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Best Water Filter for Nitrate

Bottom line

The best water filter for nitrate is a reverse-osmosis system certified to reduce it - our top certified pick is shown first below.

If nitrate is your reason for filtering - common if you're in farm country or on a private well - the first thing to know is that an ordinary carbon pitcher or faucet filter won't touch it. They simply aren't built for it. The certified route is reverse osmosis (RO). So this page ranks only units with a verifiable nitrate certification, and the takeaway is blunt: if nitrate is your concern, don't put your trust in a carbon pitcher.

How we score: A filter has to have a verifiable certification covering nitrate reduction (usually NSF/ANSI 58 reverse osmosis) to make this page - then we rank what qualifies by overall score.

  1. 17.5
    AquaTru Classic Countertop RO

    The AquaTru Classic Countertop RO is a ro water filter. It is third-party certified (IAPMO) to reduce lead, PFOA, PFOS, fluoride, arsenic, chromium-6, nitrate, chlorine taste and odor, chloramine, VOCs, microplastics. Running cost works out to about $0.287 per gallon.

    • Certified to reduce: lead, PFOA, PFOS, fluoride, arsenic, chromium-6, nitrate, chlorine taste and odor, chloramine, VOCs, microplastics
    • Cartridge life: 600 gallons
    • Cost per gallon: $0.287
  2. 26.6
    Waterdrop 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 reduce: chlorine taste and odor, total dissolved solids (TDS), lead, fluoride, cadmium, chromium-6, selenium, arsenic, nitrate, mercury, copper, barium, PFOA, PFOS
    • Cartridge life: 2,200 gallons
    • Cost per gallon: $0.123

FAQ

Will a Brita or carbon pitcher remove nitrate?
No. Activated-carbon pitchers and faucet filters aren't designed for nitrate, so they won't do the job here. What you need is a reverse-osmosis system certified to NSF/ANSI 58, or a certified nitrate-selective ion-exchange filter.
How do I know if I have nitrate?
You have to look, because you can't taste or see it - nitrate is colorless and tasteless. If you're on city water, it's in your utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report; if you're on a well, a lab test is the only way to find out.

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