Which kitchen appliances does a first apartment actually need?

Summary

For most first apartments, the answer is a microwave and possibly a coffee maker, provided the lease already lists a fridge and a range. Read the lease's appliance list before you buy anything large. If a fridge is not on that list, it becomes the one expensive kitchen purchase, and the store's delivery and haul-away terms matter more than the sticker price. Running costs are small: this site estimates about $7 to $15 a year each for a microwave or a coffee maker (see the table in the running-cost section). Counter space and how often you would use each one matter more than the electricity.

Find out what comes with the apartment

The lease, or the listing it refers to, is where to confirm what comes with the unit. A refrigerator, a range or cooktop, and sometimes a dishwasher or a built-in microwave are the items to look for.

If the wording is vague, such as "appliances included," ask the landlord or property manager which appliances that covers. Also ask who repairs or replaces them if they break. The answer to that question decides whether a dead fridge in month eight is your expense or the landlord's.

An appliance in the unit that the lease does not mention is also worth asking about. A previous tenant may have left it behind, and the landlord may expect it gone or may not treat it as part of the apartment.

When a fridge is yours to buy

If your lease leaves the fridge to you, the furnishing list uses a household-size rule: "More people means a bigger fridge." Measuring the space and the route in is a separate job, covered in the guide to what to measure before a big delivery.

Besides the price, you pay to get a fridge in the door and to get rid of an old one, and each store's policy page handles those costs differently. These are the terms each store's page stated when read on 2026-10-23:

Home Depot also offers installation. Ask for the installation charge as well as the delivery cost applied in the cart. The haul-away figures matter mostly if a broken fridge you own is being replaced. In that case, Best Buy's $49.99 with a replacement and Lowe's $50 with a new appliance are within a dollar of each other, and Lowe's is free for select MyLowe's Pro Rewards members. If the old unit is the landlord's, its removal is a question for the landlord.

Returning a fridge is harder than returning a microwave. Best Buy says major appliances "cannot be returned by mail" and directs buyers to call 1-888-BEST BUY for return and pickup options. If you find the same fridge for less, Best Buy's price match covers identical new products from its Qualified Competitors that are immediately available, with the same brand, model number and color. Check that list before you count on a match. The match excludes delivery and installation prices, as well as marketplace, clearance, refurbished and open-box items.

Small appliances to buy after moving in

Once the large appliances are covered, this site's list adds two small ones. Both plug into a standard outlet and can leave with you when you move.

• Microwave. This site's list sizes it with one test: "Big enough for a dinner plate." If the unit already has an over-the-range microwave, skip this one.
• Coffee maker. The list's sizing rule is "A bigger pot for more people." For a single person who drinks one cup in the morning, the smallest size works. If you drink coffee somewhere else most days, you can skip it.

Toasters, blenders, air fryers and stand mixers can wait until you know your routine and the counter space available. Start with the microwave list if the apartment lacks one, checking interior room for your dinner plate as well as the outside footprint. If you make coffee at home, compare the coffee-maker list for the number of cups you actually brew. Get the chosen seller's price for those sizes before adding them to the apartment budget.

Before you finalize a small-appliance order, check the return window. At Best Buy, read on 2026-10-23, most products can be returned within 15 days, or 60 days for My Best Buy Plus and Total members. The window starts "the day you receive the product," and items must come back like-new with accessories and packaging. Keep the box until you are sure.

What they cost to run

The table uses this site's yearly energy assumptions for each appliance and multiplies them by $0.1834 per kWh, the rate on this site's list (checked 2026-08-22), which labels it the US average residential price from EIA Electric Power Monthly table 5.3 for June 2026. These are this site's estimates, not measured figures for any particular model.

The EIA table showed 18.31 cents per kilowatthour when read on 2026-10-23; treat that as a separate reading from the rate used in the calculation. Both rates give the same whole-dollar estimates in the table. Use your own utility's rate for your household budget. The fridge has the larger electricity allowance: at about $64 to $128 it costs roughly four to five times as much as the microwave and coffee maker combined (about $15 to $28, calculated before rounding). That is one more reason to confirm whether the lease already includes one. This site's cost page adds these running costs to the rest of the apartment for one to four people.

Sources

• EIA: Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.3
• Home Depot: Appliance delivery and installation
• Lowe's: Truck delivery help
• Best Buy: Haul-away and recycling
• Best Buy: Return and exchange policy
• Best Buy: Price match guarantee