Our recommended Brita pitcher and dispenser lack a PID and instead simply use a timer to roughly estimate when the filters have reached their 120-gallon lifespan. That said, the Longlast+ will fit in them, and the ANSI/NSF certification testing is so rigorous that we don’t think you run much risk of overtaxing yours before the replacement light comes on. If you want a Brita pitcher or dispenser that does have a PID, the models are listed on the top of page 3 in the PDF linked above. Brita also said the Longlast+ filters a tankful faster than its predecessor.
That’s to be expected, to some extent, since the more intense filtration required to get rid of the aforementioned contaminants will require more frequent substitutions to maintain the same high level of water purity. BWT has their filters certified by the Water Quality Association, but they’re only covered for cadmium, copper and mercury, not lead. ZeroWater didn’t succeed in designing a perfect pitcher, but at least the top is less likely to leak or pop off if you pour while the top reservoir is full. The fill port cover isn’t as convenient as the flip-up design on the PUR or Brita, but there’s nothing wrong with it.
For this 2023 update, the Aquagear filter matched the Brita filter at 120 gallons, but the Waterdrop and Epic Water filters have even better filter life at 200 gallons and 150 gallons, respectively. When we switched to the lead-reducing versions of Brita Longlast and PUR filter, though, it was clear that their improved performance over standard carbon filters is related to the speed water is allowed to trickle through. They take about five times longer than the non-lead-filtering Brita, even longer than the ZeroWater. We also tested each filter to determine how long it would take, on average, to filter one cup of water.
However, once we consider the number of times you’d need to replace each filter in a year based on the stated filter lifespan. That’s what makes the Brita Elite filter such a nice surprise; you get high-quality filtration and don’t have to swap the filter every couple of months. While these pitchers all generally cost the same, if you buy the Pur Plus pitcher, you get more for your buck because the Pur Plus filter that comes standard with that pitcher doesn’t increase the overall price of the pitcher.
Nicole Papantoniou is the director of the Kitchen Appliances and Innovation lab, where she oversees all content and testing related to kitchen and cooking appliances, tools and gear. She’s been testing kitchen appliances professionally since 2013 and is trained in classic culinary arts. You don’t want to spend your days and nights refilling a plodding water filter pitcher, do you? Depending on your household’s collective thirst, a small family can get by with a 2-liter water filter pitcher, while a big family should invest in a large 4-liter size. Consider the water filter pitcher’s original purchase price but also the yearly cost of replacement cartridges, which can actually cost more than the water pitcher itself.
Most water filter pitchers remove chlorine to improve the taste of the water, which could also lead to a rise in bacteria in the filtered water. It filters over 45 contaminants such as microplastics, heavy metals, VOCs, endocrine disruptors PFOA and PFOS, pharmaceuticals and more, which we verified through a review of third-party test data. It has a rechargeable removable wand that powers the UV light, which is visible as the water filters through. Here in the Good Housekeeping Institute Labs, we have reviewed thousands of products, including water filters and water testing kits, not only for performance and ease of use but also for safety and sustainability. To evaluate water pitchers, we assessed the ease of setting up the pitcher and whether it was dishwasher safe. Finally, we spent 37 hours reviewing over 200 pages of third-party test data for these water filter pitchers to make sure each matched the brand’s claims of what it can remove.
While you might not be worried about this result, it’s worth considering how long it takes to get more filtered water if you’re ever going to fill bottles before a trip or serve water at a party. In order to determine the best water filter, we’ve used a combination of quantitative and qualitative tests to compare seven different water filters, and we’ve compared them with faucet-mount and reverse osmosis systems. Looking back at all of the testing we’ve done, we think your choice should be based on a good understanding of the tradeoffs, rather than an assumption that one product will be the best for everyone.
In our first round of research, we read studies on the types of contaminants that need to be filtered out to produce safe and great-tasting drinking water, and how the various water filters on the market work. We included the BWT pitcher in the first round of our tests, and it brita filter pitcher has an interesting and innovative design. The filter itself actually adds magnesium to the water, presumably to improve taste and increase the health benefits of the water. However, some of our taste testers did not like the flavor of the water filtered by the BWT pitcher.
The LifeStraw filter is ANSI/NSF certified for chlorine, taste and odor, lead, and mercury. The company has also had its filters tested to multiple other ANSI/NSF standards by IAPMO US and IAPMO India, which are accredited by ANSI and the Water Quality Association, respectively. These include Standard 401 for emerging contaminants; cadmium, chromium (III), and copper; glyphosate; asbestos; and bacteria and parasites (something our other picks lack).
The Aquagear pitcher holds 10 cups of water, like the other pitchers we tested, but it’s much bulkier and heavier when filled. It has the same automatic filling lever as the Waterdrop pitcher, but it doesn’t brita water dispenser close properly, which could allow for dust and other debris to gather inside the top receptacle. Presumably, this would be filtered out, but it would be better if the lever sealed every time water was added.