Water Test Panel Guide: Basic, Premium, or Ultimate?
Ordering a water test sounds simple until you see the
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Ordering a water test sounds simple until you see the options. One lab sells Basic, Premium and Ultimate tiers, another sells Essential and Extended, and the substance counts on each page rarely line up.
The short answer is to choose a water test panel by your water source first, your reason for testing second and your budget last. Tier names are marketing labels, so the list of substances inside each panel tells you far more than the word on the box.
In this article, we walk through how labs group their panels, what each tier usually covers and how to match one to your home so you order the right test the first time.
The panel you choose decides which contaminants the lab looks for, and the lab can only report on what you ordered. A bacteria-only test that comes back clean says nothing about arsenic, lead or PFAS in the same glass of water.
Tier names add to the confusion because no industry rule defines them. Our Basic Well Water Test covers 53 substances, including bacteria, radon, lead and arsenic, while another lab’s basic tier may cover only bacteria and a handful of mineral readings. Two panels with the same name can be very different purchases.
Comparing the substance list is the most reliable way to compare panels. That comparison gets much easier once you know what your water source is likely to need.
Your water source is the first decision because private wells and city systems carry different risks. A well draws straight from groundwater with no treatment plant in between, while city water is treated at the plant and can pick up metals on the way to your tap.
Here is how each source shapes your starting point.
The EPA notes that private domestic wells are not regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, so testing falls to you as the owner.
The CDC recommends testing a private well at least once a year for total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids and pH. Beyond that baseline, groundwater concerns often include:
Our well water testing guide covers what to test for and how often.
City water arrives treated, and your utility tests it at the source. What the utility report cannot show is what happens inside your own pipes, where lead and copper can leach from older plumbing and solder.
A city water panel usually centers on physical properties such as pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), hardness and alkalinity. It also looks at metals like lead and copper, and chlorine is a common addition.
Testing for a home sale or mortgage is its own case. Lenders, states and loan programs such as FHA can set specific test requirements, so a general panel may not satisfy them. Before you order, confirm the required tests with your lender or agent, or see our real estate transaction testing service.
With your source in mind, you can compare the tiers themselves.
Water test panels generally come in four tiers, and each one adds contaminant groups on top of the last. The table below shows how our own well and city packages build on each other, with the substance count and price for each.
The exact analytes vary by laboratory, so compare the included tests before you rely on a tier name.
| Package | What it tests |
|---|---|
| Basic Well 53 substances $179 | Bacteria (total coliform, E. coli, total bacteria count), 32 metals and minerals including lead, arsenic, copper, iron, manganese and uranium, anions such as nitrate, nitrite and fluoride, water attributes such as pH, hardness, TDS, turbidity and tannins, plus radon |
| Basic City 48 substances $169 | The same 32 metals and minerals, anions such as nitrate, fluoride and chlorine, and water attributes such as pH, hardness and TDS (no bacteria or radon) |
| Premium Well 113 substances $249 | Everything in Basic Well plus 60 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including benzene, MTBE, trichloroethylene and vinyl chloride |
| Premium City 108 substances $239 | Everything in Basic City plus the same 60 VOCs |
| Ultimate Well 249 substances $899 | Everything in Premium Well plus semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), PCBs, herbicides and pesticides such as atrazine, 2,4-D and DDT (results in 7 to 10 business days) |
| Ultimate City 244 substances $889 | Everything in Premium City plus the same SVOCs, PCBs, herbicides and pesticides (results in 7 to 10 business days) |
| Specialty add-ons Priced individually | PFAS (18 compounds) $415, Legionella $350, microplastics and nanoplastics $299, radon in water $40 |
Not sure which panel fits your water source? Ask our lab and a water quality expert will help you choose.
Here is what each tier looks like in more detail.
A basic panel usually covers total coliform, E. coli, nitrate, pH and hardness. It tells you whether anything living is in the water and whether the basic readings look normal.
This tier suits renters, first-time city water testers and anyone who wants a quick baseline. For a well, it also works as a sensible annual check between broader tests.
A standard panel adds metals such as lead, copper, iron, manganese and arsenic. You usually cannot see or taste these at low levels, and they are common reasons a well or an older home needs follow-up.
This tier often lines up with what buyers and lenders ask for in a home sale, though requirements vary by state and loan type. At ETR, these metals are already part of the Basic panels, which is a good reminder to read the list and not the label.
An advanced panel reaches into PFAS, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), radon and pesticides. It costs more because these tests need specialized instruments, such as gas chromatography, and they can take longer to run.
You may need this tier if your home sits near industrial or agricultural land, a gas station, an airport or a landfill. It also makes sense for a new well, or when earlier tests came back clean but odor, staining or health concerns keep showing up.
Specialty tests usually sit on top of a panel instead of standing alone. Here are the ones people add most often:
Knowing the tiers covers half the decision, and your own situation covers the rest.
You match a panel by answering three questions in order: where your water comes from, why you are testing and what you can spend. The first two narrow the field, and the third helps you choose between the options left.
Your reason for testing will usually fall into one of these goals:
Known risk factors are what justify stepping up a tier. A well 200 feet from a cornfield has a reason to test for nitrate and pesticides that a well on a wooded lot may not have.
Here is how that plays out with our current pricing. A renter on city water with no concerns might start with the Basic City Water Test at $169, while a family whose well has never been tested could choose the Basic Well Water Test at $179. If a neighbor’s well later showed gasoline compounds, the Premium Well Water Test adds VOCs for $70 more at $249.
Broader is not automatically better. An $899 panel full of pesticides you have no exposure to will not answer a lead question any better than a focused one.
The next choice is how the sample gets tested, since that affects how much weight you can put on the numbers.
A mail-in lab test is the better choice when you need contaminant-specific numbers or broad coverage. At-home strips can give a quick read on pH, hardness or free chlorine, and that is a fair use for them.
Strips have clear limits. A strip reading for pH tells you about pH and nothing else, so it cannot establish your overall water quality. A certified water testing lab measures specific contaminants at very low concentrations and reports each one against a limit, such as the EPA’s national drinking water standards.
Our comparison of water test strips and lab testing explains why the two can disagree on the same sample. Once you settle on a panel and a method, the next part is getting a good sample to the lab.
After you pick a panel, you order the water test kit, collect the sample, ship it back and read the report. Each step affects whether your water quality testing result holds up.
Here is what protects your sample during collection:
Our guide on how to collect a water sample covers the exact steps. When your report arrives, how to read your water test report walks through each column line by line.
These are the questions we hear most often from people choosing their first panel.
No. The most useful panel is the one that includes the contaminants tied to your water source and your concern. An expensive panel without those tests can miss the problem, while a focused panel that includes them may answer your question for less. No single panel can prove water is safe in every respect.
Yes. You can usually order add-on tests after your first results come back, though many labs need a fresh sample. Some tests use special bottles or preservatives, so the original sample may not work for a new analysis. Ask the lab before you collect again.
A panel bundles related contaminants and tests them from one sample, while a single-contaminant test looks for one substance. Single tests usually cost less and suit a known concern, such as lead in an older home. A panel gives you a broader picture when you do not yet know what to look for.
PFAS testing makes the most sense if you live near industrial sites, airports, military bases or places where firefighting foam was used. Your utility’s annual water quality report can also show local detections. Our PFAS contamination map guide shows how to check your area.
pH tells you how acidic or basic your water is, and TDS measures the total amount of dissolved minerals and salts. Both are useful single readings, but neither one tells you whether your water is safe. A broader panel can check for bacteria, metals and chemicals that pH and TDS will not reveal.
Every other guide in this series builds on the panel you choose here. Browse ETR’s water tests, or call 800-344-9977 for a free consultation with one of our water quality experts.
Each test runs in our ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory, with results in two to four business days and free shipping both ways.
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