Best Undercounter Refrigerators

The best undercounter refrigerator is the one whose front, storage layout, and indoor or outdoor rating match where it will sit and what it will hold. Decide between a door, drawers, or a glass front first, then check whether the spot is indoors or out, because those two choices narrow the field faster than any spec sheet.

Door, drawer, or glass front

A door model is the most storage for the width. Sub-Zero's DEU2450R, for example, holds a stationary shelf, two adjustable shelves, two door shelves, and a clear storage drawer in 5.4 cubic feet. It suits a pantry, a bar, or a second food zone where you load a lot at once.

Drawers trade a little capacity for reach. You pull the drawer out and look down into it, so nothing hides at the back of a shelf. Perlick's G5 24-inch refrigerator drawers (G5RD24SC) hold 4.9 cubic feet, a bit less than a door model of the same size. Drawers are the easier choice in an island or near a cooktop, where a door swinging into a walkway gets in the way.

A glass front shows what's inside, which is the point for a beverage center or wine unit and a drawback for groceries. Glass also keeps the unit from reading as cabinetry. If you want the refrigerator to disappear, choose a solid panel-ready door or drawers. Sub-Zero says its undercounter line comes in stainless or panel-ready finishes, and its indoor designer models accept a custom panel or a stainless accessory panel; the outdoor model takes outdoor-rated stainless panels.

Beverage, food, or wine

What you plan to store decides the interior.

• Food

  A general refrigerator with shelves and a clear storage drawer, like the DEU2450R, handles produce, dairy, and leftovers near a second sink or a breakfast station.

• Beverages

  A beverage center is shelved for cans and bottles. Sub-Zero's DEU2450BG has a full-extension upright beverage shelf, a full-extension multipurpose shelf, two adjustable glass shelves, and room for 8 bottles of wine in 5.5 cubic feet.

• Wine

  A dedicated wine unit holds bottles on racks at cellar temperatures. Marvel and True Residential both build 24-inch dual-zone wine cabinets for two temperatures in one unit.

• A wide range of uses

  Some units cover more than one job. U-Line lists a temperature range of 34 to 70°F for its URRE424. Azure lists 34 to 43°F for its Refrigerator 2.0, a refrigerator range.

Ice is its own appliance. A dedicated ice machine, such as the 15-inch units from Marvel and Sub-Zero, needs a drain as well as power and water. Makers sell gravity-drain and pump versions: Marvel offers its 15-inch outdoor clear ice machine with a gravity drain (MOCL215) or with a pump (MOCP215), and Sub-Zero sells its 15-inch Designer undercounter ice maker (DEU1550) with or without a pump. If there's no floor drain below the island, plan on the pump.

Indoor or outdoor-rated

An indoor unit and an outdoor unit can look alike, and they aren't interchangeable. Marvel, for example, says its outdoor models use more robust components that can withstand humidity and temperature swings. Each maker states the rating model by model, so check the exact model number.

• Sub-Zero sells the DEU2450RO as an outdoor version of its 24-inch refrigerator. It takes outdoor-rated stainless panels and calls for a GFCI receptacle. On its indoor models, Sub-Zero says a GFCI is not recommended and may interrupt operation. That difference alone tells you not to move an indoor unit outside.
• True Residential says all of its undercounter models are UL rated for outdoor use, including its glass door refrigerator, and builds them with 300-series stainless inside and out.
• Perlick lists its G5 refrigerator drawers as designed for indoor and outdoor use, for spots like patios and rooftop terraces.
• Marvel builds an Outdoor Collection of refrigerators, refrigerated drawers, beverage dispensers, and ice machines in stainless steel, and says it is salt spray tested for corrosion resistance. Marvel also says the collection is intended for a covered outdoor setting, a useful reminder that an outdoor rating doesn't mean full sun and rain.
• U-Line sells an Outdoor collection with 15- and 24-inch refrigerators and 24-inch refrigerator drawers, and describes its URRE424 as made for indoor and outdoor spaces.
• Azure lists its 24-inch Refrigerator 2.0 (A224R-S) for indoor or outdoor use.

For more on building out the patio, see planning a covered outdoor kitchen.

What an island gives up

An island is the most common place for an undercounter refrigerator, and it's where the trade-offs show. Every inch the refrigerator takes is an inch of drawer you don't get back. A 24-inch unit replaces a 24-inch drawer base, so decide which storage you'd miss least.

The unit also needs things a drawer base doesn't.

• A dedicated circuit

  Sub-Zero calls for a 115-volt, 15-amp dedicated circuit with a 3-prong grounding receptacle. In an island, plan the circuit's route before the floor and cabinets are finished. Have a licensed electrician confirm the circuit and receptacle location against your local building department's requirements. The same rough-in logic applies to full-size units; see what a built-in opening needs for power and water.

• Room to breathe

  A built-in unit has to move air where the cabinetry leaves room for it. Azure lists a stainless front bottom vent on its Refrigerator 2.0, and True Residential says its hinge design allows integrated installation. Don't build a freestanding compact refrigerator into cabinetry unless its maker approves that installation.

• Finished returns

  Sub-Zero's design guide calls for a 24-inch opening, 34 1/2 inches high, with a minimum 3 1/2-inch finished return on all sides, since the returns show. It also notes the unit is 23 1/8 inches deep before the panel, so allow for panel thickness.

• Pairs

  If two units sit side by side, Sub-Zero says a dual installation kit may be required and otherwise recommends a 2-inch filler strip between them. When a door model sits next to a drawer model, it notes the door's face frame sits about 1/16 inch proud of the drawers, visible only when both are open.

• Height

  If the counter is at accessible height, look for ADA versions. Sub-Zero's DEU2450R/ADA is 32 1/2 inches high with 5.0 cubic feet, and True Residential, Perlick, and U-Line also build ADA-height units.

The undercounter lines we carry

Sub-Zero builds its undercounter line in five widths, with designer models that accept custom panels or stainless panels and handles to match Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove appliances. Its owner's app sends door-ajar alerts and remote service diagnostics.

U-Line builds its line in widths from 15 to 36 inches across several collections, including an Outdoor series and ADA-height models. The URRE424 has three full-extension bins and LED lighting in 30 color choices.

Marvel builds refrigerators, refrigerated drawers, beverage centers, wine units, freezers, and ice machines across its Essential, Professional, Classic, Outdoor, and Low Profile collections.

Perlick builds its G5 Collection drawers panel-ready for custom millwork or Perlick stainless panels, and cools them with what Perlick calls RAPIDcool technology.

True Residential builds 15- and 24-inch undercounter refrigerators, wine cabinets, and beverage dispensers, 24-inch drawers and freezers, and 15-inch clear ice machines, all UL rated for outdoor use according to True.

Azure builds undercounter refrigerators, beverage centers, and wine centers. Its Refrigerator 2.0 holds 5.6 cubic feet with three adjustable glass shelves and a field-reversible door.

Scotsman builds residential ice machines. Its Brilliance SRC065 cuber is a 15-inch undercounter model that Scotsman lists as indoor and outdoor rated. Ask us for current spec sheets if one is on your list.

For a full-size refrigerator, see our full-height built-in refrigerator lines and the full-height panel-ready refrigerator guide. For what happens after the order, see delivery and installation for undercounter units. Our other buying guides are collected on all of our appliance guides.

Questions to ask in the showroom

• Will this unit hold food, drinks, or wine, and does its temperature range fit?
• Is the spot indoors, covered outdoors, or fully exposed, and is this model rated for it?
• Door, drawers, or glass: which one works with the walkway in front of it?
• Is there a dedicated circuit where the maker wants the receptacle, and does it need a GFCI?
• If it's an ice machine, is there a floor drain, or do I need the pump version?
• What panel thickness will my cabinet maker use, and how does it change the opening depth?

Next steps in the Sacramento area

If True Residential is on your list, start with our page on True Residential for Sacramento-area kitchens. For any of these lines, bring your island or bar drawings and the opening measurements to the Roseville showroom, and we'll pull the current spec sheets with you before anything is ordered.