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The right water test depends entirely on what you’re worried about. A $5 strip gives a rough hardness reading and confirms chlorine is present. A $200 certified lab panel tells you arsenic at 3 ppb, nitrates at 8 mg/L, and PFAS at 6 ppt. Numbers that could affect your family’s health.

Picking the wrong test wastes money and gives you false confidence.

Five Testing Options, Least to Most Complete

1. Home test strips ($5 to $15)

Dip a strip in water, hold it up to a color chart, read the result. Strips test for hardness, chlorine, pH, iron, and nitrates in most multipacks. The accuracy is around plus or minus 20 to 30 percent for most parameters.

Strips work for hardness (“is my water hard?”), chlorine (“is there any present?”), and rough pH checks. They don’t work for lead below 15 ppb, PFAS at any concentration, arsenic, bacteria, or anything requiring lab-grade precision.

2. Home test kits with liquid reagents ($15 to $30)

Better accuracy than strips for specific parameters. Hardness titration kits, copper kits, and iron kits are reasonably accurate for single-parameter confirmation. Still not suitable for comprehensive testing or health-based decisions.

3. Electronic meters ($15 to $50)

TDS meters measure total dissolved solids by conductivity. That number tells you how much is dissolved, but nothing about what. A TDS reading of 400 mg/L is consistent with safe hard water or with contaminated water. The meter can’t tell the difference.

pH meters are accurate and useful for monitoring aquariums or RO output. But for water safety, the key question usually isn’t pH.

4. Mail-in water test kits ($30 to $200)

This is the right tool for most homeowners. Certified labs send sterile collection bottles, you fill them following included instructions, mail them back, and receive results by email in three to seven business days. Results show measured concentrations alongside EPA MCLs.

Services include National Testing Laboratories, Tap Score, SimpleLab, and US Water Systems. Tap Score’s “Essential” panel covers 111 contaminants for around $100 to $130. Their “Advanced Well Water” panel adds PFAS and covers more than 200 contaminants for around $200.

5. Certified local lab ($50 to $300)

The most accurate option and the right choice for legal purposes. Real estate transactions, regulatory compliance, and situations where you need documentation require a certified lab. Find EPA-certified labs through the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791) or via the EPA’s online lab locator.

What to Test For Based on Your Situation

City water, general concern: order a mail-in panel that includes chlorine byproducts (trihalomethanes), lead, and PFAS. These are the contaminants most likely to affect municipal water customers that aren’t caught by typical utility monitoring at the tap.

Well water, annual check: bacteria, nitrates, pH, and iron at minimum. Add arsenic and heavy metals based on your region. The USGS has county-level mapping for arsenic risk if you want to know whether your area warrants it.

Pre-purchase home inspection: order a full panel with lead, arsenic, bacteria, nitrates, and VOCs. Use a certified lab so you have documentation. A mail-in service that’s EPA-certified works for this.

After installing a filter: test the same contaminants before and after. The comparison verifies whether the filter is actually doing its job. An RO system should reduce TDS by 90 to 99 percent and remove PFAS to below detectable limits.

The Accuracy Question

For some tests, ballpark accuracy is enough. Hardness just needs a “soft, medium, or hard” answer to decide whether to size a softener. Chlorine presence is binary for most purposes.

Lead at 5 ppb, arsenic at 3 ppb, PFAS at 4 ppt, nitrates at 9 mg/L (just below the 10 mg/L MCL): these require lab precision. A home strip can’t distinguish 5 ppb from 15 ppb. That’s the kind of difference that matters for a child drinking daily.

The Bottom Line

If you’ve never tested your water and want a useful starting point, a mail-in basic panel covers the highest-risk contaminants for most households without needing lab access. Budget $50 to $80. If you’re on a well, make sure the panel includes bacteria and nitrates. If you’re in a city, add PFAS.

See our comparison of the best mail-in water tests and the best at-home test kits for specific product picks. If you’re on a well, the complete well water testing guide covers what to test and how often.

Once you get results back, how to read your water test results walks through exactly what the numbers mean.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most accurate way to test tap water?
A certified laboratory is the most accurate option. Mail-in water tests use EPA-certified labs and report measured concentrations alongside federal limits. They're far more precise than home strips for contaminants like lead, arsenic, and PFAS.
Are home water test kits reliable?
For basic parameters like hardness, chlorine, and pH, home strips are reliable enough to confirm whether a condition is present or absent. For health-related contaminants, lead, PFAS, arsenic, and bacteria at low concentrations, they're not precise enough for safety decisions. Use a certified lab for those.
How much does a water quality test cost?
Home strips run $5 to $15. Mail-in basic panels that cover the most common health contaminants start around $50 to $80. A comprehensive panel with PFAS and VOCs runs $150 to $300. Certified local lab tests vary by location and parameters tested.
What does a basic water test check for?
A basic water test typically covers: lead, nitrates and nitrites, total coliform bacteria, pH, total hardness, chlorine, and iron. Some panels add copper, manganese, and arsenic. PFAS and VOCs require a more advanced panel.
How do I get my water professionally tested?
Two ways: mail-in kits from services like Tap Score or National Testing Laboratories send sterile collection bottles, and you mail samples back for certified lab analysis. Or you can submit directly to an EPA-certified local lab. Find certified labs via the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 or on the EPA website.