While dozens of water filtration brands claim to be the best, you can only trust a few. I’m here to help pinpoint those brands.
For today’s review, I’ve chosen Brita—the most well-known brand in the water filtration industry for over 50 years.
I’ve analyzed, researched, and tested the most popular Brita filtration systems across all filter categories so you can better understand the brand and find the one you need.
Whenever you’re ready, let’s get into it.
Who Is Brita?
It all began in 1966 when Heinz Hankammer decided to make a simple filter jug in his garden to clean his dirty tap water. Since then, his company, named after his daughter Brita, has spread across multiple continents, providing advanced water-filtering solutions to over 70 countries.
Intending to combine top-filtration technologies, sustainable materials, and eco-friendly manufacturing, Brita continues to introduce new design concepts to the market. It’s bagged several certifications and awards for its products during its 50-year journey.
In fact, each Brita unit is NSF and WQA certified against NSF/ANSI 42, 53 and 401 standards. You can check the performance data of each filter on Brita’s website. You’ll find a vast catalog that features water filter pitchers, faucet systems, dispensers, and water bottles.
If you’re worried about the sustainability of water filtration products, Brita has a solution. It has set up a system in partnership with TerraCycle in which you can recycle your used and expired filter cartridges, pitchers, dispensers, and packaging. The whole process is free of cost and only requires you to ship the unit.
Brita offers a one-year warranty and a 30-day unconditional money-back guarantee on all of its filters. Its customer service is online five days a week to field your questions.
Let’s get to the review.
Water Filter Pitchers
Tahoe Water Pitcher: $36.99
I’m starting with Brita’s most popular filter, the 10-cup Tahoe water filter pitcher, which you’ll like for its large capacity and decent filtering speed.
The filter has a bulky, rounded design with no sharp edges. It is 5.68 inches in width and 10.38 in height, so it fits easily in the door shelf of most refrigerators unless yours is particularly small.
This filter will clean a cup of water in 38 seconds, meaning it will take about 6.3 minutes to filter 10 cups of water, which is also its maximum holding capacity.
You can outfit your Tahoe pitcher with Brita’s Standard filters or Elite filters. In both cases, your water will come out devoid of chlorine, particulates, lead, copper, and cadmium.
Pros:
The Tahoe Brita pitcher is convenient to use. Its lid opens when you press a lever on its handle, and you can fill it by just pushing the lever instead of needing to remove the entire lid. This also comes in handy when you hold the pitcher with both hands to fill it up.
The one thing I always look for in a water pitcher is an indicative feature that tells me the condition of the filters or my filtered water. This pitcher has a small LED on the spout that glows bright when pouring the water. The green light indicates your water is clean. Yellow shows the filters are close to expiration, and the red light indicates that you need to change the filter.
Cons:
This Brita water filter pitcher will not reduce your water’s total dissolved solids (TDS) levels. According to Brita, TDS is not a measurement of “aesthetic” water quality and it only focuses on removing bad taste, color, and smell in the water. If you’re troubled with high levels of TDS, this is not for you.
Another downside is that the lid doesn’t cover the spout hole. I, for one, am not a fan of open spouts because they let in dust particles. If I could make one suggestion for its design, it’d be to cover the spout.
Soho Water Pitcher With Elite Filter: $32.27
This one’s for small fridge owners. I couldn’t leave you folks out.
The Brita Soho Water Pitcher has a compact, sleek and space-saving design that can hold six cups of water. The filter, just like the rest of Brita’s pitcher filters, is made of BPA-free plastic that is solid and sturdy.
Like the Tahoe filter, the Soho also has a lever that you can push to open the lid. The slight difference is this lever design is more like a divot that protrudes out of the lid. It is efficient and convenient for people who can’t pick up heavy pitchers.
It comes with an Elite filter, but you can also get Standard filter replacements.
Pros:
This filter features a slightly more advanced filter life indicator that blinks and indicates filter life when you press the “status” button. You can easily set it up using the manual.
Cons:
A tiny design flaw I noticed is that while pouring the filtered water, some unfiltered water from the reservoir flowed down from under the lid. I had to hold the lid down every time to fill my glass. The Soho pitcher, like the Tahoe, also has a small opening at the spout that allows dust or bugs to fall into it. Not a fan of open spouts!
Plus, it doesn’t remove TDS from water.
Rapid Stream Water Pitcher: $30.99
The Rapid Stream pitcher features Brita’s proprietary filter-as-you-pour technology and has a capacity of 10 cups.
It features Brita’s Stream filter, which is designed to filter water as you pour, releasing fresh and delicious water without wasting your time, making it the best for people with low patience (including me).
The filter does not feature a lid-opening lever on the handle, but it has a button on the lid that pops it open.
Pros:
This filter has a sleek and compact design that fits easily in any small refrigerator.
It comes with an electronic filter life indicator, just like the Soho. Easy to set up and maintain!
You’ll love the rapid-pour technology of the Stream filter.
Cons:
The Stream filter only removes chlorine and particulates from water. It won’t remove lead, heavy metals, or TDS.
Another small problem with this filter is that it leaves a quarter cup of unfiltered water that can’t be poured out unless you remove the lid completely.
| Brita Pitcher | Filter Type | Capacity | Dimensions(in) | Cost |
| Tahoe | Standard | 10-cup | 10.22 x 5.68 x 10.99 | $36.99 |
| Soho | Elite | 6-cup | 9.8 x 4.45 x 9.37 | $32.27 |
| Rapid Stream | Stream | 10-cup | 11.2 x 5.43 x 16.38 | $32.49 |
Premium Stainless Steel/Hard-Sided Plastic Water Bottles: $23.99–$39.99
Rethinking bottled water, Brita’s popular Filtering Water Bottle features a built-in filter made of a unique blend of activated carbon and a binder that traps chlorine and class VI sediments.
The WQA-certified filter will clean about 40 gallons of water and last around two months. The replacement costs only $14.99 for a pack of three, so it’s pretty affordable.
The water bottles come in two materials, stainless steel and hard plastic.
Pros:
The hard-plastic bottles are BPA-free and sturdy, and they can withstand a mild blow if you accidentally drop them. Plus, they come in many colors.
The stainless-steel models are insulated with double walls to keep the water inside cold for 24 hours on hot summer days.
Both materials are durable and long-lasting.
With a built-in straw and top-performing filter, you can sip clean water on the go.
Cons:
The silicon mouthpiece is a bit too thick and requires a lot of suction when the water level goes down. It’s not a big problem, but I’d like it more if it were a regular straw so I wouldn’t feel weird drinking out of it in public.
Basic Water Filter Faucet System: $19.99
Brita’s Basic Water Filter Faucet System removes 99% of lead, chlorine, trihalomethanes (TTHMs), particulates, asbestos, atrazine, pesticides, and herbicides from your tap water.
It uses Brita’s proprietary carbon-block technology and a multi-stage unwoven filter to trap all the nasties in your water. The filter manages to keep healthy minerals in your water so you can enjoy the fresh taste.
It offers a decent life of 100 gallons that typically lasts four months and is equipped with a flow rate of 0.58 gallons per minute (GPM). The replacement costs only $17.99, which you’d need at least three times a year.
Pros:
It took me only 10 minutes from unpacking to installing it on my faucet—that’s how easy and fast the installation is. You don’t need any tools, just skim through the manual, and you’re good to go. The replacement filter also takes a few seconds to set up.
You can easily switch between filtered and unfiltered water by rotating the filter handle on the front.
I like that it features a filter life indicator which slowly turns red when the filter is due for a change.
Lastly, it’s tested by NSF and WQA against the NSF/ANSI standards 42, 53, and 401. So you can enjoy filtered tap water without worry. This faucet filter is built to remove far more contaminants than the pitchers or water bottles.
Cons:
I couldn’t find any downside to this model apart from the fact that it doesn’t work with any fancy or unconventional faucets like pull-out or spray designs.
And if you have high TDS in your water, you might need to change the filter sooner than four months.
Dispensers
Ultraslim Stream Water Dispenser: $44.99
For a slim option you won’t have to pick up each time you want a glass of water, try Brita’s stream water dispenser.
This filter has a sleek and slim design that can hold 25 cups of filtered water. It’s 6.06 inches wide and about 13.7 inches tall.
It will remove any chlorine smell and taste as well as other pollutants like lead, mercury, herbicides, and pesticides.
Stream filters will last about two months or 40 gallons, whichever comes first, depending on your water quality.
Pros:
Brita’s filter-as-you-pour technology makes it even more convenient for a big family because you can fill and drink. You don’t have to wait for it to filter slowly like with some models.
The Brita Ultraslim water dispenser comes with a smart LED filter indicator that glows when you turn on the spigot to pour the water. Green means your water is good for consumption, while red indicates you need to change the filter.
It’s easy to clean, maintain, and assemble, and it takes up very little space in your fridge, freeing up more space for uneaten take-out containers.
Cons:
I used it for two months, and everything seemed perfect—until it wasn’t. The spigot started leaking, and I had to get it replaced.
This issue isn’t limited to me either. Reviews and customers I spoke to directly reported the same issue.
Brita Hub Instant Powerful Countertop Water Filtration: $179.99
If you’re looking for something that will complement your modern kitchen hardware, the Brita Hub countertop may be what you need.
Brita Hub countertop filter boasts a gorgeous and minimalist design that can hold 12 cups of water in its reservoir.
The filter is a proprietary combination of pressurized filter technology and carbon block. It can clean over 70+ contaminants from water, including chlorine, trihalomethanes, lead, mercury, PFOS/PFAS, herbicides, pesticides, microplastics, and many others.
The Brita Hub filter lasts six months and filters about 120 gallons of water, and the replacement will set you back around $59.99 annually.
Pros:
Certified to NSF/ANSI 42, 53 and 401, this filter will produce only clean, clear and healthy water.
I loved that you could customize the shape of this filter according to your counter space by attaching the reservoir on either the side or the back of the dispenser.
Moreover, if you’re busy, just press one of the presets—12 oz. or 20 oz.—and fill your bottle without needing to push the button manually.
The Brita Hub is equipped with a filter-life indicator that glows green, yellow, or red according to the filter status. It comes with a detailed installation guide so you won’t have any trouble doing it yourself.
Cons:
I couldn’t find any downsides to this unit except that if you live in an area where you face frequent power outages, this filter is not for you—it requires electricity.
Replacement Filters
Standard filter: $6.13
Brita’s Standard filter works with all the water filter pitchers and dispensers. It uses a combination of coconut-based activated carbon and ion-exchange resin housed in one chamber to remove chlorine, copper, mercury, cadmium, and zinc while retaining essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, and fluoride in the water.
The Standard Brita filter can filter 40 gallons of water, which covers almost two months. This life can decrease if your water is full of sediment and TDS.
Elite filter: $19.99
Brita’s Epic filter (previously called LongLast+ filter) removes more contaminants and lasts longer than Standard filters.
It works with all of Brita’s pitchers and dispensers (except those that require the Stream filter).
Elite filters remove 99.5% lead, chlorine, class-I particulates, mercury, cadmium, atrazine, microplastics, and much more, using a pleated filter combined with active agents.
This filter lasts about six months (four months longer than standard filters) and can filter about 120 gallons of water.
Stream filter: $7.99
The Stream filter is Brita’s filter-as-you-pour technology. Since the contact time is reduced in this filtration, the stream can filter only a few contaminants compared to Standard and Elite filters.
Stream filters remove chlorine, class IV particulates, and trichlorobenzene in tap water, giving it a fresh taste.
Like the Standard filter, Stream needs replacement every two months after it filters 40 gallons of tap water.
Brita advises filtering only two gallons (7.5 liters) of water daily with the Stream filter for best performance.
The Bottom Line
Brita’s mission is to provide affordable and high-quality filtration solutions all over the world. Its NSF and WQA-certified patented filtration technology can clean your dirty tap water to varying degrees depending on the state of your water and the model you choose.
No matter your budget, the size of your family and your needs, Brita’s filters, whether water pitchers, dispensers, faucet filters, or water bottles, will make your life easier.
Brita has active customer service willing to help you with any query you may have regarding your filter.
Explore the website and learn more about Brita’s filters.
Methodology
If I was going to be impartial, I needed to conduct proper research, tests, and analysis to find out which Brita filters I felt comfortable recommending. So, I spent about five months on this review and followed this research methodology to achieve my results.
Step 1: A list of Brita filters
The first step was to enlist Brita filters with the highest popularity and sales in the United States. I achieved this by looking up websites like Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target, and Bed Bath and Beyond. I wanted to enhance my list, so I left a message in my family’s Whatsapp group, and soon my phone was ringing with suggestions.
I made sure I included a unit from each category of filters offered by Brita.
Step 2: Product analysis
Before moving forward, I needed enough information about each filter technology, including what contaminants it removed and what the certifications meant.
I divided the products on my list into four categories: water filter pitchers, dispensers, faucet filters, and bottles. Then I looked for the following:
- Filtration technology
- Certifications
- Flow rates
- Filter life
- Quality and durability
Step 3: Online reviews
The next step was to read online reviews left by customers on Brita’s website as well as e-commerce websites. I also consulted review websites like TrustPilot and TestFreaks. This step took me two whole days as I skimmed through hundreds of comments and feedback on each filter model in every category.
I carefully jotted down all the details I needed to judge the filters. But I didn’t stop here because online reviews can be fake and misleading.
Step 4: Interviews with real customers
I wanted to hear personally what people had to say about Brita filters, especially the ones I had on my list. For this, I conducted surveys on social media and met a few customers and professional plumbers in my area. Some people were kind enough to update me about their filters after using them for a few weeks.
This step helped me immensely, and I also ended up making a few new friends in my neighborhood. Win-win!
Step 5: Interview with Brita
This was the most exciting step. I scribbled down a few customer complaints and decided to ask the company how it planned to take care of it. I even prepared a few counter questions for the customer care representative to judge how they responded to me. They were quite accommodating and answered my queries patiently.
Step 6: Test drives
Of course, I needed to test the filters myself before finalizing my results. So, I bought the filters, along with Brita’s water testing kit to test the filtered tap water. I ran several tests over a period of four months. During the process, I analyzed the test results, flow rates, and the filter performance.
Don’t worry, the filtered water was put to good use and not wasted.
Step 7: Final rankings
Now was the time to score each unit on my list and identify the ones that stood at the top under each category of Brita water filters.
I scored each unit against the following factors:
- Cleaning performance
- Filter life
- Filter design
- Flow rate
- Ease of maintenance
- Certifications
- Cost
Final Thoughts
Brita is one of the most popular brands on the market due to its convenient products, cutting-edge filtration technologies, and unique designs. With an experience of over 50 years in the water filtration industry, Brita is truly a force to reckon with.
Because of its top-performing filtration technology, Brita easily takes the lead on many fronts, including longer filter life, better flow rates, and trusted cleaning performance compared to other filter brands.
Overall, Brita is worth the hype. Its filters are affordable and effective, with plenty of models to choose from. In case you still have questions, check out the website.
If you’re in search of reviews for water filters other than Brita water filters, you’ve come to the perfect place. Our extensive selection of water filter reviews encompasses a wide variety of brands and models currently available in the market. You can be confident that our comprehensive reviews will serve as an excellent source of information.
Here are a few water filter brands and models that we have meticulously evaluated:
