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Since hot water is one of the greatest creature comforts of the modern era, it’s important to choose a water tank from one of the best water heater brands. Water heaters quietly heat water to comfortable temperatures, allowing us to thoroughly clean our hands or take soothing baths. They feed hot water to sinks, showers, dishwashers, washing machines, and more. They’re an integral part of a plumbing system to ensure a comfortable home.
That’s why it’s so important that a water heater be well built and from a reputable brand. After all, when it stops working, the whole house suffers. These are the eight best water heater brands for shoppers to choose from.
1. Rheem
Price Range: $ to $$$
Our Top Picks: Performance 2.15 GPM Tankless Electric Water Heater for $254.15; Performance Platinum 50-Gallon Electric Tank Water Heater for $1,699.00; or Performance 40-Gallon Natural Gas Tank Water Heater for $519.00.
With a focus on sustainability, Rheem’s catchphrase “A Greater Degree of Good” showcases the company’s commitment to innovation, efficiency, and leadership in the eco-friendly space. It’s an American-based manufacturer of residential and commercial water heaters, boilers, and HVAC equipment.
The brand has been around since 1925, offering quality products like its tankless electric water heater, which fits under standard sinks and cabinets and can provide enough hot water for one shower and two faucets at a time. Rheem has a wide selection of water heaters, including tank-style and tankless models, boasting some of the best-rated water heaters on the market.
Shop Rheem water heaters at Amazon or The Home Depot.
2. Rinnai
Price Range: $$ to $$$
Our Top Picks: 6.5 GPM Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater for $817.46; Sensei 11 GPM Natural Gas/Propane Tankless Water Heater for $1,537.90; or 7.5 GPM Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater for $799.00.
Rinnai is one of the best-known names in tankless water heaters. This Japan-based manufacturer of gas appliances features multiple product lines, including condensing, noncondensing, hybrid, and energy-efficient tankless water heaters, allowing customers to find the best hot water heater option for their needs.
Although Rinnai offers high-efficiency water heaters at midrange pricing, it also has some higher-end models with even greater high efficiency, such as the Sensei tankless water heater. This top model provides unlimited hot water and learns the user’s water usage pattern to schedule efficiency-boosting recirculation, possibly making it the best residential water heater in terms of efficiency and features.
Shop Rinnai water heaters at Amazon, Lowe’s, or The Home Depot.
3. A.O. Smith
Price Range: $ to $$
Our Top Picks: Signature 500 40-Gallon Liquid Propane Water Heater for $1,235.79; Signature 500 50-Gallon Natural Gas Water Heater for $1,299.00; or Signature 100 40-Gallon Double Element Electric Water Heater for $409.00.
A.O. Smith is an American manufacturer of residential and commercial water heaters and boilers. The brand offers both gas and electric models, ensuring customers can find a suitable model for most scenarios. The 50-gallon natural gas water heater provides enough hot water delivery for houses up to five or more people, making it a serious consideration for the best tank water heater for a large family. Plus, it’s Energy Star certified and can deliver up to 79 gallons of water within the first hour.
This brand is one of the largest manufacturers of water heaters in North America, offering a wide range of electric and gas water heaters in both tank and tankless options. For those with limited space, A.O. Smith also makes combination boilers that heat water and provide space heating from a single unit.
Shop A.O. Smith water heaters at Amazon or Lowe’s.
4. Bradford White
Price Range: $$ to $$$
Our Top Picks: 50-Gallon Natural Gas Tank Water Heater for $1,020.00; 40-Gallon Energy Saver Tank Water Heater for $873.39; or 75-Gallon High Input Tank Water Heater for $1,522.99.
Bradford White is an American-owned manufacturer of water heaters, space heaters, and combination heaters. Customers can choose from a range of both tank and tankless options, like the 50-gallon natural gas tank water heater. This water heater is a maintenance-free natural-gas model with an intelligent gas control system, and it features a sediment-reducing device to control sediment in the tank.
The employee-owned brand also manufactures residential, commercial, and industrial water heaters, as well as offering natural gas, electric, and propane models. While Bradford White products are not sold through big-box stores, they’re generally available through plumbing suppliers or contractors, which can make the brand’s available options limited to the consumer.
Shop Bradford White water heaters at Amazon or SupplyHouse.com.
5. Stiebel Eltron
Price Range: $ to $$
Our Top Picks: Tempra 20 Plus Electric Tankless Water Heater for $658.07; Tempra 36 Plus Electric Tankless Water Heater for $756.41; or Mini-Tank Electric Water Heater for $240.28.
Stiebel Eltron is a German-based manufacturer of heating products like water heaters and heat pumps. It specializes in tankless water heaters for condos and small homes, like the Tempra 20 electric tankless water heater, which is one of the brand’s top models. This electric tankless water heater provides enough hot water for one bathroom in cool climates or up to two in warm climates, and boasts a 99 percent efficiency rating.
With its wide variety of electric tankless water heaters and mini-tank water heaters, Stiebel Eltron offers some electric models that are small enough to serve a handwashing sink only. This could be a big help in simply getting the water up to temperature faster on an end-of-line sink.
Shop Stiebel Eltron water heaters at Amazon or The Home Depot.
6. EcoSmart
Price Range: $ to $$
Our Top Picks: Eco 18 Tankless Water Heater for $399.97; 6-Gallon Mini-Tank Water Heater for $229.99; or Eco 27 Electric Tankless Water Heater for $431.71.
EcoSmart is a privately owned American manufacturer of water heating products, including pool and spa parts, water boosters, and tankless water heaters. The Eco 18 tankless water heater is one of the brand’s top products, capable of providing up to 4.3 gallons of hot water per minute from a compact electric model. For those who need more, this line comes in additional sizes up to almost 9 gallons per minute.
The brand offers a range of gas and electric-powered water heaters, as well as pool and spa equipment and water booster pumps. Most of the brand’s best hot water heaters are compact and based on the same Eco line, just with larger capacities, making it one of the top brands for apartments, condos, and small houses.
Shop EcoSmart water heaters at Amazon or The Home Depot.
7. Bosch
Price Range: $ to $$$
Our Top Picks: 4-Gallon Mini-Tank Electric Water Heater for $239.00; 2.5-Gallon Electric Point-of-Use Water Heater for $188.65; or Greentherm Natural Gas/Propane Tankless Water Heater for $2,610.40.
Bosch is a German-owned manufacturer of tools, appliances, smart-home equipment, and HVAC systems, but it’s also in the running for the best water heater brand. The brand is known for its mini-tank and tankless water heaters, both in gas or electric—especially those that run on 120-volt power.
Most models are designed for installation under a sink or cabinet in order to save space, such as the 4-gallon mini-tank electric water heater. This water heater runs on standard 120-volt power and is compact enough to fit inside a cabinet or under a sink. It’s 98 percent efficient as well, thanks in part to the highly insulated tank, making it possibly the best electric water heater for under a sink.
Shop Bosch water heaters at Amazon or The Home Depot.
8. Takagi
Price Range: $ to $$
Our Top Picks: Series 200 Tankless Water Heater for $701.53; T-H3M-DV-N High-Efficiency Tankless Water Heater for $839.18; or T-H3-DV-N Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater for $1,247.95.
Takagi is a Japan-based manufacturer specializing in tankless water heaters. The brand began manufacturing water heaters over 70 years ago and today deals primarily with contractors and plumbing wholesalers. The company makes some of the best gas water heater options, including both propane and natural gas tankless water heaters that provide hot water on demand.
According to Takagi, it’s the first tankless water heater company to specialize in tankless-only models in North America, such as the Series 200 tankless water heater, which provides enough water for one or two bathrooms. This tankless water heater can also be converted from natural gas to propane on-site and features a copper heat exchanger for better heat transfer. It’s certainly a consideration for the best gas hot water heater for folks on a budget.
Shop Takagi water heaters at Amazon or SupplyHouse.com.
How We Chose the Best Water Heater Brands
Choosing the best water heater is an important decision, and it’s a choice that will last for years. Hopefully, those years are full of problem-free hot water. That’s why we took the job of putting together a list of the best water heaters and their manufacturers very seriously. We wanted to ensure that every water heater we suggested was truly a top-notch product.
For this reason, we performed hours of extensive product research to find the companies we felt we could trust. We went through product reviews, third-party remarks, product and support availability, and more to find the brands we felt deserved a place on our list. Then we compared each company’s products to ensure they could meet our criteria. Those that did were given a spot on this list and those that didn’t were removed.
The result? This list of the eight best water heater brands on the market.
