You can filter water at nearly any point in its path before it gets to you. There are whole-house systems, which filter water as is enters from the well or municipal pipes, but most are expensive and can be a hassle to install. Filter pitchers are easy but don’t hold much water, and they are limited in what they can remove.

A happy medium is countertop water filters. These small-ish tanks sit beside your toaster and often have more capacity than pitchers, but don’t require wrenches and screws — or, let’s be honest, a professional — to install.

If you’re wondering if you even need a water filter, the answer is probably yes, but it depends on where you live and how old your plumbing is. Most municipal water in the US doesn’t represent an immediate health threat, but we’re still outside the top 25 for global water quality, according to the Environmental Performance Index.

Beyond harmful contaminants leached from old pipes and faulty systems, there are newer concerns about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (forever chemicals, also known as PFAS) and microplastics entering water supplies, as well as residues and byproducts from water treatment facilities.

Read more: The Best Water Filter Pitchers for 2026

To find the best, we relied on certifications from top regulatory bodies, including the National Sanitation Foundation and the American National Standards Institute. We interviewed water quality experts and partnered with Tap Score, a leading home water testing service, to test the efficacy of water filters not yet certified by regulatory bodies. 

What’s the best countertop water filter?

With more certifications than any other model and a slight, intuitive frame, the easy-to-operate AquaTru Carafe is the best and most complete countertop water filter. But the Carafe it might not be the perfect match for your home. (Spoiler: it’s not the one I use in mine).

Here are six of the best countertop filters for cleaner water in 2026.

Best countertop water filters for 2026

Rorra’s unique submicron filter removes microplastics and PFAS without stripping minerals. / David Watsky

A stylish option that leaves healthy minerals behind

Rorra

• 
  
  
  Has a eye-catching keg design that always draws compliments
• 
  
  
  I love the pour handle and removeable reservoir
• 
  
  
  Easy to refill when empty, and changing the filter takes seconds
• 
  
  
  Special filter is engineered to remove PFAS, lead and microplastics while preserving minerals
• 
  
  
  The low profile and slim base won’t overpower your countertop
• 
  
  
  Has a filter life indicator

• 
  
  
  Carries no official certifications
• 
  
  
  More expensive than most gravity systems

Simply put, this was my favorite of the water filters I tested. Even though it doesn’t carry certifications like some of the others, it’s the one I keep on my own kitchen counter and much of that has to do with ease of use and a snazzy look. The Rorra is sharp, with a keg-like design and an easy pull-handle spout. It sports a subtle and chic brushed stainless finish, and the slim base makes it easy to find room for it on the counter.

Beyond its aesthetic appeal, the Rorra is easy to use. I never mind carrying the reservoir, which detaches from the base, over to the sink for refilling, and changing the filter out is also simple. This is also one of the few gravity filters with a filter life indicator, which turns from white to yellow when you’re nearing the end — under 25 gallons left — and red when it’s time to change.

The $549 gravity filter uses a dual-layer pleated electrokinetic nanofiber filter that’s designed to remove PFAS, lead and microplastics while preserving minerals. This partial filter is not meant to strip water as completely as reverse osmosis; instead, it uses a positive charge to attract and trap negatively charged particulates at high flow rates.

The Rorra isn’t certified by the top regulatory bodies to remove contaminants — likely due to the expense — but it has plenty of third-party testing to demonstrate its filtering power. In our independent testing, it reduced fluoride from 26 ppm to 7 ppm and lowered disinfectant byproducts to below Tap Score’s reporting level. This system also added a harmless amount of aluminum, likely leached from the container.

A stylish plastic-free water filter that’ll remove contaminants and attract compliments.

Filter type

electrokinetic nanofiber

Certified to remove

N/A

Tank capacity

2.5 gallons

Flow rate (gallons per hour)

2

Filter lifespan

200 gallons

Replacement filter

$65 with subsciption and $75 without

Materials

Stainless steel

Price

$449-$549

How we test and evaluate countertop water filters

To curate this list of countertop water filters, we relied on a combination of official certifications from regulatory bodies and lab testing with help from Tap Score. 

Filters that earned certifications, including our top pick, the AquaTru Carafe, and the Culligan Gravity System, have already been through rigorous regulatory testing, so we saved lab testing for filter systems that haven’t been certified to see how they stack up against their claims.

To test six of the water filters, we fluoridated the city tap water by adding a small amount of sodium fluoride. We ran 1 liter of fluoridated tap water, all drawn from the same vat of source water, through each filter according to the filter’s directions. We then sent it to Tap Score for evaluation. Within a few days, results were ready in Tap Score’s portal for each sample. We reviewed the results of the filtered water, guided by Tap Score’s trained water quality experts. 

Tap Score’s comprehensive results were especially useful, as they highlighted specific areas of concern in the water. The baseline tap water sample, for instance, had concerning levels of disinfection byproducts, including chloroform, a known carcinogen.

In a separate test, we chlorinated tap water using basic pool chlorine. We ran a liter of chlorinated water through each filter and tested it with strips to see how well each filter removed the common disinfectant. This test could not be performed by Tap Score’s lab since chlorine evaporates somewhat quickly.

We also smelled and tasted tap water filtered from each unit, side by side with unfiltered water, to see how the filtering process changed the profile. Reverse osmosis systems, including the AquaTru Carafe and WaterDrop, remove almost everything from water, leaving it with a clean, somewhat flat taste. The most noticeable change came from the Santevia filter, which remineralizes water with sodium, magnesium and potassium, imparting a salty, slightly earthy body.

The baseline water was also high in fluoride since we added it. This allowed us to evaluate how well the filters, particularly reverse osmosis filters, remove fluoride, which can serve as a proxy for contaminants in water. Our tap water before filtering had an overall score of just 39 out of 99.

Other filters we tested and liked

None of the filters we tested performed badly. The three filters below, while not at the top of our list, all performed well at removing tap water’s disinfectant byproducts and the fluoride we added.

Boroux: This $320 gravity filter system is the de facto successor to Berkey, the popular filters that were subject to an Environmental Protection Agency stop-sale order in 2023.

Boroux manufactures similar activated charcoal filters that are compatible with Berkey dispensers. These filters are WQA-certified to reduce disinfectant byproducts and emerging contaminants, including microplastics. The filter performed well in our Tap Score tests, removing any reportable levels of disinfectant byproducts and reducing fluoride from 26 ppm to 5 ppm. The system added a harmless amount of aluminum, likely leached from the metal container.

Sans Water Purifier: This $380 compact reverse osmosis filter lacks official certifications, but it performed well in our testing. It brought fluoride down below Tap Score’s reporting threshold and THMs (disinfectant byproducts) to zero. It also brought total dissolved solids down from 221 ppm to 38 ppm — a good showing, but not as good as WaterDrop.

Water filtered by the Sans unit contained a trace amount of antimony (0.0069 ppm), which Sam Bear, senior research scientist at Tap Score, suggested was likely leached from the unit’s plastic components.

Water filter buying guide: Factors to consider

What’s in your water?

The best place to start is by testing your own water to identify the issues. Roughly 85% of homes in the US use municipal or city water, which is closely monitored, tested and treated. That said, the city has no control over what happens to your water once it reaches your home.

Old pipes and faulty systems within your home can leach harmful contaminants, including lead, copper, and plasticizers, into water. As water scientist Dr. Eric Roy explained to CNET, “Your neighbor might not have lead in their water, but that doesn’t mean you don’t.”

Getting your water tested through a reputable lab, such as Tap Score, can help you determine what’s in your water and decide on the best course of action, including which filter to use.

You can also test your water for PFAS (forever chemicals), microplastics, agricultural pesticides, bacteria, disinfectant byproducts and other contaminants.

Those with well water are encouraged to test it once a year, as it is more susceptible to bacteria, nitrates and high levels of total dissolved solids. Tap Score offers an at-home test kit specifically for well water.

Type of filters

Once you know what’s in your water, you can make an informed decision about the type of filter to buy.

• Reverse osmosis: Using a fine membrane, this is the most complete filter among consumer types. Reverse osmosis filters are also the gold standard for removing lead, PFAS and fluoride. They require electricity and generate wastewater during filtration.
• Charcoal/carbon: Not as powerful as reverse osmosis, carbon or charcoal filters are cheaper upfront, but typically have a shorter lifespan. Many systems use gravity instead of electricity to force water through carbon filters.
• Ion exchange: Specialty filter that uses electropositive charge to bind certain contaminants, while leaving some minerals and heavy metals in water.

Water filter certifications: Official certifications vs. filters tested to meet standards

Official water filter regulatory bodies set some of the highest standards, and there are currently four widely recognized certifications for water filters. 

The National Sanitation Foundation and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) are the two main drivers and developers of water filter performance standards. Water Quality Association and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials are ANSI-accredited, third-party laboratories that test products against NSF/ANSI standards. 

Water filter manufacturers can choose to submit their products for various contaminant-removal certifications with one of these four bodies. Because of the high cost — filters must undergo expensive testing for individual contaminants — many choose to test to NSF/ANSI standards in their own non-ANSI-accredited labs. These tests and results are not regulated and thus carry less weight than those from official, accredited laboratories.

Cost and usability

The best filter is ultimately the one that targets your water pain points and fits into your lifestyle. Water filter pitchers are the easiest and cheapest options, but most have limitations on what they can filter. 

Whole-house systems filter water as it enters your home, not just the drinking water, so these are best if you’re concerned about hard bathing water or volatile organic compounds and disinfection byproducts entering the air through your shower. These systems are often the most expensive and require installation.

Countertop models like the ones we tested are somewhere in between. Many offer more complete filtration than filter pitchers, but without the installation headache associated with whole-home filters. That said, they require cleaning and maintenance and take up real estate on your kitchen counter or elsewhere. 

Are Berkey water filters safe to use?

In 2023, the EPA ordered a stop sale of Berkey Black Filters, labeling them as unregistered pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. The filters were found to contain silver to prevent bacterial growth, although no testing has found that the silver leaches into drinking water.

Berkey claims the stop-sale is largely a classification issue, and its water filters are still generally considered safe to use despite the EPA’s intervention. Out of an abundance of caution, we’ve chosen not to test or recommend Berkey filters for this list.

Experts we interviewed for this article

Sam Bear – Senior research scientist, Tap Score

Johnny Pujol – Water quality engineer and CEO of SimpleLab

Dr. Eric Roy – Water scientist, founder of Hydroviv 

David Watsky

Managing Editor / Home and Kitchen

David lives in Brooklyn where he’s spent more than a decade covering all things edible, including meal kit services, food subscriptions, kitchen tools and cooking tips.

David earned his BA from Northeastern and has toiled in nearly every aspect of the food business, including as a line cook in Rhode Island where he once made a steak sandwich for Lamar Odom.

Right now he’s likely somewhere stress-testing a blender or tinkering with a toaster. Anything with sesame is his all-time favorite food this week.

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