8 Best Side by Side Refrigerators (October 2026)

The best side by side refrigerator for most households is the LG LS27T3230S, a 27 cu. ft. standard-depth unit whose slim in-door ice maker gives back freezer shelf space that most competitors spend on a bulkier ice bucket. It earned a 4.4 rating across the owner reviews we studied, which is the strongest combination of rating and review volume in this group.

We compared all eight models on the four things that decide whether a side-by-side works in a real kitchen: how the interior splits between fresh food and frozen, where the ice maker sits, how much usable shelf space survives once shelves and door bins are counted, and what the warranty actually covers when something fails. Updated October 2026, with pricing that moves daily handled by the check buttons below rather than quoted here.

One thing needs saying up front, because it shapes every pick that follows. Every unit in this roundup has a thin owner review base, from 1 review to 26. That is normal for side-by-side refrigerators in the current listing landscape, and it means you should read the specifications more heavily than the star averages. We say so again under each model rather than burying it.

Quick Picks: The 8 Best Side-by-Side Refrigerators in 2026

These three lead the group. The LG wins overall, the Samsung carries the strongest warranty terms in the lineup, and the Hamilton Beach fits where nothing else will.

The Samsung takes the premium slot for one concrete reason: five years of parts and labour on the sealed refrigeration system and ten years on the digital inverter compressor, which is the only warranty in this roundup that meaningfully outlasts the one-year policies attached to most competitors.

The Hamilton Beach is the narrow-footprint answer. At 32.91 inches wide with a 25.04 inch cabinet depth, it is the only unit here that slides into a tight alcove without forcing you to plan a counter-depth swap, and the trade-off is honest: 9.54 cu. ft. of fresh food is roughly half what the 36-inch models hold.

Comparing All 8 Side-by-Side Refrigerators at a Glance

Width, cabinet depth, fresh-food volume and ice delivery are the four columns worth comparing before you fall in love with a door finish. Capacity here means total advertised cu. ft., which overstates shelf space in every row.

Two things jump out. Only six of the eight units have an ice system at all, which means six need a water line, and the front-to-back depth figures run from 25.04 inches to 38 inches. That depth spread changes which units fit your alcove more than the width does.

Side-by-Side vs French Door vs Top-Freezer: Which Layout Fits Your Kitchen

A side-by-side splits the cabinet vertically into a narrow freezer column and a wider fresh-food column, usually 33 to 36 inches across. That vertical split is the whole argument for the format: it gives you the most freezer volume per square foot of any full-size configuration, and the doors need far less swing clearance than a French door’s two wide drawers.

A French door gives you wider shelves, which means wider pizza boxes and sheet pans, and it puts the freezer at the bottom where you bend for it. A top-freezer costs the least and lasts the longest in most households, but it freezes and refrigerates in one box, so the temperature swing is wider.

Choose side-by-side when your kitchen is narrow or galley-shaped, when you buy frozen food in bulk, or when you want the most capacity per dollar. Skip it if your family eats a lot of wide flat items, or if you want to reach into a low drawer while standing. If ice is not on your list, our garage refrigerator picks cover the same capacity question differently.

1. LG LS27T3230S 27 cu. ft. – Best Overall With a Slim In-Door Ice Maker

The LG is the one I would put in a standard-depth kitchen that still needs real ice production. Its 27 cu. ft. splits into 16.2 cu. ft. of fresh food, close to what the larger Kenmore holds in a bigger cabinet, and the ice maker lives in the door rather than eating a freezer shelf.

That door-mounted design is the whole pitch, and owner reviews back it up on the space side. Buyers specifically call out the shelf space the slim maker gives back, along with the controlled ice stream and a setup that reportedly needed no app.

Storage split and the slim in-door ice maker

Slim in-door ice means the bucket sits in the door plane, not in the freezer cavity. You get your ice, and you keep the shelf layout you would have had on an icemaker-less unit.

The catch is sound and speed. Owners on several cabinets describe the door maker as louder and slower than competing brands, so if ice is a twice-daily habit rather than a weekend thing, weigh that against the shelf gain.

Dispenser, controls and connected features

There is an external water dispenser with touch control and a recessed selector for water versus ice. That selector is small, and owners mention it directly, so expect to aim rather than glance.

Wi-Fi is enabled, but the unit itself has no oversized screen. That restraint is the reason several buyers liked it: you get connectivity without a tablet bolted to your fridge door.

Weight, delivery and what owners like

At 267 pounds, this is one of the heavier units here, and its 38 inch cabinet depth is the deepest in the group. The published dimension string reads 38 inch deep by 73 inch wide by 35 inch high, which is not a conventional order, so confirm the actual width with your retailer before measuring your alcove.

Reviewers mention strong airflow fan performance, easy setup and well-packed arrival. On a 4.4 rating across 11 reviews, that is a good early signal but a small one.

Where owners report problems

The complaints concentrate entirely on ice, not cooling. Some units report the ice inlet freezing over almost nightly to the point where the fridge has to be unplugged.

One owner also reported a flat service-call fee to schedule a technician. Ask your retailer about diagnostic fees in writing before the one-year manufacturer warranty is the only thing you have.

2. Samsung RS27T5561SR 26.7 cu. ft. – The Longest Warranty Cover in This Group

What separates this Samsung from the rest is paper, not polish. Five years of parts and labour on the sealed refrigeration system, and ten years on parts plus five on labour for the digital inverter compressor, is warranty coverage that outlasts the appliance’s likely first service event.

Capacity is the second draw. It splits 26.7 cu. ft. into 17.2 cu. ft. fresh food and 9.5 cu. ft. freezer, and owners note the redesigned interior holds roughly 10 percent more groceries than the prior generation.

Interior volume and Multivent cooling

Multivent airflow circulates across the cabinet rather than cooling one zone and hoping the rest follows. Owners report even temperatures shelf to shelf, which is the practical payoff of that extra fan network.

The 9.5 cu. ft. freezer is the second largest here, behind only the Kenmore, and it keeps a high-capacity indoor ice maker without stealing a shelf.

Family Hub screen and flat-panel doors

The Family Hub touch screen is the feature buyers either love or never touch. If you want a plain appliance, this is not it, and the reviewers who rated it low point at exactly that complexity.

Styling is a genuine strength. Flat-panel doors with recessed handles sit against cabinetry like a built-in unit, and the fingerprint-resistant finish keeps smudging off the surface in daily use.

Warranty terms and parts access

At 306 pounds and 33.5 inches deep, installation is a two-person job with a 51.31 inch maximum door-open depth to plan around.

The honest caveat is the review base: 10 ratings, 64 percent five-star. That is far too small to draw durability conclusions, which is exactly why the warranty length matters so much on this one.

3. Hamilton Beach HBF1558 15.6 cu. ft. – Best Counter-Depth Fit for Narrow Kitchens

Picture a galley kitchen, a condo alcove, or a spot where a 36-inch cabinet simply will not go. The Hamilton Beach is the only unit here built for that constraint, and its 32.91 inch width with 25.04 inch cabinet depth is the number that makes it possible.

Everything else follows from that footprint. 15.6 cu. ft. total splits to 9.54 cu. ft. fresh food and 6.08 cu. ft. frozen, which is real capacity but roughly half the fresh-food room of a 36-inch standard-depth model.

Shelf system and door bins

Six shelves are removable and height-adjustable on slide-out runners, which owners call out as easy to clean and flexible as the family menu changes. Three door shelves are sized for gallon containers.

Temperature control is a digital display mounted inside the refrigerator door, so you adjust it without opening the cabinet and letting warm air in. A bright interior lamp and an adjustable door-open beep round it out.

Why the 1-year warranty and delivery terms matter

Buyers report the unit is not ENERGY STAR certified and draws 378 kWh per year. Over a decade, a higher consumption figure is real money.

The warranty is one year parts and labour, and at least one owner reported failure at roughly 18 months. Delivery is drop-off only with no haul-away, and several buyers received dented cabinets or damaged boxes, so inspect the appliance before the driver leaves.

Ice is the real gap

There is no ice maker, and buyers point out that some product photos suggest otherwise. If you need ice daily, this is not the appliance.

4. Forno Salerno 20 cu. ft. – Cubed and Crushed Ice From One Dispenser

The Forno is the only unit here that dispenses cubed ice and crushed ice on demand from the same external touchscreen, which makes it the pick if summer entertaining is the reason you want a side-by-side at all.

Storage is sensibly laid out for the class: four adjustable spill-proof glass shelves in the fresh-food side, plus three glass shelves, two drawers and door bins in the freezer.

Touchscreen dispenser and inverter compressor

The inverter compressor is the quiet part of this story. Reviewers describe steady temperature control without the on-off cycling you get from conventional reciprocating compressors, and frost-free multi-airflow keeps condensation off the walls.

Sabbath mode and temperature memory are small touches that matter more than they sound in a household that keeps separate meat and dairy settings.

A thin review base and what it means

Seven reviews, a 3.7 average, and 24 percent one-star. Styling, inverter cooling and the storage layout please most buyers, but a meaningful minority are simply disappointed.

Two years of parts and labour coverage is better than most in this roundup. At 213 pounds with a 29.76 inch depth this unit is also easier to handle than the 267 and 306 pound cabinets here.

5. Kenmore 4651845 29 cu. ft. – The Most Interior Volume in a 36 Inch Footprint

If your problem is running out of room, this is the answer. At 29 cu. ft. split into 18.6 cu. ft. fresh food and 10.4 cu. ft. freezer, the Kenmore holds more than anything else here without widening past the standard 36-inch footprint.

The 4.7 rating is the highest of the models with more than ten reviews. It rests on just four ratings, all recent, which is the single most important caveat in this article.

Accela Chill and Accela Freeze

Two fan-boost buttons handle the two situations that make people dislike refrigerators: groceries that arrive at room temperature, and a freezer that needs to catch up after a large shop.

The Multi-Flow Air System circulates across every shelf rather than cooling a single point, which is how the boost buttons can deliver a genuinely even result.

Door ice maker output and NSF filtration

The door-mounted maker produces up to 3 pounds of ice a day and frees up the freezer shelf space that a top-mounted bucket would occupy. Dispenser filtration is NSF-certified, which is a meaningful spec when you actually drink the water.

Storage hardware is good: edge-to-edge glass shelves, four gallon-size door bins, dedicated crisper drawers and enhanced ceiling and side LED lighting.

Only four reviews and what that hides

Those four reviews are uniformly positive, 74 percent five-star and 26 percent four-star, with nothing below four. Early owners like the capacity and the cooling speed.

The warranty is one year on the appliance. A four-review sample and a one-year policy is the least-proven combination in this roundup, and it deserves a conversation with the retailer before you buy.

6. Iceblue LS-207BSSD 20.7 cu. ft. – No Water Line Required

The Iceblue solves a problem none of the others can: no plumbing, no water line, no ice maker to fail. One owner specifically wanted exactly that for a garage, and that use case is where this unit earns its place.

Two reviews, both five-star, both from this year, and one of them says it performs better than a predecessor that failed. That is the entire evidence base, so read the specifications instead.

No plumbing and the temperature ranges

The freezer runs from -10F to 5F across five manual settings and the refrigerator compartment holds 32F to 42F. That is a genuinely wide freezer range for a secondary unit.

At 189.6 pounds this is the second lightest appliance in the roundup, and at 27.2 inches deep it moves through a doorway far more easily than a 306-pound standard-depth cabinet.

Crispers, dairy compartment and shelving

Eight toughened glass shelves and eight door shelves is a lot of rungs for a 20.7 cu. ft. box, which suggests adjustable vertical space rather than deep bins. Crispers are humidity-controlled and transparent, and there is a separate dairy compartment.

The one owner complaint about the interior being somewhat narrow is worth taking seriously at this width, particularly for wide containers.

Energy figure and the missing warranty

At 460 kWh per year it publishes an energy figure, though a no-water-line unit has no dispenser pump to run, so the comparison against the Hamilton Beach is not fully like-for-like.

No warranty is stated for the appliance. That is the biggest single risk in this roundup and the reason this sits at number six despite an owner rating of five stars.

7. Electactic FF2-695 18.1 cu. ft. – The Best for Small Spaces Compressor Specification Here

The Electactic’s headline spec is the number: a 45dB inverter compressor. If your kitchen is open to living space or your bedroom wall is thin, that published figure is the reason to look here.

It is also marketed as garage-ready with digital temperature control, which pairs with a 26.38 inch cabinet depth and a 35.83 inch width for a secondary-unit footprint.

Dispenser options and the 6 cu. ft. freezer

The external door dispenser serves chilled water plus cubed and crushed ice, which is unusual at this size and unusually capable for a garage-rated unit.

Total No Frost cooling eliminates ice buildup in the freezer, and slide-out adjustable glass shelves plus interior LED and freezer lighting handle the rest.

One review is not evidence

A single five-star review cannot tell you anything about reliability, and the listing sits under Beverage Refrigerators rather than full-size refrigerators. Its pros and cons here come from the manufacturer’s feature description, not from owner experience.

One year of warranty cover and a 6 cu. ft. freezer are the two numbers to weigh. If you need frozen storage volume, this is the smallest freezer in the group.

8. Amana ASI2575GRS 24.6 cu. ft. – Dual-Pad Dispenser With Hinge Choice

The Amana’s distinguishing feature is the dual-pad external dispenser, which gives one-touch access to water and ice without a recessed lever you have to find by feel in a dark fridge.

Capacity is respectable for the width: 24.6 cu. ft. total with 15.46 cu. ft. of it in the fresh-food compartment, spread across three shelves and four racks.

Dual-pad dispenser and touch controls

One-touch water and ice is a small ergonomic win you notice every single day, which is more than most appliance features manage. The electronic touch control panel matches it in feel.

Hinge placement is reversible, with the refrigerator door on one side and the freezer door on the other as standard, which matters in kitchens where the appliance sits beside a tall wall.

Wire shelving and hot gas defrost

Wire shelves are the downgrade here. They are durable and they let air move well, but they will not hold a heavy glass baking dish the way tempered glass does, and they collect spills differently.

Hot gas defrost handles the freezer, and at 270 pounds with a 34.12 inch depth this is a full-size cabinet in weight and handling terms.

Sparse listing detail and no energy rating

One review, not ENERGY STAR certified, and no stated warranty. The marketing copy barely says more than the model name, so the case for this unit rests on capacity, the dispenser and touch controls.

It ranks last here for that reason rather than because anything in the specification is wrong.

How to Choose a Side-by-Side Refrigerator: 7 Decisions That Matter

The specification sheet tells you what fits. The seven decisions below tell you whether you will still be happy in year eight, which is where side-by-side ownership actually gets decided.

1. Measure the cutout in five places

Width, height, cabinet depth, door swing and the water line location. Every model here publishes different numbers for each, and the door-open depth figures run from 45.3 inches to 51.31 inches, which is a wider spread than most buyers expect.

Add ventilation clearance at the back and top as your retailer specifies, and confirm the door hinge side before delivery day. If you want our wider read on layouts, our commercial refrigerator guide covers high-capacity formats.

2. Counter-depth versus standard-depth

Counter-depth cabinets sit around 25 to 27 inches deep and align with your counters. Standard-depth runs 33 to 38 inches and holds noticeably more, because it uses the full depth of the alcove.

The Hamilton Beach at 25.04 inches and the Iceblue at 27.2 inches are the counter-depth options here. The Samsung at 33.5 inches and the Kenmore at 36.02 inches are standard-depth, and that 10-inch gap is where several extra cubic feet come from.

3. Advertised capacity is not usable shelf space

Total cu. ft. includes shelves, air channels and the ice maker. Fresh-food capacity is the number to compare across brands, and in this roundup it ranges from 9.54 cu. ft. on the Hamilton Beach to 18.6 cu. ft. on the Kenmore.

Look at shelf count and door bin count too. Eight shelves and eight door bins in the Iceblue sounds generous until the owner reviews describe the interior as narrow.

4. Ice maker placement and what actually breaks

In-door ice makers free up freezer shelf space, and they are the reason the LG and Kenmore lead this list. The trade-off is sound, cycle speed, and in some reported cases an inlet that freezes over.

Owner forums document the failure chain clearly on certain designs: water escapes the fill point, runs down the freezer back panel, freezes behind the evaporator cover, ice builds on the evaporator fan, and the result is loud buzzing and eventually reduced airflow. Fill-level control by fill time alone means low water pressure underfills and high pressure overfills, so ask about the water pressure spec and look for overspray during a fill cycle.

Remember that an ice maker needs the freezer below 10F to work, which sends owners chasing freezer temperature before the actual failed part. One further frustration is replacing both the water inlet valve and the ice maker assembly and still getting no ice.

5. Compressor type, energy use and noise

Inverter compressors run at varying speeds instead of switching on and off, which is why the Forno and Electactic can both claim quiet operation and different energy profiles.

Only two of the eight appliances publish an annual kWh figure: the Hamilton Beach at 378 kWh per year and the Iceblue at 460 kWh per year, and the Hamilton Beach is not ENERGY STAR certified. For the rest, ask the retailer for the EnergyGuide label and compare it yourself, because ten years of electricity is a real share of the purchase decision.

6. Warranty length as a reliability signal

Warranty terms here range from nothing stated, to one year parts and labour, to the Samsung’s five years on the sealed system and ten on the compressor. Long coverage is not proof of quality, but it is a statement by the manufacturer about which parts they expect to replace.

The pattern to avoid is clear from owner reports: an ice maker that fails in month 13, right as the one-year coverage lapses. Anything with a longer sealed-system warranty reduces the odds that the single most failure-prone component is the thing that ends the fridge’s life.

7. Questions to ask the retailer before you pay

Ask which specific parts fail most often on that model and whether they are stocked locally. Ask about service-call and diagnostic fees, since one LG owner reported a flat fee just to schedule a technician.

Ask whether the ice maker assembly and the water inlet valve are sold as separate parts or only as one assembly, because that changes repair economics dramatically. Ask whether the brand has an open parts channel, and confirm in writing what the warranty actually covers in year two and beyond. If you are still comparing layouts, our Samsung refrigerator guide goes deeper on that brand’s lineup.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict: Which Side-by-Side Refrigerator Should You Buy?

If you want the best-balanced side-by-side refrigerator, take the LG LS27T3230S for its fresh-food volume and shelf-saving ice maker. If warranty length drives your decision, the Samsung RS27T5561SR covers the sealed system and compressor far longer than anything else here.

If your kitchen is the constraint, the Hamilton Beach HBF1558 is the only unit that fits a narrow alcove, and you accept no ice maker in exchange. Buy the Kenmore if capacity is the constraint, the Forno if crushed and cubed ice is, the Iceblue if there is no plumbing, and skip the rest only if a very specific dispenser detail is what you are shopping for.

Whichever you choose, measure the cutout, ask about ice maker parts, and get the warranty terms in writing before the appliance is installed.