The best dorm room mini fridges for back to school

Hey, parents, college freshmen and dorm-bound students: Don’t forget to add a mini fridge to your back-to-school shopping list. This dorm room essential takes up minimal space and keeps your drinks and snacks nice and cold.

The shopping experts at CBS Essentials have curated a selection of customer-favorite mini fridges with various features, including freezers, eraser board doors for notes, skincare refrigerators with mirrors and quiet models that won’t disrupt your sleep. All these top-rated mini fridges boast four-star ratings or higher and come with tons of positive reviews.

Sticking to a dorm room budget? Many of these mini fridge options are currently on sale right now. We’ve even found quite a few under $50!

The best mini fridges for dorm rooms in 2024

Shop our selection of the best mini refrigerators for dorm rooms below. All of these cool fridge finds have a four-star rating or higher. 

Our top choice: Upstreman mini fridge with freezer

Amazon’s No. 1 mini fridge has a 4.5-star rating and it’s on sale now. The Upstreman mini fridge has a 3.2-cubic-foot capacity and features a reversible door, an adjustable thermostat, a crisper drawer, removable shelves, a freezer and an ice tray. It measures 17.4″ x 18.7″ x 33.1″.

“This mini refrigerator exceeds my expectations,” says an Amazon customer. “Lots of room and it gets very cold without putting it to the maximum. I’m very happy with this purchase. I highly recommend this item!”

Upstreman mini fridge with freezer, $140 (regularly $180)

Frigidaire eraser board mini compact dorm fridge

This 4.3-star-rated fridge includes a reversible door, two adjustable shelves, a 2L bottle storage area and a door can rack. It measures 16″ x 20″ x 30″.

We especially love that this 3.2-cubic-foot Frigidaire mini fridge has an eraser board door. Claim your fridge with your name, write your roommate notes or draw pictures on the exterior of this appliance using a dry erase marker.

Frigidaire eraser board mini compact dorm fridge, $137

Frigidaire portable mini fridge

Add a pop of color to your dorm room with this retro Frigidaire beverage and snack refrigerator. This 4.3-star-rated mini fridge can hold up to nine beverage cans, skincare and snacks. Choose from four colors: black, blue, red and pink (shown).

“Bought this for my daughter for her room. She loves it. Keeps her beauty rollers and drinks/snacks cold,” says an Amazon customer who called the appliance a “nice fridge.”

This refrigerator measures 7″ x 12″ x 10″. Note that the price may vary with color.

Frigidaire portable mini fridge, $40

Galanz one door mini fridge

This 3.3-cubic-foot refrigerator features a full-width chiller compartment, two adjustable leveling legs and a convenient reversible door. The refrigerator measures 17.48″ x 19.09″ x 33.19″.

“I really do think it’s worth the price, not even starting with the fact you get a one-year warranty so if anything goes wrong you can get a replacement,” says a Walmart reviewer. “It does just what I need to for a great price … it’s pretty big and very quiet.” 

Galanz one door mini fridge, $118 (regularly $190)

Midea refrigerator

This 2.4-cubic-foot fridge has a 4.5-star rating. It measures 20.08″ x 17.52″ x 24.8″.

“If you’re looking for a low-cost fridge perfect for your room or a mini-bar, then this is going to be perfect for you,” says an Amazon reviewer. “This fridge is great, because it is lightweight (for a mini-fridge, of course), surprisingly durable, and small enough to keep in a room while still holding plenty inside.”

Midea refrigerator, $166

Werseon mini skincare fridge

If you’re looking for a refrigerator that will keep your serums, moisturizers and face masks nice and cool, consider this mini skincare fridge. This Werseon refrigerator features a lighted makeup mirror door with a button to adjust the brightness. This tiny fridge operates quietly, reaching only 28 decibels. (Standard refrigerators operate between 32db to 47dB.)

Note that this is a very small refrigerator: It measures 8.74 x 2.64 x 10.44 Inches.

Werseon mini skincare fridge, $37