The best water filter pitcher for 2021 – CNET [CNET]

The taste and quality of your drinking water can be easily improved with a filtered pitcher. All you need to do is pour your tap water into the pitcher and give it a little bit of time to filter into the main reservoir — some pitchers can do this in 30 seconds, while others take several minutes.

The best water filter pitcher is the one that will quickly and most efficiently eliminate the impurities in regular tap water. I tested out seven top-rated water filter pitchers, with prices ranging from $17 to $75, in order to find out which brand most fits the bill. Spoiler: Our choice for the best water filter pitcher isn’t made by Brita. 

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Pitcher talk   

To get started, here’s a list of the pitchers I tested:

• Brita 0B58
• Brita 0B56
• Clearly Filtered
• Invigorated Water pH Vitality
• Pur PPT700W
• Seychelle pH20
• ZeroWater ZP-010

And here’s a more detailed overview of each model and its key specs:

One key thing to consider from this chart is the estimated life of each pitcher filter versus its cost. The Brita 0B56, the Pur PPT700W and the ZeroWater ZP-010 all have a lower estimated filter life of up to 40 gallons. While the Brita filter and Pur filter models cost $7 each, the ZeroWater filters cost $15 each (but are sold in a $30 two-pack). 

But as you can see in the picture above, the ZeroWater filter on the far right is massive compared to the others. Of course, that doesn’t automatically translate to better performance, but in this case — the ZeroWater filter did massively outperform the others. ZeroWater also claims it has a five-stage filter that’s supposed to be better at removing particles while preventing mold from growing with use. 

(Keep in mind that filter life will vary based on the quality of your tap water and how much your filter has to “work” to remove impurities.)

How we test

To test these water filter pitchers, I washed each one with mild soap and water — and followed the individual manufacturer instructions for soaking, rinsing or otherwise prepping filters for use. Then I filled a marked mason jar glass with 16 ounces of tap water and used an Orapxi water quality tester to measure and note the pH and the TDS present. 

While the results of my tap water varied slightly each time I filled a fresh glass with 16 ounces, the pH of my tap water always read between 8.15 and 8.61, and the TDS always read between 149 and 161 ppm, or parts per million. (Read more about TDS, or total dissolved solids, here and here.) 

Then I poured all 16 ounces into a water filter pitcher, waited for it to filter all the water, poured it into a new glass and took the readings again. For the nonalkaline pitchers, you should expect to see a drop in both the pH and in the TDS readings, as impurities and other minerals are removed from the water. I repeated these steps a total of three times on each of the seven pitchers. 

The three alkaline water filter pitchers I tested — the Clearly Filtered, Invigorated Water pH Vitality and Seychelle pH20 — actually saw an increase in both the pH and the TDS, since they’re designed to add minerals to your water. 

TDS meters are not sophisticated enough to decipher which impurities, nutrients and other minerals each filter manages to remove (or add, in the case of the alkaline pitchers). For that reason, measuring TDS alone as an indicator of water quality has some limitations. But, in general, for a standard filtered water pitcher, we want to see a decrease in the TDS reading. Examples of the most common total dissolved solids include “calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, sulfate, chloride, nitrate, and silica,” according to the US Geological Survey.

Here’s a table of my test results. The data represents an average of three test runs for each filter pitcher. 

The ZeroWater ZP-010 managed to reduce the total dissolved solids in my tap water by a staggering 93%, from an average initial TDS reading of 159 ppm to just 11 ppm. The Brita 0B58 Lake pitcher came in second place with over 26% reduction in TDS. As you’d expect, the Clearly Filtered, Invigorated Water pH Vitality and Seychelle pH20 all saw an increase in pH and in TDS. 

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Water taste was a bit trickier to measure, but every pitcher did help reduce the slight metallic taste of my tap water. Unsurprisingly, the ZeroWater pitcher model tasted the best to me, with no metallic taste or scent. 

Overall, the ZeroWater ZP-010 made my job pretty easy here — it completely dominated in terms of removing TDS and also happened to have the sturdiest design with the bonus addition of a water spigot. But there are other good options here — the Pur PPT700W is a great budget pitcher that also saves space with its slimmer design; the Seychelle pH20 is the best pitcher if you want alkaline water — and the Invigorated Water pH Vitality is a solid option if you want to avoid plastic (and want alkaline water). 

One major takeaway for me was just how widely filtered water pitchers can vary, both in terms of performance — and even in terms of their key function, as in the case of the alkaline pitchers. As long as you identify your needs before you buy, you’re bound to find the right filtered water pitcher for you.

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