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Best water filters for clean drinking water

Published

5 years ago

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Can we all just agree that we are over bottled water? Okay good.

If you’re all about eliminating single-use plastic from your life, but your tap water is straight up undrinkable, this task gets a bit difficult. But relax: We can fix that.

Water filters and purifiers remove contaminants and impurities from water to make it more suitable for drinking and cooking. This allows you to utilize a reusable water bottle and fill it with clean water that you actually feel good about drinking.

Filters can take the place of hundreds of plastic water bottles, which helps you be more eco-friendly and reduce the amount of plastic in landfills. Filtration systems are also lifesavers in areas where tap water is unsafe to drink, as long as they remove the proper contaminants like lead. Some even take away the sulfur taste and smell from well water, which is amazing.

Should you filter your tap water?

It depends. If you experience a chlorine odor or taste, you might want to run your water through a filter. If you live in an area with threatened or compromised water supplies, absolutely yes you should filter your tap water — you do not want to be drinking lead or mercury or bacteria. As mentioned, if you have well water and have been living off bottled water or drums of water, you can actually get a filtration system and make your tap water drinkable. 

Unsure or nervous about your water quality? Test it! This can help you determine if you should invest in a filter. More on that below.

What type of water filter is best?

There are a few different types of water filters, and they’re each best for different purposes.

Water filter pitchers and dispensers: This is the easiest water filtration option because all that’s required of you is filling up the reservoir and letting the water filter down into the container. These types of filters are easily stored in the fridge or on the counter. Pitchers and dispensers are often best for people who don’t need a ton of filtered water at once. They usually don’t purify water, so they’re also best for city water that doesn’t have viruses or bacteria in it.

Faucet mounts: A faucet water filter allows you to dispense filtered water directly from your sink to your glass. They attach onto your faucet and typically last longer and filter out more impurities than pitchers do. They tend to look a bit bulky, but on the other hand, they don’t take up any space in the fridge.

Under sink filtration systems: Under-the-sink water filtration systems are a bit more heavy duty and are typically for water that needs quite a bit of help. For instance, if you have well water, one of these systems can make it drinkable and get rid of its rotten egg smell and slightly brown color. Complete filtration systems will do the best job cleaning and purifying water compared to just running water through a single filter into a container.

Do water filters really work?

In a word, yes. You can actually test your water a couple different ways and see what difference a filter is making. Testing for pH levels is one route, and you’ll want to make sure your water is about a seven to 10. 

Another test is for measuring total dissolved solids (TDS) or salt, metal, or minerals in the water. These are your leads and chlorines and other similar contaminants. TDS is measured in milligrams per unit volume or also referred to as parts per million (ppm). Ideal drinking water is 0 to 50 ppm, acceptable levels range from 50 to 140 ppm, and average tap water falls between 140 and 400 ppm. Essentially, the higher the number, the more metals and minerals you have in your water.

The best way tell if a filter is making a difference is to measure the levels in your unfiltered tap water versus the levels in water from your filter. Sometimes if a filter is old or not installed properly, your numbers will actually be higher in the filtered sample. That is a problem and you should either swap out the filter or consult the product manual to see what could be the issue.

What should I look for in a water filter?

Before you look for a water filter, look at your water. What sort of contaminants are in it? If it’s pretty standard stuff like chlorine, mercury, and pesticides (yes those are standard contaminants — tons of systems violate the Safe Drinking Water Act), you can get away with a pretty basic filter like a Brita pitcher.

If you’ve got more extreme stuff in your water like lead and bacteria, a reverse osmosis water filter or faucet attachment might suit your needs better. If you have lead in your water, make sure that you get a filter that is certified by the National Sanitation Foundation to ensure that it will actually, safely remove lead.

While some of the filters rounded up here list out a scary number of contaminants and impurities they can handle, not all of these things will be in your water. You might only have chlorine in your water and don’t need to be concerned about lead. See if you can get your hands on an official water report to accurately know what’s contaminating your water so you can find the best filter for your situation.

After doing hours of research and reading tons of reviews, we’ve come up with X picks for the best water filters. But first, a couple of pro tips: First, be sure to run the water through the filter a couple of times before you start drinking so that any activated carbon (the main ingredient in many of these filters) can work its way through. Second, you’ll want to keep extra replacement filters on hand so that when the indicator says its time to change, you’re ready to go.


Long-lasting filter • Space-saving design

Some reviewers experienced leakage • No returns

Overfilling or improper lid placement may cause leakage, but this pitcher does an excellent job filtering out unwanted elements from water.

1. Brita everyday filter

This pitcher will give you clean water to store in your fridge at an affordable price.

  • What it filters:
    Chlorine, copper, mercury, and cadmium
  • Filter life:
    40 gallons or two months
  • Capacity:
    10 cups
For cleaner and better tasting water that you can store in your fridge, try the Brita everyday filter pitcher and kick your bottled water habit for good. It’s a pretty basic and affordable option when it comes to water filters, but it seriously gets the job done.
Using this pitcher and its included filtration cartridge, your water will have reduced levels of chlorine, copper, mercury, and cadmium. One filter can go through 40 gallons of water before needing replaced (about every two months). In other words, a single Brita filter takes the place of 300 standard plastic water bottles. The pitcher itself holds 10 cups of water.
P.S. The reservoir detaches and you do need to clean this pitcher from time to time. 

Quality meter included • Side spigot • Removes lead

Filter doesn’t last as long as competitors • Replacement filters are pricey

This filter will remove tons of gross stuff from your water, though it will need replaced more frequently.

2. ZeroWater pitcher

With a quality meter and side spigot, this pitcher has some impressive features.

  • What it filters:
    Dust, rust, pesticides, herbicides, mercury, chlorine, chloramine, chromium, lead, and other inorganic compounds and suspended solids
  • Filter life:
    25 to 40 gallons, depending on water quality
  • Capacity:
    10 cups
For a pitcher with more bells and whistles, turn to one from ZeroWater. The 10-cup version comes with a meter for testing water quality and features a spigot at the base for easier water dispensing. 
ZeroWater’s filter utilizes a five-step system to remove solid and chemical impurities, including rust and lead. One downside though is that its filtration cartridge does not last as long as Brita’s, with a typical range of 25 to 40 gallons or about one to two months. This can vary depending on your initial water quality. Where the filter falls short in lifespan, it makes up for in performance, removing more impurities than Brita’s everyday filter pitcher.

Spigot for easy dispensing • Larger capacity than a pitcher

Might not fit in every fridge • Can take a while for water to filter down into the tank

This dispenser has a large capacity and fits nicely on a counter or in the fridge.

3. Brita countertop dispenser

Holding more than a gallon, this dispenser saves you from constantly refilling.

  • What it filters:
    Chlorine, copper, mercury, zinc, and cadmium
  • Filter life:
    40 gallons or two months
  • Capacity:
    18 cups or 1.13 gallons
Keeping filtered water in the fridge is great for a cold glass on demand, but if you drink a lot of water, constantly refilling a pitcher can get pretty annoying. This Brita dispenser reigns supreme for the countertop water filters category, as it holds a little more than a gallon and fits nicely on a countertop or in a fridge if you’ve got the room. This is ideal for families or anyone who wants to have more than a pitcher of filtered water on hand.
Like other Brita models, this filter lasts for about 40 gallons or two months. It features a spigot for easy dispensing, and one filter saves you from going through 300 plastic water bottles. While this dispenser is larger than a pitcher, it honestly isn’t so large that you can’t fit it in the fridge — you just might have to rearrange some stuff.

Long filter life • Saves space • Filter change indicator light

Bulky look • Plastic more prone to damage than metal

Though it’s not the most aesthetically pleasing, this faucet attachment provides clean water with convenience.

4. PUR faucet filter

This attachment gives you filtered water directly from your faucet.

  • What it filters:
    More than 70 contaminants including lead, chlorine, mercury, and pesticides
  • Filter life:
    100 gallons or up to three months
Faucet filters like this one from PUR look pretty bulky on your sink, but they take the hassle out of continuously refilling a pitcher. Plus, they don’t take up any fridge space. Set up is easy — it screws on in place of your existing faucet head.
This filter reduces more than 70 contaminants, including lead, and lasts longer than a typical pitcher filter. You’ll get 100 gallons or about three months of use out of this thing before you have to replace the filter. It also has an indicator light, so you won’t ever have to guess when it’s time to replace to filter cartridge.
Note that while this faucet attachment has a stainless steel look, it is in fact made of plastic, which could be annoying if the entire point is to ditch plastic in the first place. (Sad trombone.)

Long filter life • Cheaper than competitors

Doesn’t filter as many contaminants as competitors • Bulky look • Some reviewers experienced leaks and water coming out of the wrong part

This is not the most durable faucet attachment, but it will clear all the gunk from your water.

5. Brita tap water filter system

This is not our first choice in faucet filters, but it will work decently well if installed correctly.

  • What it filters:
    60 contaminants including lead, chlorine, benzene, and asbestos
  • Filter life:
    100 gallon or up to three months
This filter from Brita also easily attaches to your existing sink faucet to output clean water directly from the source. It filters out 60 minereals and contaminants like lead, chlorine, benzene, and asbestos. (That’s 10 fewer contaminants than the PUR filter, if you’re keeping track.)
Like the PUR filter, this one provides up to 100 gallons of clean water or about three months of use before you need to swap out the filtration cartridge. An indicator light will let you know the exact time to replace the old filter. 
This doesn’t remove as many contaminants as the PUR faucet filter, but if you want to save some money or have brand loyalty to Brita, this filter will do fine. We recommend going for the PUR filter though, because a number of reviewers reported leaks from the Brita. Not everyone did, obviously, so if you want to take the risk, go for it.

Super long-lasting filter • Removes tons of contaminants • Suitable for city and well water

Takes up a decent chunk of space • May have to drill a hole in sink or countertop • Kind of involved installation process

The APEC system removes more impurities from your water than a pitcher or faucet attachment could.

6. APEC reverse osmosis under-sink system

This under-the-sink system’s long-lasting filters remove contaminants from city and well water.

  • What it filters:
    More than 1,000 contaminants including arsenic, chlorine, lead, fluoride, heavy metals, and bacteria
  • Filter life:
    Up to one year
  • Capacity:
    Up to 50 gallons per day
If you’re serious about water filtration, an under-sink system might be best for you, and this reverse osmosis system from APEC is highly rated and praised by Amazon customers. This filter is suitable for both city and well water and removes more than 1,000 contaminants including lead, arsenic, chlorine, and fluoride. 
With city water, the filter lasts up to a year, but well water users recommend switching out the filter every four to six months. For those paying attention, that’s a much longer filter life than you’d get with a pitcher or faucet attachment. (This is just referring to the first stage filter — the other two can last years.) Because this is a whole system, it does require some installation. Heads up: In order to install a reverse osmosis system, you will either have to drill a hole or use an existing one to place the system.

Simple installation • Long filter life

Not compatible with every faucet • Hard to open to replace filter

This is a good choice if you want to dispense water from your counter, but don’t want a lengthy install process.

7. APEX countertop alkaline filter

This system filters water from your countertop without an extensive install process.

  • What it filters:
    Chlorine, sediment, radon, Giardia cysts, mercury, pesticides, and more
  • Filter life:
    Up to 750 gallons
This APEX countertop filter falls somewhere between a faucet filter and under-sink system. It connects to your standard faucet, but sits next to it on the counter and has its own spout. It’s pretty easy to install and comes with all the necessary hardware.
This alkaline system removes contaminants like chlorine, radon, Giardia cysts, mercury, and pesticides precisely the kind of harmful stuff you don’t want to be drinking. Please note that this particular filtration system is not compatible with every type of faucet, and will not likely work if you have a sprayer, pull-out, or designer faucet.

Purifies tap, well, river, and lake water • Large capacity • Long filter life

Though it’s a bit on the expensive side, this filter removes impurities from more than just tap water.

8. Big Berkey water filter

This large countertop dispenser purifies water from a tap, well, river, or lake.

  • What it filters:
    Hundreds of contaminants including viruses, bacteria, lead, mercury, and pesticides
  • Filter life:
    6,000 gallons
  • Capcity:
    2.25 gallons
This large, 2.25-gallon Berkey dispenser allows you to keep a decent amount of filtered water on hand. Because of its size, this is a true countertop water filter unless you have a massive refrigerator. The Berkey’s filter can handle normal tap water or water from wells, rivers, and lakes.
This is more than just a filtration system though — it actually purifies the water. It will remove viruses, pathogenic bacteria, cysts and parasites, and unwanted chemicals and metals. With two purification elements included, the Berkey can filter 6,000 gallons of water before you have to buy new filters. Because of it’s design and stainless steel build, we could also see the Berkey as being a good option for car camping.

Portable • Removes bacteria and protozoa from lakes and streams

Straw requires strong suction

This water bottle is awesome for accessing filtered water while traveling, hiking, or camping.

9. LifeStraw Go water filter bottle

This water bottle filters immediately while on the go and can even handle lake and stream water.

  • What it filters:
    Bacteria and parasites, microplastics, and chemicals like chlorine, pesticides, and herbicides
  • Filter life:
    264 gallons
  • Capacity:
    23 ounces
When you’re on the go, you won’t always have access to your beloved water filter, so we suggest taking one with you in the form of a LifeStraw water bottle. A filter is attached to the straw, so your water goes through filtration before it hits your mouth and can deliver peace of mind while traveling or hiking.
LifeStraw’s filter removes bacteria and parasites, microplastics, and chemicals like chlorine, pesticides, and herbicides. The water bottle holds 23 ounces, comes in multiple colors, and includes a carabiner for convenient carrying. 

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