Boroux vs Berkey: A Data-Driven Comparison

In this review, we’re going to be specifically comparing the 2.25-gallon Big Berkey, with two Black Berkey elements and two PF2 Fluoride filters, and the 3-gallon Boroux Legacy, with two Boroux Foundation filters.

Both did well at reducing most contaminants in our water, but both also had their specific issues: Berkey with aluminum oxide leaching and Boroux with cobalt leaching (Boroux also didn’t remove fluoride). While Boroux has a lot of design improvements compared to Berkey, it still has design shortcomings, including the extremely lengthy filter priming process that we dislike so much about Berkey. 

🏭 The Manufacturer: Clearbrook

Before we get into our testing data, we want to share what we’ve learned about the manufacturer of Berkey and Boroux systems (yes, they share the same!): Clearbrook. 

Clearbrook is a manufacturer specializing in gravity-fed water filter cartridges, including, most notably, the Black Berkey elements.

After the EPA issued Berkey several Stop Sale, Use or Removal Orders due to a compliance issue with a federal law, Clearbrook collaborated with​ James Enterprise Inc. (JEI), which had historically operated as a distributor for Berkey water filter systems through BerkeyFilters.com. 

In this collaboration, JEI and Clearbrook created EPA-compliant filters, leading to the development of the Boroux Foundation filter.

The Boroux brand was also designed to “improve functionality”, addressing many of the issues that customers had experienced with Berkey. 

📊 Our Testing Data

We tested and ranked the Boroux Legacy and Big Berkey systems using 6 main criteria. You can see the scores each system obtained across all these criteria in the next table.

Factor	Boroux	Berkey
Contaminant Reduction	7.80	8.25
Filtration Rate	7.50	7.50
Design	10.00	7.80
Setup	6.50	6.50
Maintenance	8.50	8.50
Company	9.40	9.10

For a more in-depth look at the testing data from each test we conducted, see the table below.

Factor	Boroux	Berkey	Winner
Overall Score	7.96	8.02	Berkey
Health Related Contaminants	7.80	8.60	Berkey
Aesthetic Related Contaminants	9.90	6.70	Boroux
Performance Certification	None	None	Tie
Filtration Rate	0.75 GPH	0.75 GPH	Tie
Component Quality	Exceptional	Excellent	Boroux
Component Certification	NSF/ANSI/CAN 372	none	Boroux
Setup	Failing	Failing	Tie
Servicing Requirements	Weak	Weak	Tie
Costs	$0.011/ gal	$0.13/ gal	Boroux
Warranty Length	System: Lifetime Filters: 1 year	Lifetime	Berkey
Shipping	Free shipping on orders over $60	Free shipping on orders over $99 to the lower 48 states	Boroux
Returns	60 days	30 days	Boroux

🚰 Contaminant Reduction

Starting with our testing priority: contaminant reduction. In this category, we tested Boroux and Berkey and compared their ability to reduce unwanted impurities and improve our water quality. 

The overall scores awarded to the systems were also influenced by whether or not they were performance-certified for contaminant removal. 

The Products We Tested

• We tested Berkey with two Black Berkey elements and two PF-2 fluoride filters. 
• We tested the Boroux Legacy with two Boroux Foundation filters (the company doesn’t currently sell separate fluoride filters).  

Our Lab Test Results

We used the same process to test Boroux and Berkey for removing contaminants from our water: 

1. First, we filled a bucket with water from our faucet and mixed it thoroughly to ensure contaminants were equally distributed. 
2. We then used the water to fill the Boroux and Berkey vessels, and took a sample of unfiltered water directly from the bucket. 
3. After waiting for the water to be filtered, we took a sample of filtered water from each of the water filtration systems. 

What else should you know? 

• Both tests were conducted with the same treated, shared well water, although on separate occasions.
• Berkey was actually tested twice (more on why we did that later).
• We then tested Boroux several months later. 
• We used the same laboratory testing package offered by SimpleLab Tap Score for each of our tests. 
• Before both Berkey tests and our Boroux test, we filtered 50 gallons of water through the filters.

We’ve listed the contaminants detected in our source water and the % of contaminants removed by Berkey and Boroux in the table below.

The systems received similar scores for contaminant reduction, but Berkey’s ability to address fluoride with its PF2 filters gave it the highest score overall. 

Health-Related Contaminants

Berkey got the higher score (8.60) for removing health-related contaminants compared to Boroux, which received a score of 7.80

Our Boroux Results

Starting with the Boroux Foundation filters, our unfiltered water test detected 10 contaminants with possible health effects. 

Uranium, chloroform, copper, and fluoride were all present in concentrations above the lab’s Health Guideline Level. Nitrate, barium, molybdenum, strontium, sulfate, and chloride were also detected below the HGL. 

Post-filtration, chloroform, copper, molybdenum, and uranium were removed completely, while strontium was reduced by 79%, nitrate by 71%, sulfate by 61%, and chloride by just under 9%. 

There were just a couple of outcomes that we were disappointed with: 

1. Fluoride was only reduced by 11%. When we reviewed the Boroux system in June 2024, the manufacturer told us that they were in the process of designing a fluoride filter to be released soon, but nothing has changed since then (although the website still claims: “Our new fluoride filter coming soon!”)
2. 6.9 µg/L of cobalt appeared in our filtered water, most likely leached from the filter media. While it was a very small amount, it still exceeded the HGL of 2 µg/L by 240%. 

How Berkey Compared

We conducted testing twice for Berkey because of an issue we experienced in our first test. 

In test 1, 11 contaminants with potential health effects were detected in our unfiltered water: chloroform, bromodichloromethane, cobalt, and lead (all detected in concentrations higher than the HGL), as well as copper, fluoride, strontium, sulfate, barium, manganese, and sodium. 

Berkey reduced 100% lead, disinfection byproducts, copper, barium, and manganese, and reduced cobalt by 3.23%. But Berkey’s fluoride filters only reduced 50% fluoride, and 1.4 PPM of aluminum (almost three times the Tap Score HGL) was detected in our water—we suspected this was activated alumina leaching from the PF-2 fluoride filters. 

So, we bought a new set of fluoride filters and tested our water quality again, this time making sure to follow the (very specific) priming and installation instructions very carefully. This time, 100% fluoride was reduced, and only 0.069 PPM of aluminum was detected in our filtered water.

In this second test, potassium and sodium increased substantially in our post-filtered water, most likely from the water we used to prime the filters, which had higher concentrations of these contaminants. This was an anomaly we noticed with a number of countertop filters that we tested at the same time. 

Our verdict? Berkey got the higher score because it removed fluoride, but that’s not to say we think the PF-2 filters are perfect. They’re made of plastic, and the fact that they so easily leached activated alumina into our water concerns us. Plus, they sit in the lower chamber in the filtered water all the time… 

When Boroux told us they were designing separate fluoride filters, we advised them to add fluoride removal media into the main Foundation filters to avoid the issues Berkey has with the separate PF-2 filters.

Aesthetic Contaminants

Boroux and Berkey both removed 100% chlorine (the only aesthetic contaminant detected in our unfiltered water). But Boroux got the higher score of 9.90, compared to Berkey’s score of 6.70. 

Berkey’s aesthetic score was an average of test 1 and test 2, and had been pulled down by the extremely elevated aluminum levels in our test 1 filtered water. This increased the water’s pH to 8.7, with possible aesthetic effects. 

Certifications

Since neither Berkey nor Boroux has obtained an official performance certification, both received the lowest score of 6.00 in this category.

Both filters have been independently tested, but we’d much prefer the reassurance of an official performance certification from the NSF, WQA, or IAPMO. 

When we initially tested and reviewed Boroux in June 2024, the manufacturer told us that they were in the process of obtaining certifications through the WQA to NSF/ANSI 42 for Particulate Reduction and NSF/ANSI 401 for Microplastics (the filter currently only has third-party testing done by IAPMO). 

No updates so far. The WQA certification process can take “weeks to months”, so it’s possible that this process is still ongoing. But it’s also possible that Boroux pulled out of testing, was unable to receive certifications, or didn’t actually apply for any performance certifications in the first place. 

🚦Filtration Rate

As gravity-fed systems, Boroux and Berkey’s filtration rates are measured in gallons per hour (GPH). For both filters, we timed how long they took to filter a batch of water to determine their speed of filtration.  

You can compare their filtration times and flow rates in the table below.

Product	Filtration Rate Score	Filtration Rate
Boroux	7.50	0.75 GPH
Berkey	7.50	0.75 GPH

Both were slower than many similar systems we’ve tested, with a filtration rate of 0.75 GPH: Berkey using the two black filters and two fluoride filters, and Boroux using the two Boroux Foundation filters.

💲 Upfront Cost

Given that Berkey and Boroux are made by the same manufacturer, we were unsurprised by the fact that they have virtually identical costs: 

• The 2.25-gallon Big Berkey, including two Black Berkey filters, costs $367. 
•  The 3-gallon Boroux Legacy, including two Boroux Foundation filters, costs $359.

You’re technically getting better for money from Boroux, as the larger vessel holds more water. But you could probably find the Big Berkey at a lower price if you shopped around (Berkey filters are sold by different distributors, and we took our pricing information from BigBerkeyWaterFilters.com).

📐 Design

The design category is where we really have a lot to talk about, since one of the main intentions of the Boroux Legacy was to eradicate a lot of the design issues with Berkey.

Did it achieve that? Kind of—but not all of the issue we experienced with Berkey were addressed. 

You can check out the scores obtained by the systems in the table below.

Product	Design Score	Component Quality	Materials Safety
Boroux	10.00	Exceptional	NSF 372
Berkey	7.80	Below Average	Not Certified

Filter Models

Starting with the countertop models you can buy from Berkey and Boroux. 

Boroux currently sells just two unit size variations, both with the same stainless steel finish (available in polished silver, black, or white) for the Boroux Legacy:

• The larger 3-gallon Boroux Legacy unit
• The smaller 1.8-gallon Boroux Legacy Compact

Berkey’s gravity water filtration system range is more extensive, with 6 water-holding capacity options to choose from: 

• The Travel Berkey (1.5 gallons)
• The Big Berkey (2.25 gallons)
• The Royal Berkey (3.25 gallons)
• The Imperial Berkey (4.5 gallons)
• The Crown Berkey (6 gallons)
• The Berkey Light (2.75 gallons)

All the Berkey countertop water filters are made from stainless steel apart from the Berkey Light, which is made from BPA-free plastic. 

So, Berkey has more size offerings, but Boroux is one of the only brands we’ve come across that offers vessel colors aside from silver. 

Component Quality 

The Boroux Legacy and Big Berkey systems look almost identical, but Boroux got the higher component quality score of 10.00 (versus Berkey’s 9.00). 

Both units are made from stainless steel, which shouldn’t rust or corrode. But only a few of the Legacy’s components (such as the brackets of the filter elements) are made of plastic.

The Big Berkey uses plastic in quite a lot of its design, including the fluoride filters and spigot. That’s what pulled Berkey’s score down here.  

Boroux also has a rubber base around the spigot, preventing leaks from the seal, as well as a domed upper chamber, so the bottom of the filters don’t sit in the water once it stops filtering. Plus, the upper chamber fits into the lower chamber tightly, preventing water leaking out from between the two. We experienced all three of these issues with Berkey, so it’s good to see them addressed in the Boroux design.

But despite Boroux including a few upgrades, both units still have design issues that can make them quite annoying to use. 

First, filling the large vessels with water from your sink is difficult and time-consuming—unless you have a deep sink or a pull-out spray faucet, you’ll probably have to fill them with a separate pitcher. 

A specific issue we noticed with Boroux is that the lid doesn’t have a handle, so when it’s flipped, it can actually hit and cut off part of the top of the filter elements. 

Filter Materials

Moving on to the design of the filter elements themselves, this is where Boroux and Berkey’s offerings are pretty similar (unsurprising given that they’re made by the same manufacturer). 

Boroux sells just one filter: 

1. The Boroux Foundation filter, containing activated carbon and silver (no other filter materials are disclosed by Boroux).

Berkey sells two filters: 

• The Black Berkey element, made from activated carbon, an ion exchange resin, and four additional undisclosed media.
• The separate PF-2 fluoride filter, made from activated alumina. 

You can use Berkey units with or without the fluoride filters, while Boroux doesn’t currently sell a separate filter purely for fluoride reduction purposes.  

Materials Safety Certification

Boroux got the higher score in this category because it’s the only filter to have an NSF 372 certification (obtained through the WQA) for lead-free design. 

Berkey hasn’t obtained a materials safety certification, nor does it have a lead-free design certification. 

⚙️ Setup

We compared the Boroux and Berkey systems for setup by evaluating their ease of assembly, especially fousing on filter priming, and timing how long these processes took. 

We’ve shared our setup times and scores in the table below.

Product	Setup Score	Setup Time
Boroux	6.50	1 hour 20 minutes
Berkey	6.50	1 hour 20 minutes

Both filters had the exact same frustrating filter priming process, which dragged their setup scores down to 6.50.

We were extremely disappointed that Boroux hadn’t fixed this priming issue, since it’s hands-down the most annoying thing about the Black Berkey filters. 

If you don’t have a compatible faucet for the blue filter priming tool, you may have to use the included tan priming washers, which is honestly the worst filter priming process we’ve tested to date. Priming the filters for both units took us over an hour each time, which is completely unnecessary when some competitors sell filters that are shipped pre-primed. 

🔧 Maintenance

There were two maintenance sub-categories that we used to score and compare Boroux and Berkey in this category: their servicing requirements and ongoing filter costs. 

See the scores we awarded to both systems in the next table. 

Product	Maintenance Score	Servicing Requirements	Costs
Boroux	8.50	Weak	$0.011/ gal
Berkey	8.50	Weak	$0.130/ gal

Both systems are affordable to maintain, but their overall scores were pulled down to 8.50 because their replacement filters also require the same time-consuming priming process.

Servicing Requirements 

Because the Boroux Legacy and Big Berkey are standalone countertop filters, they’re nice and easy to maintain. 

When you need to clean out the water chambers, you can disassemble the units and wash the separate components in your sink, with none of the hassle you’d have with a system connected to your water line. That said, if your kitchen sink is small, you might struggle to fit the water chambers inside.

The actual process of replacing the filters is easy, too: you just unscrew the old filters and screw the replacements filters onto the base of the top chamber. But—and this is a big but—you can’t do this without priming them first. 

And that’s why both systems only received a 7.00 score for their servicing requirements: each new filter you get needs to be primed using the same tedious process that we outlined earlier. 

In terms of filter replacement frequency, Boroux claims a lifespan of 6,000 gallons per filter, while Berkey’s main filters can reportedly last over 10 years, or 6,000 gallons per pair, and the PF-2 filters last around 6 months on average.

We think both of these filter lifespan claims seem extremely overexaggerated, and, since both units use carbon media in their filters, we wouldn’t recommend using them for years on end due to the likelihood of bacteria growth inside this media.

Berkey recommends cleaning the filters with an abrasive scouring pad every 12 months or whenever you notice a reduced filtration speed, while Boroux recommends that you scrub the surface of the filters every 3-6 months.

Maintenance Costs

Both Boroux and Berkey are affordable to maintain, awarding them scores of 10.00 in this category. Of course, we calculated these costs based on Berkey and Boroux’s likely exaggerated lifespan claims, so their actual ongoing spends could be higher. 

Here’s how the maintenance costs compare for Boroux and Berkey:

Product	Price
Berkey (Black Berkey Elements)	$0.034/gallon
Berkey (Fluoride filters)	$0.09/gallon
Boroux Legacy (Two Boroux Foundation filters)	$0.011 per gallon

That makes them pretty equally matched, although Berkey is technically the more affordable option, because the unit with just the Black Berkey filters is cheaper than the Boroux unit with two Foundation filters.  

But, that’s assuming that both systems really do have a high water filtering capacity as claimed. So far, we haven’t used either of these systems long enough to validate their filter lifespan claims.  

🏢 Company

Our last point of comparison was Berkey and Boroux’s company policies, including their warranty, shipping, and returns offerings. 

The table below shows how each brand scored across these subcategories. 

Product	Company Score	Warranty Length	Shipping	Returns
Boroux	9.40	System: Lifetime Filters: 1 year	Free shipping on all orders over $60	60 days
Berkey	9.10	Lifetime	Free shipping on orders over $99 to the lower 48 states	30 days

Interestingly, even though Boroux and Berkey are manufactured by the same company, there were some slight differences in their scores here. This is most likely because Berkey is sold by different third-party sellers (we’re evaluating BigBerkeyWaterFilters.com here), while Boroux is sold directly through the manufacturer’s own company. 

Warranty Length 

BigBerkeyWaterFilters.com and Boroux both offer a lifetime warranty for their systems, which protects against manufacturing defects (excluding damage or wear due to misuse, abuse, alteration, or failure to follow use instructions).

BigBerkeyWaterFilters.com also warrants the Black Berkey elements for 2 years, but there are some stipulations: 

Boroux only warrants the Foundation filters for a year against manufacturer defects. Still, both manufacturers received the same score here because their main warranties are equally matched. 

• See BigBerkeyWaterFilter’s warranty terms here.
• See Boroux’s warranty terms here. 

Shipping 

Both brands received the same score of 9.00 for their shipping policies, and there’s not much difference between the two. 

BigBerkeyWaterFilters.com offers free shipping to customers who live in one of the lower 48 states and spend more than $99 on their order. Boroux’s shipping offering is currently the same, although you only have to spend over $60 on your order.

This minimum spend requirement stopped Berkey and Boroux from obtaining the highest scores for shipping, but it’s worth noting that both brands’ units and replacement filters cost more than this anyway. 

Returns

Here’s where we see the biggest difference in company policies: BigBerkeyWaterFilters.com offers a 30-day returns policy, while Boroux has a slightly longer 60-day returns window. 

Both policies allow you to try a product and return it within this timeframe if you don’t enjoy it.

30 days is the typical returns window for stainless steel countertop water filters, so Boroux’s offering is slightly better than the norm.

🆚 Boroux or Berkey: Which Do We Recommend?

Although they’re pretty similar in their benefits and shortcomings, we’d recommend Boroux over Berkey for most people. 

Here’s Why Boroux is Best:

• It addresses a lot of the design issues that we’ve experienced with Berkey. 
• It has a lead-free design certification, providing extra reassurance that Berkey doesn’t offer. 
• It’s the slightly more affordable of the two.

You Might Still Prefer Berkey If:

• You want more choice between different water holding capacities, or you specifically prefer Berkey’s plastic option. 
• You want to remove fluoride from your water (Berkey’s fluoride filters are problematic, but at least it gives you the option to address this contaminant).

But Here’s Why Neither System is Perfect:

• Both added trace contaminants into our water. 
• Both have extremely tedious filter priming processes. 
• Neither has any performance certifications. 
• Both have exaggerated filter lifespan claims. 
• There are cheaper, certified, no-priming alternatives offered by competitors.