Small Refrigerator: Mini Fridge, Office Fridge and Room Fridge

Choose by use: a 50-liter mini fridge for drinks and snacks, an office fridge of about 90 liters for office meals, and a small fridge with a freezer of ⁦120–200⁩ liters for anyone living alone or needing a second fridge.

The name small fridge covers four different products, and stores call them by different names:

• Mini fridge / mini bar / cube fridge: about 50 liters, about ⁦48–⁦50 cm⁩⁩ high. Fits under a desk, on a cabinet or in the corner of a room.
• Office fridge: about 90 liters, about ⁦86 cm⁩ high, usually with two doors: one for the fridge and one for the freezer.
• Small room fridge: either of the previous two, where the main question is noise and dimensions.
• Small fridge with freezer: ⁦120–200⁩ liters, ⁦125–⁦143 cm⁩⁩ high, with a separate top freezer. This is already a real fridge for living.

If you are looking for a kitchen fridge for a couple or small family, a small fridge probably will not be enough. A ⁦340–350⁩ liter ⁦60 cm⁩ bottom freezer is the smallest option that still behaves like a family fridge, with No Frost and sometimes Shabbat mode. We compare all types in our general best refrigerator guide.

And if what you lack is freezer space rather than fridge space, maybe what you need is a small freezer, not a fridge. See our best freezer guide.

Ask yourself three questions before you search: what you will keep in it (drinks, meals or weekly shopping), where it will stand (under a desk, against a wall or in a kitchenette), and who will hear it (a bedroom or an office). The answers narrow the choice to one category, and from there the differences between models are relatively small: a few centimeters, a few dozen kWh a year and a few dozen shekels in price.

A 50-liter mini fridge is good for drinks, coffee milk and snacks, and not suitable for storing frozen food or weekly cooking.

Per the product pages we read, 50-liter cube fridges in Israel are very similar to each other: ⁦44–⁦47 cm⁩⁩ wide, ⁦44–⁦49 cm⁩⁩ deep and ⁦48–⁦50 cm⁩⁩ high. The differences are in the details:

• Gold Line BC-50B: 47 × 44 × ⁦48 cm⁩, 17.5 kg, ⁦0.38 kWh⁩ per day.
• Gold Line BC-50W: 44 × 49 × ⁦48 cm⁩, ⁦0.38 kWh⁩ per day. At the time of writing it was temporarily out of stock in the store we checked.
• Sachs EF50W: 44 × 47 × ⁦50 cm⁩, class F, freezer compartment reaching -12°C per the spec. It was also temporarily out of stock.

The freezer compartment in a mini fridge is usually a small compartment at the top, without a separate insulated door. It suits ice cubes, not a bag of chicken. The Sachs product page states that the compartment reaches -12°C, while a regular freezer works at -18°C.

Power use: ⁦0.38 kWh⁩ per day is about ⁦140 kWh⁩ a year. That is less than a family fridge, but not much less than a 120-liter fridge using ⁦172 kWh⁩. If you are torn between two mini fridges and one small fridge with a freezer, the latter is more efficient.

When to choose a mini fridge: for a teenager's room, an office of ⁦2–4⁩ employees, a study, a guest room or a covered balcony for summer drinks.

How much really fits in 50 liters: about ⁦30–40⁩ cans, or a few 1.5-liter water bottles alongside a milk carton, yogurts and snacks. A 1.5-liter bottle usually stands only in the door or on the bottom shelf, because the interior height is low. If you are buying for summer drinks, count how many bottles you want to chill at once.

Thermostat setting: small fridges usually have a mechanical dial with numbers, not degrees. Start in the middle, put a simple thermometer inside the fridge, and adjust so the temperature is about 4°C. In summer, in a hot room, you may need to raise the setting.

Color and finish: mini fridges usually come in black or white, and sometimes in other colors. The price difference between colors is small, but sometimes one color is out of stock and the other available. If color is not critical, check both.

A good office fridge is about 90 liters with a separate freezer door, fits the free height in the kitchenette and holds several employees' meals.

The example we saw on a product page, the Premier PR92, represents the category: 63 liters fridge and 25 liters freezer net, ⁦45 cm⁩ wide, ⁦49 cm⁩ deep and ⁦86.5 cm⁩ high. The separate freezer door is the essential difference from a mini fridge: you can keep frozen meals and a carton of ice cream in it, not just ice.

How many liters for an office:

• ⁦2–4⁩ employees who bring a meal: 50 liters.
• ⁦5–10⁩ employees: 90 liters with a freezer.
• More than 10 employees: a small fridge with a ⁦120–200⁩ liter freezer, or a regular kitchen fridge.

Height under the counter: kitchen countertops are usually about ⁦85–⁦90 cm⁩⁩ from the floor, and less underneath. A fridge ⁦86.5 cm⁩ high will not fit under every counter. Measure the actual free height, and leave ventilation clearance. Small fridges are freestanding, and not designed to be enclosed in a cabinet without ventilation openings; a fridge that goes in a cabinet is a different product, a built-in fridge.

Cleaning and defrosting: in an office, a fridge filled with forgotten containers is the common problem. Set a fixed cleaning day, and if defrosting is manual, defrost at that time.

Who is responsible for the office fridge: in a shared fridge, a small freezer door fills up fast. Define in advance what goes in the freezer, label containers with a name and date, and throw out anything older than a week. A fridge packed with abandoned containers loses cold with every opening, uses more electricity and spreads odors. An office fridge opened dozens of times a day works much harder than a home fridge, so it is especially important to choose a model with importer warranty and leave ventilation clearance.

Office fridge vs mini fridge on price: per store prices, the difference between a 50-liter mini fridge and a 90-liter office fridge is only a few hundred shekels. In an office of more than four people, that difference is almost always justified, because it doubles capacity and adds real freezing. For more, see our office fridge guide.

A small fridge with a ⁦120–200⁩ liter top freezer is the right solution for anyone living alone, a rental unit or a second fridge, and costs about ₪⁦1,100–1,300.⁩

The models we saw on product pages:

• Normande ND-140: 120 liters net (88 fridge and 32 freezer), 47.4 × 125.3 × ⁦44.7 cm⁩, 26 kg, class E and ⁦172 kWh⁩ a year. Semi-automatic defrost.
• Amcor HR243: 203 liters (165 fridge and 38 freezer), 55 × 143 × ⁦58 cm⁩, class E, semi-automatic defrost. At the time of writing it was temporarily out of stock in the store we checked, so we did not include it in the picks.

Why a rental unit needs a fridge with a freezer: someone living alone cooks or buys frozen products. A mini fridge will not hold them, and a separate freezer takes more space. A ⁦120–200⁩ liter fridge with a ⁦30–40⁩ liter top freezer gives both in a floor area of about 50 × ⁦50 cm⁩.

What you give up: No Frost (most models in this range are semi-automatic), an electronic Shabbat mode, and an inverter compressor. If No Frost and Shabbat mode matter to you, the next step is a ⁦60 cm⁩ bottom freezer of about 340 liters, which costs a few thousand shekels per store prices.

Renting out a unit? Choose a fridge from an official importer with warranty, so if it breaks mid-lease there is someone to repair it. A small fridge is also easy to replace, so check how much a repair costs vs a new fridge.

Small new fridge vs large used fridge: in second-hand (yad 2) groups you can find old family fridges at the price of a new small fridge. It sounds worthwhile, but an old fridge usually uses more electricity, has no warranty, and delivering a large fridge costs money. For a small rental unit, a new ⁦120–200⁩ liter fridge with a one-year warranty is usually the simpler choice.

Either way, measure the free height before ordering: the difference between 125 and ⁦143 cm⁩ decides whether the fridge fits under a shelf or window.

In a bedroom, look for a fridge with a low noise figure in the manufacturer's manual, place it away from the bed and leave ventilation clearance behind it.

Most product pages in Israeli stores do not state a noise level for small fridges, and on the models we chose the figure did not appear either. So:

• Ask the seller for the noise figure in decibels from the manufacturer's manual.
• Place the fridge on a stable, level surface; vibration on an uneven floor increases noise.
• Leave a few centimeters between the back of the fridge and the wall. The compressor and coil at the back release heat, and a fridge against the wall works harder and is noisier.
• Do not put a small fridge inside a closed cabinet or under a blanket or curtain.

Children's and teenagers' rooms: a small fridge with a door that closes well and does not open by itself is better. Do not store medication requiring an exact temperature in it without a thermometer, because temperature is less stable in fridges with a mechanical thermostat.

Shabbat: small fridges with a mechanical thermostat have no display and no sensors, but usually have an interior bulb that comes on when the door opens. If you keep Shabbat, check whether the bulb can be disconnected easily, and check with your rabbi what is needed regarding the compressor. A certified Shabbat mode is found mainly in large fridges, like a 4-door fridge.

A fridge in a room in summer: in a room without air conditioning, the temperature in an Israeli summer can rise above 30°C, and the fridge will run almost nonstop. That raises noise and consumption. If possible, place the fridge on the shaded side of the room, away from a west-facing window and from a heater in winter. And check the fridge's climate class in the spec: fridges marked tropical class (T) are designed to work in a hot room too.

A small fridge uses about ⁦140–⁦175 kWh⁩⁩ a year per the product pages, almost as much as a bottom freezer three times its size, so check the number before buying.

Consumption: a 50-liter mini fridge uses ⁦0.38 kWh⁩ per day, i.e. about ⁦140 kWh⁩ a year. A 120-liter fridge uses ⁦172 kWh⁩. For comparison, a 344-liter Samsung bottom freezer uses ⁦254 kWh⁩ per the spec. That is seven times the capacity and only 1.8 times the consumption. Small fridges are less efficient per liter, and that is fine as long as they meet a real need.

Energy rating: some pages show class E or F, and some state no rating at all. If there is no rating, look for consumption per day or per year.

Defrosting: on most small fridges defrosting is manual or semi-automatic. In practice: when an ice layer of about half a centimeter builds up in the freezer compartment, take out the contents, unplug or turn the thermostat, and wait for the ice to melt. A thick ice layer raises electricity use and reduces capacity.

Warranty: on the models we saw on product pages the warranty is one year, per the importer's warranty certificate (for example Gold Line, S.G. Electronics for Premier, or Clinton for Normande). With a small fridge, make sure service includes a home visit or that you are prepared to take the fridge to the lab yourself.

Transport and installation: a small fridge can usually be transported in a private car. Transport it upright as much as possible, and if it was transported lying down, let it stand for a few hours before plugging it in, per the manual's instruction. Connect it to a grounded wall outlet and not a power strip shared with other appliances. (Israel uses 230V/50Hz, so a US 110V mini fridge would need a transformer.) The first time, let it run empty for a few hours before adding food.

For drinks in a room or small office buy a 50-liter mini fridge for about ₪⁦500–600⁩; for office meals buy an office fridge of about 90 liters with a freezer door; and for living buy a ⁦120–200⁩ liter fridge with a top freezer.

• Teenager's room or study: Gold Line BC-50B or a similar cube fridge, away from the bed.
• Office of ⁦5–10⁩ employees: Premier PR92 or a similar model with a separate freezer door.
• Student or rental unit: Normande ND-140, or a fridge of about 200 liters if there is room for ⁦143 cm⁩ of height.
• Second fridge for the kitchen or service balcony: a 200-liter fridge, or a 6-drawer freezer if what you lack is freezer space.
• A couple's small kitchen: skip the small fridge and buy a ⁦340–350⁩ liter ⁦60 cm⁩ bottom freezer. See the recommendations in our best refrigerator guide.

And if you are planning a new kitchen and want the fridge to disappear inside the cabinets, learn the differences in our built-in refrigerator guide.

What not to do: do not buy a mini fridge to save electricity compared with a medium fridge, do not put a freestanding fridge inside a closed cabinet, and do not rely on a mini fridge's ice compartment as a freezer. If you need real freezing, get a fridge with a separate freezer door or a small freezer.