12 Best Portable Refrigerators in 2024

Need some extra space in your refrigerator or freezer? Or maybe you’re gearing up for a family camping trip and wondering how many bags of ice you’ll need to buy to keep the food cool. BougeRV 30 Quart Portable Refrigerator can give you that extra room you need for storage at home, or give you peace of mind when on the road and need a reliable fridge or freezer to keep your perishables intact.

For the price of under $310, the BougeRV 30 Quart Portable Refrigerator is a highly efficient cooling system when you need it. It’s low-noise, low power, and gets the job done fast. For a portable fridge and freezer, the BougeRV 30 Quart is a fantastic option if you don’t have a ton of items needing to be cooled at once. We would suggest this portable refrigerator for anyone heading out for a weekend camping trip or needing a little extra storage at home.

Dometic’s new line of portable fridges, the CFX3 is our definite favourite on the list. With a design so rugged yet so sleek, you could put this on the set of an imperial fleet in Star Wars and no one would suspect a thing. This new and improved Dometic fridge/freezer sports a thicker seal and durable exterior to ensure maximum insulation. Furthermore, Dometic CFX3 stays true to its promise of freezing down to -22ºC while using as little power possible. You won’t have to worry about this bad boy hijacking all of your power source on your weekend trip thanks to its fail-proof three-stage battery protection system. This prevents the fridge from drawing all of the power from a battery source.

In bigger capacities of the CFX3 like the 55IM model comes with silicone ice trays so you can truly enjoy cocktails even when you’re off the grid over the weekend. When plugging into a power socket over a couple of days isn’t an option, the Dometic CFX3 is a portable fridge you can rely on. It’s quiet, durable and functions as if it were a regular kitchen-appropriate fridge. If you’re worried about external elements damaging your fridge, you can also get a sleeve protector that fits snugly on the fridges and doesn’t get in the way of opening it either.

Need a personal mini-fridge at work? Or perhaps a handy beauty fridge for your vanity to store your skincare products? Cooluli is just the friend you need. With a top handle, you can easily carry this around with ease — just be wary not to swing it too much as the door isn’t secured with a lock or a strong enough suction to stay firmly shut. It fits exactly six cans with no room left for anything else, which is great for keeping your lunch in at work or for your moisturisers, face masks and serums. May not be able to fit a tall bottle of water so you may have to work around that. However, it runs well plugged in and unplugged with no difference inefficiency. It gets as cold as a regular-sized fridge, so you won’t have to compromise on its cooling power. Check out this fun-sized portable fridge now!

In all of ARB’s models, the compartment is big enough to fit a two-liter bottle inside and still have space for more. In fact, you can put in at least 72 cans in this spacious portable fridge. This heavy-duty portable fridge has been designed to cater to four-wheel drivers — needless to say it’s prepared to withstand bumpy adventures. It is necessary to use the mounting hardware wherever you go too. Notably, this is quite a heavy model as well. It has a front-opening lid that opens length-ways; which can be quite troublesome and inconvenient.

If you’re looking for a portable fridge to use casually, the ARB may not be the investment to make. However, if you’re looking for an extremely durable and heavy duty portable fridge to last you through the years, ARB gets the job done just fine.

The ENGEL MR040F-U1 Portable fridge is a mean machine that can withstand even the rockiest of trips. It’s equipped with a hardcore plastic external shell that is corrosion resistant and can last for a long time (years!). It’s also fitted with an extremely powerful compressor that is so efficient that one customer even remarked that the fridge is almost too good at freezing things quickly. The best part? It only draws 40% less energy than an average portable fridge compressor. Engel prioritises manufacturing the perfect portable fridges to cool things quickly even when it’s hot outside. The temperature control is very simplistic and easy to maneuver as well.

These machines run on 12V/24V battery or 110V/120V AC — perfect for long road trips, yacht parties or even at backyard parties. It’s extremely energy efficient and uses very little power, thanks to its compressor. For a rugged fridge like this with enormous capabilities, it doesn’t even make a lot of noise to disrupt you. If you are looking for longevity, durability and energy efficiency, Engel will not let you down. Find out more here.

The Alpicool C20 portable refrigerator is configured with an eco mode setting, which allows the fridge to draw less electricity than a regular mini fridge. With its thick foam seal, it efficiently insulates the fridge’s contents better, which also helps with energy efficiency. In fact, you can cool down any item in at least 15 minutes. Whether you’re at a picnic, on a fishing trip or a long road trip, Alpicool can come in handy.

An average capacity would be the Alpicool 21 Quart model, which can hold up to an equivalent of 30 cans or 15 water bottles or nine wine bottles. We recommend investing in straps, or rubber mounts to install on this portable fridge during travel as it may slide around during travel. It lacks built-in mounts to keep it still, but other than that, it’s an amazing portable fridge that covers the basic necessities for a very affordable price.

Technically, this may not be so much of a portable fridge. It’s a thermoelectric cooler — a slightly upgraded icebox. The Wagan Tech 6244 looks just like luggage disguised as a cooler thanks to its collapsible handle and wheels for easy portability. Plus, it can carry up to 60 cans, providing you ample space for ready-cooled drinks and food for a day out at the pier or beach. It comes with dividers that you can move around to organise your contents too! The split, magnetic doors are extremely convenient and helps to make  packing and unloading super easy.

This cooler is also configured to have both warming and cooling modes. You don’t need ice or heat packs to help you with that either. We recommend this for one-day occasions for maximum quality performance. Any longer could test its ability. It could be hard to bring around as it gets pretty heavy when full, and you may need to put in ice for longer trips for better reinforcement. If you’re not ready to commit to a portable fridge but still need something a little more efficient than an icebox, check out this Wagan Tech 6244 thermoelectric cooler now.

Don’t be fooled — the YAPASPT may look like a regular travel bag, but it’s actually a high-tech electric cooler. Its collapsible design makes it easy to stow away when not in use too. Be warned, this cooler bag is bigger than it looks. It can hold up to 34 cans and has numerous pockets for easy storage. Great for a picnic, BBQ at the park or just a long drive. Additionally, the cooler is made from 600D polyester and has a polyethylene insulative layer to ensure that your contents stay cool for a long time. You don’t even need to fill it with ice! Plus, it’s so durable that it can withstand bumpy rides without damaging its contents. While charging it may be awkward, we recommend doing so overnight before the trip to avoid spillage. Even if you do encounter a spill, this bag is leak-proof and won’t ruin your car seats.

Alright, it may look like an office printer — but don’t underestimate this powerful machine. It’s shock-proof, astoundingly roomy and quiet! So don’t be afraid to pack this with you on a rocky road trip, it’s built to take the bumps like a champ. For its price, it really delivers more than you expect it to. COSTWAY’s ‘Max Mode’ means you get your drinks cool fast. It’s a mode that goes from 32ºC to 0ºC in half an hour. Talk about that amazing compressor power! If you’re in no hurry, you can activate its ECO mode to save energy.

Another impressive feature is its long flip-up top, which can come in handy if you’re pressed for space in whichever vehicle you are carrying it in. Additionally, you can use the COSTWAY car refrigerator for any purpose. With an easy-to-operate control panel, you can adjust the temperature to take care of your drinks and snacks for a camping trip, or cosmetic items for when you’re moving houses, or to hold medication! What an all-rounder, am I right?

Boat-owners, RV-owners — this monster truck of a portable refrigerator is the best thing you will ever invest in. Sure, it’s heavy, but it’s also heavy-duty durable and just plain amazing at doing its job. If you’re looking for a lightweight cooler, this may not be ideal. It’s bigger than the average portable fridge/freezer, and mostly fits in the trunk of most vehicles. It has an enormous capacity with two temperature zones, so you can operate it as a fridge and freezer at the same time. The Whynter FM-45G is praised for its powerful compressor and its ‘Fast Freeze’ mode, so don’t worry about having to pre-freeze your food and drinks before loading up. Great for fishing trips on a boat to store your spoils of the day or to hold your food and drinks!

When you get this fridge, it comes with metal racks to help with organisation of its contents and to also protect the interior insulative layer from damage. Plus, it emits low to no noise during operation, so fret not over drone-like noises during long drives. The best part is that this is cheaper than most of its counterparts — you’ll definitely be banking on a great value find here.

Planning a camping trip? We recommend including this into the plan. The Ausranvik 26-quart portable fridge is a great fridge/freezer that has the ability to freeze all the way down to -20ºC, and keep your contents frozen or cool for a long duration. Additionally, the portable fridge draws on very little power possible to function. It also comes with a power cord for convenience wherever you need it to be. Another plus point is that it has a USB port too, which is super handy especially if you have to charge your phone.

You don’t have to tinker around often with the Ausranvik because it’ll remember the first temperature settings you set it to the first time until you change it. It’s relatively shock-proof as well, so don’t worry too much about damaging it on terraneous road trips or rough boat drives. It’s marketed to be super energy efficient as well, taking up less energy than a car’s headlight whether it is in MAX or ECO mode. It’s expertly insulated as well to ensure your fridge stays cool all day and night. It’s anti-pinching configuration also ensures safety when you constantly need to open up the fridge to grab drinks and such — it slows down before completely closing to spare any fingers.

The Cho Power Sports Portable Refrigerator/Freezer is constantly hard at work to keep your drinks and snacks cool while you’re out camping, fishing, or road tripping. It’s easy to wheel around, and is super lightweight thanks to its plastic exterior. It costs less than the average powerful compressor portable fridge, and runs on considerably low power too. In fact, it has such amazing freezing power that it may cost frost build-up during use over a long period of time. No matter the temperature you need, just as a fridge or a freezer, it’s super simple to maneuver its control panel. It functions well even on a hot, summer day.

Plus, it’s extremely easy to clean too — just pull out the drainage plug and you’re good to go. The wheels and retractable handle ensures you don’t have to strain too much lugging it around; but do be wary of the wheels when you’re pulling it around. It sticks out and may get caught on something or make for a potential tripping hazard. We recommend this for shorter trips when you just need a really good cooler to keep your drinks and snacks in order.