About FilterScored
You can't eyeball a spec sheet and know whether a filter is honest - that's the job we do for you. We score air purifiers and water filters on the things that actually matter and the things manufacturers bury: whether the performance is verified, whether the certifications are real, and what the thing truly costs to keep running. Nobody should have to decode a CADR number (how fast a purifier cleans a room), a HEPA class, an NSF certification number, or a micron rating just to buy one. We turn all of that into a single score you can check, and we show every step of the math.
What makes us different
- Deterministic scoring. Every point you see on a scorecard ties back to a rule you can read and an input you can check. Hand the same spec sheet to two people and they'd land on the same score - no mood, no guesswork. See the methodology.
- A claim is not a certification. We only credit certifications we can find listed on the official NSF, WQA, IAPMO, AHAM, or CARB databases. If a box says "tested to NSF standards" but the product isn't in the registry, that earns nothing - a promise on packaging is not proof.
- Total cost of ownership. The sticker price isn't what you pay. We work out the annual filter cost for air units and the cost per gallon for water units, so you see the number brands would rather you didn't add up.
- We will tell you a popular product is a bad value. The score follows the data, not the brand on the label.
How we make money
When you buy through some of our links, we earn an affiliate commission. Here's the one thing to know: that money never touches a score. We get paid the same whether a product earns a 9 or a 4, so we have no reason to inflate one. See our affiliate disclosure and editorial standards.
Confidence and corrections
Every scorecard tells you how sure we are. When you see a "Partial" label, it means we pulled the specs and price from the manufacturer's or retailer's own pages but haven't yet confirmed them directly against the official certification databases - so you know exactly how far to trust it. We date every price and review, so you can tell at a glance whether a number is fresh. Spot something wrong? Email editor@filterscored.com and we'll fix it and note the change.
What we do not do
We do not make medical or disease claims, and you shouldn't read one into our scores. What we can tell you is what a certification proves about removing a given contaminant, and we cite the EPA or CDC for why that contaminant matters in the first place. We are not a substitute for a water test or for medical advice - if you need to know what's actually in your water, test it.