Canned water vs bottled water
Is water in a can better than water in a plastic bottle?
The verdict
The can, clearly. Aluminium cannot shed microplastic, which removes the single largest source in the whole category — the bottle wall. What remains is a thin internal liner, and that is a bisphenol question more than a particle one.
Aluminium can with a thin epoxy or acrylic internal liner
58% confidence
These carry different evidence grades. Liquid Death is grade C and Aquafina is grade A. One component of our score is measured release, which only earns points where a laboratory has actually counted particles — so a product nobody has tested scores lower than an identical one that has been. Part of the gap you are looking at is a difference in how much anyone has looked. Why we do it this way →
Where they actually differ
| Liquid Death | Aquafina | |
|---|---|---|
| Water-contact surface | Thin epoxy or acrylic liner over metal | A full PET wall, for months |
| UV pathway | None — the can is opaque | Real; UV can raise release substantially |
| Evidence | C — no canned water has been particle-tested | A — brand was in a tested cohort |
| The remaining question | What the liner is made of, which is rarely disclosed | Well characterised and not favourable |
Where this comparison stops being reliable
Nobody has counted particles in canned water. If you want the format with neither a polymer wall nor a liner, that is glass — and glass has actually been measured, at around 50 particles per litre coming from the cap and the filling line.
The full picture on each
Does Liquid Death have microplastics?
Much less than a plastic bottle, and not zero. Aluminium cannot shed microplastic, which removes the bottle-wall problem entirely. What remains is a thin polymer liner between the metal and the water, so the can swaps a particle question for a liner-chemistry one.
Full score breakdown and sources →
Does Aquafina have microplastics?
Yes, and this one has actually been measured. Aquafina was one of the eleven brands in the 2018 Mason study, which found microplastic in 93% of the 259 bottles it tested across those brands, averaging 325 particles per litre.
Full score breakdown and sources →
Neither of these is what you own
A comparison is between two product types. The item in your cupboard has its own packaging, its own age and its own condition. Scan it and get the same five-component score for the actual object.
Scan what I actually have