The lowest-cost ways to get a certified PFAS filter

A pitcher or pitcher-style dispenser is usually the cheapest certified PFAS filter to buy: on Pennsylvania's August 2026 list of certified filters, which shows prices, they are the cheapest units to buy. Over a year, though, cartridges are the running cost, and a cartridge rated for 15 gallons has to be replaced about seven times as often as one rated for 100.

What you pay for

• The unit, once. EPA's cost ranges for carbon and ion exchange filters start far lower than its range for RO.
• Cartridges, for as long as you use it. EPA says not replacing a filter on the maker's schedule can increase your risk of exposure to PFAS.
• RO extras. RO needs a new membrane as well as cartridges, and EPA estimates it wastes about one gallon of water for every gallon treated.

The 11 certified options, by cartridge life

Each product below has a PFAS claim backed by an IAPMO R&T listing: Certified (IAPMO listing, checked 16 Oct 2026). Rated gallons come from those listings. The last column assumes 2 gallons of filtered water a day, or 730 a year; adjust it for your household.

Notes on the larger units:

• Aquasana rates its cartridge for "784 gallons of water or up to 6 months".
• Waterdrop rates its G3 CB filter, the WD-G3-CB on the PFAS listing, for up to 12 months or 1,100 gallons, its CF pre-filter for 6 months and its membrane for 24 months. The G3P800 page gives the same intervals.
• APEC's manual lists 6 months for the pre-filter, 12 for the GAC carbon filter and 24 to 36 for the membrane, which is the part on the PFAS listing.
• AquaTru's product page says its filters last from 6 months to 2 years. Its performance data sheet gives each stage its own limit, whichever comes first: 6 months or 600 gallons for the pre-filter (AT2001), 12 months or 600 gallons for the VOC filter (AT2003 or AT2004), and 24 months or 1,200 gallons for the membrane (AT2002). The PFAS listing covers AT2003 and AT2004, rated 600 gallons.

What the numbers show

• Pitchers and dispensers have the smallest cartridges here, 15 to 50 gallons. At 2 gallons a day that is a new one every one to four weeks.
• Faucet filters use bigger cartridges, 100 gallons on PUR's listing, so about seven a year.
• Under-sink and RO units need fewer replacements, set mostly by time limits. RO's starting cost is the highest on EPA's ranges.

Total PFAS, or PFOA and PFOS

Both PUR filters and both Culligan products list Total PFAS, which Michigan's PFAS Action Response Team says covers seven PFAS combined (PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, PFHpA, PFBS and PFDA), reduced below 20 ppt. The others list PFOA and PFOS only. Pennsylvania's August 2026 filter list notes that certification standards do not yet indicate that a filter will remove PFAS down to EPA's levels.

Keeping the running cost down

• Size it to your use. Rated gallons, not the size of the pitcher, decide how often you buy cartridges.
• Buy the listed cartridge. A listing names specific replacement cartridges. On PUR's certificate, the same pitcher shows no PFAS claim with its basic PPF900Z filter.
• Replace on schedule, by the maker's gallon or month limit.
• Check your water first. EPA says a filter may not be useful if PFAS have not been measured in your water or are below federal limits.

Every pitcher and dispenser we track is in Pitcher filters compared by certification. For RO, see our reverse osmosis and PFAS guide.