We Asked Hundreds of College Students to Tell Us the Best Mini Fridge — Here’s the Winner (Plus 2 Runners-Up!)

See all the dorm must-haves — from mattress toppers to storage — that real college students swear by for making your space cozy and functional. Check out the full list of Dorm Therapy Awards 2025 winners!

When you don’t want to drag yourself to the dining hall to get food, having a stocked mini fridge in your dorm with your favorite snacks, drinks, and meals is a must. While some dorms come equipped with a fridge or offer a rental option, not all campuses have this luxury. So we asked college students and recent grads which is the best mini fridge to purchase if your room doesn’t have one. 

Buying stuff for your dorm room is stressful enough, and you don’t want to worry about whether the mini fridge you bought will be the right one for you. That’s when you turn to the experts: real students who’ve recently lived in dorms and also needed to buy a mini fridge! Here are the three great options they recommend to store your snacks. 

Dorm Therapy is dedicated to helping students at every point of their college experience, and that includes shopping for their dorm! We’re a website powered by real college student contributors (who have recently experienced dorm living) and experienced editors, creating service-first content about navigating life at school and sharing vetted product recommendations for dorms and college apartments.

We went straight to the source to determine our winners for the Dorm Therapy Awards 2025, surveying more than 360 college students and recent grads to learn about their absolute favorite products that they used in their dorm. 

For the winning mini fridge, we first looked at how many students recommended specific models, and we chose the top three most popular picks. We then took into account the average ratings of the respective mini fridges — students ranked their recommendations on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being a product they loved and would “definitely recommend.” You’ll notice the winner has a slightly lower average rating than the runners-up, but it had twice the recommendations of the other two, which made it the top pick, combined with its glowing reviews.  

This product was recommended by twice the number of students as compared to both of the runners-up. It earned an average rating of 8.5 out of 10, and students had great things to say about it. With two glass shelves, a drawer, soda can cubbies, and a separate freezer, students said this fridge has it all. 

• “Overall, great storage space for a mini fridge, loved that it had a freezer section.” —Rachel F., Bemidji State University, Class of 2028
• “I used it for having drinks and skincare, my roommate had the same one and packed it full of breakfast items. Never had an issue for both years I used it and sent it off with my brother to his dorm when I was done with it and works great there too.” —Mary Louise W., Western Kentucky University, Class of 2026
• “I really enjoyed it, it got very cold in the freezer and fridge.” —Emma U., University of Redlands, Class of 2028

Although this option was recommended by fewer students, it received a 9.2 average rating and is the same size as the winner at 3.1 cubic feet. It’s very similar to the winning fridge — with the ability to store about the same amount of food and drinks — and it also has a separate freezer section. 

• “Lots of space. Keeps things frozen.” —Saniya P., Greensboro College, Class of 2027
• “It had a lot of space and after a year it still looks like new.” —Andrea T., Texas A&M University, Class of 2028

This fridge received the same number of recommendations as the first runner-up, but has a slightly lower average rating: 8.7. Though it’s still compact, this option is larger than the other fridges at 3.3 cubic feet. It has a much sleeker look, with only one door, but it sacrifices freezer space.   

• “I really loved the size of it, it also didn’t leak water/condensation when my dorm had no power for 12 hours.” —​​Dorissmar P., University of California, Irvine, Class of 2026
• “Kept everything cold and it was spacious.” —Lauren B., SUNY Delhi, Class of 2025