Abstract Within the broader discussion regarding the decarbonisation of the household sector, ejector refrigeration is attracting a growing attention. This communication contributes to the present day discussion concerning the performances and the perspectives in ejector refrigeration systems. Based on a very large dataset, gathered from the previous literature (encompassing a wide range of system design, operating conditions and refrigerants), this paper proposes a comprehensive comparative analysis. First, the current trends in ejector refrigeration systems, refrigerants and performances are presented. Second, the relationships between ejector performances, refrigerants and boundary conditions (in terms of non-dimensional temperatures, to ensure generality of the proposed analysis) are presented. In conclusion, this paper is intended to provide guidelines for perspective researchers and practitioners interested in selecting suitable ejector-based systems.