We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.

Keep your food fresh for longer with the GHI’s top picks

Doing the all-important job of preserving the freshness of your food, fridge freezers are a kitchen staple.

Finding the right one, however, depends on a range of factors, from how many people you’re feeding to the design of your kitchen and even your cooking preferences.

The Good Housekeeping Institute set out to find the most reliable buys, testing 50 fridge freezers to discover the ones worth investing in. Here are the winners at a glance:

There are three different types to consider: integrated, freestanding and American-style. Here’s what you need to know for each:

These built-in fridge freezers are designed to be hidden behind a cupboard, so you can coordinate the finish with the rest of your kitchen.

Most are designed to fit within a 60cm wide cupboard and tend to measure about 178cm high. They tend to be more expensive than freestanding models.

These can sit anywhere in your kitchen and are ideal if you need to store food for a large family – some can reach over 200cm high. There are plenty to choose from and they’re cheaper than the other types of fridge freezer.

American-style fridges are double the width of typical fridge freezers, boasting full-length double doors and plenty of storage space.

You’ll need a large kitchen to accommodate one of these, and they tend to be costly both to buy and run. However, they often come with useful extra features such as water filters and ice-cube makers.

Settled on the right type for your kitchen? Here’s what to consider next:

First things first, make sure your new fridge freezer will fit inside your allocated kitchen space. This is particularly key if you’re buying an integrated model. Note, you’ll also need to factor in extra space as recommended by the manufacturer, so the appliance can operate properly.

Then you need to decide on the fridge to freezer split; most tend to be a 70/30 or 60/40, with a bigger fridge and smaller freezer. You can find 50/50 models though, should you wish for an equal division of fresh and frozen food.

Next is capacity or, in other words, the litres of food that the fridge freezer can hold. The bigger the household, the more important a larger capacity will be. It's also worth bearing in mind that capacity tends to be measured excluding any shelves by the manufacturer.

Lastly, consider how many drawers there are, as well as compartments in the fridge door. Some shelves and storage features may be adjustable, which allows for greater flexibility, while others have extra features such as bottle racks.

Since new energy ratings were introduced in 2021, all appliances are now rated A to G rather than up to A+++. Many had their ratings downgraded to account for better efficiencies across the board and allow room for new technological innovations. Models on our list range from C to F, which means they are still reliable when it comes to energy efficiency.

However, at a time when energy bills are sky rocketing, opting for a fridge freezer with a high rating will mean lower running costs.

Gone are the days where you have to lay down newspaper and start the time-consuming process of defrosting your freezer. Many models now claim to be frost free, which means there should be no more ice build up (taking up precious food space) and it helps the appliance run more efficiently.

Models with a reversible door hinge mean you can decide which side the fridge freezer opens from, based on what works best in your kitchen.

If you (or family members) often forget to shut the door properly, also look for a model with an alarm that will go off when the door is left open.

Varying by model, many fridge freezers come with features designed to keep the food in your fridge fresher for longer, cutting down on food waste.

Some have flexible cooling zones and humidity controls that allow you to adjust the temperature of a drawer or area in the fridge to suit your shopping.

Others use light technology – like Beko’s HarvestFresh – creating the conditions for photosynthesis to continue, meaning your fruit and veg maintain their vitamins and nutrients.

The GHI experts find the best fridge freezers by monitoring the stability of each model’s temperature regulation over 24 hours, examining which spots of the appliance are the coolest and the warmest at set times.

They also measure how much electricity each fridge freezer consumes over the same period and check how well it recovers to its set temperature when the doors are left open for two minutes.

The sturdiness and design of shelves and drawers are also assessed, as well as how easy it is to use. Any accompanying instructions and guidance are reviewed before each fridge freezer is awarded a final score.

Read on for the best on test.

Note: energy prices are based on the cost at the time of testing (£0.28/kwh).

Best for small kitchens and households, this affordable, compact appliance aced our tests, scoring full marks for its outstanding temperature-regulating abilities. When monitored over 24 hours, it stayed well below the recommended maximum temperatures (5 degrees for a fridge and –18 degrees for a freezer).

The fridge has two shelves inside and two in the door, as well as a salad crisper, and the doors can be reversed to suit your set-up. There’s no door alarm but we found it stayed cool when we left the door open for two minutes, returning to its optimum temperature in a flash.

While it’s rated an F, we found it to be one of the more energy efficient models on test, costing just under 12p a day to run, making it both cost-effective in the short and long term. A great buy for smaller families.

Key specifications Dimensions: H136 x W54 x D58 cm Fridge capacity: 111 litres Freezer capacity: 62 litres Energy rating: F Frost free: No Reversible door: No

With a built-in water dispenser, two vegetable drawers with humidity controls and two deep freezer drawers, this family-sized fridge freezer is a premium kitchen appliance. We found it easy to change the temperature using its display panel too, while different musical tones play when raising or lowering the temperature.

It demonstrated impressive temperature regulation during testing, with the fridge remaining under 5 degrees for the full 24-hour trial. The freezer occasionally crept over –18 degrees, but by less than one degree. The fridge door warmed slightly when we kept it open, but it cooled back down immediately after closing. The freezer also took longer to recover, so be vigilant when shutting it.

The door storage isn’t adjustable and the power cable runs out from the top of the fridge, so check that your plug socket isn’t too low or far away as it may struggle to reach. Overall, though, it's a spacious appliance with plenty of slick features.

Key specifications Dimensions: H185 x W59.5 x D66.8 cm Fridge capacity: 230 litres Freezer capacity: 108 litres Energy rating: F Frost free: Yes Reversible door: Yes

If your fridge is always bursting with food, try this 277-litre fridge that comes with four shelves. It has humidity drawers for fresh fruit, veg and meat, and there’s also ample freezer space given the 60/40 split.

The appliance is tall, so shorter family members may struggle to reach the top shelves, and it has a child lock to prevent any accidental temperature adjusting, while a warning alarm will sound if a door isn't shut properly. It didn’t warm up too much when we left them open though.

We liked its simple digital controls and its average temperature was accurate to within 1C of the ones we set. It’s pricey but looks and feels premium, while its anti-fingerprint finish will help keep it clean and looking smart.

Key specifications Dimensions: H203 x W59.5 x D67.5 cm Fridge capacity: 277 litres Freezer capacity: 107 litres Energy rating: D Frost free: Yes Reversible door: Yes

Another family-sized fridge, this Hotpoint model features a bottle rack and various adjustable shelves that can be configured to suit your needs. Its two fridge storage drawers have humidity controls while the freezer drawers have easy-to-grip handles.

It was the most energy efficient appliance on test too, using just 0.29 kwh of electricity over 24 hours, which translates to 8p a day. It also proved stable temperature-wise over the same period, averaging under 5 and –18 degrees for its fridge and freezer respectively.

It didn’t heat up much when we left the door open, but it took a while to return to its optimum temperature. An alarm should go off if it’s left open, though.

Key specifications Dimensions: H202.7 x W59.6 x D67.8 cm Fridge capacity: 263 litres Freezer capacity: 104 litres Energy rating: C Frost free: Yes Reversible door: Yes

Smeg appliances always look the part and this one performed well on test, too. Built for large kitchens – it’s over two metres tall and has a huge capacity, just shy of 500 litres – its fridge has two roomy storage drawers (including one with adjustable vents), while its freezer has a clever ice cube system. You simply turn a dial and any ice cubes in the tray will be released into a drawer below, for you to either store or use.

If the door is left open for longer than two minutes, an alarm will sound and lights will flash, which will come in handy as we found that its recovery time varied; the freezer in particular took a while to return to temperature.

The appliance also ran slightly warm over the course of 24 hours, averaging 0.4 degrees above the recommended temperature for a fridge and 1.9 degrees above that of a freezer. Note for perishable food, the fridge’s lower shelves proved the coolest place to store things.

With no obvious dirt traps, smooth-running drawers and accessible controls, it scored the highest for its ease of use, making it the ideal choice for busy kitchens.

Key specifications Dimensions: H205 x W70.6 x D81.1 cm Fridge capacity: 343.7 litres Freezer capacity: 137.7litres Energy rating: E Frost free: Yes Reversible door: Models available with doors opening on both right or left

If you’re looking for a fridge freezer that will fit in with your kitchen aesthetic, this integrated model is a smart choice. It keeps food fresh, as you can adjust the salad drawer’s humidity, and it comes with Beko’s HarvestFresh technology, which uses lights to prolong the shelf life of fruit and veg.

Over the course of 24 hours, we found in general both the fridge and freezer stayed cool, although the top shelf in the fridge was a bit warmer than we’d have liked. That shelf also took a while to recover when we left the fridge door open, but the freezer readjusted quickly.

While its freezer drawers are fairly small, the fridge shelves are adjustable, its controls are intuitive and easy to read, and it’s easy to clean. Its holiday mode is simple to activate, too.

Key specifications Dimensions: H177.5 x W54 x D54.5 cm Fridge capacity: 185 litres Freezer capacity: 69 litres Energy rating: E Frost free: Yes Reversible door: Yes

With a water dispenser, bottle rack and large salad crisper, this basic-looking fridge freezer has plenty of useful features. While there aren’t any alarms to alert you if a door has been left open, the fridge fared reasonably well on test when we didn’t shut the door for two minutes, recovering in a respectable time. The fridge’s top shelf was affected the most, so we’d suggest leaving that for non-perishable food and drink. Over 24 hours though, it stayed cool.

It consumed the most energy of the fridges on test, but was still fairly efficient overall, costing about 20p per day to run. It also has an easy-to-clean design. If you’re looking for an affordable family-sized fridge freezer, you can’t go too far wrong with this one.

Key specifications Dimensions: H186 x W59.5 x D8.9 cm Fridge capacity: 207 litres Freezer capacity: 97 litres Energy rating: F Frost free: Yes Reversible door: Yes