Educational only: Haftaa offers wellness information, not medical advice. Read disclaimer.
Water Cost Calculator
See how much money you could save by switching from bottled water to filtered or tap water. Calculate your 5-year and 10-year savings.
The True Cost of Bottled Water
Bottled water is one of the most expensive ways to stay hydrated. A typical 16-ounce bottle costs 1 to 2 dollars, which works out to about 5 to 10 dollars per gallon — roughly 1,000 times the cost of tap water. For a family of two buying 14 bottles per week, that adds up to over 2,000 dollars per year.
Cost comparison (per gallon):
Tap water: ~$0.005
Filtered water (pitcher): ~$0.10-0.30
Bottled water: ~$5-10
Tap water: ~$0.005
Filtered water (pitcher): ~$0.10-0.30
Bottled water: ~$5-10
Environmental Impact
- ◆Producing a year's worth of bottled water for one person uses ~17 million barrels of oil globally.
- ◆Only 20-30% of plastic water bottles are recycled.
- ◆Plastic bottles take 400-1,000 years to decompose.
- ◆Many bottled waters are simply packaged tap water.
A reusable stainless steel bottle and a quality water filter can save you thousands of dollars over 5-10 years while dramatically reducing plastic waste. See our guides to water quality and water filters for choosing a filter.