Every Major Refrigerator Brand Ranked From Worst To Best

Shopping for a fridge these days is simultaneously easy and difficult. It's easy because there are tons of options available for a number of brands at virtually every big box store and online retailer. However, with that choice comes uncertainty. Refrigerators have an average lifespan of 10 to 20 years, so the decision you make today will have an impact on your kitchen for many years to come. Of course, the goal is to buy something reliable so that you have a decade or more of worry-free refrigeration. 

Today's refrigerators still work mostly like they have for decades but have a lot more tech packed in than they used to. Some of it is practically useless but sometimes nice to have. All the features in the world don't matter if the fridge doesn't run properly. Of all the various brands, there are giants in the refrigerator space. You no doubt know about LG, Samsung, Maytag, Whirlpool, GE, and the gang. These companies have been selling appliances for a long time and are often the first choice people have when choosing an appliance.

While all of those brands make reasonably good appliances, some do it better than others. So, if you're shopping for a fridge and are looking for something reliable, the below list should help.

Galanz is a fairly big manufacturer, but you likely won't see them in too many kitchens. The company makes tons of different fridges that range from compact to full-size but seem to be best known for its fancy looking compact fridges and garage-ready freezers. Those fridges come in a variety of colors and sizes, making them something of a novelty item. Their full-size fridges are competitive, if a little expensive. They feature bright LEDs, electronic temperature controls, and more. 

In terms of reliability, Galanz is tough to judge. It's not commonly featured on roundups or number crunching done on the subject. For the most part, the best evidence we have is user reviews and complaints, of which there are plenty. Most stories we read saw Galanz fridges lasting only a few years with some lasting as little as five months. In addition, we found several complaints online about finding service and parts for Galanz fridges. 

The brand has its fans as well and there are reports out there of Galanz fridges from happy customers who say the fridges work pretty well. In all, with a lack of empirical data, we're unsure of how reliable Galanz really is but we've seen enough stories from both sides to know they're likely not the most reliable.

Samsung is one of the most popular appliance brands in the U.S., ranking number one in overall market share in 2023. As such, there are a ton of stories from owners both good and bad. Samsung sells regular fridges along with its higher-end models, which it calls the Bespoke lineup. You can also find side-by-side, French door style, and old school top freezer style, and most of them are packed with all sorts of smart technology.

The thing is, Samsung has its ups and downs. As noted by Yale Appliances, which posts repair rates for many big consumer brands, Samsung's laundry appliances have recovered from the issues they had in the mid-2010s and have reasonably low repair rates. However, the repair network isn't great, and some years are better than others in terms of repair rates for Samsung. Of course, the higher quality Bespoke lineup that seems to perform better than their midrange or lower tier models. 

With so much conflicting information, it makes it difficult to recommend Samsung appliances. In general, they seem to be decent and plenty of people have perfectly functioning refrigerators from Samsung. However, there are enough question marks that it's not our first choice. 

Beko isn't as well-known as industry giants like Samsung, GE, Whirlpool, or LG but they are growing rapidly. The brand started slow but has been ramping up over the last few years. They have been in the business in the U.S. for a little over 30 years now. Beko has a decent lineup of fridges available, including French door, side-by-side, and a surprising number of bottom freezer style refrigerators. 

In terms of quality, Beko consistently draws comparisons to brands like Bosch and Miele and the prices reflect that. For reliability, Beko seems to have a good reputation but like Amana, there aren't a lot of stats for us to check. They are frequently credited for having good build quality and the fridges function as expected. With that said, they've drawn the ire of their customers and repair techs alike in the past. A few years ago, saw some pretty high repair rates but we're unsure if things have improved since then. 

This makes Beko hard to judge. On the one hand, there are plenty of positive reviews online but repair rates seem to be pretty high compared to most other brands. Given how expensive these fridges can be, we think a brand with a little more history might be the better move. 

Frigidaire is a huge name in refrigerators. Even the company's name is a portmanteau of frigid and air. As such, they have a wide number of refrigerators for sale, including French door, side-by-side, single door, top freezer, compact freezer, and even wine refrigerators. The company also runs the gamut on pricing with compact fridges under $300 and high-end fridges over $2,000. In short, Frigidaire has tons of options.

That is great for consumers, but the large product lineup means that it's also difficult to pinpoint which models cause problems. Comprehensive repair data isn't available for Frigidaire, but some estimates say that they need repair more often than some other brands. In addition, service technicians stated that Frigidaire fridges are common on their daily routes but admit that some of the products are decent. However, Life Story conducted a customer satisfaction survey and Frigidaire scored among the top 10 brands.

So, much like Samsung, we have a ton of conflicting data to work. So, here is our official recommendation — it is nearly impossible to determine which Frigidaire fridges are good and which ones are bad. If it's worth the risk, you may end up with a winner. 

Amana is best known as a budget brand for appliances. It sells all kinds of stuff, from fridges to washing machines and everything between. You'll most likely run into its top freezer options in the less expensive corners of big box stores, but Amana does make some midrange French door-style and side-by-side fridges as well. The selection isn't amazing but the top freezer style refrigerator options are a boon for folks looking for something smaller. 

In terms of reliability, Amana is a question mark. There isn't much in the way of repair data available online. However, there are stories online from folks who have had their Amana fridge since the beginning of time and those who had one break down within months. This is fairly typical for all brands and tell us virtually nothing. However, customer satisfaction polls rank Amana pretty well, often placing them among the top 10 brands on the market. In short, in every metric we could find, most people like their Amana fridges. 

As such, we think Amana is the first brand on the list that gets a clear thumbs up. This, of course, doesn't mean the brand is infallible. However, Amana gets points for selling budget fridges that have decent odds of going the distance, which is something most other budget brands can't boast.

KitchenAid is in a weird space for its appliances. It markets itself as being a cut above the competition but isn't quite as fancy as a Bosch, Miele, or Beko. It's a part of Whirlpool's product portfolio as of 1986 and Whirlpool manufactures KitchenAid's appliances. KitchenAid sells a variety of fridges, and they come with some neat features like soft-close doors, a pizza pocket in the freezer, and plenty of space to store stuff.

In terms of quality, people tend to like their KitchenAid appliances. It scores well in consumer satisfaction surveys and it makes sense why — KitchenAid makes some good-looking products that seem to perform well. However, like all brands, there are reports of the occasional dud. We didn't find any recent repair frequencies, but it scored in the middle of the pack on ones from a few years ago with some spotty years here and there. In other words, it's a reasonably decent brand but it's not immune to needing repairs. 

As such, we'll place KitchenAid in the middle of the list. It's expensive, and it's not ideal when expensive fridges break down. However, when they do work properly, people seem to really like them. Fortunately, out of warranty repair rates are decently inexpensive and the repair network is above average in case a breakdown does happen.

Miele is a high-end brand that sells some of the most expensive refrigerators of any brand on the list. Fridges can get up over $10,000. These are not the fridges you buy if you're on a budget. Miele is often compared to brands like Bosch and Beko, and even more expensive brands. There are some fridges that reach down into the realm of affordability but it's not a common occurrence in Miele's portfolio. 

Since the brand's reputation is bigger than its actual sales, finding things like repair data is quite difficult for Miele. We do know the brand tests its products for 20 years of use but does only have a two-year warranty. The company officially lists its own fridge life expectancy at 14 years, and it could go longer with proper maintenance. Miele also manufacturers all of the core components for their appliances, which puts it at least a step ahead of most of its competitors. 

For the most part, it seems like Miele is a very reliable choice if you can afford one. However, we don't have any hard data to correlate our suspicions, which puts Miele a little further down on the list than it might be if repair data were more readily available. Miele is a fairly safe bet.

Bosch is a heavy hitter in the kitchen appliance space. It has a reputation as being a cut above the other mainstream brands and its prices reflect that. Plus, their fridges have some unique features, like a second compressor to help keep the fridge and freezer cool enough. They have a healthy selection of them in a few different styles, and they are all quite expensive. Fortunately, for the most part, those prices are generally warranted. 

Bosch is considered among the more reliable brands in kitchen appliances. They don't need repaired too often, although their dishwashers tend to do better their fridges do. More importantly, Bosch seems to be pretty consistent year-to-year, which is a solid sign that most issues are likely run-of-the-mill rather than caused by a defect. Many customer surveys put Bosch at or near the top of the lists. There's no two ways around it, the company knows how to make kitchen appliances. You can find stories online of Bosch fridges going down, but you can find those for all the brands on the list. 

That means that Bosch is a big, fat yes from us. If you're looking for something a little pricier but with some generally good reliability, Bosch is a good choice.

Whirlpool is one of the largest appliance brands in the world. Not only does it have its own brand, but it also owns KitchenAid, Maytag, Amana, Jenn-Air, Roper, and several others. Given that all of Whirlpool's other brands make this list, it's no surprise that Whirlpool itself is also here. Much like Maytag further down the list, Whirlpool sells both budget fridges and midrange stuff. We're guessing that KitchenAid acts as the luxury-oriented brand for Whirlpool. 

Whirlpool and Maytag down the list could be swapped and we wouldn't bat an eye. Whirlpool has some of the best numbers for kitchen appliances. Repair rates are fairly low, it gets the seal of approval of many appliance techs, and it actually scores slightly better in customer satisfaction surveys than Maytag. There are some detractors out there. For example, some estimates say that Whirlpool fridges in particular need repaired more often even if the brand as a whole is good. However, those sources don't have a ton of data and seem to contradict what data we could find.

Thus, Whirlpool gets a thumbs up from us. As per the norm, all brands sell duds on occasion, but Whirlpool's metrics seem to show that it sells fewer duds than some other competitors. 

Maytag is another large appliance company with a long history of making refrigerators. Like the other huge brands, you can find fridges both inexpensive and reasonably expensive. However, unlike most, Maytag sells all of its products under its main banner and doesn't have a luxury brand like GE, Samsung, or LG. It's also owned by Whirlpool and since Whirlpool makes all of Maytag's stuff, it makes sense that both are listed so close together. 

Maytag has decent overall reliability. It gets thumbs up from at least some appliance repair techs, with a decent track record that spans back years. In fact, in 2020, it was listed as the second most reliable appliance brand. It's also competitive with GE and LG in terms of customer satisfaction. In fact, looking around, we were unable to find any sources that detracts from the notion that Maytag makes good products. That's quite the rarity. Yes, you can find the stories on Reddit of Maytag products not doing so hot but you can find those for every brand. In truth, Maytag seems to get it done. 

In reality, the final three or four appliance makers on this list could be reshuffled and the list wouldn't be any less accurate. Maytag makes solid products that are backed up by all the metrics were able to find. 

GE is one of the largest and most popular appliance brands in the U.S. and has maintained that distinction for a century. Everybody knows GE. The brand has no intention of letting up on the gas either. It has a huge range of products from its high-end GE Profile lineup to its more economical standard fridges. GE truly goes all the way down to $700 fridges and up to $10,000 units. The brand sells everything. 

So, in terms of reliability, GE's stats were pretty easy to find. Yale Appliances notes that GE appliances have a fairly low repair rate, which is impressive considering how many of these that GE sells. Refrigerators tend to break down slightly more often than GE's other appliances, but that's true of virtually every brand. Most authorities on the matter recommend regular maintenance, which can wildly cut back on the number of times a GE appliance needs repaired. 

In terms of refrigerators, GE ranks higher than most but not that much higher. The brand also benefits from having a good repair network across most of the U.S., so you can pretty easily find an appliance tech if something goes wrong. So, with all of that said, it's a solid overall brand to buy from and it gets a thumbs up from us.

LG is a huge company and the second largest seller of appliances in the U.S. It's had ups and downs in the appliance market but seems to be on a high note at the moment. LG always seems to be trying something new as well, such as potentially upgradeable appliances at some point in the future. As such, they have tons of products in their portfolio from expensive French-style fridges with the fancy InstaView windows to more economical top freezer refrigerators for the budget conscious shopper.

Its wide product lineup seems to have struck a positive chord with consumers. Yes, you can find reports of LG fridges not doing so well but the stats don't lie here. LG has some of the lowest repair rates of any appliance brand on the market as of 2024. It's up a bit from a couple of years ago but still much lower than most of the competition. Data from Yale Appliances indicates its fridges need repair a little more often than its other appliances, but the rates are still favorable. LG also scores well in consumer satisfaction surveys, although not quite as well as the more luxury-oriented brands. 

Overall, LG is a pretty solid bet. Even its upscale LG Studio models perform well so it doesn't matter which one you go with. LG just seems to do it right.

To make the list above, we employed several different metrics. To start, we looked at stories on social media and Reddit, but soon found that every brand that we looked at had a nearly identical split of people saying that a brand is awesome as well as people who swear they'll never buy that same brand again. Thus, while we did take it into consideration on brands that didn't have a ton of data, we didn't lean on them heavily for most of the article.

For the most part, we looked at Yale Appliance's yearly service rates where brands are ranked based on how many service calls they generate. Other brands, like Puls, have similar metrics. Meanwhile, other companies conducted myriad customer satisfaction surveys and the logic there is that if people hated a brand due to a lack of reliability, they likely wouldn't score well in such surveys. 

Thus, the above list is sorted based on repair rates, customer satisfaction surveys, and the eye test based on the stories we read on Reddit and how each company appears when others talk about them. For some, we also considered appliance repair availability, especially since smaller companies get a little sparse, especially in rural America.