The Best Shower Filters: 4 Compared (and One to Skip)

RBE top pick

Jolie Filtered Showerhead

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The Jolie is the easiest all-round recommendation: an all-in-one head built around the filter, chlorine-focused filtration, and a simple install. If you'd rather keep your own showerhead and spend far less, the AquaBliss SF220 does the core job for a fraction of the price.

A shower filter is one of the cheapest ways to take the harsh chlorine smell out of your daily shower, but the category is full of misleading 'softening' claims and short-lived cartridges. We weighed a premium all-in-one showerhead, a budget multi-stage inline filter, a design-forward handheld, and a heavily marketed premium unit. Two are easy recommendations, one depends on what you value, and one we'd steer most people away from.

RBE top pick

Jolie

Jolie Filtered Showerhead

Buy it

A good-looking all-in-one showerhead that reduces chlorine well and keeps pressure strong.

Best for: Most people on chlorinated city water who want a no-fuss, attractive all-in-one.

$$$ · premium

Why we like it

• Filter cartridge media aimed at cutting the chlorine smell
• All-in-one showerhead engineered around the filter to keep pressure up
• Installs on a standard shower arm; replaceable cartridge

Know before buying

• Replaces your existing showerhead entirely, which not everyone wants
• Does not soften hard water or remove scale minerals
• Premium price and ongoing cartridge cost

Check price on Amazon Read our detailed assessment ↓

AquaBliss

AquaBliss SF220 Multi-Stage Shower Filter

Buy it

The value pick: an inexpensive multi-stage inline filter that keeps your own showerhead.

Best for: Budget buyers who love their current showerhead and just want effective chlorine filtration.

$ · budget

Why we like it

• Multi-stage media: sand and mesh sediment stages, calcium sulfite, redox media, and activated carbon
• Screws inline so you keep the showerhead you already like
• Maker rates the cartridge at 3 to 6 months depending on water quality, with replacements sold separately

Know before buying

• Bulky puck sits visibly between the arm and your head
• Adds a bulky inline stage to the shower arm
• Does not soften water

Check price on Amazon Read our detailed assessment ↓

Canopy

Canopy Handheld Filtered Showerhead & Diverter

It depends

A well-designed handheld with a filter built in, if you want the flexibility and don't mind the price.

Best for: Buyers who specifically want a handheld with filtration and like the design.

$$$ · premium

Why we like it

• Handheld with diverter and dock adds real day-to-day flexibility
• Filter media aimed at chlorine reduction
• Cohesive, polished design that fits the brand's wellness ecosystem

Know before buying

• Premium price for filtration you can match for less
• Proprietary cartridges lock you into pricier refills
• More parts to install; still doesn't soften water

Check price on Amazon Read our detailed assessment ↓

We'd skip it

Hello Klean

Hello Klean Shower Filter

Skip it

Handsome and compact, but you pay for recurring capsule swaps and 'hard water' benefits it can't fully deliver.

Best for: Few people; those sold on the look who accept frequent, costly refills.

$$ · mid-range

Why we like it

• Attractive matte design and compact inline footprint
• Keeps your own showerhead
• Decent chlorine reduction when the capsule is fresh

Know before buying

• Capsule refills every 3 to 4 months add a recurring cost
• Marketed around hard water and limescale, but the maker confirms it does not remove the minerals that make water hard
• Like any carbon filter, performance fades as the capsule ages

See our pick instead See it at Amazon anyway Read our detailed assessment ↓

How we judged the field

We don’t run our own water lab. Instead, we synthesize independent testing, manufacturer specifications, and the pattern of long-term owner reports to separate what these filters genuinely do from what the marketing implies. For shower filters, a few things matter far more than star ratings.

First is what the filter actually removes. The common media are KDF (a copper-zinc alloy), calcium sulfite, and activated carbon. Together they are used to reduce free chlorine and the smell that comes with it, and calcium sulfite and KDF are used because they hold up better at hot shower temperatures than carbon alone. What none of them do is soften water: dissolved calcium and magnesium pass right through, so any ‘hard water’ or ‘softening’ promise is where we get skeptical. Chloramine, used by some city systems, is also much harder to remove than free chlorine and rewards a carbon stage.

After that, we weigh water pressure, cartridge life and the real cost of replacements, and how painless the install is. A filter is only as good as the cartridge you actually keep fresh, so ongoing cost and swap frequency carried a lot of weight.

The Jolie is the one we’d hand to most people. It’s an all-in-one: you swap your existing showerhead for Jolie’s, and the filter cartridge lives inside. In practice owners report a drop in the chlorine smell and, for many, less of that tight, dried-out feeling afterward. Because the whole head is built around the filter, it is designed to avoid the sputtering a cheap add-on can cause.

Install is on a standard fitting, and the cartridge is replaceable on a schedule. The trade-offs are honest ones: it replaces your current showerhead (a problem if you love the one you have), it carries a premium price with recurring cartridge cost, and, like everything here, it does nothing for hardness. If those don’t bother you, it’s the most polished, lowest-fuss option in the group.

The SF220 is the value story. It’s an inline filter, meaning it screws onto your shower arm and your existing showerhead threads onto the other end, so you keep the head you already like. Inside is a genuine multi-stage stack: sand and mesh sediment stages, calcium sulfite, redox media, and activated carbon. The carbon stage helps with odor and organic impurities, and it does more than a single media.

What makes it our runner-up is the economics. It’s inexpensive up front, the maker rates the cartridge at 3 to 6 months, and replacements are sold separately, so ongoing cost stays manageable. Downsides: it’s a visible puck between the arm and the head, and it adds an inline stage to the shower arm (the maker says it does not reduce pressure). But for the money, it does the core job well.

Canopy makes genuinely nice hardware, and this handheld is no exception: a filtered head with a diverter and dock that adds real flexibility for rinsing, cleaning, and washing kids or pets. The filter media is aimed at chlorine reduction, and it slots neatly into the brand’s broader wellness ecosystem.

Why ‘it depends’ rather than a straight buy? You pay a premium for filtration you can match for less, the cartridges are proprietary (so you’re locked into pricier refills on the brand’s schedule), and there are simply more parts to mount than a plain inline filter. If you specifically want a handheld with a filter and value the design, it’s a fair choice. If you just want clean water at the lowest cost, the value pick makes more sense.

The Hello Klean looks fantastic, a compact matte cylinder that installs inline and keeps your own head. When the capsule is fresh, it reduces chlorine competently. The problem is what you pay for that, and what the marketing implies you’re getting.

The media is a conventional multi-stage mix (carbon, KDF, calcium sulphite, plus antiscaling media), packaged in a capsule the maker says lasts 3 to 4 months, so refills are a regular recurring cost. Worse, much of the messaging leans on hard water and limescale; the maker itself says the filter does not remove the calcium and magnesium that make water hard, so it won’t soften your water any more than the cheaper options will. Between the recurring swaps, the premium positioning, and the overreaching claims, most buyers are better served by a multi-stage inline filter that costs less to keep running.

Jolie Filtered Showerhead vs. AquaBliss SF220: which should you buy?

This is the real decision for most shoppers, and it comes down to form factor and budget. The Jolie is an all-in-one showerhead: you replace your head and get a clean look and a replaceable cartridge, at a premium price. The AquaBliss SF220 is an inline filter that preserves the showerhead you already own, includes an activated carbon stage, and costs less to buy, at the expense of a visible puck.

If you want the tidiest, best-looking result and don’t mind swapping your head, choose the Jolie. If you love your current showerhead or want the lowest total cost, the SF220 gets you most of the way there for far less. Both are built to reduce chlorine; neither softens water.

What to look for

• Media that matches your water: KDF and calcium sulfite for free chlorine; add activated carbon (or vitamin C) if your utility uses chloramine.
• Honest claims: ignore ‘softening’ and ‘limescale removal’ promises, shower filters do not remove hardness minerals.
• Cartridge cost and life, not just sticker price: cheap, long-lasting, easy-to-find cartridges beat frequent proprietary refills.
• Form factor: all-in-one head for the cleanest look, inline filter to keep the head you have, handheld for flexibility.
• Pressure: check whether the maker states anything about pressure, especially if your plumbing is weak.
• Install: many options are tool-free and take minutes on a standard fitting.

Our final take

A shower filter is a small upgrade with an outsized daily payoff, as long as you buy it for the right reason: reducing chlorine and odor, not softening water. The Jolie Filtered Showerhead is the pick for most people who want a polished all-in-one, and the AquaBliss SF220 is the smart-money choice if you’d rather keep your showerhead and spend far less. The Canopy handheld earns its place only if you want that specific format, and the Hello Klean is the one to skip, conventional filtration wrapped in premium pricing, recurring refills, and hard-water claims it can’t back up.

Deciding between the top two? See our head-to-head: Jolie Filtered Showerhead vs AquaBliss SF220 Multi-Stage Shower Filter.

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