top pick, and the shelves don’t look quite as nice.

It has handles and is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (unlike our top pick). Handles are critical for many people. Like the door on our top pick, this fridge’s door is reversible, so you can adjust it to swing to the left or the right as needed.

It has a basic warranty, but GE Appliances has the strongest customer-service track record. The GTS22K has a standard one-year parts-and-labor warranty. But GE Appliances ranked high for customer service in both our 2021 and 2023 surveys, and we’ve been recommending the GTS22K as a top-freezer fridge since 2021. This model is made in the US, and the company has its own repair fleet in most areas of the country (this may have something to do with those favorable customer-service reviews). Also, the company provides a phone number for repairs, as opposed to an online form. In our 2023 survey, about 71% of GE Appliances fridge owners said they were satisfied with their appliances.

It is not Energy Star–certified, but it’s still very efficient. Energy Star estimates that this fridge will use 451 kWh of energy per year, versus our pick’s estimated 417 kWh of energy per year. (By comparison, our most efficient French-door fridge pick is estimated to use 632 kWh of energy per year.)

It comes in five finishes. The GTS22K comes in black, white, fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, fingerprint-resistant slate, and fingerprint-resistant black slate. (Our top pick is available only in stainless steel.)

The optional ice maker produces more ice than our top pick’s does. As you can with most top-freezer refrigerators, you can add an optional, plug-in ice maker (sold separately) to the freezer. The GTS22KGN supports the IM4D ice maker, which would need to be installed and connected to a water line. The IM4D makes about 3.5 pounds of ice per day (more than our top pick’s optional ice maker produces).

The GE GTS19K is the 30-inch version of the GE GTS22K. With 19.2 cubic feet of capacity, the GTS19K has less storable space than our runner-up pick in both the refrigerator (13.6 cubic feet) and the freezer (5.6 cubic feet). It is a little more efficient than the GTS22K (Energy Star estimates that this fridge will use 422 kWh of energy per year, versus the GTS22K’s estimated 451 kWh of energy per year). This model comes in four finishes instead of five, and it usually costs about $100 less than the GTS22K.

The Fridgidaire FFTR1814WW can only accommodate temperatures between 45 °F and 110 °F, whereas our picks are both designed for temperatures as low as 38 °F. (Depending on your climate or the location of your second fridge, that range might be fine.) The FFTR1814WW has just 18.3 cubic feet of capacity, which is small considering this model is about the same width and height as our picks (it’s just not quite as deep). The FFTR1814WW also has wire shelving instead of glass shelves, and it comes in just one finish (white). Also, it’s usually not that much more affordable than our picks.

According to the Samsung website, the Samsung RT16A6195SR/AA can accommodate temperatures between 38 °F and 110 °F. Unfortunately, when we evaluated this model, its manual disagreed: It says to keep this fridge where temperatures stay between 50 °F and 109 °F. Plus, this model is small for its size (28 inches wide with 15.6 cubic feet of capacity), and it’s available in only one finish (stainless steel). And, like the Frigidaire FFTR1814WW, this fridge isn’t that much more affordable than our picks.

This article was edited by Ingrid Skjong and Courtney Schley.