We rank whole house water filter and softener systems on their own numbers
A whole house filter treats water where it comes into your home, so every tap gets it. We score these filters on price and warranty, the two specs every maker here publishes. We show customer reviews of that exact model too, where we found enough of them, but reviews do not count toward the score.
It filters sediment first, then chlorine, taste and odor.
It has two stages and 1 inch ports.
It moves up to 15 gallons a minute.
iSpring covers it with a 1-year limited warranty.
Check the priceIt is the only one of the three with a published flow rate, 11 gallons a minute, plus a lifetime warranty against defects.
Check PriceIt offers a 60,000-grain tank option, the largest capacity we track on this page.
Check PriceCheck Price opens the maker's own site. If you buy there, they may pay us a cut. Your price stays the same, and the money never touches our scores.
Water softener vs whole house filter: which one do you need?
A whole house filter sits on the main line, before your water reaches any tap. Everything downstream gets filtered water. That means the shower, the kitchen sink and the washing machine.
So what is the difference between a water softener and a whole house filter? A filter takes stuff out of the water, like grit, rust and the taste of chlorine. A softener deals with the hard water minerals that leave scale on your kettle and spots on your glasses. They fix two different problems.
Plenty of homes need both. If your water is hard and it also runs cloudy or smells off, one unit will not fix both. That is when a whole house water softener and filter combo starts to make sense.
Not sure how hard your water is? Check it hereIf hardness is your only problem, see our water softener picks
Here is every filter we track
We score price and warranty, the two specs every maker here publishes. Crystal Quest does not publish a warranty for this unit, so it does not get an overall score. Every real number is shown below, and we never fill a gap with a guess.
SpringWell's salt-based softener takes the hardness out of your water. The base model holds 32,000 grains. It passes 11 gallons a minute. That size fits a home with one to three bathrooms. SpringWell backs it with a lifetime warranty against defects.
Why it ranks here: SpringWell is the only filter here with a published flow rate (11 gallons a minute) and a lifetime warranty against defects.
Best for: A home that wants a specific published flow rate to plan around.
Not for: A buyer who only wants the lowest price, since this is the most expensive of the three at $1,512.00.
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Crystal Quest's whole house softener comes in two tank sizes. The smaller tank holds 45,000 grains and passes 9 to 11 gallons a minute. The larger tank holds 60,000 grains for a busier home. Prices run from $1,531 to $2,393. The cost depends on the tank size and material.
Why it ranks here: Crystal Quest publishes two tank sizes, up to 60,000 grains, the largest capacity option in this group.
Best for: A larger home that wants a bigger tank option.
Not for: A buyer who wants a warranty term or a customer review number for this exact model to compare, since neither is published for this unit.
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Why it ranks here: This is the Waterdrop model that reduces iron and manganese. Waterdrop says its own third-party lab found it cuts 95.9% of iron, 99.7% of manganese and 97.7% of chlorine. It passes 15 gallons a minute.
Best for: This model suits homes on well water where iron or manganese stains the sinks. Waterdrop says no plumber is needed to fit it.
Not for: Skip it if hard water is your only problem, because it does not soften water. It also cannot serve a home that needs more than 15 gallons a minute at once.
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Why it ranks here: This is the lower-cost Waterdrop model, at $369.99. Waterdrop says it cuts 97.7% of chlorine and takes out sediment, rust and sand. It passes 15 gallons a minute. It does not reduce iron or manganese.
Best for: This model suits city-water homes that want to cut chlorine taste and smell for less. Waterdrop says no plumber is needed to fit it.
Not for: Skip it for well water with iron, because it does not reduce iron or manganese. It also does not soften hard water.
Check PriceiSpring whole house filters
iSpring sits at the cheap end of whole house filters. These are filters, not softeners, so they will not fix hard water. What they do is clean the water coming into your home. The two-stage WGB21B costs $173.99. The WGB21B-CPB costs $220.99 and adds lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury. Both move up to 15 gallons a minute. Both carry a 1-year limited warranty.
It filters sediment first, then chlorine, taste and odor.
- It has two stages and 1 inch ports.
- It moves up to 15 gallons a minute.
- iSpring covers it with a 1-year limited warranty.
It costs $220.99 and moves the same 15 gallons a minute.
- iSpring says it reduces up to 99% of lead.
- It also targets arsenic, cadmium and mercury.
- iSpring covers it with a 1-year limited warranty.
Both rows score under the same price-and-warranty formula as the ranked list above. iSpring does not publish grain capacity for these units, so no capacity spec shows here. We show them in their own group rather than folding them into the five-item list above, since they are a different kind of product (entry-level, no per-model review data) from the three ranked there.
What a softener and filter combo costs
A combo does both jobs in one system. You buy once and you fit once.
Five systems in our softener table pair a filter with a salt based softener. They run from $1,745.72 to $2,940.00. A softener on its own starts at $1,090.00 in that same table, so the gap is what the filter side costs you.
If iron is your problem, look at a water softener and iron filter combo instead.
Pick one without guessing
Start with what is in your water
Grit and rust need a sediment filter. Bad taste and chlorine smell need carbon. Many homes need both, so most systems on this page stack the two in one unit.
Then check the flow rate
Flow rate is how much water the filter can pass at once. If it is too low for your home, your shower drops off when someone runs the dishwasher. Count your bathrooms and match the flow rate to them.
Then read the warranty
A long warranty on the tank tells you what the maker thinks the tank will do. We score the term as it is written on the maker's own page.