Consumer Reports Says This South Korean Appliance Company Makes The Most Reliable Top-Freezer Refrigerator In 2026

What's a kitchen without a refrigerator? We depend on them daily to keep produce and dairy products fresh, and turn to freezers for storing everything from ice (and ice cream) to stashing leftovers — though for long-term storage, you may want a deep freezer instead. But according to a recent survey by Consumer Reports, in which members shared insight on over 85,000 refrigerators purchased since 2016, nearly half of respondents experienced a problem like a broken ice maker or compressor. It's enough to make a shopper look for a fridge with fewer bells and whistles (no built-in cameras or fancy water filters, please!). While a top-freezer model is decidedly old-school, it's a great refrigerator choice for shoppers on a budget. As for which brand proves to be the most reliable, Consumer Reports put models produced by the South Korean appliance company LG firmly at the top of the list.

Consumer Reports' verdict is based on the brand's predicted reliability and owner satisfaction scores, which come from member surveys and consumers' personal experiences with a product. LG's top-freezer refrigerators received the highest predicted reliability score from customers, and ranked relatively well in owner satisfaction when compared to other brands. If you're currently in the market for a top-freezer refrigerator, Consumer Reports' member insights suggest that shopping for an LG model is a good bet.

In addition to surveying members and pinpointing the best times of year to shop for appliances, Consumer Reports also offers in-depth ratings based on product performance testing. These results are used alongside member survey results to determine the overall ratings of products on the Consumer Reports website.

In these more detailed ratings, two LG top-freezer refrigerators ranked highest in their class. The 30-inch wide LG LTCS20030S was the top-ranking top-freezer refrigerator between 29- and 30-inches wide, meanwhile the 33-inch wide LG LRTLS2403S was the highest-ranked pick for fridges over 31-inches wide. If you need something narrower than 29 inches, Consumer Reports gave the top two spots in the 28-inch and narrower category to Samsung models, with an LG option coming in a respectable third place. 

All LG top-freezer refrigerators recommended by Consumer Reports received high marks for thermostat performance, temperature uniformity, and energy efficiency. Samsung did have the second-highest predicted reliability score based on member survey data, so if you are in the market for a narrower refrigerator with a top-freezer, you can't go wrong with either Samsung or LG.