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Lily Alig
Not everyone lives in a place where tap water is safe or pleasant to drink — maybe there's an odor or you have old pipes and are concerned about contaminants. There are many methods to filter your water, but an easy option is a water pitcher with a carbon filter.
In order to get a water filter you know will actually work, it's important to look for products with National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) or Water Quality Association (WQA) certification. This can be tricky, though, since there's no universal regulatory body and brands will claim to be "tested to NSF/ANSI standards," but use their own private or for-profit labs. This is not the same thing as certification, which requires having the filters tested by an independent lab and allowing audits of records and facilities, explained Dr. Eric Roy, founder and chief scientist at Hydroviv.
Based on this research, we only considered pitchers from brands that were certified by the NSF or WQA. We focused on Brita, PUR, and LARQ pitchers, as they are certified to both NSF/ANSI 42 and 53 standards (read more about what this means in our FAQ section), as well as by the WQA. Then, we evaluated five popular models based on how fast they filtered and how easy they were to store and refill.
Here are the three best water filter pitchers for daily use.
Best water filter pitcher overall: Brita Tahoe Pitcher with Elite Filter, $41.99 at Target
The 10-cup Tahoe pitcher filtered just as quickly as the smaller Brita options, making this the best for capacity and speed.
Best budget water filter pitcher: PUR Plus Water Pitcher Filtration System, $26.96 at Amazon
If you're looking to only use advanced filters, the PUR Pitcher has the best price for refills — plus, it's a sturdy pitcher that's comfortable to carry around the kitchen.
Best water filter pitcher for small spaces: Brita Space Saver Pitcher, $17.99 at Target
The Brita Space Saver pitcher fits in narrow spaces and filters three cups of water in four minutes.
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The 10-cup Tahoe pitcher filtered just as quickly as the smaller Brita options, making this the best for capacity and speed.
Pros: Large capacity with fast filter rate
Cons: Bulky, bright sensor light
Brita is one of the brands synonymous with water filters. The number of models it makes is overwhelming, but after testing three of the brand's pitchers and using many more over the course of my life, I think the Tahoe is the best for most people.
The Tahoe is the bulkiest pitcher I tested, at 5.7 inches at the widest and 10.4 at the tallest, accommodating up to 10 cups of water. The pitcher fit comfortably in the larger door shelf of my refrigerator but definitely was more limited in where it could be stored. Despite its size, the Tahoe filtered as fast as the smaller Space Saver models.
I found this pitcher to have the most aesthetically pleasing shape. Because the design isn't meant to be compact, it has smooth and rounded lines. It wasn't difficult to maneuver, either. One of the best features is that the lever to open the lid is on the handle — so if you do need to hold it with two hands, you can still open the top for refilling.
The smart sensor on the lid glows green whenever you pour to indicate that the filter is still good. It'll turn red when it is time to replace it. The sensor is large with an almost too bright light compared to those on other pitchers.
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If you're looking to only use advanced filters, the PUR Pitcher has the best price for refills — plus, it's a sturdy pitcher that's comfortable to carry around the kitchen.
Pros: Comfortable handle, dishwasher safe, great price for advanced filters
Cons: Slow filter rate
There's a lot to like about PUR water filtering pitchers. Overall, the 7-cup pitcher is nicer to handle than the Brita — it feels sturdier and the handle has a silicone cover that makes it more comfortable to carry around the kitchen. The PUR pitchers are also dishwasher safe, and I saw no surface changes after running the pitcher's pieces through a regular cycle
Unfortunately, the PUR pitcher I tested had the slowest filtering rate by far. It took 9 minutes for the full top reservoir to filter into the bottom, which knocked it down in my rankings.
Though it is counterintuitive that our best budget pick is more expensive up front than others we tested, it is the price of replacement filters that led to our decision. PUR and Brita offer standard and advanced filters — the PUR Plus and Brita Elite or Longlast filters remove more contaminants, almost identically between the two brands. However, per pack, the PUR Plus filter is cheaper than the Brita advanced versions.
The PUR has a smart sensor so you can track how long your filter lasts. It is removable, so it isn't damaged by dishwashing, and I liked that it was a subtle green glow that indicated full filter health.
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The Brita Space Saver pitcher fits in narrow spaces and filters three cups of water in four minutes.
Pros: Fast filter rate, slim profile, comfortable to refill and hold
Cons: Plastic doesn't feel sturdy
The Brita Space Saver is designed for efficiency. For example, the lever to open the top reservoir lines up with a divot in the handle — it's a natural motion to hold the pitcher and open the top to refill it all with one hand. It fits anywhere in my fridge and filters three cups of water in four minutes.
It was a tight race between the Brita Space Saver and the PUR pitcher we tested. The 6-cup Space Saver is slightly smaller in all dimensions than the 7-cup PUR, but the PUR has the additional cup capacity. Ultimately, it was the filtration speed that was the deciding factor between the two. The Space Saver filters the same amount of water almost five minutes faster than the PUR.
Both the PUR and Brita Space Saver have pieces of plastic that cover the spout and open when the pitcher is tipped into a pouring motion. I found that sometimes the PUR would not open all the way, resulting in a slower pour, while the Brita functioned perfectly.
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Brita Rapids Stream Water Pitcher: The Stream pitcher filters as you pour, so there's no top reservoir taking up space. You get a 10-cup capacity pitcher with dimensions closer to that of a standard 6-cup. There's also no waiting time — you can pour as soon as you fill the pitcher. However, the Stream filter is the least comprehensive of the Brita filters, removing the fewest amount of contaminants.
LARQ Pitcher: This brand started with a self-cleaning water bottle and eventually released a pitcher at a pricey $125. The high price tag comes from the proprietary PurVis technology that uses UV light to prevent bacterial growth inside the pitcher. We were impressed by the performance of the LARQ Pitcher, as well as the companion app, but found it too high a price to justify for most homes.
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How do carbon filters work?
Carbon filters are a common method of filtering water and are used in all the pitchers we tested for this guide. The filters work via a process called adsorption.
"In adsorption, organic and some inorganic compounds stick to the surface of the carbon, and because the surface area is so large, activated carbon can remove a significant amount of contaminants from water," says Professor Jessica Wilson, Ph.D, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Manhattan College.
What do water filters remove?
Water filters certified to NSF/ANSI standard 42 remove aesthetic impurities and anything that causes a taste or odor in the tap water. Filters that also have standard 52 certification remove contaminants that have health effects when present at or above levels set by the EPA. Currently, the EPA regulates chlorine, mercury, cadmium, copper, lead, and benzene, according to Professor Wilson.
PUR and Brita both have publically available lists of what their filters remove.
What is NSF certification and why is it important?
The National Sanitary Foundation is an independent government organization that supports research in non-medical scientific fields. With the American National Standards Institute (a private non-profit), the NSF developed standards for water filtration. "This established criteria for material safety and contaminant removal, as well as give specifics for how tests should be run," said Dr. Roy.
To become certified, water filter companies need to open their facilities and allow their products to be fully tested by third party validators like the NSF or WQA. Many filter companies claim to be "tested to NSF Standards," but Dr. Roy says that this often means the companies have only tested the first few gallons of water that pass through the filter. Official certification is less biased and more thorough.
What's the difference between a water filter and a water softener?
Water softeners don't target contaminants or particulates that lead to odors or taste. "Softeners are specific kinds of water treatment devices that are designed to lower the water's calcium and magnesium content," said Dr. Roy. This decreases the amount of limescale build-up in pipes, fixtures, and appliances.
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The best water filter pitchers that actually work, according to experts and our testing
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