Faucet filtration equipment aims to eliminate potential contaminants posing a health risk if ingested through drinking water and improve its taste.
In that sense, the best products on the market remove many dangerous contaminants and aesthetic impurities (odor, color, and taste) and have been independently tested.
However, the faucet filtration niche is full of misinformation and speculation, so finding a reliable product is difficult. Don’t worry, though, as we researched, tested, and found the best faucet water filters currently available.
If you want to eliminate the most contaminants from your water, the PUR Faucet Filtration system is your best bet. Keep reading to explore other reliable alternatives, such as Brita or InstaPure.
- Filtration technology: Activated carbon block and ion exchange media
- The number of reduced contaminants: 70+
- What it removes: Aesthetic impurities, heavy metals, VOCs, disinfection byproducts
- Filter life: 100 gallons of filtered water per filter (approx. 3 months)
- Flow rate: 0.52 gallons per minute
- NSF certifications: NSF/ANSI Standards 42, 53, and 401
- Warranty: 2 years
- Filtration technology: Activated carbon block + non-woven filtration medium + ion exchange
- The number of reduced contaminants: 60+
- What it removes: Aesthetic impurities, heavy metals (except for mercury), VOCs, disinfection byproducts
- Filter life: 100 gallons of filtered water per filter (approx. 3 months)
- Flow rate: 0.58 gallons per minute
- NSF certifications: NSF/ANSI Standards 42, 53, and 401
- Warranty: Limited one-year warranty
- Filtration technology: Activated carbon fiber
- The number of reduced contaminants: 10+
- What it removes: Aesthetic impurities, lead, sediment, rust
- Filter life: 320 gallons
- Flow rate: Not provided by the manufacturer
- NSF certifications: NSF/ANSI Standards 42 and 372
- Warranty: Limited one-year warranty
- Filtration technology: Not provided by the manufacturer
- The number of reduced contaminants: 10+
- What it removes: Aesthetic impurities, lead, sediment, cryptosporidium, giardia
- Filter life: 200 gallons
- Flow rate: 0.5 GPM
- NSF certifications: NSF/ANSI Standards 42 and 53
- Warranty: Limited 2-year warranty
- Filtration technology: Activated coconut shell carbon block
- The number of reduced contaminants: Not provided by the manufacturer
- What it removes: Aesthetic impurities, chlorine
- Filter life: 200 gallons
- Flow rate: 0.75 GPM
- NSF certifications: NSF/ANSI Standards 42 and 372
- Warranty: 30-day warranty
Faucet Water Filter Reviews
PUR Faucet Filtration System
- Filtration technology: Activated carbon block and ion exchange media
- The number of reduced contaminants: 70+
- What it removes: Aesthetic impurities, heavy metals, VOCs, disinfection byproducts
- Filter life: 100 gallons of filtered water per filter (approx. 3 months)
- Flow rate: 0.52 gallons per minute
- NSF certifications: NSF/ANSI Standards 42, 53, and 401
- Warranty: 2 years
- The most efficient faucet filter removing the highest number of contaminants
- Reduces lead, mercury, and asbestos with a high success rate
- Independently tested
- NSF-certified
- The package features two Genuine filters
- 100-gallon filter life means frequent filter replacements
- Only two-year warranty
Most faucet filtration items on the market target only aesthetic impurities, and most don’t hold certifications proving the manufacturer’s claims.
Swimming against the tide, the PUR Faucet Filtration System is able to beat the competition with its ability to remove more than 70 pollutants. Plus, it’s certified (NSF/ANSI Standards 42, 53, and 401) by an independent lab. In its performance data sheet, you can see all the pollutants it can eliminate and their removal rates.
The success of the PUR model is thanks to the innovative design of the PUR Genuine Filters. These filters utilize different water treatment techniques, primarily the activated carbon and ion exchange media. Additionally, placing the filtration media within the cartridge subjects the incoming water to a path of twists and turns, ensuring prolonged contact time and a more thorough treatment process.
While the activated carbon properties of this product reduce odor, taste, color, and chlorine, the ion exchange media eliminates heavy metals with ionic structures. Since the PUR device removes the most dangerous ones (namely, lead, mercury, and asbestos), it’s your best defense against highly polluted water.
Besides its impressive water-cleansing capacity, the package of the PUR model features two Genuine filters, ensuring an uninterrupted start. Whereas with most faucet filters, you need to purchase replacements one or two months after the installation, the PUR device will provide safe drinking water for approximately six months without needing replacements.
The PUR item delivers 0.52 gallons of filtered water per minute. While that number can’t beat under-the-sink, countertop, or whole-house units, it’s standard for faucet units.
That said, one Genuine filter has only a 100-gallon filtration capacity. If you have a big household with high drinking water needs, you’ll need to replace it frequently.
Finally, the item is affordable, but the manufacturer offers only a two-year warranty.
Brita Complete Faucet Filtration System
- Filtration technology: Activated carbon block + non-woven filtration medium + ion exchange
- The number of reduced contaminants: 60+
- What it removes: Aesthetic impurities, heavy metals (except for mercury), VOCs, disinfection byproducts
- Filter life: 100 gallons of filtered water per filter (approx. 3 months)
- Flow rate: 0.58 gallons per minute
- NSF certifications: NSF/ANSI Standards 42, 53, and 401
- Warranty: Limited one-year warranty
- Removes 60+ contaminants
- Reduces lead, asbestos, and benzene by at least 99%
- Independently tested
- NSF-certified
- Has a spray water flow option
- 0.58 flow rate
- Doesn’t remove mercury
- 100-gallon filtration capacity
- Only one-year warranty
When it comes to the best faucet filters, the Brita Complete faucet system is only second to the PUR unit, as it’s able to remove more than 60 contaminants and holds all the relevant NSF certifications (NSF/ANSI Standards 42, 53, and 401).
The performance data sheet of the Brita device shows at least a 99% removal rate for the most dangerous drinking water contaminants like lead, asbestos, and benzene. On the market, only the PUR device entertains better numbers than these.
Distinguishing itself from other Brita filters that only employ an activated carbon block, the faucet models have a non-woven filter medium with a microscopic pore size and an ion exchange capacity. That’s what makes the unit effective against heavy metals with ionic structures and chemicals, such as volatile organic compounds.
The adjective “complete” in the product name suggests it’s an upgrade to the Brita Basic model. While the Basic model from this brand features only a regular water flow option, the Complete model has two different water flows: regular and spray flow. The spray flow makes it suitable for dishwashing, too, but let us warn you, washing dishes with the filter on will significantly decrease its lifespan.
The Brita model has one advantage over the PUR one. It supports a 0.58 gallons per minute (GPM) service flow, which is slightly better than PUR’s 0.52 GPM flow rate.
When it comes to the lifespan of the operating filter, there is no difference between the two, as both have a projected lifespan of 100 gallons, according to their respective manufacturers.
However, unlike the PUR product, Brita doesn’t hold a certification for mercury removal, which is one of the reasons why it’s only a runner-up on our list.
What’s more, its warranty option is even worse than what PUR offers. Brita comes with only a limited one-year warranty.
Waterdrop Faucet Water Filter
- Filtration technology: Activated carbon fiber
- The number of reduced contaminants: 10+
- What it removes: Aesthetic impurities, lead, sediment, rust
- Filter life: 320 gallons
- Flow rate: Not provided by the manufacturer
- NSF certifications: NSF/ANSI Standards 42 and 372
- Warranty: Limited one-year warranty
- Its 320-gallon filtration capacity makes it one of the most durable faucet filters on the market
- Removes chlorine, lead, rust, and sediment
- Affordable
- NSF-certified with NSF/ANSI Standards 42 and 372
- Not certified for lead removal
- Not compatible with irregular faucets
- One-year warranty
- Flow rate spec not provided by the manufacturer
Let’s say your water doesn’t have many contaminants, and you only want to remove the most prominent ones, like aesthetic impurities and lead. In that case, you don’t need a high-effort device, you need a durable one. In other words, you need the Waterdrop Faucet Water Filter with a 320-gallon filtration capacity, which is three times more than both Pure and Brita models.
Unlike many products in its competition, Waterdrop doesn’t rely on activated carbon blocks for its treatment process, as activated carbon blocks only remove aesthetic impurities. Instead, the manufacturer improvised on the activated carbon technology by turning it into an activated carbon fiber with a 0.5-micron pore size.
The prolonged exposure time and its microscopic pore size help it eliminate lead, sediment, and rust particles before they end up in your glass of drinking water.
But the real advantage of the Waterdrop product over the other items on our list is its filtration capacity. Considering an average American citizen consumes about 180 gallons of water per year, the 320-gallon capacity of the Waterdrop is able to provide safe, clean water for a family of two for almost a year.
The Waterdrop also holds NSF certifications, NSF/ANSI Standards 42 and 372. The former confirms that the device reduces chlorine, taste, odor, and color. The latter is proof that the unit is made from lead-free components.
That being said, although the manufacturer and the product’s users, including us, attest that the device removes lead, the Waterdrop faucet filter lacks the NSF 53 certification that pertains to lead removal.
Another disadvantage you should know about is that the filter isn’t compatible with a spray faucet, a faucet with an interior aerator, or any other kind of irregular faucet.
On a final note, despite the durability of its filter, Waterdrop offers only a limited one-year warranty on its product, similar to Brita. Although this is the general trend for faucet filters, it’s still poor.
Culligan FM-25 Faucet Mount Filter System
- Filtration technology: Not provided by the manufacturer
- The number of reduced contaminants: 10+
- What it removes: Aesthetic impurities, lead, sediment, cryptosporidium, giardia
- Filter life: 200 gallons
- Flow rate: 0.5 GPM
- NSF certifications: NSF/ANSI Standards 42 and 53
- Warranty: Limited two-year warranty
- Price: $54.99
- Removes chlorine, lead, cryptosporidium, giardia, and turbidity
- Compatible with well water
- Compatible with almost all kinds of faucets
- NSF-certified with NSF/ANSI Standards 42 and 53
- 20-gallon filtration capacity is better than Brita and PUR models
- Not compatible with drop-down faucets
- 0.5 GPM flow rate is on the low end of the competition
- Expensive
- Only two years of warranty
If you’re looking for a high-end, high-quality, and nice-looking faucet filter for your sink, regardless of price tag, the chrome-colored Culligan FM-25 is a good option for you. Its compact and slick design will go well with any faucet type.
Of course, the appearance of the Culligan FM-25 is not the sole reason we have it on our list. The product also removes chlorine, sediment, lead, lindane, atrazine, and turbidity, as certified by the National Sanitation Foundation and verified in its performance data sheet. The reduction rates are nothing short of exemplary. It has a lead removal rate of 98%, a chlorine removal rate of 97.4%, and a turbidity removal rate of 99%.
Alongside the most common tap water contaminants such as lead, Culligan FM-25 is effective against well water pathogens like giardia and cryptosporidium. So, it’s one of the rare faucet kits compatible with well water.
Although the filtration capacity of the Culligan FM-25 model is nowhere near the Waterdrop model, its 200-gallon lifespan is still better than the Brita and PUR products. If a family of two uses Culligan FM-25 only for drinking water, it’ll easily last them over six months.
Additionally, there’s another reason why Culligan FM-25 might appeal to more customers than the Waterdrop option, despite its cost. This filtration kit is compatible with almost all kinds of faucets except drop-down ones.
When it comes to flow rate, however, Culligan FM-25 is on the low end of the competition. It entertains a water flow of only 0.5 GPM, the lowest number on our list.
Lastly, Culligan offers only a two-year limited warranty on the unit. Although it’s one of the better warranty options on our list, considering Brita and Waterdrop, it’s still modest.
InstaPure F2 Essentials Faucet Filter System
- Filtration technology: Activated coconut shell carbon block
- The number of reduced contaminants: Not provided by the manufacturer
- What it removes: Aesthetic impurities, chlorine
- Filter life: 200 gallons
- Flow rate: 0.75 GPM
- NSF certifications: NSF/ANSI Standards 42 and 372
- Warranty: 30-day warranty
- Removes aesthetic impurities, and chlorine
- 0.75 GPM flow rate is the highest on our list
- 200-gallon filter lifespan is great
- NSF-certified with 42 and 372
- Affordable
- Made in USA
- Isn’t effective against health hazards
- Only 30-day warranty
Most faucet filters typically sport a flow rate of about 0.5 gallons per minute, which isn’t precisely a trickle, but it may infuriate the most impatient among us.
For those, the InstaPure F2 Essential Faucet Filtration System is a great alternative with its 0.75 GPM flow rate, which makes it the filtration option with the highest flow rate on our list.
Similarly to the Waterdrop model, the InstaPure kit holds two NSF certifications, NSF/ANSI Standards 42 and 372. While the former attests to the device’s capacity to remove aesthetic impurities and chlorine, the latter establishes that the construction of the tool is entirely free of lead.
Besides its flow rate and filtration capacity, the InstaPure product has another advantage. While most faucet filters are imported or made in other countries, InstaPure has produced its items domestically for almost half a century, offering a reliable brand for many Americans.
All the products on our list remove chlorine and aesthetic impurities, providing better-tasting water. But the InstaPure model takes things one step further by throwing a coconut shell carbon block in the mix. It gives the water a slight taste of coconut, which makes it more pleasant.
Like Culligan FM-25, the InstaPure has a lifespan of 200 gallons. So, it’s a better option than the Brita and PUR models, equal to the Culligan, but inferior to the Waterdrop.
However, if your water has dangerous contaminants such as lead, mercury, asbestos, or pathogens, we don’t recommend the InstaPure model.
Lastly, the device comes with only a 30-day warranty, which is the bare minimum for a water treatment product.
Frequently Asked Questions
This section answers the most commonly asked questions regarding faucet filtration devices.
A faucet filtration unit is designed to treat water for contaminants while it’s running at only one faucet. Depending on their specifications, different devices eliminate different contaminants.
Of course, when purifying the water, the filtration media require a prolonged contact time with the water to be effective. This causes most devices to drop the water flow to 0.5 GPM.
The PUR Faucet Filtration System removes more than 70 contaminants, the highest rate among faucet filters. In addition to its efficiency in removing pollutants, the PUR faucet kit holds all the relevant NSF certifications. It also comes with a performance data sheet that lists the impurities it removes and at what reduction rate.
Faucet filters are usually the most straightforward water filtration units to set up as they don’t require any tools for installation. You only need to connect them to the faucet by twisting on its connector.
These devices need no power, so you don’t need to worry about plugging them in or how much of an impact they’ll have on your electricity bill.
More often than not, the filter of a faucet filtration equipment requires monthly or bimonthly replacements. That is the case with the Brita and PUR filters on our list, while the Waterdrop model may last approximately four months.
Still, these numbers depend on how many people are in your household, how frequently you have it on, and whether you use it for cooking, washing fruit and veggies, and even dishwashing.
Faucet filters range between $10 to more than $100. However, the filters included in our list range from $20 to $55.
The most affordable device we recommend is the Waterdrop model at $19.99. On the other hand, the most costly one is the high-end Culligan FM-25 kit at $54.99.
Our favorite faucet filter, PUR Faucet Filtration System, has a reasonable price, too, costing only $34.99.
Conclusion
Faucet filters treat water as it runs at your faucet, and they’re among the most affordable water solutions in the water treatment niche. In that sense, they provide clean water for drinking and cooking in the least costly way possible.
Among faucet filtration kits, the PUR Faucet Filtration System emerges as the best, removing more than 70 contaminants, including lead and asbestos, as shown by its NSF certifications.
The Brita system is a worthy runner-up. It removes more than 60 contaminants, and like the PUR model, it holds all the relevant NSF certifications.
For those looking for an affordable kit, the Waterdrop device is a great alternative, costing only $19.99 and effectively removing aesthetic impurities, chlorine, and lead.
Do you want a slick-looking filter for your faucet? The high-end chrome-colored Culligan model is what you’re looking for.
Lastly, if a high flow rate is your priority, InstaPure F2 Essentials is the ideal choice with its 0.75 flow rate, a notch above its competition.
