Not LG Or Whirlpool: This Refrigerator Brand Tops JD Power's 2026 Appliance Satisfaction Study

Buying a refrigerator is not an easy task. There are multiple brands to choose from, all offering a range of products. And given that a refrigerator is almost always a long-term investment, often lasting over a decade, you want to buy one that is great to live with. One good way to do so is to only buy from trusted brands, but you can take it a step further by turning to organizations like the ACSI and JD Power, both of which routinely release customer satisfaction surveys for all sorts of consumer products — including refrigerators.

Samsung topped JD Power's 2026 U.S. Appliance Satisfaction Study in all three refrigerator categories included, namely French door, side-by-side, and top-mount freezer refrigerators. Samsung scored 733, 750, and 715 points, respectively, out of a maximum of 1,000 points. Samsung's Korean rival LG came in a close second in two of these categories, scoring 722 points in the French door category and 742 points in the side-by-side category. Frigidaire grabbed the second spot in the top-mount freezer category by scoring 687 points. Whirlpool, which the ACSI named the most satisfying refrigerator brand in 2025, did not place in the top two in any fridge categories.

These scores paint a very different picture from 2025, when GE topped the charts across the same categories, with Whirlpool and LG coming in second and third places in the side-by-side and French door categories. Frigidaire did, however, place second in the top-mount freezer category last year as well.

The JD Power 2026 U.S. Appliance Satisfaction Study also covered a host of other appliance categories, with most of the top spots claimed by major brands like LG, Whirlpool, and Samsung. The latter topped the charts for clothes dryers and over-the-range microwaves, placing ahead of LG and Whirlpool, respectively. LG grabbed the top spot in the wall oven and cooking range segments, with Samsung behind its Korean rival. Whirlpool's only first-place finish was for cooktops, with Samsung again managing a second-place finish.

These three companies didn't have it their own way, however. Respondents voted KitchenAid the most satisfying dishwasher brand, with Samsung and Bosch in second and third, respectively. Another example was for front-loading washing machines, which saw surprise entrant Maytag pip LG and Whirlpool to the top spot. 

JD Power's study also looked at the most satisfying appliance retailers, with Best Buy, Costco, and Home Depot making up the top three, in that order. All these results were based on 28,411 responses from customers who purchased home appliances between April 2025 and April 2026.