3 Refrigerator Brands Consumer Reports Says To Skip (And The Best Alternatives)

A new refrigerator is a high-stakes investment. When you're shopping for something that's expensive and also has the important job of keeping your food fresh around the clock for years on end, you want to guarantee that you're choosing a product from a refrigerator brand you can rely on. Unfortunately, sifting through thousands of customer reviews online can be exhausting, and in many cases, what you see under the product listing doesn't provide a very comprehensive view of the appliance's performance. That's where trusted review sites like Consumer Reports can help fill in the gaps.

In the beginning of the year, Consumer Reports published its roundup of the Most and Least Reliable Refrigerator Brands of 2026, and among the brands included, there were a few standouts and a few duds. While the ratings were separated by type of refrigerator, and in a few cases, brands had vastly different reliability scores depending on design of the appliance — Samsung, for example, was near the top of the class in top-freezer refrigerators, but ranked dead last when it came to built-ins — a few trends were clear across the board. Brands like KitchenAid, Kenmore, and Frigidaire consistently received low or middling scores for reliability, while Whirlpool and Amana seemed to pop up most often towards the top of the list. 

While KitchenAid's stand mixer is one of the most iconic kitchen products of all time, the same isn't always true for the brand's large appliances. In the Consumer Reports roundup, KitchenAid didn't receive a rating for the top-freezer refrigerator category, but it earned scores of 66, 46, 29, and 49 when it came to the other refrigerator layouts. That averages out to a score of just 47.5 points out of 100 for the brand — a very disappointing total, especially when you consider that KitchenAid is often seen as an accessible luxury or somewhat premium brand when compared to competitors.

While there are still quite a few customers who love their KitchenAid refrigerators, there are some common issues that seem to pop up with KitchenAid's products, especially when it comes to crispers and ice makers. As highlighted on Consumer Reports' site, a large percentage of refrigerators from this brand received less-than-stellar feedback from customers when it came to these two features. This isn't just an issue for Consumer Reports reviewers, either — specific product reviews on other sites also frequently mention issues with the ice maker that range from loud knocking noises to a complete lack of production. KitchenAid's refrigerators are often shouted out for their beautiful design, but they're not worth the investment unless you're willing to shell out the money for frequent repairs.

Kenmore has been around for over 100 years, but just because a brand has a long legacy doesn't mean its current products are the best quality. In the categories included in the Consumer Reports roundup, this brand receives scores of 77, 18, and 37, with an exception made for the built-in and bottom-freezer categories. This averages out to 44 points out of 100, and while the 77 reliability rating in the top-freezer category isn't terrible, it still sits in the bottom three of the included brands.

There are a few standout refrigerators from this brand in Consumer Reports' rankings, but a large portion of the brand's products seem to be middling at best. In Consumer Reports' collated reviews of specific products, there aren't many consistent, standout issues. Rather, it seems that consistently low predicted reliability and general consumer satisfaction scores are responsible for the dip in rankings.

As expected, unsatisfied customer reviews don't seem to hone in on one particular performance issue. Some note that the refrigerators look good on the outside but cheap on the inside, while others mention that models don't seem to have a ton of functional space to work with. The general consensus seems to be that refrigerators from this brand aren't the best quality to begin with, and when you consider that most full-size models are in the $1,300 to $2,500 range, this lack of quality can be disappointing.

Frigidaire is such a well-established name in refrigerators that it's often used as a slang term for the appliance itself, but as we've learned from our other two brands, a long history doesn't always equal quality. This brand earned scores of 67, 76, 44, 50, and 59 in the Consumer Reports roundup, leaving it with an average score of 59.2 out of 100 across all five categories. This is better than both Kenmore and KitchenAid, but not by much. Generally speaking, Frigidaire generally ranks slightly below the middle in terms of reliability in each category, and with no standout products to help bring up its score, things are mediocre at best.

On the Consumer Reports website, Frigidaire doesn't have any products that rank above a 75, with most of its models lingering around the 60s. Individual models seem to be brought down in the ratings by different drawbacks, so there isn't an obvious brand-wide performance issue. The owner satisfaction scores from Consumer Reports reviewers are consistently low for this brand, however, which has a major impact on the models' overall ratings. It's clear Consumer Reports is warning you to do your research before buying this refrigerator brand.

While Frigidaire products generally get solid reviews on both the brand's website and independent retailers' websites, negative reviews seem to point to frustrating issues that have been caused by design flaws. Unfortunately, getting these problems fixed seems to be the real kicker — Frigidaire only has a 1.2 score on Trustpilot, so unless you're willing to gamble and hope you don't have any problems, a brand with better customer service might be a smarter investment.

There were no refrigerator brands that cleanly swept all of the categories in the Consumer Reports roundup, but Whirlpool seemed to be one of the top contenders. With reliability scores of 84, 85, 54, 59, and 71, it earned an average of 70.6 across all categories. The lower scores of 54 and 59 were for French door and side-by-side refrigerators, but this brand still sat in 7th and 5th place, respectively, showing that it's more likely that there are problems with French door refrigerators and side-by-side refrigerators across all brands.

Individual products on Whirlpool's site are generally well-rated, though there are a few models that seem to be duds. Among the negative reviews, most seem to mention inconsistent temperatures, broken ice makers, and problems with the refrigerator's door design. Positively reviewed models, on the other hand, often earn praise for their sleek look and large amount of storage space. Some customers even mention that they're purchasing an upgraded version of their old Whirlpool refrigerator that's lasted a decade or longer, helping to showcase the fact that this brand's reputation for quality is still alive and well.

Amana has been around for quite a while, and with several inventions like the DeepFreeze upright freezer, side-by-side refrigerator, and bottom-freezer refrigerator to its name, it's a bit shocking that this brand has fallen behind competitors like LG and Samsung in terms of recognition. Nowadays, it's owned by Whirlpool, so it makes sense that both of these brands would end up towards the top of the Consumer Reports rankings.

While this brand only pops up in three categories in the Consumer Reports roundup, its reliability scores wow. It's the top scorer in the side-by-side refrigerator category, earning 81 points, and number two in bottom freezers, earning 85 points. It also placed fifth in the top-freezer category with 77 points, all adding up to an average score of 81. Amana doesn't have nearly as many products that have been tested by Consumer Reports as other brands, but it generally seems to earn average ratings in the 60s and 70s for individual refrigerator models.

One of the major drawbacks of Amana's products is that there aren't many bells and whistles. While this may be a major detractor for some who prefer smart appliances, this simplicity might be refreshing for some other customers. This sentiment is echoed in individual product ratings — many are satisfied with the performance, saying it does the job without fuss.