The 5 best kegerators for the perfect pint at home in 2024

Canned and bottled beer is good, especially if you pour it into a glass, but if you want a more authentic, draft-like experience, kegerators are the way to go. Unlike your average beer fridge, a kegerator is explicitly designed to hold kegs of beer. The best kegerators for the perfect pint at home are about the size of a large mini-fridge and work perfectly in a man cave, finished basement bar, on an outdoor patio, or even in your garage. You load your keg by hooking it up to the tap, and off you go. You’ll be pouring chilled drafts of your favorite beer in no time.

The best kegerators in 2024

• Buy the for one of the best kegerators overall from a reliable brand.
• Buy the if you want to save a few bucks.
• Buy the if you want a countertop-friendly option.
• Buy the tap system if you want a portable option for camping or your RV.
• Buy the if you want to stick to cans and bottles with a nitro-style draft pour.

Kegco K309SS-1

Best overall

If you’re looking for a top-of-the-barrel option, well, here you go. Kegco has been in the kegerator game for a while and its systems are always highly rated and reviewed. This particular model has one faucet or tap, but you can select more for a heftier price. The best part about Kegco units is they’re designed well, super easy to maintain and clean, and come with a few accommodating features like a digital temperature display and a deep chill function. The spacious interior can hold up to three home brew kegs, or two 5-gallon D kegs, three 5-gallon Cornelius Ball Lock home brew kegs, or even a full-size keg. It comes with a 5-pound aluminum CO2 tank, as well, which installs right inside the fridge in a dedicated section. This is the motherload right here and it makes delicious brews, with the right beer selection, of course.

Alternative:

EdgeStar KC2000SS Full Size

Best on a budget

Also available as for a cheaper price, this kegerator is a more traditional option at a reasonable price. It has everything you need to accommodate standard 1/4 and 1/2 kegs. Although, it is not compatible with Coors, Miller, rubberized, or oversized kegs — they won’t fit inside the fridge. There’s a single tap on top, which connects right to the loaded keg. It also has a rear external CO2 mount so you can install the gas tank out of the way and essentially hide it. It does come with the CO2 canister but you’ll need to fill it before you can sip your first brews.

Alternative:

Homecraft Mini Kegerator

Best countertop companion

Compatible with pressurized or non-pressurized 5-liter kegs, this countertop-friendly kegerator will look fantastic on any kitchenette or bar. It keeps the beer chilled from 36 to 53 degrees, can chill within 24 hours, and takes standard threaded CO2 cartridges to produce the delicious draft beer with foam. Just load your beer, wait for it to chill, then pull the handle, and imbibe, it’s as simple as that.

Alternative:

TMCRAFT 128-ounce Growler Mini Keg Tap System

Best for camping

This mini dispenser and 128-ounce keg kit will keep your beer fresh thanks to good ol’ vacuum pressure. It’s fully portable but also fits inside your average home cooler or mini fridge. The CO2 cartridge system takes 3/8-inch thread canisters — 16g capsules — with an insulated cooler jacket to keep it all cold for longer. We chose it as the best camping option because of how easy it is to transport a good amount of beer. Plus, it works great in RV or van-living setups, too.

Alternative:

FIZZICS DraftPour Beer Dispenser

Best kegless option

If you don’t want to order kegs or deal with installing them and also want a more portable option, the DraftPour dispenser from FIZZICS is excellent. You can use standard bottles, cans, crowlers, and larger bottles up to 750 ml. You load the can or bottle inside the dispenser, pull the lever to pour your beer, or push the lever back for micro-foam. It’s powered by a USB wall adapter or two AA batteries if you’re not near an outlet. It works with virtually any beer, as well. It’s great for social gatherings when you just want a few draft beers but don’t want to empty an entire keg. It’s also a great option to try a new beer in a keg-like format without buying the whole thing.

Already have an old or spare fridge? Try a to turn it into a full-blown kegerator.

How we chose these kegerators

When choosing a kegerator for your home, there are a few things you should consider, and that’s precisely what we used to make our picks. Here’s what you should know:

Size

Size should be considered two-fold. First, you need to make sure the size of the kegerator or unit you’re selecting fits in the space where you want it to go. Not all units can slide under a counter and may need extra space around them. Also, you should consider the size of the kegs it can hold. The bigger kegerators from Kegco and EdgeStar, for example, can hold mini to full-size kegs. The Homecraft countertop system, on the other hand, can only accommodate mini kegs or bottles up to a certain size. We chose a wide range of options from full-size and traditional to fully portable and kegless.

Installation Process

With a full-size kegerator, you have to install the keg, tap it, and hook up the tap system, as well as the CO2. But with something like the FIZZICS DraftPour, you just install your bottle or can and plug in the system, and then you’re good to go. Think about how easy installation and setup is when choosing one for your home bar. Most of the options on this list are easy to set up.

Price

If you have the money, you should spring for a full-size kegerator, but also that may not even be necessary if you have an extra fridge or old fridge. You could also use a conversion kit to turn that into a kegerator. Or, maybe you don’t even want a full-size unit and want to save some money. It’s all about your budget and how much you’re willing to spend. Pick a sweet spot or limit and go from there.

Maintenance

All of the kegerators on our list are easy to clean, including the full-size models. When you’re looking for yourself, make sure you choose something that’s easy to disassemble and reassemble after cleaning. You’ll need to clean grates, surfaces, the tap, and sometimes even the tap lines.

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