What is the best bottled water? We tasted 26 different bottled water brands to find out. And before you ask, yes, there are differences and some waters really are better than others. So, if your Brita filter just isn’t cutting it, I’m here to tell you all about the 12 best bottled water brands to buy.
Here’s what we were looking for in the best bottled water brands:
1. It should be refreshing. That might seem like a no-brainer, but when it comes to a bottle of water we can earnestly recommend, we wanted something that really made us feel instantly refreshed and replenished.
2. It shouldn’t taste bad. We didn’t want any bitter or off aftertaste. It could taste like minerals. It could taste like nothing. But it couldn’t taste bad.
3. It should be easy to drink. Packaging is a big player in the bottled water world. If a bottle was unpleasant to hold or downright impossible to drink out of, it did not make this list. (I’m looking at you, Penta, with your dribble top.)
Our initial taste test in 2023 yielded a list of six bottles. But in 2024 we retasted all of those winners and compared them to some newcomers—as well as a slew of glass bottled water brands. There were some shake ups! Some bottles lost their place in the ranking altogether (sorry to see you go, Acqua Panna and Smartwater). Others jostled around. And we added a bunch of new brands to the list. Here is our newly updated ranking of the best bottled water brands.
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- Arrowhead
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Sourced from the Rockies, Arrowhead water is clean, crisp, and a touch savory on the finish. It has that extremely mild minerality that harkens back to its mountainous roots. And it’s pretty darn cheap, too. You can get 24 bottles for about seven bucks. It’s definitely the best bottled water brand to buy by the case.
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- Saratoga Still Natural Spring Water
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If you’re like me, you know Saratoga as the water brand that replaced S. Pellegrino as the main Top Chef sponsor. And, I’m happy to report, it’s actually good and worthy of being loudly praised in every episode. It’s clean, but it has more minerality than the others on this list. It’s a more complex glass bottled water, which makes it the best bottled water to drink with food. And it could also handle a squeeze of lime. Want to pretend you live in a restaurant? This is the best glass bottled water to buy.
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- Aqua Carpatica
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We didn’t include Aqua Carpatica in our original ranking but upon retrying it we realized we were wrong to omit it. Perhaps they changed the formula. But it really tastes like nothing in the best way possible with a slightly sweet finish. Plus, it’s from the Carpathian Mountains, just like the villain from Ghostbusters II. So, it’s certainly some of the best bottled water for cinefiles. I do have one quibble: The opening is too big and the bottle is very angular, which makes it a real spill risk for clumsy folks like myself.
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- Voss
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This “artesian water from Norway” is practically a meme at this point. But I’m sorry to say it’s actually quite good to drink. Yes, you will definitely find this at a crazy expensive Miami Beach hotel and yes, the packaging is a little obnoxious. But the bottled water itself is so good. It’s extremely easy to drink with no harsh flavors. It will actually help you beat the Miami heat (the weather, not the basketball team). And there’s no denying this looks “rich.” Keep your eye out for sales and snag a bunch of bottles when you see them.
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- Core Hydration
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I do not like this bottle. I do like how it looks—it looks like hospital water. It’s clunky—the cap is huge and looks like it could potentially double as a cup, but not a very good one. It’s not elegant. But the fact that it’s still included on this list of the best bottled water should tell you how good the water inside the bad bottle is. It’s very neutral, coming in at 7.4pH. It’s very cooling (even at room temperature). I took a sip and could feel the water travel through my chest. It’s crisp. And there’s just a hint of minerality. This is some of the best bottled water to drink—it’s just not some of the best looking bottled water. Bring it to the gym.
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- Purely Sedona
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This glass bottled water is more than good packaging that appeals to my millennial sensibilities. It looks like a bottle you’d find on a bar cart at the Ace Hotel—and it’s the best bottled water brand for that exact purpose. It’s soft and sweet—perfect for splashing into some nice scotch to help open it up. I described it in my notes as “gentle cloud water.” And I stand by those tasting notes. Go ahead and treat yourself to some cloud water.
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- Zen Wtr
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Per the packaging, this bottled water is made with 100% recycled ocean bound plastic, which is plastic that is “at risk of ending up in the ocean.” It’s primarily non-commercially recyclable plastic waste. So that feels good. The 1L bottle is big but manageable (it’ll fit in a cup holder). And it’s a nice shade of blue. It makes me feel like I’m drinking the deep end of a pool. The water itself is alkaline (9.5pH) so it’s very soft, and it gives you that instantly refreshed feeling. It is made for electrolytes (for flavor), so you are left with just a hint of an aftertaste. But overall, it’s gentle, crisp, and clean.
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- Hawai’i Volcanic Water
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This glass bottled water is lava filtered. How cool is that? And it might be the power of suggestion, but I really do get a hint of slatey minerality on the finish—like the volcanic rock has infused some flavor into the water. This bottled water is exceptionally cooling and very, very soft and clean. It’s so gentle that this is my pick for the best bottled water to drink in the morning. It really makes you say, “Ahhhh.”
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Essentia
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Essentia is so light and crisp—and it finishes with just a touch of minerality before dissolving into a lingering sweetness. The logo looks like something a snow-based Bond villain would co-opt. And I think that’s cool. In our initial best bottled water taste test this was our number one pick. And it’s still very good. But a few others just really wowed us during our most recent taste test.
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- The Mountain Valley Spring Water
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My colleague Gwynedd Stuart was particularly enamored with this glass bottled water. Not only does it look great—it’s green and it really looks like a bottled water you chug on the banks of a Vermont stream after a long bike ride. It’s extremely easy to drink quickly. It has zero aftertaste and leaves your mouth feeling clean and refreshed.
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- Eternal
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There is a lot going on with this bottle. It’s dramatically curved—almost like it was wearing a corset. Like it’s some sort of high fashion water bottle. It’s also textured with swirling designs. (Am I attracted to this bottle?) And it is a pleasure to hold. (I am.) The naturally alkaline spring water inside the sexy bottle is soft and light with a very, very, very faint touch of minerality. It’s some of the best bottled water to drink—but it’s the best bottled water to hold.
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- Icelandic Glacial
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Let’s start with the packaging: It’s fun. The neck of the bottle is faceted to make it look like the top of an iceberg. So fun. And there’s an icy image that shines through when you look into the bottle. Very fun. It’s not just water, it would pass as entertainment a hundred years ago. Today, though, it’s mostly about the water—which is the best tasting bottled water, especially if you like alkaline water (it has a pH of 8.4). It’s crisp and just a little bit slatey. It leaves your mouth clean and your thirst quenched. Icelandic made it onto our initial list of the best bottled water, but after our most recent taste test, it moved to the number one position. Seriously, you gotta try this bottled water.
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Best to Buy in Bulk
Best for Food
Best Extremely Neutral
Best Splurge
Best Sports Water
Best Water for Whiskey
Best Eco Friendly Bottle
Best Minerally
Best Sweet
Best Glass Bottled Water
Best Bottle
Best of the Best
Other bottled water brands we tried: Acqua Panna, Smart Water, Penta, Crystal Geyser, Dasani, Fiji, Evian, Waiakea, Aquafina, Simple Truth Vapor Distilled Water, Gatorade, Socosani, Body Armor Sport Water, Good & Gather Alkaline Water
