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The best bottom-mount fridges

Tips to help you find the best fridge-on-top model for your needs, plus the highest scoring fridges from our lab tests.

which are the best fridges
Last updated: 27 June 2025

Sick of bending down every time you grab the milk? 

A bottom-mount fridge bends the rules of fridge design and turns the traditional 'freezer on top, fridge on the bottom' form on its head (quite literally) to make it easier to grab those fridge faves that you reach for multiple times a day.

A bottom-mount fridge makes it easier to grab fridge faves that you reach for multiple times a day

If you're still not sold on flipping the script fridge-wise, our resident refrigeration expert talks top features of bottom mounts, and more importantly, which ones to avoid.

Plus, for CHOICE members only, we'll reveal the four best bottom-mount fridges from our rigorous lab testing. 

If you want to find out which bottom-mount fridge comes out on top, 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.

Why buy a bottom-mount fridge?

It's probably important to acknowledge upfront that the term 'bottom-mount fridge' may be a bit confusing.

It really means a fridge with a bottom-mounted freezer – so the fridge on top, freezer on the bottom – but for better or worse, that's been shortened to 'bottom-mount fridge'.

Now, if you grew up with the old-fashioned freezer-on-top fridges, you might be wondering what the point is of a fridge with a freezer on the bottom. Well, it's all about convenience.

Think about how many times a day you open your fridge to get out the milk, veggies, cheese and the like. 

How many times do you open the freezer? Nowhere near as many, right?

In a bottom-mount fridge, the things you reach for most are much closer to eye level, making them easier to find and pick up.

The things you reach for most are much closer to eye level, making them easier to find and pick up

You'll pay slightly more for a bottom-mount fridge – both to purchase and to run – but it's a small price to pay for the convenience.

Bottom- and top-mount fridges tend to have around the same freezer capacity. But freezers on the bottom are generally built with sliding drawers, whereas freezers up the top generally have shelves, which can make it harder to access frozen goods buried deep at the back of the freezer.

Ultimately, which one is best comes down to personal preference.

smeg_fab32rpb5au

This $4000 Smeg may appeal if you love the retro look, but not if you also like your food fresh.

The bottom-mount fridge not to buy

Have your heart set on a retro-style fridge? 

Despite its good looks, we recommend you avoid the Smeg FAB32RPB5AU – a sibling of the worst fridge to ever come through our labs, the Smeg FAB38RCRAU

The older FAB38 model received a CHOICE Expert Rating of 22% overall and a score of 0% for temperature stability. (Yes, zero percent).

Fortunately it's been discontinued since we named and shamed it, but Smeg's follow-up fridge is another flop.

For a cool $4290, the FAB32 is marginally better than its predecessor – but not by much. 

It rated 43% overall, but was also roasted by our experts, scoring 0% for temperature stability due to its tendency to fluctuate by a huge 8.4°C in the fresh food compartment. 

It was roasted by our experts due to its tendency to fluctuate by a huge 8.4°C

And with a total capacity of just 331L, that's a heck of a lot to pay for a small fridge that won't keep your food fresh. 

If you're looking for a similarly sized fridge that'll actually do the job, check our list of expert-recommended models below. 

What are the best bottom-mount fridges?

The sheer range of fridges on the market can make it hard to pick the right one – but that's where we come in.

Only members can access our detailed fridge testing data. If you're not yet a member, join CHOICE to get instant access to all of our expert, independent reviews.

Or log in to unlock this article and find out which bottom-mount fridges we rate as the pick of the bunch.

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. 

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Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.

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lg gb 455wl

LG GB-455WL.

LG GB-455WL

  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 81% (Recommended)
  • Total volume: 420L (medium)
  • Price: $1199

If excellent temperature stability is what you're after, this fridge delivers the goods: it scored 90% on our temperature stability test, which means it'll keep your ice cream frozen and your fresh food fresh. 

It also performed well in terms of its noise level, temperature range and ability to keep food fresh for longer. 

The only downside our testers could find is that it doesn't have a chiller — but aside from that, it's a winner.

Read the full LG GB-455WL review.

electrolux ebe4302sd

There's not much separating this Electrolux from the LG; they share the top spot for bottom-mount fridges.

Electrolux EBE4302SD

  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 81% (Recommended)
  • Total volume: 425L (medium)
  • Price: $1499

A few things separate this Electrolux from the LG above: the price, the finish (this one is stainless steel), the temperature evenness, and how well they respond to changes in room temperature.

In all other aspects of performance, they're virtually on par.

The Electrolux is only rated as 'OK' for temperature evenness, which means it has warmer and cooler spots throughout, whereas the LG is rated as 'Good' for this metric, scoring just five percentage points higher, so there's not much between them.

And this Electrolux model responds better to external temperature changes (for instance, the change from winter to summer) than the LG. (Although our experts recommend that you always check and adjust your fridge temperature each season to make sure it's running at its best).

It'll cost you less to run over 10 years, due to its lower energy consumption, so you might recoup the difference in purchase price (it's only $300 more expensive, and you may be able to pick it up cheaper in seasonal sales).

Both LG and Electrolux rate well in our Best Brand scores, which cover customer satisfaction, reliability, average test scores, and more, so either of these fridges is a great buy.

Read the full Electrolux EBE4302SD review.

fisher paykel rf372brpx6

Fisher & Paykel RF372BRPX6.

Fisher & Paykel RF372BRPX6

  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 77% (Recommended)
  • Total volume: 351L (small)
  • Price: $2199

This fridge is one of the more expensive of all the bottom-mount fridges we've tested, especially for its size.

But if it's within your budget and it ticks all the boxes in terms of aesthetics, space and layout, then it's a good buy.

It scored well across all of our tests, particularly its performance straight out of the box and how well it maintains its temperature when the outside temperature changes – so it won't let you down when things heat up in summer.

Our experts found the temperatures throughout the fridge were nice and even, so you won't have to worry about warm spots, and it handles hot food well, cooling it down quickly.

While there's no question that it's a great fridge, there are several more affordable similar-sized models that didn't quite make the cutoff to be recommended by our experts, but are still worth considering. 

But if you have your heart set on a small stainless steel fridge, this is the best one to buy.

Read the full Fisher & Paykel RF372BRPX6 review.

Models worth considering

We recommend fridges that score 75% and above, and at least 60% for all aspects of temperature performance except the recommended setting score. (We exclude this because you can change the settings to get better performance.)

These fridges didn't quite make the cut to be recommended by our experts, but they're still solid performers that are worth a look. 

The fridges in our list above aren't huge, so if you need something bigger, the models listed below are good options. 

Or if you're planning to go large, you could check which extra-large fridges our experts recommend and the best French-door fridges from our tests. (These articles are both exclusive to CHOICE members.)

lg gb 455uple

LG GB-455UPLE.

LG GB-455UPLE

  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 80%
  • Total volume: 454L (large)
  • Price: $999

Chiq CBM395NBS6E

  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 79%
  • Total volume: 396L (medium)
  • Price: $1099

Westinghouse WBE5300SC

  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 78%
  • Total volume: 496L (large)
  • Price: $1699

Mitsubishi MR-HS421EX-SDS-A

  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 77%
  • Total volume: 421L (medium)
  • Price: $2349

Westinghouse WBE4302WC

  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 76%
  • Total volume: 425L (medium)
  • Price: $1549

Hisense HRBM503S

  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 75%
  • Total volume: 503L (large)
  • Price: $1099

Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.