Simplify Your Family's Emergency Preparedness

How to Choose the Right Size Gravity Water Filter: Berkey vs Boroux

melanie papworth smiling holding a glass of water from Berkey Light

**This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on a link and make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

**To find out why I made the switch from Berkey to Boroux, click here.

[2025 UPDATE] When I first wrote this sizing guide, I focused exclusively on Berkey options. However, after switching to Boroux as my primary recommendation, I want to give you a complete sizing comparison for both systems.

 

The good news? Choosing the right size is actually simpler now. While Berkey offers many confusing size options, Boroux has streamlined this with just two perfectly-designed sizes that cover all household needs.

 

In this guide, I’ll show you exactly how to choose the right size for either system, plus explain why I personally prefer Boroux’s simplified approach.

A Quick Sizing Summary

For Boroux (My Current Recommendation):

  • 1-4 people: Legacy Compact (1.8 gallons)
  • 4+ people or high usage: Legacy Standard (3 gallons)

For Berkey Systems:

Here is a contrasting example of my family compared to my brother’s family, and why it’s not just about the number of people in the household…

Berkey Light for MY Family of 7
(2.75 gallon capacity)

  • Kept in the dining room

  • Easy to carry after filling

  • Not used for cooking- too much effort to go into another room

  • Uses ice from the fridge ice maker

  • Only beverage requiring water is crystal light

  • Can monitor the water level from across the room

  • Most of the family is gone during the daytime

Crown Berkey for HIS family of 5
(6 gallon capacity)

  • Kept right next to the sink

  • No need to carry because it doesn't move to be filled

  • Used for all cooking, home humidifiers, diffusers

  • Fills ice cube trays- does not use fridge water at all

  • Other beverages- smoothies, tea and coffee

  • Has a sight glass spigot to conveniently monitor water level

  • Most family members are home most of the day (plus a dog)

Detailed Boroux Sizing Guide

Boroux Legacy Compact (1.8 Gallon capacity)

  • 1-4 people, apartments, RVs, travel

  • ~50 ounces per person for normal refilling

  • Compact countertop design

  • 2 filters standard, expandable to 4

  • Perfect for limited counter space

Boroux Legacy Standard (3 gallon capacity)

  • 4+ people, high water usage

  • Up to 24,000 gallons total daily

  • 2 filters standard, expands to 4 for faster filtering

  • Perfect for large families, using filtered water for cooking or just want maximum capacity

Side-by-side comparison

Need Boroux Choice Comparable Berkey
1-2 people Legacy Compact (1.8 gal) Travel Berkey (1.5 gal)
3-4 people Legacy Compact or Standard Big Berkey (2.25 gal)
5-6 people Legacy Standard (3 gal) Royal Berkey (3.25 gal)
7+ people Legacy Standard + 4 filters Crown Berkey (6 gal)

Why Boroux's Simplified Sizing is Better

Fewer Decisions, Better Results: Instead of 8+ confusing Berkey sizes, Boroux offers 2 thoughtfully designed options that cover all real-world needs.

 

Scalable Filtering Speed: Both Boroux systems can use 2 or 4 filters, so you can adjust filtering speed without buying a completely different system.

 

Consistent Quality: Same premium AISI 304-grade stainless steel construction regardless of size choice.

Things to Consider When Choosing the Best Size Water Filter

QUANTITY

How many gallons of water will you be using in a day?

 

When determining how many gallons of water you’ll use each day, you want to take a few things into account.

  • Realistically, how much water does your family go through in a day?   
  • Are you going to fill your pots with water from your Boroux, or will you still be doing that from your sink, out of convenience?
  • Do you host or entertain regularly? 
  • How many pets do you have? 
  • Do you want to be able to share water with others in an emergency situation?

Filters

Each filter works at the same speed. So if you have 2 filters in a Boroux Compact, and 2 filters in a Boroux Standard, you are going to get the same amount of filtered water after “x” amount of minutes.  In this case, the difference is just in the amount of water each chamber holds, but filtering speed is the exact same.

 

The more filters you have going in a system, the faster your filtered water will accumulate.

 

 You do not have to use the maximum amount of filters, but having the option in unique situations is nice.  

LOCATION

Determine where you will actually keep your Boroux and how you will dispense the water.

 

Keep in mind that you will need room for the cup/water bottle/stock pot to fit underneath the spigot at the bottom of the system. There are a few options to make this happen:

 

  • You can place the Boroux with the spigot hanging over the edge of a countertop or table
  • Position the Boroux in a place where it can easily be scooted to the edge of a counter when in use
  • Get a stand to go with your system, to raise the height of the spigot by about 6″.  Bonus for the moms: It will reduce messes when your independent little people want to fill their own glasses. 

The location of the Boroux in your home can actually directly affect how convenient it is to fill it, as well as how much water you go through in a day. 


Let me explain…(this will apply to the Boroux too)

 

Once I had the Berkey in my kitchen, I realized I didn’t have anywhere for it to go on my counter, so I moved it to a little table in the corner of the dining room.

 

This proved to be problematic for a few reasons:

 

  1. My sink faucet wasn’t able to reach all the way to the dining room, so I had to bring the Berkey over to the sink to fill it.  This worked great with the Crown Berkey until I had to carry an open chamber with 6 gallons of water in it all the way across my kitchen and dining room, and then hoist it up on top of the bottom chamber that was sitting on the table. I am 5’2″. I will let your imagination do the rest.  Let’s just say I had to change my clothes because I was drenched by the time I got the top chamber situated.  I resorted to filling pitchers from the kitchen sink and filling up the top chamber 
  2. I am lazy and always in a hurry.  Translation: I do not have the patience to run a stockpot over to my dining room to fill it with 12 cups of water when I’m making soup. I just use our tap water. Obviously I wouldn’t be doing this if our water was dangerous, but generally speaking, our water isn’t horrific, so I take the lazy way out and just use tap water for most of my cooking. Once I took out all the water I had factored in for cooking, I realized we were not going through 6 gallons of water a day like I had imagined we would.
  3. This led to the filters working slower, because they would dry out and filter at a slower speed, because I was only filling the top chamber once every 3 days or so.

APPEARANCE

Let’s be honest, most people find stainless steel more aesthetically pleasing than plastic.  I think this is another area Boroux shines over Berkey. Unless you have touches of Blue already in your kitchen, those Berkey’s stand out like a sore thumb and look like an office water cooler. 

 

Boroux nailed it by going with black, stainless or white!

lineup of material options from boroux water filter systems.

Things to Keep in Mind When Considering a Berkey for Emergency Situations

Your priorities might be different if you are investing in a Boroux Legacy System primarily for emergency use.

 

  • Space – Storage space in your home, as well as space in your car in an evacuation
  • Capacity – How much water do you plan on going through in a 24-hour-or-less period in an emergency situation with sketchy water? (and are you only taking into account your family, or do you want to be able to share?)
  • Filtering Speed – How quickly will you want to be able to get clean water? The more filters you have running, the quicker you will get your water
  • Cost – Generally speaking, the larger the system, the more it costs

One important thing to remember is that size is literally the only difference in all of these systems. They all use the same technology and filter water the same way. The bigger systems can simply house more elements, which means the water filters more quickly and they last longer because one element isn’t doing all the work.

My Personal Recommendation

Here’s my take:

 

For most families, I recommend the Boroux Legacy Standard (3-gallon). Here’s why:

  • Room to grow as family needs change
  • Can handle cooking/pet water needs
  • 4-filter option provides faster filtering when needed
  • Same footprint as Royal Berkey but superior construction

Choose the Legacy Compact only if:

  • You have very limited counter space
  • Household of 2 or fewer people
  • Primarily for travel/RV use

I hope this comparison of Boroux vs Berkey is helpful. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions! Send me an email at melanie@planforawesome.com

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