On average, a water bottle will cost $1.18 per gallon in the US, only if you buy it in bulk. On the other hand, an Aqua Belle Countertop water filter costs $139 or about $0.06 per gallon for the first year. After two years of use, when you replace the filter, the cost is ONLY $0.01 per gallon.
Considering that you don’t have to invest the $139 and you’re interested in drinking quality water, bottled water may seem way cheaper. But, if we do the actual math, will bottled water be more affordable than filtered water? Let’s find out:
Costs for water bottles
As we previously mentioned, the bulk price of one gallon of bottled water will cost $1.18 on average. While doctors recommend consuming half a gallon of water a day, the average American will drink at most half a gallon a day. This amounts to around $18 a month and $216 consumption a year on bottled water per person.
The estimated cost above might not be too much money for a single individual. However, this expense has an incremental trend for households with more than one occupant. This way, if you’re a family of four, we see a total cost of $864 a year on bottled water only. Remember, these numbers are calculated based on the best scenario and cheapest option available.
If you’re concerned about your health and you try to avoid cooking with tap water, the amount of bottled water consumption will double at a minimum, increasing the spendings to $1600 a year for a family of four.
But things get worse. We mentioned that the average price of $1.18 per 1 gallon of bottled water is only relevant on bulk purchases. Statistically speaking, two-thirds of bottled water sales in America are for single bottles of water, which increases the total price of water to $5.58 per gallon. In total, we see a total cost of $4017.6 a year for a family of four. Do you still think bottled water is cheap?
The cost of tap water
Before analyzing the cost of water filters, it is necessary to include how much a gallon of regular tap water costs. On average, Americans pay $0.004 per tap water gallon. Thus, a single American will spend $0.72 – $1.44 a year on tap water, and a family of four will have a cost of $2.88 – $5.76 or will minimally spend 800x less than bottled water.
Costs for water filters
Let’s examine an Aqua Belle Water Filter’s actual cost to install and maintain. This analysis considers the most expensive residential water filter available at Aquabelle, the Reverse Osmosis 5 Stage + Bacteria Sterilization, with a total cost of $454.95.This filter system comes with the faucet filter, storage tank, and the necessary plumbing equipment, all included in the price.
So, you will be spending around $460 for the most expensive water filtering system for the first year.
This particular water filter system will be more expensive per gallon if you’re a single person for the first year only. With the replacement filter, which is substituted every year, costing only $34.95, combined with the cost of tap water, you will save $153 by the third year.
However, there are much cheaper water filter options that can fit your needs better based on the level of consumption and area you live in. We have carefully collected a vast range of water filter systems and replacement filters for every household requirement.
On the other hand, if you’re a family of four, you will pay $400 – $3558 less in the first year and $829 – $3982 in the consecutive years with the water filter.
With that amount of money saved, you can choose to buy a fancy purse or invest in future capital if you stop buying bottled water!
Conclusion
Even with the disadvantage of selecting the most expensive water filter system against the cheapest bottled water options in this analysis, the water filters have an unmatched financial advantage over bottled water.
However, cost efficiency is not the sole benefit of water filters. From the environmental advantage to health protection matters, the water filter remains superior to water bottles. If you want to learn more about the water filter benefits, read more about the top 10 advantages to switching to a water filter now.
We also recommend looking into the Aqua Belle Countertop or Undersink Water Filters to provide you with purified water on demand, with a cost of less than $0.05 per gallon and a significant consideration for the environment.
Water filter provides the same fresh, delicious clean water quality as water bottles, with a much stricter filtration operation, a lower price and a greener solution. Which one will you choose?