29 Popular Bottled Water Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

It's no secret by now that when it comes to water, not all types are equal. This is especially the case with bottled water — while some bottled water goes through multiple filtration processes to cleanse it from impurities, the NRDC conducted a study that found "an estimated 25 percent or more of water sold in a plastic bottle is really just tap water in a bottle." So if you always grab a bottle of water from the grocery store out of the assumption that it's of better quality, think again.

That being said, there are plenty of bottled water companies who take your hydration seriously. These companies often source their water from natural springs or glaciers, naturally-occurring water sources. On the other hand, some brands choose to instead purify tap water (in this case, the labels will often say "vapor-distilled" or "purified") and add in minerals and electrolytes for taste. When it comes to picking the best bottled water, these are all things to keep in mind, as well as your personal flavor preferences. Water from a spring and water enhanced with electrolytes will each taste a bit different. I've ranked 29 bottled water brands based on flavor, how they were sourced, and other ecological factors, like their packaging or whether the company positively contributes to the environment.

The bottom spot on my list goes to Pure Life, a bottled water brand that gets its water from municipal water sources. Pure Life is basically glorified tap water, and though I can appreciate its rigorous filtration process, the minerals it adds back into the water leave it tasting less than stellar. Beyond that, its plastic bottles aren't recyclable everywhere, making this a less sustainable choice than some other options on this list. If you enjoy the slightly plastic taste of bottled water, give Pure Life a try; I think you're better off sticking with a different brand.

Similar to Pure Life, Aquafina's water is sourced from public water sources, and is another water that's essentially bottled tap water. It also undergoes a purification process that removes everything except trace amounts of minerals, and the company doesn't add anything back into the water. On the plus side, some of the company's water bottles are made from recycled plastic. Regarding taste, Aquafina tasted only slightly less plastic-y than Pure Life, in my opinion.

Other than being owned by different companies (Pepsi owns Aquafina while Coca-Cola owns Dasani), Dasani is pretty similar to Aquafina. It's sourced from a municipal water supply or protected groundwater sources and undergoes a purification process to meet FDA standards, during which minerals are added back into the water for taste. I liked the flavor of this water better than the previous two but I could tell it had been filtered, and it didn't taste as good as some of the spring waters later on this list. 

The first spring water on this list, Arrowhead sources its bottled water from various springs in California, Canada, and Colorado, which automatically gives it a higher ranking than some purified tap waters on this list. It also tastes slightly better than the previous contenders, though its mineral quality gives it a flavor that's slightly too metallic for me. Its plastic bottles also aren't recycled by my county. Arrowhead seems to be on the higher-quality end of the prolific plastic water bottle brands, but it's by no means the best bottled water.

Penta may have been the plainest-tasting water on this list, and as it turns out, there's evidence to back that up (aside from my own tastebuds): according to Bottled Water Web, Penta is the "purest-known bottled drinking water on the market." Penta's purification process is curious — it uses sound waves to purify and restructure its water. I can't give Penta a higher ranking because it's not as natural as I'd like to see, though I am intrigued by its processing. However, it seem a great purified water to fill your Nespresso machine with.

Initially, Glaceau's Smart Water had a higher ranking on this list, but in-depth research into the water's source prompted me to bump it down a couple spots. While I saw some websites reporting that the water is sourced from a spring in northern Connecticut, a 2018 report from Glaceau states that most Smart Water is sourced from municipal water supplies or groundwater sources. What sets Smart Water apart is its flavor — the electrolytes add a bit of flavor, and it may be a good plain water for those who don't love plain water. 

Feel free to swap LIFEWTR with its predecessor, Smart Water, if that suits you — after all, the two bottled waters are essentially maket competitors, the former owned by Coca-Cola and LIFEWTR owned by PepsiCo, who itself has admitted that "the biggest equity of this brand is the label." This bottle is designed with the high fashion and art worlds in mind, and though it's certainly beautiful, I can't justify giving it a higher ranking based purely on aesthetic — although, this and Smart Water may be good natural bottled waters to make your tea with.

Another company I wanted to rank higher because of enjoyable flavor is Talking Rain. Given that searches for the water's source only turn up the company's guarantee that they use water from "a carefully selected water source," I can't justify a higher ranking — the lack of transparency here is simply too suspicious to classify this among the best bottle waters for your health. However, this is another electrolyte-enhanced water. It's high pH gives it a flavor I like, and I appreciate the company's partnership with Waterboys.org, a company that works to supply water to communities in need.

A short disclaimer: Action, as well as a few others on this list, tout an alkaline pH levels as being better for your health. However there's not enough evidence to support this claim, and though Harvard Health says alkaline water could help with heartburn, it could also be dangerous to drink in excess to individuals with certain medical conditions. That being said, I'm ranking some of these alkaline waters higher than I may have otherwise, based on their purity and flavor, Action included; I'm not sure how to explain it, but this bottle seemed to quench my thirst more than some of the others, and I think the electrolytes added a nice "charged" flavor.

Similarly to Action, Essentia also boasts about its high pH, which I'm willing to bet contributes to the overall smooth taste of this water (as do the electrolytes added to it). But yet again, Essentia water is sourced from municipal water systems, which prevents me from giving in a higher ranking on this list. Nevertheless it's crisp, clean, and lacks the plastic bottle flavor of some of the lower ranked bottled waters. 

Core Hydration's water claims to boast a "perfect pH" of approximately 7.4, but given that, again, there's not enough science to back the supposed hydrating benefits of water with a neutral to alkaline pH, I'm choosing to minimally factor that into this ranking. Core Hydration is another brand that doesn't disclose where its water is sourced from. Still, the brand struck a nice taste with an addition of minerals and electrolytes, both of which make the water feel slightly more quenching.

In terms of mass-produced spring waters, Crystal Geyser isn't a bad brand to source from. Its water is sourced from and bottled at seven springs around the country. What makes this brand stand out from other contenders, though, is its commitment to recycling — Crystal Geyser is the first beverage company to utilize rPet facilities in production of its bottles, which help create the bottles from recycled plastic material. Its flavor is clean, and though you can tell minerals are present, they don't taint the water's flavor. 

If someone presented me with a glass of Evian water and told me I was drinking it straight from the spring, I'd believe it. That's a hard thing for bottled water to do — the spring water, which is collected at the base of the French Alps, tastes "natural" in the way you'd expect crisp stream water to. I appreciate the filtration process the water goes through as it travels down the Alps and I like that Evian water is all sourced from a single location, but I could see some being turned off by the slightly mineral flavor. 

Though it's yet another municipally-sourced water, I had to rank BodyArmor higher than some of the others of its ilk because it tasted incredibly refreshing. A few sips had me feeling seriously rehydrated. I began to understand the hype around this "sporty" electrolyte water with high pH levels — it really just tastes good, like it's charged with something. Nevertheless, given its standard sourcing, I find it hard to rank this higher than middling on my list. 

Alkaline88's water, though likely sourced from municipal water supplies, what sets it apart is its inclusion of pink Himalayan rock salt, which is known to have some health benefits. Additionally, the flavor of Alkaline88's water is impeccable. It seemed cold even though the water was at room temperature, and it tasted incredibly clean and crisp. Alkaline88 provided one of my favorite tasting waters on this list.

The final alkaline water you'll see on this list is ZenWTR, and it earned the top spot of all the alkaline, electrolyte-enhanced waters for one very good reason. All of the company's bottles are made from ocean-bound plastic, which is plastic that's likely to pollute oceans due to its proximity to the water. The company claims that every bottle it produces keeps five bottles from polluting the ocean; in addition to being eco-friendly, this water also had the same hydrating, "charged" flavor that other electrolyte waters on this list possessed. 

Finally we've arrived at spring waters, most of which ranked relatively high on this list due to being some of the best bottled waters for your health. Spring water will contain naturally-occurring minerals that are important to your health, such as calcium and magnesium, and it often contains naturally-occurring electrolytes. Acqua Panna is one such water — it boasts a "14-year journey" through the natural filter of Tuscany's hills before arriving in its reservoir. The only reason this ranked below other spring waters on this list is due to its flavor — it tasted ever so slightly of the plastic bottle. However, I'd be curious to see if it would taste different had I purchased it closer to the source. 

Fiji's sourcing is right there in the name; all of Fiji bottled water comes from an ancient aquifer on the island of Viti Levu in Fiji. It contains an impressive amount of naturally-occurring electrolytes and minerals and its bottles are made from recycled plastic (rPET). It's probably one of the plainest of the spring waters on this list, but it definitely tastes crisp and clean in a way that I enjoy. 

The springs that provide Saratoga's spring water vary, but you can always find the list of springs your water is bottled from on the back of its blue glass bottle. In terms of flavor, this water is very crisp and nondescript — I could tell it wasn't enhanced with anything, but that's not a bad thing. It would be a good accompaniment for any fancy dinner party and I always appreciate when a beverage is bottled in recyclable glass. 

Though Liquid Death has an abundance of flavored waters, I chose to drink its plain still water for the purposes of this list. It's no secret that the company's marketing is absolutely stellar, but does its water hold up? It's sourced from a "deep underground mountain source" and, like you may have guessed, is full of naturally-occurring minerals and electrolytes. Liquid Death is good but I'd call its flavor pretty middling in the spring water category — however, I'd like to thank the company for packaging its water in an easily-recyclable can. 

Eternal's spring water is arguably very good, and though it tastes similar to some of the other "plain" waters on this list, I found myself noticing its alkalinity in a way that made it taste slightly more hydrating. The water is sourced from springs in California and Tennessee, and gains its natural minerals while filtering through "layers of ancient rock and sandstone." Eternal would have ranked slightly higher had its bottles been made out of something other than plastic, but I appreciate that the bottles are BPA-free and still recyclable.

Yes, Icelandic Glacial's water is another one with a higher than normal pH, but given that it's completely naturally-occurring, that's not a deterrent for this water. Unlike some other spring waters on this list, Icelandic Glacial has a naturally low mineral content, and I could see some consumers preferring its pure flavor to some other selections. The company also gets bonus points for its incredibly sustainable production methods, which utilize geothermal and hydroelectric power. 

Just looking at Waiakea's bottles evokes the sense of relaxing on the beach, but that's the least impressive thing about this brand. Waiakea water is naturally filtered through layers of volcanic rock that imbues it with electrolytes and minerals, before being collected and bottled. In addition to tasting good — like clean, natural spring water — the company is consistently launching programs to support its local Hawaiian community. It also makes its bottles from recyclable plastic and has even made some reusable aluminum water bottles.

Voss's water is sourced from a deep well in southern Norway where, upon arrival, it's been naturally filtered through layers of earth and is bottled completely unprocessed. In terms of flavor, Voss water is similar to Liquid Death and Icelandic Glacial — it tastes natural yet not too much like minerals. The company got a leg up on this list because of its packaging. Not only is it made from recyclable glass, but it's attractive enough for consumers (myself included) to be tempted to keep and reuse it, which is even better than recycling it. 

In case you were wondering, yes, carbonated water does hydrate you. Whether or not you enjoy carbonated water will be a personal preference, but given that I enjoy carbonated and still water equally, I felt comfortable including a few carbonated selections on this list. Mountain Valley sparkling water is filtered through granite-based aquifers before being bottled, and I found I liked the flavor of the granite filtration slightly more than some volcanic filtration waters on this list — it tasted slightly crisper and fresher, and its carbonation is very gentle.

German mineral water company Gerolsteiner displays an impressive commitment to environmental contribution. Its production solely utilizes hydropower, it's planted hundreds of thousands of trees, and it employs practices that help "maintain a sustainable water cycle." Gerolsteiner's water is filtered through volcanic rock before arriving at a deep underground well, and that shines through in its flavor, which is exceedingly neat. The mineral water also boasted a sharp carbonation, which didn't factor in its ranking but is worth mentioning nonetheless.

Hello, Just Water. The first time I saw this "boxed water" on store shelves I thought I was imagining things, but nope — this company is simply taking sustainable packaging one step further. First, the water itself: Just Water is sourced from springs in the Adirondack Mountains and, though it obviously had that clean and crisp flavor that other mountain spring waters on this list have, it also had that hydrating quality I loved about some of the sport waters mentioned earlier. What really makes Just Water stand out is its 88% plant-based packaging, which leads to an enormous reduction in carbon emissions compared to if the company produces plastic bottles. 

San Pellegrino gets its well-deserved shoutout as number two on this list in part due to its impressive longevity — the springs the water is sourced from have been utilized for centuries, and it undergoes a unique filtration process while traveling through the Alps in Northern Italy. The filtration process takes more than 30 years of travel, during which gypsum and dolomite rocks mineralize the water. Its flavor is impeccably natural; if you're already a fan of the brand, I recommend giving San Pellegrino's flavored lineup a try.

Finally, my top choice, and what is in my opinion the best bottled water you can buy — Proud Source Spring Water. Sourced from the Rocky Mountains, Proud Source has a naturally alkaline pH and is full of naturally occurring minerals and electrolytes. This water takes the cake for me for two reasons. First, its flavor is outstanding. The aluminum bottle helps it taste cold even at room temperature, and this is among the cleanest waters I tried. Second, the company's aluminum bottles are "infinitely recyclable." Not only do they help the water taste good, but they're also good for the planet — a huge win, in my book. 

Ranking these waters was admittedly difficult, and they ended up falling into three major categories (ranked lowest to highest): filtered tap water, filtered and enhanced tap water, and natural spring water. Within these categories, I ranked the waters primarily based on taste and I gave preference to any whose companies were particularly eco-conscious or community-motivated.

Overall, I preferred water with minimal processing that was taken straight from the source and contained naturally-occurring minerals and electrolytes. Almost all of these waters ranked at the top of my list; within this selection, I ranked the waters based on flavor and packaging. All of my top choices are housed in bottles that are easily recyclable or reusable, and my top choice, Proud Source, tasted the best among these.