The best fridges with water and ice dispensers
Maybe it’s just where we grew up, but fridges with ice and water dispensers in the door were the height of luxury when we were kids. Press a button and like magic you’d have ice-cold water or a glass full of clinking ice cubes.
Owning one of these fridges represented having Made It In Life – if you had one, you’d reached the zenith of coolness (in more ways than one).
Owning a fridge with an ice and water dispenser represented having Made It In Life
Fast forward to adulthood and owning a fridge with a water and ice dispenser is still a somewhat-achievable symbol of middle-class affluence that many of us aspire to. Plus, they’re genuinely quite handy.
Here’s what you need to know about fridges with water and ice dispensers. Plus, exclusively for CHOICE members, we’ll reveal which ones are worth the money.
If you want to find out which fridges with ice and water dispensers come out on top in our tests, join CHOICE to get instant access to all of our expert, independent reviews.
If you’re already a member and you just want to see the best products, you can jump straight to the results now.
How much do I need to spend on a fridge with an ice or water dispenser?
Most fridges with ice and water dispensers are either French-door or side-by-side models. If this is a feature you’re fantasising about, you’ll already be looking at the more expensive end of the market.
And you will inevitably pay more for a fridge with fancy features – no surprises there.
A fridge with a water dispenser is likely to cost you a minimum of $1299 for a freezer-on-bottom model, and as much as $4500+ for a French-door fridge. Add in an ice dispenser as well and costs goes up even further: $2599 for a side-by-side model and over $5000 for a French-door fridge.
Do you want to give up the freezer space?
Those dispensers have to fit somewhere, and they’ll eat into the usable storage space in your fridge or freezer.
An ice dispenser can take up almost 30% of your freezer space. For side-by-side fridges, this is an especially big issue because the freezer space is already quite narrow.
Ice trays aren’t that difficult to use: ask yourself whether an ice dispenser is actually a must-have.
Ice trays aren’t that difficult to use: ask yourself whether an ice dispenser is actually a must-have
Of course, if you fancy yourself as a home bartender, an ice dispenser may be a must-have for you.
If you want to get really fancy, you can now get fridges that make ‘craft ice’ – those huge spheres of ice you get in overpriced cocktails at trendy bars. LG makes these fridges, and some Samsung fridges make ice cubes in two different sizes.
Can’t plumb?
Fridges with these dispensers need to get their water from somewhere. Most need to be hooked up to the plumbing, which pretty well rules them out for renters. But some models can work around this.
We’re seeing more and more fridges with water and ice dispensers that don’t require plumbing. Instead, they have an internal water reservoir that does the same thing. You just need to remember to top it up.
These models typically offer only water or ice. Some can do both, but that’s not as common. We note which fridges offer these features without plumbing in our test results. Only one of the models in our list of best performers below doesn’t require plumbing.
Tight on space? Options may be limited.
You can find a regular-sized fridge with a water dispenser, but they’re less common than French-door or side-by-side styles.
In our entire fridges review of more than 108 products, we currently have 14 fridges with both ice and water dispensers, 11 that can only deliver chilled water and three that can make ice (but not deliver chilled water).
Of those with water dispensers, only five are single width (freezer-on-top or freezer-on-bottom style), and they don’t score as well the larger fridges. One of the three ice-only fridges is single width as well.
And if you’re looking for an ice-dispensing fridge for a small space, you’ll have even fewer options. Some freezer-on-top or freezer-on-bottom style fridges do come with an ice drawer, which is a good space-saving alternative that still allows you fast access to plenty of ice.
On the upside, single-width fridges cost less to run than French-door or side-by-side fridges. The 10-year running costs for French-door fridges in our current test range from $1280 to $2276.
By comparison, the 10-year running costs for top- or bottom-mount fridges in our current test range from $620 to $1560.
Australia’s best fridge brand
Which brand of fridge should you buy? By analysing our test results and taking member feedback into consideration, we’ve identified the best brands of the year.
Here’s how the brands compare.
Best fridge brand 2025: Mitsubishi Electric
Best fridge brand 2025 scores:
- Mitsubishi Electric – 78%
- LG – 75%
- Samsung – 74%
- Fisher & Paykel – 71%
- Westinghouse – 71%
The Best Brand Fridge is based on our test results for fridges over the past seven years, as well as customer satisfaction and reliability information submitted by CHOICE members on their experience with the brand.
The recommendation is given to companies with a clear lead over their competitors during the test period, and no more than two recommendations are given during each period.
Best Brand eligibility is tough – to be considered, we must have tested a minimum of five models, and a brand must have received a minimum of 50 responses to the CHOICE member survey. Additionally, brands must score a minimum of 60% and be above the average score for testing, reliability and satisfaction for consideration.
The following criteria determines the Best Brand recommendation.
- Average test score – 40%
- Brand reliability – 30%
- Customer satisfaction – 20%
- Recommended ratio – 10%
Average test score
This measures the average score for all fridge models tested in the CHOICE labs for each brand. We assess temperature fluctuations (the amount the temperatures swing as the compressor stops and starts) since an even temperature is an important factor in maintaining food quality.
We also check that there’s an appropriate range of temperatures in the fresh food and freezer compartments at the same time, and check how uniform the temperature is throughout each compartment. We measure the effect on the fridge and freezer temperatures when the external temperature changes (ambient change), such as from summer to winter.
And because many readers tell us they’ve only changed their fridge controls once (to the recommended setting), we assess the temperatures on this setting. If no recommendation is given, we assess the factory or mid setting.
Brand reliability
Our CHOICE customer insights team surveyed 1200 members about whether they’ve run into any problems with their fridge in the previous 12 months.
Customer satisfaction
Our survey also asks how satisfied members are with their fridge. So even if a fridge has a fault after six months, it’s still possible for it to have a high satisfaction score – perhaps the company has customer service that goes beyond expectations, or the product is simply too good, despite some performance quirks.
Recommended ratio
This calculates the percentage of the fridges that CHOICE recommends for each brand. The greater the number of models that earn a recommendation, the higher the recommended ratio score. In order to be recommended, a fridge must earn a test score of at least 75% overall and at least 60% for all aspects of temperature performance (except the recommended setting score).
- 2024: Mitsubishi Electric
- 2023: LG & Mitsubishi Electric
- 2022: LG & Mitsubishi Electric
- 2021: Mitsubishi Electric
- 2020: Fisher & Paykel
- 2019: Fisher & Paykel
- 2018: Fisher & Paykel
- 2017: Fisher & Paykel
- 2016: Fisher & Paykel
Best fridge brand 2025: Mitsubishi Electric
Best fridge brand 2025 scores
- Mitsubishi Electric – 78%
- LG – 75%
- Samsung – 74%
- Fisher & Paykel – 71%
- Westinghouse – 71%
Average test score
- Mitsubishi Electric – 73%
- LG – 73%
- Fisher & Paykel – 68%
- Samsung – 71%
- Westinghouse – 67%
Reliability score
- Mitsubishi Electric – 89%
- LG – 81%
- Fisher & Paykel – 84%
- Samsung – 82%
- Westinghouse – 83%
Satisfaction score
- Mitsubishi Electric – 90%
- LG – 86%
- Fisher & Paykel – 86%
- Samsung – 87%
- Westinghouse – 88%
Models tested
- Mitsubishi Electric – 29
- LG – 57
- Fisher & Paykel – 21
- Samsung – 27
- Westinghouse – 44
Recommended models
- Mitsubishi Electric – 13
- LG – 23
- Fisher & Paykel – 4
- Samsung – 10
- Westinghouse – 6
Recommended ratio
- Mitsubishi Electric – 45%
- LG – 40%
- Fisher & Paykel – 19%
- Samsung – 37%
- Westinghouse – 14%
What are the best fridges with water and ice dispensers?
We independently test and review dozens of new fridges each year in our onsite labs, and our experts know exactly what to look for to help you find the best product.
Our detailed fridge testing data is available exclusively for CHOICE members. If you’re not yet a member, join CHOICE to get instant access to all of our expert, independent reviews, from fridges and freezers, toasters and TVs, kettles and cots, and more.
And don’t forget to measure your space – you don’t want to find that your new fridge won’t fit in your kitchen! Our fridge size and dimensions guide is a good place to start, plus our reviews list each fridge’s dimensions.
