12 Best Counter-Depth Refrigerators of 2024, Tested by Our Experts
These models cost a lot less than built-ins and sit almost flush with kitchen cabinets
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Refrigerators have grown much larger in recent years. That’s great if you need to store food for a big family but not so great for small, space-starved kitchens. Counter-depth refrigerators provide a budget-friendly solution.
“The deepest refrigerator we’ve tested is 37 inches deep,” says Breann Chai, CR’s lead refrigerator test engineer. “That means it sticks out 12 inches past a standard 25-inch-deep countertop.” Kitchen cabinets typically measure 24 inches deep, plus a 1-inch overhang for the countertop.
Counter-depth refrigerators are less obtrusive. They don’t sit flush with kitchen counters as built-in refrigerators do, but they cost thousands less and get pretty close—much closer than standard-depth refrigerators. With a depth of less than 30 inches (and some all the way down to just 24), most counter-depth models stick out a mere few inches past the countertop or sometimes just by the thickness of the door.
- Best Counter-Depth Refrigerators: Top-Freezers Bottom-Freezers French-Doors Side-by-Sides
- How CR Tests Refrigerators
Best Counter-Depth Top-Freezer Refrigerators
These top-tier top-freezers are all 28 inches deep or less, but they make up for their smaller footprint by going up, with the tallest options approaching 6 feet in height. All of our picks also come in a stainless steel finish.
Best Counter-Depth Bottom-Freezer Refrigerators
These bottom-freezers are 29 inches deep or less, but they aren’t as feature-rich as some bigger models. Bottom-freezers tend to be more reliable than French-doors and side-by-sides, though, and all of our picks come in a stainless steel finish.
Best Counter-Depth French-Door Refrigerators
French-doors are one of the most coveted types of refrigerators, and these counter-depth options won’t disappoint. All of these models are 30 inches deep or less and receive top scores in our temperature tests.
Best Counter-Depth Side-by-Side Refrigerators
Finding a side-by-side that’s counter depth can be tough, and because of their design, counter-depth options tend to only be available with the standard 36-inch width. All of our picks are 28 inches deep and feature through-the-door ice/water dispensers.
How CR Tests Refrigerators
During testing, we outfit each refrigerator with thermocouples in a climate-controlled chamber and monitor it for more than a month, collecting more than 5.4 million temperature readings that identify warm and cold spots, to determine which models will keep your food fresh longest. We also factor in survey data from thousands of CR members to judge brand reliability and satisfaction. All of that—and then some—informs CR’s refrigerator ratings and each model’s Overall Score.
Get more details on how we test tefrigerators.
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