Owning a water filter pitcher is one of the most affordable ways to ensure you have safe drinking water at home. Moreover, they can replace thousands of single-use plastic bottles in a year. Here, LifeStraw and Brita are excellent brands to choose from. LifeStraw’s Home lineup includes the 10-cup water filter pitcher designed to protect against 30 contaminants. Brita offers a pitcher with similar capacity that also boasts the ability to filter key contaminants. Which product is better? Below, we compare the two water filter pitchers to find out.
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LifeStraw Pitcher vs Brita Pitcher Comparison Chart
Design
LifeStraw has a more stylish design compared to Brita.
Despite their capacity, LifeStraw and Brita’s water filter pitchers are compact and portable. The 10-cup pitcher from LifeStraw stands over 12 inches and is about 6.3 inches in diameter. Meanwhile, the Brita Everyday pitcher is over 10 inches in height and width and 5.4 inches in depth. Both products are designed to fit your refrigerator.
In terms of style, LifeStraw sports a flat-top cone shape. From afar, it looks like a regular glass pitcher. LifeStraw does offer a glass variant of the Home pitcher but only with the 7-cup model. The 10-cup variant is made from BPA-free plastic, making it fairly lightweight at just 1.8 pounds.
Brita’s Everyday pitcher is also BPA-free. Its design is similar to that of ZeroWater pitchers but without the spigot. At 2.29 pounds, it’s heavier than the LifeStraw Home, which requires a little more muscle to carry around, especially when it’s filled. To address this, Brita has outfitted its product with an ergonomic handle.
Depending on the unit you get, some Brita Everyday pitchers will come with an indicator for filter replacement. LifeStraw’s Home has no such feature. You can get the Brita in two colors — black or white — while LifeStraw’s pitcher is available in white, aqua, and charcoal gray.
Filtration Technology
LifeStraw combines two types of filters for its pitcher, while Brita gives users the option between a standard or elite filter.
But how good your pitcher looks isn’t the priority. If you want clean water, you’ll need to look at the filtration technology being used. Here, LifeWater employs a two-filter system. The first stage is a membrane microfilter that uses a technology similar to kidney dialysis. This hollow membrane has a pore size of 0.2 microns to filter sand and silt. It’s also useful in removing bacteria and parasites.
For other impurities, LifeStraw relies on an activated carbon + ion exchange filter. This filter reduces lead, copper, and other heavy metals. It also removes chlorine and odor to improve the taste of your water. Lastly, the filter reduces herbicides, pesticides, and other manufactured chemicals.
With Brita, you can choose from two types of filters. The standard filter uses activated carbon filters with an exchange resin. Based on coconut, it helps filter out mercury, copper, cadmium, and chlorine while retaining healthy minerals and electrolytes.
However, to reduce lead, you’ll need Brita’s Elite filter. The patented material comes with active filtering agents to reduce lead and Class I particulates. Its unique design also ensures improved flow for faster filtration.
Performance
LifeStraw filters out more contaminants but Brita offers a higher reduction percentage.
Based on their respective reports, LifeStraw’s filter removes over 30 contaminants while Brita’s pitcher protects against 15. LifeStraw was tested for microbiological pollutants, heavy metals, manufactured chemicals, and industrial contaminants. Meanwhile, Brita was tested for heavy metals, incidental contaminants, and chemicals. It’s important to note the testing was done under laboratory conditions. Below are the results of the common impurities filtered.
| Contaminant | NSF Reduction Requirement | LifeStraw Average % Reduction | Brita (using Elite filter) Overall % Reduction |
| Lead at pH 6.5 Lead at pH 8.5 | Min 96.67% Min 96.67% | 96.35% 95.49% | 99.5% 99.6% |
| Mercury at pH 6.5 Mercury at PH 8.5 | 66.67% 66.67% | 83.33% 83.33% | 95.5% 93.4% |
| Cadmium at pH 6.5 Cadmium at pH 8.5 | 83.3% 83.3% | 93.33% 93.33% | 97.4% |
| Chlorine | Min 50% | 97% | 97.4% |
| Bisphenol A | 85% | 95.44% | 95.5% |
| Ibuprofen | 85% | 89.23% | 94.9% |
| Naproxen | 85.71% | 90.71% | 96.4% |
Looking at the results, Brita offers a higher reduction rate across all impurities. Unlike LifeStraw, Brita’s pitcher also meets NSF reduction requirements for lead. Of course, this doesn’t paint the whole picture. As described earlier, LifeStraw Home does filter out more contaminants.
In addition to metals, LifeStraw’s pitcher reduces bacteria and parasites. The product can also reduce chromium III, copper, and barium. Four types of herbicides and pesticides are also filtered out by the LifeStraw Home pitcher. Aside from cleaning your water for more pharmaceutical pollutants, LifeStraw’s performance against TCEP and TCPP is tested. Across all these contaminants, the product meets NSF reduction requirements.
Filter Life
LifeStraw’s filters last longer than Brita’s.
While these pour-through pitchers are cheaper compared to installed units, there is the question of filter life. LifeStraw shares that its membrane filter is rated for up to 264 gallons. That’s equivalent to a year’s worth of use. Its activated carbon + ion exchange filter, on the other hand, filters up to 40 gallons or up to 2 months.
Meanwhile, the standard Brita filter has a lifespan of 2 months (40 gallons). However, its Elite filters last 3x longer, which translates to a 120-gallon filter life. Brita shares you only need to replace the Elite filter twice a year.
With LifeStraw Home, users can get 2, 3, or 6-pack options for their carbon filter. Its membrane filter is typically bundled with the carbon filter. In contrast, Brita’s Elite filter can be bought either in a single-pack or two-pack. The standard filter, on the other hand, is sold in more varieties. Users can get 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 10-pack options.
Verdict
For key contaminants, Brita’s water pitcher filter is a better option. If you want to filter out several other impurities, LifeStraw has the edge.
Choosing between the LifeStraw Home and Brita Everyday water filter pitchers comes down to the details. After all, both products have the same capacity. However, looking at the performance, Brita does a better job at filtering key contaminants like lead, mercury, and chlorine. For lead, the Brita Everyday meets NSF standards, too.
LifeStraw’s Home pitcher complies with NSF reduction requirements. Still, it comes up short when it comes to lead. Where it edges out Brita is the number of contaminants it can filter. If you’re keen on reducing bacteria, pharmaceutical pollutants, and industrial impurities, LifeStraw should be a better choice.
In terms of value, LifeStraw costs more than Brita. However, LifeStraw’s filters last longer, which translates to savings in replacements.
FAQs
LifeStraw’s carbon filter lasts for 2 months. This is about 40 gallons worth of filtered water. Its membrane filter, on the other hand, has a one-year filter life.
Changing a LifeStraw filter is easy. For the carbon filter, you simply need to remove the filter housing from the pitcher first. Next, remove the cap and pull out the carbon filter. Once done with that step, you can install a new filter and place back the cap. Finally, you simply return the housing to the pitcher.
To replace the membrane filter, you’ll need to remove the housing and bottom cap with the carbon filter. Second, take off the lid and push the membrane filter out. Next, you’ll need to install the replacement from the base. Once the new filter is in, simply reassemble the bottom cap and carbon filter. Lastly, install the bottom cap and the lid back into the housing, then place the entire unit inside the pitcher.
Yes, LifeStraw works. Lab results show it meets almost all NSF reduction requirements for key contaminants except lead.
Brita’s water filter pitchers come with a one-year warranty.