REASONS TO BUY
Great contaminant removal
Fairly inexpensive
REASONS TO AVOID
Slow flow rate
ZeroWater 23-Cup Jug Review
This filter jug is for anyone who wants a bit more water on hand than the typical model and also impressed in our impurity removal metrics
By Austin Palmer ⋅ Senior Review Analyst ⋅ November 8, 2019
Contributions From: David Wise & Jenna Ammerman
RELATED: The Best Water Filters of 2025
Our Verdict
Claiming one of the top scores among any filter we have tested to date, the ZeroWater 23-Cup is a great option for anyone who wants more capacity than the standard 10- or 12-cup pitcher. ZeroWater uses the same filter in all of its pitchers, which performed well across the board in our impurity removal metrics. Our judges thought the water from this pitcher tasted great. However, it performed slightly subpar in our flow rate metric.
Our Analysis and Test Results
The ZeroWater 23-Cup is a great water filter for multiple people using the same filter or anyone who cannot install a more permanent under-the-sink option. The 23-Cup has a decently high flow rate and will dispense water quickly --- when it's full. Unfortunately, it takes a little bit of time to filter more water when you are empty.
The ZeroWater 23-Cup Jug did a great job in all of our contaminant removal tests.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Lead Removal
We repeated a similar procedure for each different contaminant metric and used the same results for each ZeroWater pitcher, as they all use the identical filter cartridge. This filter performed exceptionally well in this test, removing the vast majority of the lead and earning one of the top overall scores.
The ZeroWater 23-Cup removed 99.9% of the lead in the water, leaving it at a level 7.5 times lower than the EPA standard.
This filter removed practically all the chlorine, even with our torture test.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Chlorine Removal
We conducted two versions of this test: one with incredibly high levels of chlorine (1,300+ ppm) and one with much more reasonable levels (20-50 ppm). The 23-Cup removed almost all of the chlorine in both tests, with the indicator strips failing to change color.
We couldn't really measure any salt in the filtered water from the 23-Cup Jug.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Salt Removal
ZeroWater earned one of the top scores in the entire group. We measured a salt concentration of 445 ppm in the supply water using our meter, which the ZeroWater 23-Cup reduced to 0 ppm, as indicated by the meter.
Our judges agreed that the filtered water from this jug tasted great.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Taste
The ZeroWater earned an excellent score and finished as the top water filter overall. The filtered water from the 23-Cup came out near perfect, with our judges struggling to distinguish between the filtered water and the control purified water. All evidence of chlorine and salt had been removed. Additionally, none of our judges found any negative flavors added to the clean water after it had been through the ZeroWater.
Regrettably, this ZeroWater filter can take a bit of time to filter more water once it runs out.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Flow
The 23-Cup did slightly below average in this metric, hurt by the long time it took to filter more water when empty.
It took about 24 seconds to empty a quart of water from the 23-Cup — if it was already full. However, it would take almost 14 minutes to do this if you had to filter that amount of water first.
We didn't really like that you have to hold the button down while dispensing water.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Value
The ZeroWater 23-Cup Jug is a solid value option, especially if you need the additional capacity over typical filters.
Conclusion
The ZeroWater performed very well in the majority of our tests, thoroughly impressing us with its contaminant removal capabilities. It's a fantastic choice if you want to have a larger supply of filtered water available on hand and don't want to pay the large upfront cost for an under-the-sink filter.
—Austin Palmer, David Wise, and Jenna Ammerman
You Might Also Like
