Best Refrigerators Without a Water Dispenser or an Icemaker
These top-rated refrigerators maximize storage space and forgo features that tend to break
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Refrigerators with a built-in water dispenser, a water and ice dispenser, or an icemaker are popular, but those features often underperform or are downright faulty. In our latest surveys—conducted between 2015 and 2025—Consumer Reports found that nearly 1 in 5 units with icemakers have had problems with the refrigerator not making ice.
With this in mind, you might want to forgo the icemaker and water dispenser altogether. While that may sound like a simple solution, we’ve found that it can actually be quite difficult. Most refrigerators on the market have at least an icemaker. But if you don’t care about the features, it’s still worth making the effort to find a model without either. That extra effort has another advantage, too.
- Best Refrigerators Without Water and Ice Dispensers or an Icemaker: Top-Freezers Bottom-Freezers Side-by-Sides French-Doors
- How CR Tests Refrigerators
CR's testers collect millions of temperature readings on every refrigerator in our labs.
Best Top-Freezer Refrigerators Without a Water and Ice Dispenser or an Icemaker
These top-freezer refrigerators from Samsung and LG come without a water dispenser, an ice dispenser, or an icemaker.
Best Bottom-Freezer Refrigerators Without a Water and Ice Dispenser or an Icemaker
These bottom-freezer refrigerators from Miele and Amana come without a water dispenser, an ice dispenser, or an icemaker.
Best French-Door Refrigerators Without a Water and Ice Dispenser or an Icemaker
These French-door refrigerators from Frigidaire and Midea come without a water dispenser, an ice dispenser, or an icemaker.
Best Side-by-Side Refrigerators Without a Water and Ice Dispenser or an Icemaker
These side-by-side refrigerators from Forno and Frigidaire come without a water dispenser, an ice dispenser, or an icemaker.
How CR Tests Refrigerators
In CR’s refrigerator lab, our engineers wire up models with thermocouples and monitor them for more than a month in a climate-controlled chamber. They collect more than 5.4 million temperature readings for each model to detect warm and cold spots—for CR’s temperature-uniformity test—and determine which refrigerators keep food fresh longer.
In addition, we survey thousands of Consumer Reports members to create predicted reliability and owner satisfaction ratings. All this data informs our overall refrigerator ratings, which include more than 300 models.
For more information on CR’s evaluation process, see how we test refrigerators. To learn more about the different types of refrigerator configurations, see our refrigerator buying guide. And for our highest-rated picks across categories—including French-door refrigerators—look at our guide to the best refrigerators of the year.
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