We like to share product recommendations with you and hope you like them! Just to make you aware Water Filter Data may collect a small share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page.


 

The day has come when the two greatest contenders in the history of water filters, Aquasana vs Pelican Water Filters will show what they got in this rendezvous!

There are so many companies out there that are battling to become the best and we can vouch for that and we’ve reviewed all of them before getting down to just these two.

Putting side by side all of their features will certainly make an impact and expand your knowledge, as well as determine which water filter will serve you the best purpose.

 Let’s dive into some facts!

Aquasana Rhino Whole House Water Filter System

Aquasana vs Pelican Water Filters Comparison: Aquasana Rhino Whole House Water Filter SystemKey Features:

  • Flow rate: 7 GPM
  • Contaminants removed: Chlorine
  • Filter lifespan: 600k – 1M gallons
  • Warranty: 10 years

Price Range: $$$$

 

Pelican Premium Whole House Water Filter System

Aquasana vs Pelican Water Filters: Pelican Premium Whole House Water Filter SystemKey Features:

  • Flow rate: 12 GPM
  • Contaminants removed: Chlorine
  • Filter Lifespan: 600k – 1M gallons
  • Warranty: 12 years

Price Range: $$$$

Aquasana 

Aquasana vs Pelican Water Filters - Aquasana Logo

Aquasana (which is Latin for “water to heal”) was founded in 1997, with its headquarters located in the great capital of Austin, Texas. 

Aquasana prides itself in the promotion of clean water, clean living, and a clean environment. All that for an affordable price! They back up their claims by selling water filtration systems that produce minimal waste in the environment. 

Aquasana’s Water Filter 

Aquasana’s filters are certified to remove 77 water contaminants. That includes: 

  •  Over 96% of chlorine 
  •  Chloramines 
  •  As well as lead, asbestos, turbidity, and VOCs with some of their other products. 

As a result, it doesn’t create water that’s lacking minerals and nutrients, which can actually steal nutrients from your body if you drink too much. Instead, Aquasana prevents this by leaving important minerals and nutrients like potassium, calcium, and magnesium. This results in a glass of water that isn’t just refreshing, but nutritious as well

Pelican Water 

Aquasana vs Pelican Water Filters: Pelican water system logo

Pelican Water is not as large a household name as Aquasana, but their drive to produce economical, environmentally friendly water filtration systems has seen them rise within the ranks of water filtration companies since they were founded in 2007. 

Based in Florida, Pelican Water takes pride in being transparent with all of its performance testing results and partners with numerous charities to give back to the community. They are building a reputation for honesty and quality which they are rightly proud of. 

Their policies offering hassle-free returns, free shipping, lifetime warranties, and highly commended customer support show the faith they have in their water filters.

Pelican’s Water Filter System 

Pelican Water’s whole house water filtration systems are stylish in their design and backed by a strong guarantee for even the most expensive parts.

Pelican Water’s performance guarantee even offers a five-year window to call their dedicated customer service team if any issues arise with the filter system and they will provide product-specific guidance to solve the problem for you.   

The good thing is the 90 day return period, during which time you can return your product for a refund if you are not happy with its performance. 

The products are salt-free, do not generate wastewater, and require no electricity to operate, making them very economical to run and requiring very little maintenance. 

Pelican Water filtration systems are also available with a DIY installation kit.

Aquasana vs Pelican Water Filters: Comparison Review 

Looking at the Pelican vs Aquasana filters side-by-side, there’s a lot for each brand to boast about – but what exactly makes these whole house water filtration solutions different from one another?

Pelican vs. Aquasana: Whole House Filters

Aquasana vs Pelican Water Filters Comparison: Aquasana Rhino Whole House Water Filter System Aquasana vs Pelican Water Filters: Pelican Premium Whole House Water Filter System
Aquasana Rhino Whole House Water Filter System Pelican Premium Whole House Water Filter System
  • Flow rate: 7 GPM
  • Flow rate: 12 GPM
  • Contaminants removed: Chlorine
  • Contaminants removed: Chlorine
  • Filter lifespan: 600k – 1M gallons
  • Filter Lifespan: 600k – 1M gallons
  • Warranty: 10 years
  • Warranty: 12 years

Filter Media

Aquasana uses a range of different filter media in its separate stages of filtration. The two key filters are made from copper-zinc and mineral stone and activated carbon, which traps contaminants in the process of adsorption.

There’s also a pre-filter and a post-filter, and while there’s no information on the exact materials used in these filters, these filters generally use granular activated carbon media.

In the Pelican whole house filter, there are a number of different filter media used, including a pre-sediment filter with 5-micron pores to trap larger contaminants, also a granulated activated carbon media, which uses the process of adsorption to bind contaminants to the filter surface, and a KDF zinc-copper media that exchanges electrons with harmful contaminants.

What Contaminants Do They Remove?

The Rhino’s pre-filter removes sediment like dust and rust; the water conditioner removes scale; the copper-zinc and mineral stone filter reduces heavy metals and chlorine, and inhibits algae growth.

The activated carbon filter removes chemicals like pesticides and herbicides, and the post-filter removes any leftover sediment and organic matter.

In the first stage of filtration, the Pelican whole house water filter removes sediment like sand, silt, and debris; in the second and third GAC stages, it removes chemicals like chlorine, chloramines, pesticides, and herbicides; in the fourth stage, the Pelican prevents the growth of algae and bacteria.

Performance Comparison

With an NSF certification for chlorine removal, the Aquasana whole house filter guarantees that you can enjoy the water with a much cleaner taste. In terms of performance, this whole house filter definitely gives you a lot for your money, with a filter, purifier, and descaler in one. The bigger system has a capacity of up to 1 million gallons, which is a very decent lifespan for any water filter. It has a flow rate of up to 7 GPM.

Pelican’s whole house water filter offers a guarantee of good performance, being NSF certified to Standard 42, for chlorine removal, and 61, for material safety. The filter is broad-ranging in exactly what it does – it doesn’t just improve water taste and the odor by removing chlorine; it also removes heavy metals and other chemicals. It has an average flow rate of 8 GPM, just beating the Aquasana whole house filter, with a peak flow rate of 12 GPM.

Filter Lifespan & Replacement Costs

You can either opt for the Aquasana 6,000 gallons, which costs around $650 and lasts for 6 years, or the Aquasana 1,000,000 gallons, which costs around $800 and lasts for 10 years.

As for the pre-filters in both whole house water filters, they last up to 3 months, while the post-filters have a 6-month average lifespan. The key filters only need to be replaced every 6 or 10 years.

When it comes to the initial price, comparing Aquasana vs Pelican whole house water filters, the Aquasana is a slightly better deal. If you buy the Pelican 600,000 for around $800, you will need to replace the filter after 5 years; the Pelican 1,00,000, costing just over $1,000, has a higher filter capacity and should last you more than double this time. The pre-filter needs to be replaced every 6 to 9 months and costs just over $20 for one.

Pros and Cons

Aquasana Rhino Pelican Premium
Pros Pros
  • Limited lifetime warranty
  • Simple to install
  • Better value for money than the Pelican system
  • Fairly good value for money
  • Filters Water and removes limescale
  • NSF Certified

 

Cons Cons
  • Expensive 
  • Uses Plastic fittings
  • Not as thorough as reverse osmosis
  • Worse value for money than the Aquasana
  • A professional must install to validate the warranty
  • Need to pre-soak the carbon media before use

 

Pelican vs. Aquasana: Countertop Filters

Aquasana Countertop Water Filter Pelican Water Countertop Drinking Filter System
Aquasana Countertop Water Filter Pelican Countertop Drinking System
  • Flow rate: 0.4 GPM
  • Flow rate: 0.5 GPM
  • Contaminants removed: 70
  • Contaminants removed: 60
  • Filter lifespan: 400 gallons
  • Filter Lifespan: 450 gallons
  • Warranty: n/a
  • Warranty: n/a

 

Filter Media

The filter cartridge inside the system is an Aquasana Claryum® filter, which is made from several different media in one.

First, there’s an activated carbon media, then, similarly, a catalytic carbon media. Both use adsorption to trap contaminants in water. There’s also an ion exchange media and a sub-micron filtration media.

The filtration media used in the Pelican is carbon block, which uses adsorption to bind contaminants to the filter and prevent them from being able to pass through the tiny filter pores.

What Contaminants Do They Remove?

For a relatively small filter, the Aquasana can remove an impressive amount of contaminants (over 70 in total), including pesticides, herbicides, pharmaceuticals, VOCs, chlorine, chloramines, heavy metals, and asbestos.

The Pelican is one of the better countertop water filtration systems when it comes to contaminant removal, removing more than 60 contaminants – though this does fall slightly short compared to the Aquasana’s 70 contaminants.

Filtered contaminants include chlorine and chloramines, lead, mercury, cysts, PFOA, and PFOS.

Performance Comparison

You get a great value for money with the Aquasana countertop water filter, as it has a four-stage filtration capacity in a single cartridge, making it one of the best countertop filtration systems when it comes to the thoroughness of contaminant removal.

With a flow rate of 0.4 GPM, it’ll ensure you can enjoy immediate access to clean water, and the system is tested and certified to NSF/ANSI Standards 42 and 53 for chlorine and lead removal.

Comparing the Pelican vs Aquasana countertop water filters in terms of performance, there’s not much difference. The Pelican is also certified for NSF Standard 42 and 53, for chlorine and lead removal, and uses a similar carbon-based filter to remove contaminants.

The max flow rate for the Pelican is 0.5 GPM, only slightly better than Aquasana’s.

Filter Lifespan & Replacement Costs

The lifespan of the Aquasana’s filter depends on your water usage, but it lasts for 400 gallons of water, which equates to roughly 6 months. The filter costs around $60 for a two-pack replacement.

Again, the Pelican water filter has the same filter capacity as the Aquasana in this case, lasting for 450 gallons or roughly 6 months. You can buy replacement filters for the Pelican at virtually the same price, too, costing just under $70 for a pack of 2.

Aquasana Countertop Filter Pelican Countertop Filter
Pros Pros
  • Money-back guarantee for authorized returns
  • Simple to install
  • NSF/ANSI Certified
  • High-Quality Filtration process
  • Removes over 70 contaminants
  • Slightly faster maximum flow rate than Aquasana

 

Cons Cons
  • Filter lifespan isn’t the best 
  • Doesn’t filter out fluoride
  • Reduces water flow
  • Doesn’t remove as many contaminants as Aquasana
  • Doesn’t remove fluoride
  • Replacement filters are slightly more expensive than Aquasana’s

 

Pelican vs. Aquasana: Under Counter Filters

Aquasana vs Pelican Water Filters - Aquasana 3-Stage Max Flow Aquasana vs Pelican Water Filters - Pelican 3-Stage Under Counter System
Aquasana 3-Stage Max Flow Pelican 3-Stage Under Counter System
  • Flow rate: 0.72 GPM
  • Flow rate: 1 GPM
  • Contaminants removed: 77
  • Contaminants removed: 60+
  • Filter lifespan: 800 gallons
  • Filter Lifespan: 1.500 gallons
  • Warranty: 1 year
  • Warranty: 1 year

 

Filter Media

Imagine Aquasana’s under sink filter media as a bigger, 3-stage version of the countertop filter. Again, each of the filter cartridges inside the system uses something called Claryum® technology, which involves an activated carbon filtration media, a catalytic carbon media, an ion exchange media, and a sub-micron filtration media.

The Pelican water filter uses a three-stage filtration process with media made from a sediment pre-filter at 25 microns, followed by two catalytic GAC (granular activated) carbon filters. The sediment pre-filter media traps contaminants bigger than 25 microns, like dirt and rust, in its pores, while the GAC carbon filters ensure chlorine and lead-free water by trapping the contaminants in the adsorption process.

What Contaminants Do They Remove?

The Aquasana under sink filter removes an impressive 77 contaminants, including heavy metals like mercury and lead, cysts like giardia and cryptosporidium, chemicals like pesticides and herbicides, and pharmaceuticals like ibuprofen.

Again, looking at the Aquasana vs Pelican for under sink contaminant removal, the Pelican isn’t quite as thorough, removing 60+ contaminants compared to Aquasana’s listed 77. The system can remove the likes of heavy metals, chemicals and VOCs, and is NSF certified for the removal of chlorine and lead.

Performance Comparison

You should see a major improvement in water quality when using the Aquasana under sink water treatment system, which is NSF certified for Standards 42, 53, 401 + P473. When it comes to flow rate, the system isn’t called “Max Flow” for no reason – if you have good water pressure, you shouldn’t notice a decrease in flow rate at all.

As mentioned above, Pelican’s NSF certification guarantees quality performance when it comes to specific contaminant removal. The filter capacity is 1,500 gallons, or 6 months, which is typical of this kind of filter and ensures longer-lasting performance if you were to compare it to other similar filters. Another performance bonus is that the filter doesn’t get rid of beneficial healthy minerals from water, which some RO systems and whole house filters remove.

Filter Lifespan & Replacement Costs

Aquasana’s under-sink filtration system will provide a means of accessing clean city water for a maximum of 6 months before you need to buy replacement filters. This is about an average filter capacity of a system of its kind. To make sure your water quality remains at its best, you should change the filter when you notice water flow decreases.

The Pelican water filtration system has a filter capacity of 1,500 gallons of water, equating to approximately 6 to 12 months depending on your usage. You can buy replacement filters online for $50 to $70, depending on where you purchase them from.

Aquasana 3-Stage Max Flow Pelican 3-Stage Under Counter
Pros Pros
  • Simple installation
  • Satisfaction guarantee
  • Good water flow
  • Doesn’t get rid of healthy minerals from water
  • NSF Certified
  • NSF Certified

 

Cons Cons
  • Chrome faucet could be better-quality
  • Not enough customer feedback
  • Replacement filters are expensive
  • Filter replacements are expensive
  • Pressure caused cloudy water for some users
  • Contaminant removal not as thorough as Aquasana

 

Pelican vs. Aquasana: Shower Filters

 

Aquasana Premium Shower Filter
Pelican Premium Shower Filter
Aquasana Premium Shower Filter Pelican Premium Shower Filter
  • Flow rate: 2.5 GPM
  • Flow rate: 1.5 GPM
  • Contaminants removed: Chlorine
  • Contaminants removed: Chlorine
  • Filter lifespan: 10.000 gallons
  • Filter Lifespan: 15.000 gallons
  • Warranty: 1 year
  • Warranty: 1 year

 

Filter Media

There are two filter media that make up the Aquasana shower head filter: zinc/copper media and coconut shell carbon filter media. The coconut shell carbon uses adsorption, while the zinc/copper uses KDF, to treat chlorine and water pH.

With three stages of water filtration, the Pelican shower filter has a copper and zinc media, a GAC (granular activated carbon) filtering media, and far-infrared emitting volcanic media. Each of these filtration stages uses a slightly different process – KDF, adsorption, and the reduction of negative ions – to improve water quality.

What Contaminants Do They Remove?

The Aquasana shower filter removes chlorine from water, removing more than 90% of the chemical with its coconut shell carbon filtration for improved air quality during showering. It also enhances water pH for softer skin and hair post-shower.

The Pelican water shower filter removes chlorine contaminants, eliminating odors and allowing for cleaner, fresher air while showering, promoting healthier hair and skin.

Performance Comparison

With its unique design, the Aquasana’s media is unable to channel and clog, which helps to retain a decent water pressure while increasing the water contact time in the filter, helping to produce the cleanest water possible.

The system also works with most 2.5 GPM showerheads, which is an easy way to make sure your water flow stays as you like it.

For some reassurance when it comes to performance, the Pelican shower filter has been tested for NSF/ANSI Standard 177 for the reduction of chlorine by a third-party laboratory.

This doesn’t mean it has an official certification, though. The system has a flow rate of 1.5 GPM, which is a little lower than the Aquasana, but still relatively good for a showerhead filter.

Filter Lifespan & Replacement Costs

The Aquasana has a 6-month filter life, or roughly 10, 000 gallons, which is about as good as you can hope for with this type of filter. The replacement Aquasana filter costs just over $40, which isn’t cheap, but you only need to buy one once every half a year or so.

The Pelican comes out on top with a capacity of 15, 000 gallons compared to Aquasana’s 10, 000 gallons. Replacement filters are a little more pricey than Aquasana’s, costing $50.

Aquasana Premium Shower Filter Pelican Premium Shower Filter
Pros Pros
  • Simple installation
  • Longer lifespan
  • Good water flow
  • Third-party tested to NSF standards
  • Long lifespan
  • Multiple finish options

 

Cons Cons
  • Replacement filters are expensive
  • Doesn’t Target hard water
  • Doesn’t target hard water
  • Installation could be more simple
  • Leaks without plumbing tape
  • Unit is relatively bulky

Pelican vs. Aquasana – Overall Winner: Aquasana

After spilling the facts, my winner is Aquasana. Their products tend to be a better value for money than Pelican’s, have longer lifespans, and offer a more thorough filtration. 

As you spot, the differences are relatively minor, and with both brands offering such exceptional water filtration solutions, you’ll certainly be happy with any of the filtered water systems mentioned in this review.

If you’re still not sure and think you need to consider, buying a water softener first, you can check out our other article about the Best Water Softener 2021 here.