Water · Best-of
Best Water Filter for Mercury
Bottom line
In our scoring, the Brita Elite Pitcher (10-Cup) is the best water filter for mercury, leading with a composite of 8.4 on the strength of its broad certified contaminant scope - mercury, lead, and PFOA/PFOS among them - at a low cost per gallon. The Culligan US-EZ-4 Under-Sink is our runner-up for households that prefer a plumbed-in filter.
If you want mercury out of your drinking water, the only filters worth your money are the ones with an accredited certification for mercury reduction - the rest are guesswork. For context, the EPA sets a federal limit of 2 parts per billion for mercury, because it's a heavy metal that builds up in the body over time. Every product on this list carries a mercury-reduction certification listed on an official database (NSF, WQA, or IAPMO); we leave out any filter that's only "tested to" a standard, since in our view that marketing phrase proves nothing. A verified mercury certification is the price of admission here.
How we score: A filter needs a mercury-reduction certification we can verify on an official NSF, WQA, or IAPMO database to qualify - then we rank the survivors by our composite score, which weights certified contaminant scope, cost per gallon, and rating honesty.
- 18.4Brita Elite Pitcher (10-Cup)
The Brita Elite Pitcher (10-Cup) is a pitcher water filter. It is third-party certified (WQA/NSF/IAPMO) to reduce chlorine taste and odor, lead, mercury, cadmium, asbestos, benzene, particulates, PFOA, PFOS, microplastics. Running cost works out to about $0.167 per gallon.
- Certified to reducechlorine taste and odor, lead, mercury, cadmium, asbestos, benzene, particulates, PFOA, PFOS, microplastics
- Cartridge life120 gallons
- Cost per gallon$0.167
- 27.5Culligan US-EZ-4 Under-Sink
The Culligan US-EZ-4 Under-Sink is a under sink water filter. It is third-party certified (IAPMO) to reduce chlorine taste and odor, chloramine, lead, mercury, cysts, VOCs, MTBE, turbidity, PFOA, PFOS. It is also marketed for pharmaceuticals, for which we found no accredited third-party certification (so we award no certification credit; this is not a finding that it fails to reduce them). Running cost works out to about $0.091 per gallon.
- Certified to reducechlorine taste and odor, chloramine, lead, mercury, cysts, VOCs, MTBE, turbidity, PFOA, PFOS
- Cartridge life500 gallons
- Cost per gallon$0.091
- 37.2Aquasana AQ-5200 Under-Sink
The Aquasana AQ-5200 Under-Sink is a under sink water filter. It is third-party certified (WQA) to reduce lead, chlorine taste and odor, chloramine, PFOA, PFOS, VOCs, mercury, asbestos, cysts, MTBE, microplastics, pharmaceuticals. Running cost works out to about $0.148 per gallon.
- Certified to reducelead, chlorine taste and odor, chloramine, PFOA, PFOS, VOCs, mercury, asbestos, cysts, MTBE, microplastics, pharmaceuticals
- Cartridge life500 gallons
- Cost per gallon$0.148
- 46.6Waterdrop G3P800 Tankless RO
The Waterdrop G3P800 Tankless RO is a ro water filter. It is third-party certified (IAPMO) to reduce chlorine taste and odor, total dissolved solids (TDS), lead, fluoride, cadmium, chromium-6, selenium, arsenic, nitrate, mercury, copper, barium, PFOA, PFOS. Running cost works out to about $0.123 per gallon.
- Certified to reducechlorine taste and odor, total dissolved solids (TDS), lead, fluoride, cadmium, chromium-6, selenium, arsenic, nitrate, mercury, copper, barium, PFOA, PFOS
- Cartridge life2,200 gallons
- Cost per gallon$0.123
- 56.4PUR Plus Faucet Mount (PFM400H)
The PUR Plus Faucet Mount (PFM400H) is a faucet water filter. It is third-party certified (NSF) to reduce lead, chlorine taste and odor, mercury, asbestos, benzene, microplastics, pesticides. Running cost works out to about $0.250 per gallon.
- Certified to reducelead, chlorine taste and odor, mercury, asbestos, benzene, microplastics, pesticides
- Cartridge life100 gallons
- Cost per gallon$0.250
- 65.9PUR Plus Pitcher (7-Cup)
The PUR Plus Pitcher (7-Cup) is a pitcher water filter. It is third-party certified (NSF/WQA) to reduce chlorine taste and odor, lead, mercury, copper, zinc, cadmium, microplastics. Running cost works out to about $0.374 per gallon.
- Certified to reducechlorine taste and odor, lead, mercury, copper, zinc, cadmium, microplastics
- Cartridge life40 gallons
- Cost per gallon$0.374
- 75.6Brita Standard Pitcher
The Brita Standard Pitcher is a pitcher water filter. It is third-party certified (WQA) to reduce chlorine taste and odor, zinc, copper, cadmium, mercury. Running cost works out to about $0.200 per gallon.
- Certified to reducechlorine taste and odor, zinc, copper, cadmium, mercury
- Cartridge life40 gallons
- Cost per gallon$0.200
- 84.9ZeroWater 5-Stage Pitcher (7-Cup)
The ZeroWater 5-Stage Pitcher (7-Cup) is a pitcher water filter. It is third-party certified (IAPMO) to reduce chlorine taste and odor, lead, chromium-6, mercury, PFOA, PFOS. It is also marketed for total dissolved solids (TDS), for which we found no accredited third-party certification (so we award no certification credit; this is not a finding that it fails to reduce them). Running cost works out to about $1.167 per gallon.
- Certified to reducechlorine taste and odor, lead, chromium-6, mercury, PFOA, PFOS
- Cartridge life15 gallons
- Cost per gallon$1.167
- 94.1Epic Smart Shield Under-Sink
The Epic Smart Shield Under-Sink is a under sink water filter. It is third-party certified (IAPMO) to reduce chlorine taste and odor, lead, VOCs, chloramine, mercury, cysts, pharmaceuticals. It is also marketed for PFAS, PFOA, PFOS, microplastics, for which we found no accredited third-party certification (so we award no certification credit; this is not a finding that it fails to reduce them). Running cost works out to about $0.177 per gallon.
- Certified to reducechlorine taste and odor, lead, VOCs, chloramine, mercury, cysts, pharmaceuticals
- Cartridge life651 gallons
- Cost per gallon$0.177
FAQ
- Which water filter removes mercury best?
- In our scoring, the Brita Elite Pitcher (10-Cup) ranks first among filters certified for mercury, with a composite of 8.4 - so it's where we'd start. It carries an accredited mercury-reduction certification along with certifications for lead, cadmium, and PFOA/PFOS. The ranking reflects our rubric, which rewards a broad certified contaminant scope at a low cost per gallon.
- What does "certified for mercury" actually mean?
- It means the filter is listed on an official certification database (NSF, WQA, or IAPMO) as reducing mercury under a recognized standard - something you can look up. We treat that as completely different from "tested to" a standard, a marketing phrase a manufacturer can use with no accredited listing behind it. We only include filters with a verifiable mercury certification.
- Why does mercury in drinking water matter?
- The EPA sets a maximum contaminant level of 2 parts per billion for mercury in drinking water because mercury is a heavy metal that can accumulate in the body over time. That describes the contaminant, not any health outcome from a specific product. A filter certified for mercury reduction is verified to lower mercury under the conditions of its standard.