Considering buying a Waterdrop water filter? Want to know how it compares with EcoPro by TAPP Water, Flowater, Brita and PUR water filters? Which water filter should you choose?
Choosing a water filter or water purifier can be difficult. The most important thing is that it solves your needs in terms of water quality, taste, capacity, design and budget. We've compared Waterdrop faucet water filters with TAPP Water, Flowater, Brita and PUR in 7 categories. This particular article focuses on Waterdrop water filters vs TAPP Water and Flo Faucet Filters. The water filters by TAPP Water include EcoPro, EcoPro Compact and Flo Faucet Filter.
See our other article on EcoPro by TAPP Water vs Brita, PUR, Culligan and ZeroWater filters.
This comparison with Waterdrop covers the brand/company, water filtration and certifications, limescale, flowrate, capacity, sustainability and total cost of ownership.
Note that Waterdrop in Europe is a completely different brand offering drops for flavoured water based in Germany.
1. Brand and Company
Waterdrop is a Chinese company in disguise under a US brand. Waterdrop claims to be based in California but you will find no information about the owners or people working there on the website or LinkedIn. In fact the only employees linked to the company are based in China.
Source: https://www.linkedin.com/company/waterdrop-water-filtration
Can you trust a Chinese brand with your water?
Clearly this is a personal choice but there are a couple of reasons to be cautious:
a) Amazon in particular has experienced huge issues with manipulated reviews.
b) There is no regulation in terms of water filter claims so therefore Waterdrop can claim anything they want without justification.
The reason Waterdrop filters are so cheap is that they have no US based resources and likely that they use very cheap materials.
TAPP Water is based in Europe with the product and R&D team in Barcelona, Spain. Our US reseller is Flowater (sold as Flo Fuacet Filter) with a highly trusted brand based in Denver, Colorado. The products include a 5-stage filtration system including activated carbon by Jacobi using organic coconut shells. All products are independently lab tested to match claims.
2. Water Filtration of Waterdrop vs TAPP and Flowater
Waterdrop
Waterdrop markets its products as NSF certified. More specifically NSF-42 for one model of its faucet water filters. This is great except that all it means is that the product reduces aesthetic impurities such as chlorine and taste/odor. "Aesthetic effects” refers only to the potential contaminants that are non-health-related. The additional NSF/ANSI 372 for lead-free material simply means that the product doesn't contain lead.
Therefore other claims such as reducing led are basically unsuported.
EcoPro, EcoPro Compact and Flo Faucet Filter by TAPP Water
TAPP Water faucet filters have been independently certified and tested to filter over 100 contaminants including chlorine, microplastics, pesticides, herbicides, led and pharmaceuticals. We've also had our products certified locally in Germany, Spain, France, Poland, Nigeria, Uganda and other countries to comply with strict local regulation. The tests are published openly and transparently online.
3. Limescale filtration
Limescale is a major issue in many parts of Europe due to high mineral content (hard water). Some pitchers and Reverse Osmosis filters do a good job reducing limescale. Historically faucet filters have not been able to deal with this though. In our comparison this turned out to be a major difference between Waterdrop and TAPP Water.
Waterdrop: No limescale filtration
EcoPro, EcoPro Compact and Flo Faucet Filter by TAPP Water: 80% reduction of limescale (in tests this means it's not visible)
TAPP Water has spent 5 years on proprietary technology to reduce limescale in a small faucet water filter.
4. Flowrate of Waterdrop vs TAPP Water
Waiting for water is annoying. Pitchers and many reverse osmosis filters often have very slow flowrates which means filling up a glass of water takes 10-20 seconds. Our comparison here is simple. How long does it take to fill up a 0.5 L (2 cups) water bottle?
Waterdrop: 15 second
EcoPro, EcoPro Compact and Flo Faucet Filter by TAPP Water: 8 seconds
The reason that TAPP Water can achieve a higher flow-rate is the use of higher quality materials.
5. Capacity
The volume per cartridge refill can be another important aspect. Challenge is that most water filter suppliers use chlorine reduction as the benchmark but doesn't take into consideration other substances/contaminants.
Waterdrop: 1200 L or 320 gallons - replace every 3 months
EcoPro and Flo Faucet Filter by TAPP Water: 1200 L or 320 gallons - replace every 3 months
EcoPro Compact by TAPP Water: 300 L or 80 gallons (the lower capacity is by design due to the compact size of the product) - replace every month.
6. Sustainability of Waterdrop vs TAPP Water
Most water filters are a big improvement vs bottled water so maybe sustainability doesn't come across as a major difference. We looked specifically at the amount of plastic waste from the cartridges to see what product is more sustainable. In reality the difference is fairly small.
Waterdrop: Cartridges are made of activated carbon fiber with a wrapper and plastic caps on the top and bottom.
EcoPro and Flo Faucet Filter by TAPP Water: Cartridges are made of a carbon block with a PP cotton wrapper and silicon caps on the top and bottom. No plastic material used.
EcoPro Compact by TAPP Water: Cartridges are made of a carbon block with PP cotton wrapper. No caps.
In terms of sustainability EcoPro Compact is the clear winner.
7. Total cost of ownership of Waterdrop vs TAPP Water
A water filter will save most households hundreds of dollars per year vs bottled water. Therefore you could argue that the cost is irrelevant. However, we know that people compare costs on Amazon and other market places before buying. This comparison is per year.
Waterdrop: Approximately €79 in Europe including (€40 for the first filter and €39 for 3 extra cartridges) and approximately in the US $60 ($25 for the first filter and $35 for extra cartridges)
EcoPro and Flo Faucet Filter by TAPP Water: In Europe approximately €79-89 for the yearly bundle and in the US $79 for a yearly bundle. Second year for €59 or $59
EcoPro Compact by TAPP Water: Approximately €99 per year
Water filters are not created equal
Lab and blind tests show a huge difference in quality between filters. Culligan, Brita, PUR (manufactured by Pentair) and TAPP Water are brands you can trust. Their products are independently tested to ensure that all claims are supported by science. Most of the products sold on Amazon make claims with no or very limited substance.
Summary of Waterdrop vs TAPP Water, Flowater, Brita or PUR water filters
We've attempted to give an impartial comparison of Waterdrop versus other faucet water filters such as EcoPro, Flo Faucet Filter, Brita and PUR. The key differences to consider are
- The company / brand origin - do you trust a Chinese brand with your drinking water?
- Water quality tests - TAPP Water, Brita, Flowater and PUR all support their claims with independent water quality reports
- Limescale - EcoPro and EcoPro Compact are the only faucet water filters that filter limescale
- Total cost of ownership - Chinese brands such as Waterdrop and Huawei will often be cheaper but is it worth saving a few dollars?
Questions or comments? Disagree with our comparison. Please contact us or share your feedback below.
