REASONS TO BUY
Great filter performance
Good taste
Affordable
REASONS TO AVOID
Slow filtration
Cartridge lasts for forty gallons
ZeroWater 12-Cup Pitcher Review
An affordable water filter that does a solid job but is a bit slower than some
Credit: ZeroWater
By Ross Patton ⋅ Senior Review Editor ⋅ August 2, 2022
RELATED: The Best Water Filters of 2025
Our Verdict
Delivering a decent performance at a reasonable price, the ZeroWater 12-Cup Pitcher is a solid water pitcher. We were impressed with its chlorine and salt removal, and it did relatively well at removing lead. Our panel of judges agreed that this filter produces some great-tasting water that is on par with the water purified by any other version in our review. The only drawback of the ZeroWater 12-Cup is that it takes longer than we would like to filter everything. That said, this is a great product if you aren't in a hurry to filter your water and don't want to break the bank.
Our Analysis and Test Results
The ZeroWater 12-Cup Pitcher does a great job and won't wreck your bank account.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Lead Removal
The ZeroWater 12-Cup Pitcher removed 98.7% of the lead from our contaminated sample. This puts the filtered water produced by this model barely outside the EPA limits. However, considering the amount of lead added to our supply water was essentially an absurd amount, we think the ZeroWater 12-Cup would do just fine with any normal tap water.
The filter cartridge on the ZeroWater is located just below the top lid.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
The ZeroWater 12-Cup Pitcher includes a total dissolved solids meter so that you will know exactly when you need a new filter.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Chlorine Removal
According to the EPA, water with less than 4 ppm of chlorine is deemed safe for human consumption. We mixed a batch of tap water with chlorine to bring the ppm levels of the concoction up to 106. After running our chlorinated water through each filter, we used chemical test strips to measure the resultant levels following filtration.
This model is affordable and does a fantastic job of removing contaminants.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Earning a perfect score for this metric, the ZeroWater 12-Cup Pitcher successfully removed all the chlorine from our tainted sample water.
If you want to be sure to remove 100% of the chlorine from your tapwater, the ZeroWater 12-Cup Pitcher is one of the best options.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Salt Removal
Acceptable salt levels in water for human consumption are somewhat more ambiguous than those for chlorine or lead. The general consensus among official healthcare authorities on ppm levels ranges from 20 to 250. Those who recommend lower levels tend to consider that we obtain sodium from many other sources, including beverages and food. In comparison, others allow for higher levels because sodium is a critical element of human life.
The ZeroWater 12-Cup Pitcher had no problem purifying extremely salty water.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Regardless of your take on recommended sodium levels, the ZeroWater 12-Cup Pitcher achieved a perfect performance in this metric by reducing the sodium content of our salty test water from 445 ppm to 0. Salt Removal comprises 25% of the overall score.
We were very impressed with the ZeroWater 12-Cup Pitcher during our salt removal experiments.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Taste
To ensure that the filters themselves weren't adding any unusual flavors, we used purified water for our initial set of tests. Next, we filtered our local tap water and used the same panel of judges to see if anything had changed.
The ergonomic handle on this model aids in smooth pouring.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
The ZeroWater 12-Cup Pitcher did exceptionally well during our taste tests. We found that, regardless of whether we used tap water or purified water, the water that came out of this model had a consistently flawless flavor.
Our team of judges found that the filtered water from the ZeroWater 12-Cup Pitcher had a perfect taste.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Flow
While some top water filters can filter a gallon of water in less than a minute, this model takes 36 minutes. Because of this drastic difference in rates, we could only award it a 4 out of 10 for this metric. If you want rapid, on-demand filtered water, the ZeroWater is not the product for you.
The ZeroWater 12-Cup Pitcher takes a fairly long time to filter water, but once it's done its job, the results are top-notch.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Value
Considering its relatively high performance and very affordable price tag, we think the ZeroWater 12-Cup Pitcher has tremendous value.
Conclusion
The main drawbacks of owning the ZeroWater 12-Cup Pitcher are its slow flow rate and the fact that each internal filter cartridge only lasts 40 gallons. We appreciate that this model includes a TDS meter so that you'll know exactly when it's time to order a new cartridge. Other than that, this version does a great job of removing chemicals, and the resulting filtered water tastes great.
—Ross Patton
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