Water Filter Pitchers Ranked by Cost per Certified Gallon
Last reviewed July 2026.
Every water filter pitcher we track that holds an accredited certification, ranked on cost per gallon of certified filtration — the filter's price divided by the capacity its certification actually covers. Sticker price tells you almost nothing: the cheapest filter here is Brita OB06 at $0.167/gallon, and the most expensive, ZeroWater ZR-002, costs 7.4× more for every gallon it filters.
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| # | Filter | $ / certified gal | Capacity | Lead | PFOA/PFOS | Certifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brita Elite Replacement Filter (formerly Longlast+) OB06 buy ↗ | $0.167 | 120 gal | ✓ | ✗ | WQA |
| 2 | Brita Standard Replacement Filter (Original) OB03 buy ↗ | $0.200 | 40 gal | ✗ | ✗ | WQA |
| 3 | PUR PLUS Pitcher & Dispenser Replacement Filter PPF951K1 buy ↗ | $0.375 | 40 gal | ✓ | ✓ | NSF |
| 4 | ZeroWater 5-Stage Replacement Filter (2-pack) ZR-002 buy ↗ | $1.233 | 15 gal | ✓ | ✓ | IAPMO |
Price per filter ÷ certified capacity in gallons. Prices carry the date they were checked in the dataset and drift; the retailer page is authoritative.
Certified, but not yet rankable
- Berkey Phoenix Gravity New Millennium Edition — no rated capacity published.
- Clearly Filtered CF-Pitcher — price pending.
Read the standards before the price
A cheap cost per gallon means nothing if the certification doesn't cover the contaminant you're worried about. NSF/ANSI 42 is chlorine, taste and odour — not a health claim. Lead and PFOA/PFOS are individual claims, certified under 53 where they exist, and a 53 listing covers only the contaminants its claim set names. 401 covers pharmaceuticals and other emerging compounds; no 401 claim set we read includes PFOA or PFOS. The Lead and PFOA/PFOS columns above follow each model's sourced claim, not its standard numbers — check the ✓ before the dollar figure, and see 42 vs 53 vs 401.
Where each ✓ comes from
Brita OB06: lead — WQA, NSF/ANSI 53, read 2026-10-02.
PUR PPF951K1: lead — IAPMO R&T, NSF/ANSI 53-2024, read 2026-10-02; PFOA/PFOS — IAPMO R&T, NSF/ANSI 53-2024, read 2026-10-02.
ZeroWater ZR-002: lead — IAPMO R&T, NSF/ANSI 53, read 2026-10-02; PFOA/PFOS — IAPMO R&T, NSF/ANSI 53, read 2026-10-02.
We do not test filters — we index what accredited certifiers publish, with attribution, and make no health or treatment claims. A certification covers a specific model against a specific standard; it is not a general seal of quality. We are not affiliated with NSF International.
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