Comparing the Best High-End Refrigerator Brands 2024

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In North American homes, the refrigerator may be the most critical appliance, as it plays a central role in daily life. The right refrigerator should reliably improve the functionality and style of a household's kitchen. Many brands claim to be “high-end”, but what does that mean, and is investing in a high-end refrigerator worth it?

This week at Appliance Educator, we’re comparing the refrigeration category of four high-end appliance brands—ZLINE, Viking, Café, and Thermador—to help you find the best choice for your kitchen.

High-end refrigerator in a luxury kitchen.

A ZLINE RSM Refrigerator with champagne bronze accents

What makes a refrigerator high-end?

Most high-end refrigerators are distinguished by superior performance, advanced features, aesthetic appeal, and, more often than not, premium pricing. High-end refrigerators are engineered to offer unparalleled capabilities and aesthetic design. They might come equipped with smart technologies, flexible storage solutions, and luxurious finishes that blend with kitchen designs of all styles.

What is the Best High-End Refrigerator for You?

Investing in a high-end refrigerator means committing to long-term durability, sophisticated style, and cutting-edge convenience. So how do you choose the right high-end refrigerator for your needs?

When trying to find the best high-end refrigerator here at Appliance Educator, we look at four key aspects to determine if the refrigerator is right for what we need.

  1. Available Sizes: Considering available sizes and capacity when looking at high-end refrigerator brands is crucial because it ensures the appliance fits seamlessly into your kitchen layout while meeting your household's specific storage needs.

  2. Features: Considering available features when selecting high-end refrigerator brands is essential because these features directly impact the refrigerator's functionality, convenience, and performance, tailored to your lifestyle.

  3. Design: Considering appearance and available styles when choosing high-end refrigerator brands is important because the refrigerator is a prominent fixture in your kitchen, influencing the overall aesthetic and ambiance of the space.

  4. Pricepoint: Considering the price point when evaluating high-end refrigerator brands is crucial because it ensures you balance your budget with the features and quality you require.

REFRIGERATOR Sizes

One of the most common refrigerator sizes is 36 inches because it is ideal for households looking for a balance of space and performance. For high-end refrigerator brands, 36-inches is just where they get started.

All four of these high-end brands have refrigerators in categories that fall outside of what most people would consider for a primary refrigerator like wine coolers, beverage fridges, and drawer refrigerators, so for this comparison, we’ll just be looking at the sizes of refrigeration units that could, theoretically, function as the primary refrigeration unit in a home.

Available Refrigerator Sizes

  • ZLINE: 30”, 36”, 60”

  • Viking: 24”, 30”, 36”, 42”, 48”

  • Café: 33”, 36”, 42”, 48”

  • Thermador: 18”, 24”, 30”, 36”, 42”, 48”

If you’re looking for the biggest high-end refrigerator, ZLINE’s 60-inch built-in RBIV-60 provides 32.2 cu. ft. of storage space with a unique side-by-side design that can maintain two separate temperatures.

On the other hand, Thermador’s 18-inch built-in column all-refrigerator features an ice and water dispenser, while Viking and Café’s smallest refrigeration units are limited to wine coolers and freezers.

Best Size Offerings: ZLINE, honorable mention Thermador

REFRIGERATOR FEATURES

There’s no shortage of incredible features in the world of high-end refrigeration. From WiFi connectivity to theater LED lighting, these premium features can enhance how you use your refrigerator. To list all the available refrigeration features across each of these four brands would clutter up this post, so we’ll stay focused on our favorite available features.

Top Available Refrigerator Features

  • ZLINE: Dual Ice Makers, Super Cool, Super Freeze, Fingerprint Resistant

  • Viking: Theater LED Lighting, Bluezone® Fresh Preservation, Quiet Compressor

  • Café: Fully Convertible Zone, AutoFill Pitcher, LED Light Wall, WiFi

  • Thermador: WiFi, Theater Lighting, ThermaFlex™ Drawer, Color Touchscreen

Thermador’s unique ThermaFlex™ Drawer and Café’s fully convertible zone can adjust from freezer space for ice cream to chilled space for meat (and everything in between) with the touch of a button. This added space comes in handy if you “accidentally” bring home too much ice cream one day, making Thermador and Café the winners of the features category in our opinion.

Ultimately, a feature one person finds indispensable on a refrigerator might never be used by another. For example, the dual ice makers on ZLINE’s RSM line of standard-depth refrigerators are great for people who use a lot of ice and/or like to make blended drinks at home. 

Best Features: Thermador and Café

REFRIGERATOR DESIGN

Modern refrigerators are almost always available in a variation of white or stainless steel. High-end refrigerator brands go above and beyond when it comes to aesthetics and finish options to make sure their refrigerators look great in the kitchen.

The design of a high-end refrigerator is distinctive, and it is where these brands distinguish themselves as luxury with timeless and classy aesthetic characteristics that are immediately recognizable.

Available Refrigerator Finishes

  • ZLINE: Stainless Steel, White Matte, DuraSnow® Stainless Steel, Black Stainless Steel, Autograph Edition, Panel Ready

  • Viking: Stainless Steel, White x2, Blue x3, Gray x3, Green x2, Red x3, Black, Slate, Silver, Bisque, Vanilla, Panel Ready

  • Café: Stainless Steel, Matte White, Platinum Glass, Matte Black

  • Thermador: Stainless Steel, Masterpiece® Stainless Steel, Panel Ready

Viking offers an extensive array of panel color options that aren’t found on other brands, so many in fact that we’re not sure if we counted them all. However, Viking doesn’t have custom handle colors.

ZLINE’s exclusive DuraSnow® Stainless Steel and Thermador’s exclusive Masterpiece® Stainless Steel both play on the timeless appeal of stainless steel, the difference being that DuraSnow® is available as an entire finish while Masterpiece® is available as a handle finish.

With handle customization in mind, Café offers several premium handle colors that pair exceptionally well with their finish options, including brushed bronze, brushed brass, and flat black. Meanwhile, ZLINE’s Autograph Edition handles are available in polished gold, champagne bronze, and matte black.

ZLINE, Viking, and Thermador also allow for the installation of custom panels with their panel-ready options. A custom panel allows the refrigerator to blend seamlessly with the rest of the kitchen design, or stand out with a bold pop of color, and is an option notably lacking on Café’s full-size refrigerators.

All of these high-end brands deliver on aesthetics and style and this is where they definitively separate themselves from everyday refrigerator brands. That said, Viking has a clear advantage on color options, with ZLINE a close second thanks to their color options as well as Autograph Edition handles.

Best Design: Viking, honorable mention ZLINE

REFRIGERATOR PRICEPOINT

Finding the right size refrigerator, with the right features, that looks great in your kitchen might be easy, but none of that matters if the price isn’t right.

Refrigerator prices vary greatly depending on the configuration of the refrigerator, even within the same brand. To try and provide an accurate comparison of pricing, we’ll look at the starting price of two common refrigerator configurations, the 36-inch freestanding French door with bottom freezer(s), and the 36-inch built-in with bottom freezer(s), both in stainless steel.

Refrigerator Pricepoint

  • ZLINE: 36” Freestanding - $3,300 | 36” Built-in - $8,800

  • Viking*: 36” Freestanding $4,150 | 36” Built-in - $12,600

  • Café: 36” Freestanding - $3,700 | 36” Built-in $10,000

  • Thermador: 36” Freestanding - $5,000 | 36” Built-in - $11,500

*Pricing from Best Buy.

Close competition between high-end refrigerator brands makes it difficult to distinguish a clear winner in categories such as size, features, and aesthetics, but when it comes to pricing, ZLINE is the decisive winner.

You can expect to pay a few hundred dollars more for a freestanding Café, and over a thousand more for a built-in Café, than you would for a ZLINE. Viking and Thermador both start over $4,000 for a freestanding refrigerator and over $11,000 for a built-in.

Best Pricepoint: ZLINE

Built-in refrigerator with custom wood panels in a kitchen

ZLINE built-in refrigerator with custom wood panels

Are High-End Refrigerators Worth It?

We are frequently asked if high-end refrigerators are worth it. The short answer is yes, high-end refrigerators are worth it, and investing in one is a decision that pays off in terms of convenience, performance, and long-term satisfaction.

We recommend firmly establishing your budget, and seeking out the brands that offer a combination of the features and style you want at the best value from trustworthy retailers.

By taking the factors we’ve laid out in this guide into consideration when it comes to high-end refrigerators, you’ve been certified Appliance Educated. Thanks for reading!

You can check out the brands we talked about in this week’s blog down below!

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