The 8 Best Whole-House Water Filters to Improve Your Drinking Water

Best Overall

Aqua-Pure 3M Water Filter System AP904

$441 $420 at Amazon View on Aquapurefilters.com View on Freshwatersystems.com

The best water filter for your home ultimately depends on the contaminants in your supply. We recommend the Aqua-Pure 3M Water Filtration System AP904 because it handles the basic contaminants present in most water supplies, such as sediment, chlorine, chloramine, and other volatile organic chemicals that make water smell and taste bad.

This whole-home filter incorporates three stages of filtration and treatment (sediment reduction, taste, and odor reduction, and scale reduction) in a single-cylinder cartridge that can filter up to 100,000 gallons before it needs to be replaced. That's enough water to satisfy all the needs of a typical family of four for over eight months.

This is a good whole-house water filter for city water because most municipal water supplies are treated with chlorine or chloramine and don't contain many other contaminants. However, it doesn't handle more serious contaminants like bacteria, viruses, and heavy metals, so it isn't the right system if your water test turns up any of those contaminants.

We recommend the Aquasana Whole House Well Water Filtration System (our best for well water pick) for more serious contaminants, because it includes comprehensive filtration, including a KDF (kinetic degradation fluxion) filter for heavy metals and a UV light for bacteria.

Since this is a single-cartridge system, the cartridges' lifespans will depend on how much filtration they need to perform. If your water supply contains a lot of sediment, 3M recommends installing a dedicated sediment filter. For those situations, we like the iSpring WSP50ARB (our best sediment pick).

Professional installation is best for this system as it requires soldering, but 3M’s quick-change cartridge system simplifies ongoing maintenance. There aren’t multiple complicated components, filter replacement is quick and easy.

_{Dimensions: 25.2 x 4.5 x 4.5 inches | Number of Stages: Three | Flow Rate: 20 GPM | Filtration Method: Mechanical, absorption, scale inhibition}

Best Value

GE Whole House Water Filtration System & Basic Filter GXWH20T & FXUSC

$51 $43 at Amazon

This kit provides high-quality basic filtration in a package that’s easy to install and easy to use. It comes with the GE GXWH20T whole-house water filter housing and a basic FXUSC filter, but you can upgrade to a more advanced FXWTC filter if your situation calls for more intense filtration.

The included filters handle sediment and rust, while the more advanced option also reduces chlorine and removes unpleasant tastes and odors, so they're good for city water in most municipalities. We noted the flow rate is decent, at a maximum of 12 GPM, which is enough to handle multiple simultaneous showers and other fixtures without a loss of pressure.

If you opt to use a more advanced filter with this whole-house filtration system, adding a spin-down sediment filter in-line is a low-cost way to extend filter life. Otherwise, the filters usually last about three months and can process up to 16,000 gallons before you need to replace them. That's a lot less than the 100,000 gallons that our overall best recommendation can filter between replacements. However, due to the different levels of filtration, replacement filters cost over $300, while the filters for this are about $10.

_{Dimensions: 2 x 5 x 9 inches | Number of Stages: One | Flow Rate: 12 GPM | Filtration Method: Mechanical}

Best for City Water

Waterdrop WD-WHF21-PG Whole House Water Filter System

View on Amazon

The best water filtration system for city water depends on the quality of the local water, but most municipal water supplies have either chlorine or chloramine along with sediment. This system from Waterdrop includes two filters (one for sediment and one for soaking up chemicals like chloramine and chlorine), which is why we think it’s the best option for city water in most cases.

This system doesn’t have a flow rate as high as our overall best pick, but it’s enough to get a lot done. With a flow rate of 15 GPM, you can flush your toilet while running a shower, run about three showers at once, run both a washing machine and dishwasher, or run three faucets at once without experiencing a drop in water pressure.

While this system is good for most city water, it’s still important to get yours checked (or at least ask your water provider for their yearly water quality report.) If you have a lot of dissolved minerals in your water, then our best for hard water pick is a better choice, and you may need the additional filtration of our best for well water pick if your municipal water is especially contaminated.

_{Dimensions: 14.37 x 7.48 x 15.55 inches | Number of Stages: Two | Flow Rate: 15 GPM | Filtration Method: Mechanical, absorption}

Best for Hard Water

AQUASURE Whole House Filtration Water Softener

$860 at Amazon $1,060 at Wayfair $978 $800 at Home Depot

If you have hard water, you'll benefit from a system with stages for both filtration and water softening. We like the Aquasure Signature Pro Series 64K for homes with hard water and other contaminants like chlorine because it includes a triple-purpose sediment, carbon, and zinc water filter, a high-capacity water softener with digital controls, and a dedicated reverse osmosis under-sink filter system for clean drinking water.

This filter takes up a lot of space, especially with the large brine discharge tank, but the results are well worth it if you have enough room. Including a filter, a softener with a brine tank, and an under-sink reverse osmosis system with a drinking water tank complicates installation, so you’ll likely need to hire a plumber for this job.

Maintenance is easy because this system uses a single multi-stage filter held in a screw-on housing. The softener is also easy to maintain because the digital control head allows you to set up automatic back flushing and purging according to your schedule.

_{Dimensions: 16 x 60 x 28 inches | Number of Stages: Three + Four | Flow Rate: 20 GPM | Filtration Method: Mechanical, absorption, reverse osmosis}

Best for Well Water

Aquasana Whole House Well Water Filter System

$2,297 at Amazon $2,297 at Walmart View on Aquasana.com

The Aquasana Rhino Whole House Well Water Filter System is a comprehensive solution for those who depend on well water. It’s also an excellent choice if you have low-quality municipal water and need a comprehensive filtration solution.

This five-stage system filters out sediments and particulate matter with pre- and post-filters, a copper-zinc KDF filter, a salt-free water conditioner, and a UV filter. The UV filter is the most crucial component for any well water filtration system, and this one sterilizes 99.99 percent of all bacteria and viruses present in your water.

All of that filtration does come at a cost, which is a fairly low flow rate, so this system is best for smaller households and homes that use water-conserving low-flow fixtures.

This system provides comprehensive filtering, but maintenance is very easy. The primary filters can handle up to 500,000 gallons between replacements, so you only need to worry about the pre- and post-filters for regular maintenance (every two months or so). It does require professional installation, though, because installing it without a licensed plumber voids the warranty.

_{Dimensions: 10.5 x 69 x 53 inches | Number of Stages: Five | Flow Rate: 14.7 GPM | Filtration Method: Mechanical, ultraviolet, sedimentation}

Best Sediment Filter

iSpring WSP50ARB Spin Down Sediment Water Filter

$193 $162 at Amazon $193 at Walmart $162 at Home Depot

The iSpring WSP50ARB is our favorite sediment filter because it’s easy to install and operate. It has a digital display, an automatic flushing option, and a built-in housing scraper. The touch screen is a little dim, but it’s a great feature that provides intuitive controls.

This filter includes a reusable 50-micron filter that removes large particulate matter, so it’s ideal if your only issue with water quality is the presence of rust, sediments, and other suspended particles.

We like that this filter automatically flushes itself for 15 seconds every 15 days without any extra work. However, if your water has more or less sediment than average, you can use the touchscreen to adjust the frequency and duration of the auto-flush.

We also recommend pairing this filter with other water filtration systems to prolong the life of the other filters.

_{Dimensions: 13.8 x 5 x 4 inches | Number of Stages: One | Flow Rate: 25 GPM | Filtration Method: Sedimentation}

Best for Small Homes

iSpring WGB21B

$183 $128 at Amazon

We think the iSpring WGB21B is ideal for small homes, cabins, and other places where space is at a premium because it provides two-stage filtering in a very compact form factor. It comes with one sediment filter and one CTO carbon filter, so it’s set up to handle particulate matter and unpleasant tastes and odors right out of the box.

This filtration system doesn’t remove heavy metals or other contaminants with the included filters, but you can swap out the sediment filter for the iSpring FM15B Iron and Manganese Reducing Filter if your water has high metal contents. If you do that, you may want to add a dedicated spin-down sediment filter (they don't take much space and will prolong filter life).

Whether you use the stock filters or add an Iron and Manganese filter, this system provides a decent flow rate of 15 GPM, which is sufficient for small homes with one or two bathrooms and modest water requirements.

_{Dimensions: 26 x 19 x 11 inches | Number of Stages: Two | Flow Rate: 15 GPM | Filtration Method: Mechanical, absorption}

Easiest to Install

GE High Flow Water Filtration System

$76 $60 at Amazon $100 at Walmart $65 at Home Depot

This whole-house filtration system from GE includes everything you’ll need to complete a successful installation (except the filter cartridge, which you can choose based on your filtration needs). Installation is very straightforward, as long as you have some experience with plumbing, because there’s no need to cut or weld anything.

The system installs in line with your main water supply and includes one-inch plumbing connections that will do the trick in most homes. The unit has a built-in pressure relief valve and bypass option, so installation is really as simple as hooking it up in line with your supply.

This system doesn’t have a filter cartridge, so you’ll need to pick up an FXHTC (removes chemicals like chlorine) or FXHSC (basic sediment filtration) cartridge, depending on your needs. You need to change these filters every three months or every 30,000 gallons, whichever comes first, but it’s a very simple process.

_{Dimensions: 16.4 x 8.4 x 7.9 inches | Number of Stages: One | Flow Rate: 15 GPM | Filtration Method: Mechanical, absorption}