The 9 Best Water Filters

For a home that wants reverse osmosis without a bulky storage tank, the Waterdrop G3P600 is the one to start with. A small pump pushes water through the membrane, so a glass fills quickly, and the faucet shows filter life and water quality. Water Filter Guru's lab test of its bigger sibling found every tested health contaminant removed. It needs a power outlet under the sink, and the install takes about two hours.

If your water report flags lead or chlorine but nothing that calls for reverse osmosis, the A.O. Smith AO-US-200 handles it without sending water down the drain. Two cartridges feed a separate faucet and leave the natural minerals in. Its certification covers lead, chloramine and a set of newer contaminants. Swap the pair about every six months. It won't touch fluoride or nitrate, and the extra faucet may need a new hole in the sink.

The APEC ROES-50 is a classic tank-style reverse osmosis setup that runs on household water pressure alone, with no pump or outlet. It fills its storage tank slowly, then pours at a steady clip from its own faucet. A lab test of a close sibling found every listed health contaminant removed. The trade-off is water: that test sent several gallons down the drain for each one made, and the tank takes real cabinet space.

The Culligan ZeroWater 10-Cup suits renters who want strong filtering without touching the plumbing. Its ion-exchange filter is certified to cut lead and PFAS, and a lab test of the brand's filter found the tested health contaminants gone, fluoride included. A meter in the box tells you when the filter is spent. That happens fast, since a filter lasts about 20 gallons, so the running cost adds up and the water can taste flat.

With no plumbing and no power, the Royal Berkey works anywhere there is counter space, from a rental kitchen to a cabin. Water drips through black carbon elements from the upper steel chamber into the lower one. Independent lab results show strong lead and chlorine removal, but no third-party certification backs the maker's broader claims. Its fluoride add-on filters leached aluminum in one test. Expect slow output, hours of priming and regular cleaning.

Reverse osmosis water can taste flat, and the Home Master TMAFC Artesian answers that by adding calcium and magnesium back in two passes. Each filter comes sealed with its housing built in, so a change swaps the whole unit and leaves no old housing to scrub. A wider feed line gives a quicker pour than a typical tank system. The drawback is upkeep cost, since those all-in-one filters cost more than plain cartridges.

Changing one cartridge a year is the whole upkeep plan for the WaterChef U9000. Its single steel-shelled filter is certified for lead, chlorine and a set of newer contaminants, and it leaves the minerals in. A light on the faucet tells you when the cartridge is used up, and the system is built in the U.S. The price is steep for a carbon filter, and it leaves fluoride and dissolved salts alone.

Set it up once and leave it for years: the CuZn UC-200 connects to the cold line under the sink and filters what comes out of the faucet you already have. No new hole is needed, there's nothing to plug in, and the maker rates the filter for five years. Its certification covers chlorine taste and odor only, though. Claims about lead and PFAS rest on the maker's own testing.

The Brita Large 10-Cup is the cheap, familiar way to make tap water taste better, and its filters are sold almost everywhere. The standard filter in the box targets chlorine taste and a few metals and lasts about two months. For lead, buy the longer-lasting Elite filter, which fits the same pitcher. Lab results show even that filter leaves many contaminants behind, so treat this pitcher as a taste fix.