Best Water Filters: Brita Standard vs. Longlast vs. ZeroWater (2024 Tested)

The Longlast filters cost more upfront than Standard filters, but the math works out in their favor. You’re getting 3x the capacity for less than 2x the price. In our testing, they genuinely lasted closer to the claimed 6 months—we replaced at 5 months when flow slowed noticeably, not when the water tasted bad. The flavor improvement was identical to Standard filters: chlorine taste gone, water tastes clean.

Where Longlast actually differs is contaminant reduction. These are certified to reduce lead, mercury, cadmium, and benzene—the Standard filters aren’t. If you’re in an older home with potential pipe concerns, or your municipality has had water quality issues, this matters. TDS dropped from 280 to around 195 in our testing—moderate reduction, which is appropriate. We’re not trying to make distilled water here; we’re trying to make tap water taste good and be safer.

Standard Brita filters do exactly what most people need: remove the chlorine taste that makes tap water unpleasant. That’s it. They’re activated carbon with basic filtration, and they’ve been doing this job adequately for decades. If your main complaint is “my tap water tastes like a swimming pool,” these will fix that problem for about $6 per filter.

The limitation is longevity and depth of filtration. These are rated for 40 gallons—about 2 months for a typical household, though we noticed taste degradation starting around 6 weeks in hard water. They’re also NOT certified for lead, mercury, or other heavy metals. If you’re just combating taste and have no specific contamination concerns, they’re fine. If you want actual contaminant reduction, spend the extra $4 per filter on Longlast. The per-gallon math favors Longlast anyway.

Let’s talk about the refrigerator filter racket. OEM filters from Whirlpool or Maytag cost $40-60 each. AQUACREST makes a compatible filter for under $17 that’s NSF 42 certified—the same certification the brand-name filters have for chlorine taste and odor reduction. We’ve used these for over a year across two refrigerators with zero issues: no leaks, no weird tastes, no early failures.

The compatibility list is extensive: Maytag UKF8001, Whirlpool EDR4RXD1, KitchenAid 4396395, and dozens of others. Check your current filter’s model number before ordering, but odds are good this works. The only reason to buy OEM is if you’re paranoid about warranty claims—though we’ve never heard of a refrigerator warranty being denied over a third-party water filter. At 1/3 the price, the savings add up to $100+ per year for most households.

ZeroWater does exactly what it claims: delivers water with essentially zero dissolved solids. In our testing, it took 280 TDS tap water down to 0-3 TDS consistently. That’s impressive technology. The included TDS meter lets you verify it’s working—when readings climb above 006, the filter is spent. If you have specific concerns about heavy metals, PFAS, or other contaminants that standard carbon filters don’t fully address, ZeroWater offers measurably more thorough filtration.

Here’s the catch: filter life is brutally short in hard water. ZeroWater claims “40 gallons” but that’s for very soft source water. With our 280 TDS tap, we got about 15-20 gallons before the filter was exhausted—roughly two weeks of normal use. At $15 per filter, that’s approaching $1 per gallon of filtered water. Some users report filters developing a fishy smell when exhausted (the ion exchange resin releasing). For perspective, bottled water from a vending machine costs less. ZeroWater makes sense for specific use cases; for general household use, it’s expensive and high-maintenance.