Refrigerators may be a common household appliance, but there’s a difference between the common fridge, built and bought as a necessity, and the luxury monstrosities on this list. We’re not interested in your discount appliance vendor’s overstock! We want to get into the best of the best, the absolute most expensive refrigerators that money can buy.
Continue reading to learn about the 8 most expensive fridges and the brands that dared to build them.
- Dacor Contemporary DAREFR95
- Column Refrigerator & Freezer Set
- True Refrigerator STR2RRT89
- Viking 7 Series VIREFR10
- Continental Refrigerator DL3RFF-SS-PT
- Traulsen RHT332WPUT-FHG
- Meneghini La Cambusa Fridge
- The Hero of Two Worlds Refrigerator
Region: United States (California)
Grade of Card: Dacor
photo source: AJM
This fridge, the Dacor Contemporary, is a 36-inch refrigerator plus a 36-inch freezer, pristinely rendered in graphite stainless steel. You can own this fridge for $18,394, and you’ll be getting more than an efficient way to store your veggies.
This fridge comes stocked with modern conveniences, such as a smart refrigerator column that includes remote monitoring through an internal camera and Wi-Fi connectivity. Door Assist ensures that the fridge opens and closes with little effort. The “SteelCool” interior is exactly what it sounds like – a way to use glorious stainless steel to keep everything perfect and cold.
Did you know?
Dacor was originally founded in 1965 by Stephen M. Joseph and owned for three generations by the Joseph family. Today, starting in 2016, it’s actually a subsidiary of Samsung, basically their kitchen appliance manufacturer and distributer. It produces not only fridges but ovens, dishwashers, microwaves, grills, cooktops, and more.
Region: United States (Wisconsin)
Grade of Card: Perlick
photo source: AJM
The Column Refrigerator & Freezer Set is a 24-inch fridge rendered in stainless steel with a little something extra for the wine connoisseurs out there.
First, let’s talk about the fridge. It’s a 24-inch column with QuatroCool technology, a touchscreen control panel so you can micromanage your valuable contents, and a dual chamber air filtration system to keep things fresh for longer.
In addition to these conveniences, Perlick’s priciest fridge also comes with a hinged glass door on the side that contains a 24-inch wine reserve fridge. It has a capacity of 94 bottles and a display shelf behind the glass for extra bragging rights. Owning this fridge will cost $19,225.
Did you know?
Perlick was started in 1917 as R. Perlick Brass Works, founded by a German immigrant in Wisconsin. Their claim to fame is beer and brewing equipment, which they have applied to bars, restaurants, and home décor around the country. It’s only natural that their fridge would double as a classy wine fridge!
Region: United States (Missouri)
Grade of Card: True Refrigeration
photo source: A Best Kitchen
The True Refrigerator STR2RRT89 is a roll-thru, two-section fridge that measures 80 cu. ft. in capacity. The fridge features cam-lift hinges, high-quality locks, an exterior digital temperature display, and more.
True Manufacturing has been putting out appliances for over 70 years and this new model is an example of their high-end sensibilities. Priced at $20,628.51 through A Best Kitchen, you’d have to be positive this is the fridge for you before buying (or leasing!) this monster.
Did you know?
The St. Louis-based manufacturer, True, got its start in 1945 as the result of a father, son, and son trio named the Trulaskes. They built their first freezer in their garage and before long were manufacturing bottle coolers in a warehouse in good ol’ St. Louis. From then, they were commissioned by 7UP to build the True Roll Top Bottle Cooler. The True brand is history from then on.
Region: United States (Mississippi)
Grade of Card: Viking
photo source: AJM
The Viking 7 Series is well-known as one of the leaders in high-end refrigeration units. This VIREFR10 unit is a 24-inch column refrigerator plus freezer. It uses “BlueZone” technology to maintain freshness. It also features LED lighting and capacitive touch controls to bring modern conveniences to its sleek, uniformly silver design.
This Viking 7 Series fridge costs $24,268.
Did you know?
Viking, the manufacturer in Greenwood, Mississippi, is one of the newer brands on this list, founded in 1984. They acquired the Amana refrigerator line in 2000 and markets it along with their in-house products. They’re well-known as high-end fridge producers and this insane Viking 7 series is just the most expensive of their many luxury appliances.
Region: United States (Pennsylvania)
Grade of Card: Continental
photo source: Webstaurant Store
The Continental Refrigerator listed here is a monstrous, 78-inch solid door pass-through fridge and freezer, with dual temperature settings. This means that the fridge has two temperature segments in its freezer sections, plus one independently controlled fridge section.
It has six doors, door locks, a self-locking mechanism, external thermometers displayed digitally, and high-quality foam insulation. The nine heavy-duty shelves inside this beast can hold a ton of goodies at an ambient 100 degrees. Owning this fridge/freezer will cost $27,828.19.
Did you know?
The Continental Refrigerator brand was established in 1989. They’re known for over 2,500 technology-focused fridge models that come out of their nationwide warehouses, based in Pennsylvania.
Region: United States (New York)
Grade of Card: Traulsen
photo source: Webstaurant Store
We’re getting really pricey now. This Traulsen refrigerator is a stainless-steel pass-through fridge split into three sections. It’s all displayed in three glorious glass doors for maximum visibility, enhanced by high-end interior lighting. The doors have both a stay-open and auto-closing feature so you can keep your hands free and never worry about leaving the doors open.
This fridge can be accessed from either side, making it ideal for a setup where the fridge is free-standing in a more open-plan room. Its steel legs can be adjusted for the user and the room. Owning this fridge will cost a staggering $38,909.48.
Did you know?
Traulsen has been a name in quality refrigeration units since 1938, making them one of the oldest brands available. They’re based in Queens in New York and started life as a battery fixture maker with a small refrigerator showcase on the side. WWII was the real upshot of the Traulsen brand that turned it into an industry-dominator, specifically when they created portable refrigeration boxes for the military to use in combat situations to preserve food without electricity.
Region: Italy
Grade of Card: Meneghini
photo source: Pinterest
The Meneghini La Cambusa Fridge is one of the most expensive in the world. Owning this beautiful, handcrafted fridge from the Italian artisans at Meneghini will cost you $40,500. Suffice it to say that for that price, you get more than a mere refrigerator.
This solid wood frame houses an enormous array of functionality. It includes not only the fridge section but a freezer, ice maker, coffee maker, microwave, oven, pantry, and steam oven. Buyers can choose from over 500 colors and continuously pay extra for more options on their designer fridge, which could include glass shelving, brass handles, and the aforementioned coffee system.
Did you know?
The satin colors, painted hinges, chrome and brass handles, and polished finishes on the Meneghini fridges gives them an iconic Italiana look all their own. They can be closed and disguised as classy furniture with a choice of many different wood-carved facades.
Region: Italy
Grade of Card: Dolce & Gabbana x SMEG Giuseppe Garibaldi
photo source: Neiman Marcus
The most expensive fridge is the Hero of Two Worlds Refrigerator. After a list of mostly the techiest modern conveniences, touch screens, built-in wine racks, digital displays, and auto-closing doors, we’re ending with this old-school decorative refrigerator, named the Hero of Two Worlds.
This single-door refrigerator is modeled after the classic fridge designs of the 1950s. You’re buying this fridge for $50,000 not for the modern conveniences or the interior, which is a well-designed but conventional fridge. You’re paying for the décor, this Italian-made painted depiction of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the hero the fridge is named for, designed by Michele Ducato. The fridge was designed and built in a partnership with Dolce & Gabbana.
Did you know?
The Italian general and revolutionary Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi was a valiant leader in both Europe and South America (those are the “two worlds”). He was a strict nationalist and supporter of Italian unification, for which he was sentenced to death. He escaped and spent the next 14 years in exile in South America where he continued to fight guerilla wars with the rebel group, “farrapos,” in the Ragamuffin War in Brazil. No doubt an interesting talking piece to be put on a fridge!
The Takeaway
Refrigerators are never ultra-cheap, but the more you spend, the more you get. The fridges that cost many thousands of dollars are either high-tech modern marvels for the classiest designer kitchen or masterworks made by European craftsmen. The United States dominates the former part and Italy’s artisans dominate the latter. But if you can afford any of these fridges, you’re the winner for sure.
