How to Buy a Refrigerator: The Complete Checklist
From measuring the kitchen to scheduling delivery, here's the full step-by-step checklist for buying a refrigerator without any expensive surprises.
Buying a refrigerator badly costs $1,000 to $3,000 in mistakes. The wrong size, the wrong layout, the wrong feature mix, or the wrong brand for your area's service network all add up. The right purchase is a methodical process: measure, decide capacity, pick the layout, set the budget, then shop within those constraints.
This guide walks the complete buying checklist in order. None of the steps are optional; skipping them is how households end up with fridges that don't fit, don't satisfy, or don't last.
The order of operations
The right purchase process has six steps, each gating the next:
- Measure the kitchen and the delivery path
- Calculate the capacity you actually need
- Pick the layout (French door, side-by-side, bottom freezer, top freezer)
- Set the realistic budget
- Compare specific models within budget and layout
- Schedule delivery and prep the kitchen
Most failed purchases skip step 1 (measurement) or step 2 (capacity), then discover the problem after delivery. This is preventable.
Step 1: Measure the kitchen
The measurements that matter:
Width of the cabinet opening at three heights (floor, mid-cabinet, top). Use the smallest of the three.
Height from finished floor to the underside of any upper cabinet or soffit above the fridge cavity.
Depth from the wall to the front face of the adjacent counter.
Width of every doorway, hallway, and staircase between the truck and the kitchen. The smallest of these dictates whether the doors come off during delivery.
The diagonal of any 90-degree turn in the delivery path, if one exists.
Most full-size French doors and side-by-sides need a 36-inch cabinet opening and 71+ inches of vertical clearance with 1 inch of ventilation buffer above. If your measurements come up short, look at narrow models. See How to Measure for a New Refrigerator (Don't Forget the Handles) for the full measurement guide.
Step 2: Calculate the capacity
Working rule: 4 cubic feet of fresh-food space per adult, 2 per child. Multiply by 1.2 if you cook from scratch most nights or shop weekly. Multiply by 0.8 if you eat out 3+ nights a week.
For most households of 3 to 4 people, the target is 20 to 25 cu. ft. total. For 1 to 2 person households, 14 to 18 cu. ft. is usually plenty.
Don't oversize. A half-empty fridge cycles inefficiently. See How Much Refrigerator Capacity Does Your Household Actually Need? for the analysis.
Step 3: Pick the layout
Four primary layouts to choose between.
French door: wide upper compartment with two narrow doors, freezer drawer below. Best for households that cook with wide items (sheet pans, platters, pizza boxes). Mid-tier pricing ($1,500 to $4,500 for most options).
Side-by-side: tall vertical compartments, freezer and fresh food at eye level. Best for narrow kitchens, short users, or households with light freezer use. Comparable pricing to French door.
Bottom freezer: fresh food up top, freezer drawer below, no French-door upper. Best for ergonomic daily access to fresh food. Mid-tier pricing.
Top freezer: fresh food below, freezer compartment on top. Best for budget purchases or households with heavy freezer use. Lowest pricing ($800 to $1,500 typical).
See French Door vs. Side-by-Side and Bottom Freezer vs. Top Freezer for the head-to-head analysis.
Step 4: Set the budget
Practical budget ranges:
Under $1,500: budget-tier brands (Hisense, Midea, Beko, Amana, Frigidaire entry). Top freezers and basic bottom freezers dominate this band.
$1,500 to $2,500: mid-market brands (Whirlpool, GE, LG, Samsung, KitchenAid entry). Most American households shop here. Full-feature French doors and bottom freezers.
$2,500 to $4,000: premium-mainstream brands (Samsung premium, LG premium, GE Profile, KitchenAid). Counter-depth styling and smart features become standard.
$4,000+: luxury tier (Sub-Zero, Thermador, Miele, GE Cafe, GE Monogram). Built-in installation and ultra-premium engineering.
See What $1,000, $2,000, and $3,500+ Buys You for the tier-by-tier breakdown.
Step 5: Compare specific models
Within your layout, capacity, and budget constraints, narrow to 3 to 5 specific models. Compare on:
Catalog rating. A 4.0+ rating in our database indicates mainstream reliability. Below 4.0, check the specifics; some 3.5-star models are fine, others are signal that the model has issues.
Annual kWh (energy use). The EnergyGuide label has this number. Multiply by your local rate to project annual electricity cost.
Features that matter to you. Through-door water/ice, Wi-Fi, counter-depth styling, premium finish. Don't pay for features you won't use.
Service network. Check that your area has authorized service for the brand. Major mainstream brands (Whirlpool, GE, LG, Samsung) have dense networks; budget brands and luxury brands can be thinner.
Catalog picks worth shortlisting:
For $1,000 entry-tier: Amana ART348FFF 18 cu. ft. Top Freezer top freezer or Hisense RF266C3FE 27 cu. ft. French Door French door.
For $2,000 to $2,500 mid-market: Samsung RF27CG5010 26 cu. ft. French Door or GE GFE24JGK 24 cu. ft. French Door.
For premium counter-depth: GE Cafe CQE28DMN 27 cu. ft. Bottom Freezer.
Step 6: Schedule delivery and prep
Once you've picked the model:
Time the purchase for a sales window. Major holiday weekends save 25 to 35 percent off MSRP. See The Best Time of Year to Buy a Refrigerator.
Confirm the retailer's delivery service includes installation. Some retailers deliver only; others install. Installation usually adds $100 to $300 and includes water-line connection if needed.
Verify haul-away of the old fridge. Some retailers include free haul-away; others charge $50 to $150.
Clear the path. The day before delivery, ensure the delivery route is clear. Doorways, hallways, the kitchen entry. If furniture needs to move, move it ahead of time.
Empty the old fridge. The morning of delivery, clear the old fridge into coolers or a second fridge.
See Refrigerator Delivery Day for the day-of guide.
What NOT to do
Three common mistakes worth avoiding:
Buying without measuring. The fridge that doesn't fit isn't the manufacturer's fault.
Optimizing on absolute MSRP. Street price (the actual sale price) runs 15 to 30 percent below MSRP at major retailers in most months. See MSRP vs. Street Price.
Choosing brand by recognition only. Brand cachet correlates loosely with quality; budget brands (Hisense, Midea) ship credible options that the brand-conscious buyer might dismiss.
The post-purchase steps
After delivery, two things to do.
Set the correct temperatures. 37°F in the fridge, 0°F in the freezer. The factory default isn't always optimal. See The Right Refrigerator and Freezer Temperatures.
Wait before loading. Most manufacturers recommend 4 to 24 hours for the fridge to settle and reach target temperature before loading food. See You Bought a Fridge. How Long Before You Can Load It?.
Bottom line
Buying a refrigerator well comes down to measuring the kitchen, calculating the capacity, picking the layout, setting a realistic budget, and shopping within those constraints. Skipping any step is how households end up with fridges that don't fit, don't satisfy, or cost more than necessary. The decision itself can be made in an afternoon; the preparation determines whether it's a good decision.
Frequently asked questions
What should I look for when buying a refrigerator?+
How long does buying a refrigerator take?+
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Should I buy floor models or open-box?+
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Models mentioned
RefrigeratorSelect Editorial Team
The RefrigeratorSelect editorial team writes and maintains every guide in this section. We work from the same dataset that powers our product reviews — close to 6,000 refrigerator spec sheets pulled from the U.S. ENERGY STAR public database and manufacturer documentation. We don't take payment from manufacturers, and our ratings aren't influenced by retailer affiliate relationships.