We rank whole house water filters on their own numbers
A whole house filter treats water where it comes into your home, so every tap gets it. We rank these filters on four numbers their makers publish: flow rate, filter capacity, warranty, and what the filters cost you each year. Each number counts the same. We show you the raw number next to every score.
It scores highest across all four checks in our table.
Check PriceIt is built for iron and grit, which a city water filter does not have to handle.
Check PriceIt has the lowest filter cost each year in our table.
Check PriceCheck Price opens the maker's own site. If you buy there, they may pay us a cut. Your price stays the same, and the money never touches our scores.
Here is what it does, and who needs one
A whole house filter sits on the main line, before your water reaches any tap. Everything downstream gets filtered water. That means the shower, the kitchen sink, and the washing machine.
A filter and a softener are not the same thing. A filter takes stuff out of the water, like grit, rust and the taste of chlorine. A softener deals with hard water minerals that leave scale on your kettle and spots on your glasses.
Plenty of homes need both. If your water is hard and it also runs cloudy or smells off, one unit will not fix both problems.
Not sure how hard your water is? Check it hereIf hardness is your only problem, see our water softener picks
Here is every filter we track, in order
They are sorted by overall score. Click any number to see where it came from.
Why it ranks here: data pending· rank reason, drawn only from the four specs above
Best for: data pending· household or water type this fits
Not for: data pending· the case where its own specs fall short
Check PriceWhy it ranks here: data pending· rank reason, drawn only from the four specs above
Best for: data pending· household or water type this fits
Not for: data pending· the case where its own specs fall short
Check PriceWhy it ranks here: data pending· rank reason, drawn only from the four specs above
Best for: data pending· household or water type this fits
Not for: data pending· the case where its own specs fall short
Check PriceThe maker does not publish this number. We have left it blank rather than guess.
Pick one without guessing
Start with what is in your water
Grit and rust need a sediment filter. Bad taste and chlorine smell need carbon. Many homes need both, so most systems on this page stack the two in one unit.
Then check the flow rate
Flow rate is how much water the filter can pass at once. If it is too low for your home, your shower drops off when someone runs the dishwasher. Count your bathrooms and match the flow rate to them.
Then look at the yearly cost
The sticker price is the small half of what you pay. Filters wear out and get swapped. We work out the yearly cost from the maker's own replacement price and its own swap schedule, and we put that number in the table.
Then read the warranty
A long warranty on the tank tells you what the maker thinks the tank will do. We score the term as it is written on the maker's own page.