The hierarchy here is clear. For health protection, Clearly Filtered is the strongest option in the pitcher category. For taste and chlorine at low cost, Brita is the cheapest path. ZeroWater has a specific use case that’s narrower than most people realize before they buy it.
Brita Longlast+
NSF 42 and 53 certified. Covers chlorine taste and odor, lead (>99%), asbestos, benzene, and cysts. 120-gallon filter life. Cost per gallon: roughly $0.07-0.10.
What it doesn’t cover: PFAS. Fluoride. Nitrates. Arsenic. Pharmaceuticals.
Brita is appropriate for households on city water whose concern is chlorine taste, odor, or lead from household plumbing. It’s genuinely effective at those things and it costs less per gallon than any other option here.
But Brita’s market position and advertising can leave the impression it’s a comprehensive filtration solution. It isn’t. If your local water has a PFAS advisory or you’re concerned about fluoride, Brita won’t address it.
Clearly Filtered
NSF 42, 53, 401, and P473 certified. Covers PFAS (>99.5%), lead (>99.5%), fluoride (~98%), arsenic (~99%), pharmaceuticals, chlorine, chromium, radium, and dozens of other documented contaminants. 100-gallon filter life. Cost per gallon: roughly $0.25.
It’s slower than Brita because it runs water through more filtration stages. Multi-stage filtration takes time. If you fill the reservoir at night and keep the pitcher in the fridge, the production rate is a non-issue. If you pour and expect immediate results like a Brita, you’ll be frustrated.
The NSF P473 certification is what separates Clearly Filtered from every other pitcher on the market. That certification means an independent accredited lab, not the manufacturer, tested and verified the PFAS removal claims. At 99.5%+ for long-chain PFAS like PFOS and PFOA, the performance is documented and trustworthy.
ZeroWater
NSF 42 and 53 certified. Covers lead, mercury, chromium, cadmium, and reduces TDS to near zero. Does not remove PFAS. Does not remove fluoride. Filter life: 15-40 gallons depending on source water TDS.
The near-zero TDS claim is real. ZeroWater uses a five-stage ion exchange and carbon system that strips essentially all dissolved solids. The output registers 000-002 ppm TDS on a TDS meter, compared to typical tap water at 100-400+ ppm.
The problem is filter economics.
The ZeroWater Warning
ZeroWater’s filter life is inversely tied to your source water’s TDS. The company rates filters at 20-40 gallons for water with 001-050 ppm TDS. At 051-200 ppm, they estimate 15-20 gallons per filter. At 201-300 ppm, 8-15 gallons.
In Phoenix, where tap water TDS commonly runs 200-400 ppm, a ZeroWater filter might last 8-15 gallons. Filters retail around $10-15 each. At 8 gallons per filter, that’s $1.25-1.88 per gallon in filter costs alone.
Check your local water’s TDS before buying ZeroWater. Most utilities publish this in their annual water quality report. If your TDS is above 200 ppm, the ongoing filter cost can be dramatic compared to the other pitchers here.
ZeroWater makes sense in low-TDS areas (many Pacific Northwest cities, some Midwest cities below 100 ppm) where filter life extends and cost per gallon becomes reasonable. It also makes sense for specific applications where zero TDS output matters: CPAP water, fish tanks, certain plant applications.
Head-to-Head Comparison
| Feature | Brita Longlast+ | Clearly Filtered | ZeroWater |
|---|---|---|---|
| Removes PFAS | No | Yes (>99.5%) | No |
| Removes Fluoride | No | Yes (~98%) | No |
| Removes Lead | Yes (>99%) | Yes (>99.5%) | Yes |
| Filter Life | 120 gal | 100 gal | 15-40 gal |
| NSF Certs | 42, 53 | 42, 53, 401, P473 | 42, 53 |
| Cost per Gallon | $0.07-0.10 | ~$0.25 | $0.25-1.88+ |
Who Each Filter Is Actually For
Brita Longlast+: households on city water with post-1986 plumbing where the primary concern is taste, chlorine, and low-level lead risk. Budget-conscious. No PFAS or fluoride concern.
Clearly Filtered: anyone with a PFAS concern, anyone with fluoride in their water they want to reduce, anyone in an older home with lead-pipe risk, or anyone who wants the most documented protection from a no-install pitcher. The premium per-gallon cost is the price of that coverage.
ZeroWater: low-TDS municipal water areas where filter economics work out, specific applications requiring near-zero TDS, or households targeting specific heavy metals beyond what NSF 53 normally covers.
The Recommendation
For most households, the real choice is between Brita and Clearly Filtered. And the deciding factor is whether PFAS matters to you.
PFAS contamination is far more widespread than most people realize. The EPA’s most recent data covers over 2,800 public water systems with detectable PFAS. If you’re on city water in a state with military bases, airports, industrial sites, or known PFAS contamination in the watershed, Clearly Filtered is the safer default.
If you’ve checked your local water quality report and PFAS isn’t in your supply at detectable levels, and your main concern is taste and lead, Brita Longlast+ gets the job done for less.
See the full review at best pitcher water filters.