Water Filter NerdFiltration Analysis by the Listing

Aquasana AQ-5300+R Replacement Filter: 78 Names and a Four Times Bill

Two numbers decide this part and they disagree by about 4 times: the Aquasana AQ-5300+R Replacement Filter is rated 800 gallons, and the 6 month clock that ships with it retires the cartridge at about 182. WQA certified it to 42, 53 with P473 inside, and 401 for 78 named contaminants, which is the widest certified list on this shelf. The listing bullet promises under 10 cents a gallon, the arithmetic lands the headline near 12 and the lived figure near 50, and the part sat at rank 4 in Replacement Under-Sink Water Filters the last time we looked.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. On prices: retail prices move daily, so we quote ranges and send you to the live figure on the listing. How we review: I do not test filters, I read them. Every number on this page traces to manufacturer documentation, a certification record, or our own catalog records, held against the claims on the box. No free products, no paid placements, no manufacturer relationships. Scoring rules are public on our methodology page.
Aquasana AQ-5300+R replacement filter review, the genuine Claryum twist in cartridge rated 800 gallons

Aquasana AQ-5300+R Replacement Filter Specs: 800 Gallons and 78 Names

The AQ-5300+R is the twist in half of an Aquasana under sink system, model AQ-C3M-R, and it is the genuine part rather than a clone cut to the same thread. It slots into 8 different system listings, the AQ-5300+.55, .56 and .62 bodies plus the AQ-6300M in 5 finishes. Inside are 3 stages: a 5 micron pre-filter, then 2 Claryum blocks of activated and catalytic carbon with an ion exchange bed behind them.

Our replacement cartridge comparisons hold the running list for this shelf, and the rest of the Aquasana lineup uses the same thread on 5 pitcher bodies and 3 under sink ones. Every figure below comes off the maker's own data sheet rather than a listing bullet, because the 2 disagree on the one number that matters most: the gallon price.

  • Certified scope: WQA, against the 3 accredited standards, with the P473 PFAS protocol carried inside 53, for the claims specified on the Performance Data Sheet.
  • Named reductions: chlorine at 97.3 percent, chloramines at 91, lead at 99.6, microplastics at 99.6, PFOA and PFOS at 99.7, cysts at 99.995, inside a list of 78 names.
  • Rated capacity: 800 gallons or a 6 month interval, whichever lands first. That is the longest published rating on this shelf, which runs from 40 gallons to 800.
  • Flow: 0.72 gpm for the assembled system, about 92 ounces a minute. The cartridge on its own is sold with no flow figure at all.
  • Media: a 5 micron pre-filter, then 2 Claryum blocks of activated and catalytic carbon with an ion exchange bed behind them.
  • Minerals kept: calcium, potassium and magnesium are deliberately left in the glass, which is the difference between a selective filter and a stripped one.
  • TDS: not reduced. Carbon and ion exchange do not touch dissolved solids, and the listing says so on its own bullet.
  • Fit: 8 system listings, so this is a repeat purchase for a household already inside the family rather than a first buy.
  • Footprint: the housing is 4.25 by 12 by 12.85 inches and wants 15.85 inches of clear cabinet, plus a dedicated faucet on the counter.
  • Pressure and temperature: 20 to 80 psi and 40 to 90 F, both published on the sheet.
  • Bottle claim: 6,000 bottles a filter set. At 16.9 ounces that is about 790 gallons, which lands within a percent of the rating on the sheet, so the claim survives its own arithmetic.
  • Price band: $88 to $95 when we last looked, in stock, sold by Amazon.com, buy box winner.
  • Not published: a certificate or listing number and any micron rating on the Claryum blocks. Those 2 absences cost points below.

What that adds up to at your tap: 800 gallons is 12,800 eight ounce glasses, the interval hands a household drinking a gallon each day about 182 of them, and the part costs about 11 to 12 cents a gallon on its rating against the lived figure near 50 once the calendar starts billing.

It's the widest listing here, and it's the thinnest stack of paper.

Think of it this way

These 2 blocks are a sieve with opinions. About 97.3 percent of the chlorine goes straight through, 99.6 percent of the lead does not make it past the carbon, and the calcium and magnesium are held back in the glass because somebody decided they should be. A screen that keeps the minerals is a screen somebody tuned.

The published rating against one household year and the six month clock, in gallons Chart of three bars: the Aquasana AQ-5300+R rating at 800 gallons, a household year at 365 gallons, and the volume the six month interval allows at 182 gallons. Gallons on the sheet, gallons in the kitchen, gallons the clock permits A gallon a day household, which is the volume this page divides everything by 0 200 400 600 800 gal Rated capacity One household year Six months of clock 800 gallons on the sheet 365 gallons a year 182 gallons, then the wall Rating and interval from the manufacturer data sheet, annual volume from a gallon a day.
The navy bar is the number on the box and the copper bar is the number that actually leaves the tap before the calendar lands. Between them sit about 618 gallons of paid for capacity that a 1 gallon household never gets to drink, because the interval retires the cartridge first. The middle bar is the year itself, for scale.
See the AQ-5300+R Data Sheet on Amazon

Aquasana AQ-5300+R Replacement Filter Score: 4 of 7

Every product in this index is rated 1 to 7 across seven verifiable criteria. One point per criterion. No partial credit. I'm an enthusiast with a long memory and a spreadsheet, not a lab, and the table below is the published rubric in one place.

Each line asks 2 questions: is the number on the record, and does it hold up against the rest of the category. The line stays at zero when a document is missing or when the figure is the worst of its kind. Four of the 7 lines earn the point, and the money is the only zero that's a real number.

Criterion Points Evidence
Certified removal scope1 point78 contaminants named with a reduction figure beside each, and the PFAS protocol folded into 53
Certification and test transparency0 pointsWQA is named and a Performance Data Sheet is published, and there is no listing number anywhere and the blocks carry no micron figure
Filter life and rated capacity1 point800 gallons and 6 months, both published, and the longest rating on this shelf
Cost per gallon0 pointsAbout 48 to 52 cents once the interval is applied, roughly 4 times the figure on the box and second only to the ZeroWater part
Flow rate and pressure drop0 points0.72 gpm belongs to the assembly, and the cartridge is sold with no flow figure of its own
Install and footprint1 pointA quarter turn on a housing you already own, no hoses to disconnect, no plumber
Maintenance burden1 point2 changes a year, the fewest on this shelf, against about 6 for the Brita part and about 24 for the ZeroWater one

Three lines sit at zero and the money is the only one of them that's an actual number. The other 2 are missing documents: no listing number a reader can key into a registry, and no micron rating for the blocks doing the work. That's the same rule this index applies to every sheet, and it's why the strongest certified list here still loses the paperwork line.

The flow line is the one I'd argue with a reader about all day. 0.72 gpm is published, and it's published for the assembly the cartridge screws into, so the part gets no credit for a figure it does not carry on its own. The cost line is the arithmetic doing its job: about 50 cents a gallon measured against a headline near 12, so the box and the bill disagree by 4 times.

Want a Cheaper Gallon? See the Brita Original

Who Should Buy the Aquasana Replacement Filter

The question is never which cartridge is best. It's which cartridge matches the housing you already own and the contaminant you can actually name. This one answers lead at 99.6 percent and PFAS at 99.7, and it answers the gallon price by charging near the top of the shelf. The under sink rankings put the whole category in order if you're still choosing the body.

Replacement parts are a different purchase from systems. You're not buying filtration, you're buying another 6 months of the filtration you already paid for. That makes this page about fit and pace rather than about features.

  • You already own the housing: an AQ-5300+.55, .56 or .62, or any of the 5 AQ-6300M finishes, and the swap is a quarter turn with no hoses to disconnect.
  • Lead or PFAS is the named contaminant: 99.6 percent on lead and 99.7 on PFOA and PFOS, both inside the certified list rather than implied by a badge.
  • Nobody in the house drinks more than 4 gallons a day: the rated capacity stops mattering above about 4.4 gallons a day, because the interval retires the part first at any pace under that.
  • You want the widest certificate and you'll pay per gallon for it: near 50 cents a gallon here against about 13 for the Brita Original, and the budget band is where the cheap gallons live.

This Is Not Your Pitcher If

  • This is your first filter. The cartridge needs a housing that costs $220 to $230 on its own, and nothing here works without it.
  • You want fluoride or TDS reduced. Carbon and ion exchange leave both alone, and that takes a membrane.
  • You want a listing number to look up. Nobody on this shelf prints one, and this maker doesn't either.
  • You rent somewhere the counter can't be drilled. The system feeds a dedicated faucet, so it wants an opening.

The way I see it

Buying this as your first filter is like buying a spare tire and hoping a car shows up with it. The part itself is $88 to $95, and the body that makes it useful is $220 to $230 and asks for a counter opening. The cartridge is only a bargain if you already own the plumbing.

See the AQ-5300+R Cartridge on Amazon

Aquasana Replacement Filter Pros and Cons: What You Get and What It Costs You

What You Get

  • 78 named contaminants under 42, 53 with P473 inside, and 401, which is the widest certified list among the 11 parts on this shelf.
  • 800 gallons and 6 months both published, so the interval is a number the maker stands behind rather than a suggestion.
  • About 2 minutes a change, twice a year, with no water lines to touch and no plumber.
  • Minerals kept: the calcium, magnesium and potassium are left in the water while the 78 names come out.
  • The bottle claim survives: 6,000 bottles converts to about 790 gallons against a rating of 800.
  • Rank 4 in its own category when we last looked, in stock, sold by Amazon.com, buy box winner.

What It Costs You

  • Roughly half a dollar per gallon once the clock is applied, about 4 times its own headline figure.
  • No listing number and no micron rating, so the paperwork line stays empty and 1 point goes with it.
  • About $176 to $190 a year for 2 cartridges at a household that drinks a gallon daily.
  • The housing is $220 to $230 if you're not already inside the family, which doubles the real entry price.
  • 15.85 inches of cabinet and a counter opening for the dedicated faucet.
  • The clock discards capacity: 182 gallons delivered against 800 rated, so about 3 quarters of the paid for gallons never arrive.
Need the Housing Too? See the AQ-5300+ System

What the Aquasana Replacement Filter Costs Per Gallon

The upfront band is the least interesting number on this page. A cartridge is a gallon price with a calendar attached, and the calendar is the half that decides the bill. Every derived figure below is a range in cents, because a single number would pretend the interval never moves.

  • The headline end: about 11 to 12 cents on the published capacity, which is the basis for the listing's own under a dime claim.
  • The lived figure: the same part against the 182 gallons 6 months allows, which is roughly 50 cents a gallon, roughly 4 times the rate it advertises.
  • The annual reality: 2 cartridges at $88 to $95 each is about $176 to $190, which is 3 cents an 8 ounce glass across 5,840 glasses.
  • The shelf around it: about 13 cents for the Brita part and about 14 for the PUR one, against about 50 here and near 100 for the ZeroWater cartridge.
  • The floor under the arithmetic: the interval sets the bill, not the capacity. A 2 gallon a day house spends the same $176 to $190 as a 1 gallon house, so heavy users are the only ones who get their money back.

The part nobody puts on the box: the interval is the price. It retires 800 gallons of rated capacity at 182 gallons used, and the listing prints both numbers without ever doing the division. That division is the whole review.

Think of it this way

800 gallons is a long runway and the 6 month clock is the wall at the end of it. A household drinking a gallon each day uses about 182 gallons before the calendar lands, which is under a quarter of the rating. The rest of that runway is money you spent and never got to drink.

Lived cents per gallon for four replacement parts that publish a rating and an interval Bars showing about 13 cents a gallon for the Brita Original, about 14 for the PUR RF-9999, about 50 for the Aquasana AQ-5300+R and near 100 for the ZeroWater ZR-017. What a gallon actually costs after the interval gets applied Only the parts with both a published capacity and a published replacement clock 0 25 50 75 100 cents Brita Original PUR RF-9999-2 Aquasana AQ-5300+R ZeroWater ZR-017 about 13 about 14 about 50, the subject near 100 Cartridge bands from the makers and our own records, billed on the interval each one publishes.
Bars showing what a gallon costs once each maker's own interval is applied, rather than the rate printed beside the stars. The navy bar is the part on this page and the copper bar is the outlier, a 2 pack our records bill near 100 cents. Between the navy bar and the two gray ones sits 4 times the money on water that leaves the same tap.
See What Two Cartridges a Year Add Up To

Two cartridges is 364 gallons, which is a household year to the gallon, and it is the only pace at which this part beats its own headline.

Aquasana AQ-5300+R Replacement Filter vs the Field: 4 Parts Compared

Every row below is a cartridge from our own index, with the certification and the rated life taken from our records. There are 4 rivals to the part on this page, the bands are ranges rather than live figures, and the fit column decides whether a row is even available to you.

Cartridge Certified Rated life Fits Upfront band
Aquasana AQ-5300+R42, 53 with P473, 401800 gal8 under sink listings$88 to $95
Brita Original, 3 pack42, 53 on its sheet40 galevery Brita body but the Stream$14 to $17
PUR RF-9999-2, 2 pack42, 53, 401100 galPUR faucet mounts$25 to $30
ZeroWater ZR-017, 2 packnot recordedabout 15 galZeroWater pitchers and dispensers$29 to $34
AQUA CREST AQK-CF06A, 6 packnamed, no numbernot publishedBrita pitchers, aftermarket fit$15 to $19

Two things fall out of that table, and the first is how thin the documentation is across it. Nine of the 11 parts on this shelf name a standard and 4 of them publish a rated capacity, which is why a comparison this short is the entire category. The NSF certification explainer is the page to read before trusting any row in it, because a standard with no number behind it is a claim rather than a record.

Second, the fit column is where the cheap gallons stop being interchangeable. The Brita range puts 1 body under 12 pitchers, the PUR lineup keeps 1 thread across its mounts, and this Aquasana part fits 8 listings and nothing else on the aisle. The long life cartridges are the other way to buy the same problem, and they charge for the interval rather than the certificate.

You're choosing between a cheap gallon and a long one, and rarely both.

See the Cartridge That Bills Near a Dollar

ZeroWater's ZR-017, which our own records price at near 100 cents a gallon and which certifies no contaminant on its listing.

Aquasana Replacement Filter FAQ: Fit, Interval and Certification

How long does the Aquasana AQ-5300+R replacement filter last?
800 gallons or 6 months, whichever arrives first, and the calendar usually wins. A household pouring 30 gallons a month gets about 182 gallons out of it in 6 months, so the part is changed at 23 percent of what it is rated for. Only a house passing more than about 4.4 gallons a day gets the full 800 out of a cartridge.
Is the AQ-5300+R a genuine Aquasana cartridge?
Yes, it's the maker's own part, model AQ-C3M-R, and the listing says only genuine replacements are certified for removal, performance and capacity. It fits 8 system listings, the AQ-5300 family and the AQ-6300M in 5 finishes.
What is the AQ-5300+R certified to remove?
WQA certifies it to standards 42, 53 and 401 for the claims on the Performance Data Sheet, with the PFAS protocol folded inside 53, and 78 contaminants named with a reduction figure beside each. The headline figures are 97.3 percent for chlorine, 91 for chloramines, 99.6 for lead and microplastics, 99.7 for PFOA and PFOS, and 99.995 for cysts. No listing number is published anywhere, which is the missing document behind that zero on the scorecard.
Does the AQ-5300+R remove fluoride or TDS?
Neither. The media is carbon plus ion exchange resin, and the listing says plainly that the cartridge will not reduce total dissolved solids. What it does instead is keep the minerals in the water, calcium, potassium and magnesium among them, which is the trade a selective filter makes and a membrane does not.
What does the AQ-5300+R cost per gallon?
About 11 to 12 cents on the published capacity, and the lived figure lands near 50 cents once the interval is applied. Two cartridges a year at $88 to $95 each is about $176 to $190, which is roughly 3 cents an 8 ounce glass and about 4 times what the box advertises per gallon.

Aquasana AQ-5300+R Replacement Filter: Where It Lands

The Aquasana AQ-5300+R Replacement Filter earns 4/7, and its widest certified list on the shelf comes with the second dearest gallon on it. It is rated 800 gallons or 6 months, it carries the 3 standards over 78 named contaminants, and it twists out in about 2 minutes without touching a water line.

The zeros are honest rather than fatal. There's no listing number and no micron figure for the blocks, and the money line reflects what the interval does at 365 gallons a year: about 182 gallons delivered against 800 rated. Four points for the certificate, the rating, the fit and the pace; 3 withheld, and 2 of those are paperwork.

If you own the housing, this is the part your system was certified around, and the PFAS removal shortlist is where that 99.7 percent more properly belongs. If you don't own it yet, price the whole body first, because $220 to $230 of hardware decides whether $88 to $95 a cartridge is a bargain or an entry fee.

78 names, a 6 month clock, and about 618 gallons of the rating you'll never drink.

See the Aquasana AQ-5300+R on Amazon

Where It Lands: A Long Rating and a Short Clock

800 gallons on the sheet, about 182 in the glass before the interval closes, and close to 50 cents at the pace most houses actually drink. The certified list is the widest here and the paperwork is as thin as everyone else's.

Aquasana Replacement Filter Lexicon: Every Standard in This Review

NSF/ANSI 42
The aesthetic effects standard. It covers the chlorine that makes water taste and smell like a pool rather than anything a doctor would ask about, and this cartridge claims 97.3 percent of it.
NSF/ANSI 53
The health effects standard, certified per listing rather than per brand. It covers lead, chromium, mercury and named PFAS compounds, and this part sits at 99.6 percent on lead under it.
NSF/ANSI P473
The protocol for the 2 most studied PFAS compounds, PFOA and PFOS, and here it sits inside 53 rather than beside it. That pairing is what makes the 99.7 percent claim certifiable instead of implied.
NSF/ANSI 401
The emerging compounds standard for things like pharmaceuticals and pesticides, and a separate listing from PFAS. This maker carries it, which 7 of the 11 parts on the shelf do not.
NSF/ANSI 372
The materials standard about lead in the plumbing rather than lead in the water. A cartridge can hold 372 and make no claim about what leaves your glass at all.
Rated capacity
The gallons a cartridge is certified to treat, which is 800 here against 40 for the Brita cartridge and 100 for the PUR one.
Change interval
The calendar limit, and the number that actually retires a cartridge. At 6 months it ends this part after about 182 gallons, well before the rating is spent.
Ion exchange
A resin bed that swaps one charged particle for another, which is how the heavy metals come out while the calcium and magnesium remain.
Total dissolved solids
Everything dissolved in the water that a meter can see, and this cartridge leaves it untouched because carbon and resin are not a membrane.

Keep Reading: More Aquasana Replacement Filter Coverage