Published prices from Pakistani suppliers put a small water filtration plant at about Rs 150,000 to Rs 250,000, while commercial and industrial RO plants are quoted at Rs 1 million to Rs 1.5 million and up. The machine is only the start. In Punjab you also pay every month for new filters and a lab test, plus membranes, electricity, bottles and, if you remineralise, minerals.
We run our own RO plant and filling station in Lahore, and plant owners ask us about costs all the time. So we pulled together what suppliers actually publish, and added the running costs that usually get left out of the quote.
Plant prices vary tenfold because capacity and source water decide the build
Here's what three Pakistani suppliers publish on their websites. None of them lists exactly what each price includes, so read these as rough ranges.
| Supplier and page | Plant described | Published price |
|---|---|---|
| Aqua Solutions, water filtration plant page (March 2026) | Small capacity | Rs 150,000–200,000 |
| Medium capacity | Rs 200,000–250,000 | |
| Bulk capacity | From Rs 250,000 | |
| Aqua Solutions, commercial and industrial RO page (March 2026) | Small to high capacity RO | Rs 1,000,000–1,500,000+ |
| OGO Water Technologies guide (2024) | Commercial RO, 200–500 litres per day | Rs 50,000–100,000 |
| Industrial RO, 1,000–5,000 litres per day | Rs 150,000–500,000 |
These ranges don't line up neatly, and that's the real lesson. Two plants with the same name can be completely different machines. What moves the price most:
- Capacity. Litres per hour (or per day) decides how many membranes, how big a pump and how big the tanks are.
- Your source water. Salty or brackish water needs more pressure and sometimes different membranes. PCRWR's lab director has said people should test their source water before installing RO.
- Membrane size and brand. A 4040 membrane and an 8040 membrane are priced very differently (see below).
- Extras. UV or ozone, a dosing pump for minerals, stainless steel frames, automatic controls and a filling station all add up.
Sources: Aqua Solutions, Water filtration plant price in Pakistan 2026 (updated March 2026); Aqua Solutions, Industrial and commercial RO plant price in Pakistan 2026 (updated March 2026); OGO Water Technologies, RO water filter plant price in Pakistan (2024 guide); APP (13 Sept 2026), Ultra-low TDS water may not mean healthier water: PCRWR expert.
Running costs are the bills that keep coming
The plant price is paid once. These are paid every month or every year:
| Cost | Why you pay it | What we could find |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-filters | Punjab Food Authority rules require bottled water units to change filters every month and upload video proof to the PFA portal | Depends on the number and size of cartridges. Ask your supplier for the replacement price before you buy |
| Lab tests | PFA requires a monthly quality test at a PFA-approved lab for bottled water units | Ask the lab for its fee |
| RO membranes | They foul and wear out over time | 4040 membrane Rs 39,900; 8040 membrane Rs 112,000 (one supplier, Oct 2026) |
| General maintenance | Cleaning, small parts, system checks | Rs 10,000–50,000 a year, by one supplier's estimate |
| Electricity | The high-pressure pump runs whenever the plant runs | See the formula below |
| Minerals (if you remineralise) | RO takes calcium and magnesium out | About Rs 70 per 1,000 litres in our example below |
Electricity is easy to work out from your own numbers. Take the pump's rating in kilowatts from its nameplate:
Units per day = pump kW × hours running
A 1.5 kW pump running 8 hours uses 12 units a day, about 360 a month. Multiply by the rate per unit on your bill. Add any other pumps and the UV lamp the same way.
Don't forget the water you throw away. RO always sends part of the water to drain as concentrate. The US EPA says a typical small RO unit sends five gallons or more to drain for every gallon of treated water. Commercial plants recover a bigger share, but you still need a drain and you still pay to pump that water.
Sources: APP (18 Nov 2025), PFA issues new SOPs for commercial water filtration plants; Kamadi.pk, Industrial RO membranes (prices checked 30 Oct 2026); Aqua Solutions, Water filtration plant price in Pakistan 2026 (updated March 2026); US EPA WaterSense, Point-of-use reverse osmosis systems.
Minerals add about Rs 1.35 to a 19-litre bottle
If you add minerals back after the RO, here's an example worked out from the chemistry. These doses are for the maths only. Your water decides your dose.
| To add, per 1,000 litres… | You need about | Cost at Rs 800/kg |
|---|---|---|
| 10 mg/L calcium | 37 g calcium chloride | Rs 30 |
| 5 mg/L magnesium | 51 g magnesium sulphate | Rs 41 |
| Total | 88 g | About Rs 70 |
1,000 litres fills about 52 bottles of 19 litres, so that's roughly Rs 1.35 a bottle. Add sodium bicarbonate if you need to correct pH. Our remineralisation guide explains how to work out your own dose.
Minerals for your new plant
Calcium chloride, magnesium sulphate and sodium bicarbonate from Minerals by Mr. RO, Rs 800 per kg with certificates. Same-day delivery in Lahore, 2–3 days across Pakistan.
Punjab's rules belong in your budget
In November 2025 the Punjab Food Authority issued SOPs for commercial water filtration plants: monthly filter changes with records and video uploaded to the PFA portal, and monthly testing at a PFA-approved lab for bottled water units. Units that didn't comply by the deadline faced sealing.
PFA does enforce it. In September 2026 it shut nine filtration plants in Lahore after lab tests found harmful bacteria, and some of those units had no records of timely filter changes. In March 2025, eight bottled water plants in Punjab were sealed after PCRWR tests were compared against PSQCA standards.
If you plan to sell bottled water, confirm your licensing and testing requirements with PFA and PSQCA directly before you buy equipment. Rules change, and a supplier's quote won't include them.
Sources: APP (18 Nov 2025), PFA issues new SOPs for commercial water filtration plants; APP (28 Sept 2026), PFA shuts nine water filtration plants over bacterial contamination; Dawn (16 Mar 2025), Action against eight bottled water brands in Punjab.
Ask these questions before you sign a quote
- Test your source water at a lab first. The result decides which plant you need.
- Get capacity in litres per hour, written on the quote, and work it back from how many bottles you expect to sell.
- Ask for the membrane brand, model and size, and the data sheet. See our membrane guide for what the numbers mean.
- Get replacement prices now for filters and membranes, not after installation.
- Check what's included: pump, pre-filters, antiscalant dosing, UV, tanks, filling station, installation and training.
- Plan the dosing point for minerals after the membrane, and a drain for the reject water.
- Collect three written quotes for the same spec, so you're comparing the same thing.
New to the process itself? Start with what an RO plant is and how it works.
Setting up a plant?
Tell us your capacity and source water TDS on WhatsApp. We can suggest which minerals you'll need after the RO and roughly how much a month.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a water filtration plant cost in Pakistan?
Pakistani suppliers publish prices from about Rs 150,000 to Rs 250,000 for a small water filtration plant, and Rs 1 million to Rs 1.5 million or more for commercial and industrial RO plants. Capacity, source water and extras change the price a lot, so get written quotes for the same spec.
What is the price of an RO plant in Pakistan?
It depends on capacity. A 2024 supplier guide lists commercial RO plants of 200 to 500 litres a day at Rs 50,000 to Rs 100,000 and industrial plants of 1,000 to 5,000 litres a day at Rs 150,000 to Rs 500,000. Larger RO plants are quoted at Rs 1 million and above.
Is a water filtration plant a profitable business in Pakistan?
It can be, but nobody can give you an honest profit figure without your local selling price, daily sales and costs. Work it out from the running costs on this page and the price you can charge per bottle in your area.
How often do I need to change filters in a water plant?
Every month for bottled water units in Punjab. The Punjab Food Authority's November 2025 SOPs require monthly filter changes, with records and video uploaded to the PFA portal.
How much do minerals cost per bottle?
In our example, adding 10 mg/L calcium and 5 mg/L magnesium costs about Rs 70 per 1,000 litres at Rs 800 per kg, roughly Rs 1.35 per 19-litre bottle. Your own dose depends on your water.
Sources
- Aqua Solutions, Water filtration plant price in Pakistan 2026 (updated March 2026)
- Aqua Solutions, Industrial and commercial RO plant price in Pakistan 2026 (updated March 2026)
- OGO Water Technologies, RO water filter plant price in Pakistan (2024 guide)
- Kamadi.pk, Industrial RO membranes (prices checked 30 Oct 2026)
- APP (18 Nov 2025), PFA issues new SOPs for commercial water filtration plants
- APP (28 Sept 2026), PFA shuts nine water filtration plants over bacterial contamination
- Dawn (16 Mar 2025), Action against eight bottled water brands in Punjab
- US EPA WaterSense, Point-of-use reverse osmosis systems
- APP (13 Sept 2026), Ultra-low TDS water may not mean healthier water: PCRWR expert
Related: What is an RO plant? · RO membrane and filters guide · RO water remineralisation guide · Our minerals and prices