Finding The Best GE Water Filter: Our Advice & Tips

When it comes down to picking a replacement water filter for your GE refrigerator that takes XWF filters, there is one basic choice: should you go for the name brand or a third-party filter? 

Before we get to that essential questions, first understand the difference between the XWF and XWFE filters: they are basically the same filter. The “E” on the end refers to filters that have an electronic chip that talks to the refrigerator.

Here’s how GE explains it:

The XWFE Filter replaces the XWF Filter and is embedded with Leak-Detecting Sensing Technology. This innovation enables refrigerators to shut down the water valve when a leak is detected at the filter. The size, shape, assembly, and installation of the filter remains unchanged from the previous XWF filter.

One key point is compatibility. Here’s what GE says about which filters fit which refrigerators:

The XWFE filters is backwards compatible: It can be used in units that currently utilize an XWF filter. However the XWF is not forward compatible with newer models of refrigerators that are designed to have the filter interact with the control panel.

This article will recommend both XWFE and XWF filters—consult your refrigerator owner’s manual to see if your fridge can take the basic XWF filter or not.

To be clear: do not use an XWF filter if your refrigerator requires XWFE—it won’t dispense water unless it senses that electronic chip found in the XWFE filters.

When we asked our parent readers for their real-world experiences with GE water filters, we learned that many folks thought third-party filters worked just as fine as the name-brands. And the money savings is significant, of course. 

Here are the best GE refrigerator filters from our research and reader recommendations:

About the Authors

Denise & Alan Fields are consumer advocates and best-selling authors. The Fields have authored 12 books with three million copies in print, including the best-selling guide to baby gear, Baby Bargains.

The Fields have been featured and quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times.

As consumer products experts, the Fields have been guests on the NBC Today Show, Good Morning America and ABC’s 20/20.

How We Pick Products To Recommend

We often turn to our readers (3 million strong!) to find products to recommend. We ask our parent readers for their favorites and consider their real-world experiences in our recommendations.

When we test a product, we always purchase it with our own monies. We do not take free samples, as we believe that compromises our independence.

We also fact check manufacturer information with our own measurements. If a maker claims a product weighs X pounds, we will weigh it to make sure. If the battery life is supposed to be six hours, we will see how it stands up in the real world.

In some cases, we will do interviews with experts in the field to get additional feedback on products.

To get hands-on time with products, we regularly meet one-on-one with gear companies and even tour manufacturing facilities. (When we do this, we pay our own travel expenses).

Why Trust Us

We’ve been rating and reviewing products for the home and families since 1994. We do extensive research, evaluating products with an eye toward quality, ease of use and affordability.

We make our living from affiliate commissions, but we always recommend what we think are the best bets for our readers (not the ones that are the most expensive). We are always looking for products that offer the best bang for the buck.

Our independence is a key reason why we have been doing this so long. As we mentioned above, when we purchase a product for hands-on testing, we do so with our own money.

Here’s another key point: we don’t take money from the brands we review. No free samples, no sponsors, no “partnerships.” Our work is 100% reader-supported!