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Showdown: Moen vs Glacier Bay Faucet Comparison

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Picking a new faucet or bathroom appliance is a big decision! They’re expensive and the last thing you’ll want to do is replace it in 2 years.

Finding the right faucet starts with finding the right brand. Each major brand will have different pros and cons.

Today I’ll be comparing Moen vs Glacier Bay faucets so that you can pick the one right for you.

The good news is that you can’t go wrong. Moen and Glacier Bay are both fantastic brands and make high quality products that are durable, beautiful, and perform well.

I’ll tell you up front that Moen is our winner. They’ve got more models to pick from, better technological features, and are just overall higher quality than Glacier Bay. The only advantage of Glacier Bay is the price point.

Both brands are high quality, but they have different strengths and weaknesses.

Moen vs glacier bay faucet

Quick Summary: Which Brand is the Right Pick for You?

Moen is best for…

  • Design – Moen has more options for different models and combinations of faucet types, finishes, and technologies.
  • Warranty – Moen’s warranty covers more aspects and parts of their products than most brands.
  • Variety – Moen offers the largest amount of design and style options in the faucet industry. Whatever you could possibly want, they’ve got it.

Glacier Bay is best for…

  • Budget friendly – Trying to save money? Glacier Bay faucets are perfect for you. These are way cheaper than other brands. 
  • Rental property – If you own rental property and want a cheap faucet replacement, Glacier Bay products might be a good fit for you. They’re cheap and it won’t break the bank if you have to replace them every 5 years. 
  • Large residential property – If you’re trying to outfit an apartment complex or multi-family housing with a bunch of faucets, Glacier Bay is a good pick. They’re affordable and durable.
 MoenGlacier Bay
Price $$$$
TechnologyHigh-tech: Great for high powerLow-tech
DesignWide variety of optionsLimited variety
FinishesBathroom: 11
Kitchen: 7
Bathroom: 9
Kitchen: 11
ModelsBathroom: 400+
Kitchen: 450+
Bathroom: 112
Kitchen: 73
WarrantyLimited lifetime warrantyLimited lifetime warranty

Moen Overview

moen kitchen faucet

We bought our house back in 2018 and have been slowly renovating our space. We did a ton of research and we ultimately decided that Moen faucets were top of the line, but out of our price range. We went with Delta instead.

That being said, we do think Moen are the highest quality you can get. And they’re cheaper than Grohe so when it comes to price, Moen is the winner.

We have an old Moen faucet in our kitchen that we haven’t replaced yet. Our dream is to replace it with one of Moen’s touchless faucets whenever we have the money. 

Moen faucets have been around since 1937 when Al Moen started his company. They’re known for their line of bathroom, kitchen, bathtub, and shower heads. They got their start by making high quality single-handle faucets after the founder experienced an accidental burn by a two handle faucet.

Moen has consistently improved the look and performance of its faucets, resulting in some of the highest quality bathroom products on the market.

Their faucets are sleek, durable, and well designed. They’ve also got more options than anyone else to pick from. 

The most unique thing about Moen is their high-tech approach and innovation. They are leaders in the faucet industry and are often the first company to pioneer new technology and innovations.

Moen’s innovations for kitchen faucets include MotionSense™, Power Clean™, Power Boost™, Reflex™ Pulldown Kitchen Faucets, Spot Resist™ Finish, M•PACT®, and Hydro Roller™ Massage Combination Shower.

Pros and Cons of Moen

Pros

  • Design – Moen carries a number of different models, finishes, and technology options.  
  • Warranty – Moen’s warranty is one of the best in the plumbing industry with lifetime coverage if there’s no damage during the installation.

Cons

  • More expensive – Moen faucets are high end, but that can also come with a high price. If you’re budget-minded, then Moen’s price point could be tough.

Glacier Bay Overview

Glacier Bay kitchen faucet
Image by Home Depot: Glacier Bay Sadira Single-Handle Pull-Down Sprayer Kitchen Faucet in Chrome

Glacier Bay is one of the more popular brands in the US. They are actually owned by Home Depot and are one of their leading in-house brands. You can buy Glacier Bay faucets and products at other stores as well. 

The number one thing that sets Glacier Bay apart from other brands is their affordability. 

Glacier Bay was established to be an affordable brand for home owners, large scale residential housing, and construction companies. 

Glacier Bay is the most budget friendly faucet brand on the market. The faucets are high quality, have technological functions like TurboSpray and FastMount. The faucets come in a variety of finishes, models, and design options to fit any bathroom. These faucets are a great purchase if you’re on a budget. However, they aren’t the best faucets out there. If you are looking for a good value purchase, these are a great option.

Pros and Cons of Glacier Bay

Pros

  • Affordable – Glacier Bay was created as a budget-friendly alternative to some of the household name brands. It’s the cheapest brand in the industry that is still quality.
  • That’s it. We don’t have any more pros. It’s a budget brand and that’s the only quality worth highlighting.

Cons

  • Less durable – These faucets are made in China and Taiwan and simply aren’t as high of quality as other brands that are American or German made. Boring design – The faucets made by GB don’t look bad, but they just don’t look like anything special. 
  • Limited selection – Glacier Bay only has around 180 total models to pick from. This sounds like plenty, but it’s actually not much compared to other brands. 

Moen vs Glacier Bay: Feature Comparisons

We’ve done a deep dive on Moen vs Glacier Bay features to compare for you. If you’re at all interested in Kohler, we have another comparison that would help you: Kohler vs Glacier Bay.

1. Price

When it comes to price, Glacier Bay is the winner. It’s not even close really. Glacier Bay wasn’t introduced to be a high-end or even above average brand. It was intentionally aimed at the budget-end of the market.

There’s nothing wrong with that! They do a great job at trying to help a portion of the industry that can’t afford more expensive faucets like Moen.

I just want you to be fully aware that there is a tradeoff in price for the quality that you get.

Moen

Moen is on the more expensive end of the faucet industry. While they have a wide variety, the majority of their bathroom faucets fall in the $150-300 range.

Because of their emphasis on technology, they do have a large selection of more high end faucets in the $500-$1k range. 

Their kitchen faucets are more expensive with the majority falling in the $500-750 range. Thankfully, they have a number of slightly cheaper options at the $200-400 price point. 

Glacier Bay

Honestly, the only advantage Glacier Bay has over Moen is the price. GB was created as a budget option.

If you’re struggling to make ends meet and need to replace your faucet, then you should go with Glacier Bay.

The majority of their kitchen faucets fall in the $80-120 range while the average bathroom faucet can be purchased for around $80. 

I might sound overly negative on Glacier Bay and I’m honestly not trying to be. If it’s what you can afford, you should buy one and be happy about it. Home Depot makes good products. 

But I do believe you should buy Moen if you can afford something a bit higher end.

2. Design

Both brands have a number of different types of faucets to pick from. Moen simply has more models so they are more likely to have options that are right for you. They also put more emphasis on appearance and aesthetic than Glacier Bay.

Glacier Bay’s faucets look very “standard”. I don’t really know how else to describe them?

Moen

Moen offers a great variety of design styles for their bathroom faucets. The most popular are either the widespread or single-mount setups. They’ve also got a number of wall mounts and deck mount options. 

If that’s not enough, you can go with Centerset. These are faucets with three holes and 4 inches apart. 

You can also filter your choices by spout shape, handle type, or valve type.

moen bathroom faucet

Glacier Bay

Home Depot has done a good job at making Glacier Bay a faucet brand that will fit anyone’s needs. When it comes to the different types of faucets, they have you covered. You can get any kind of faucet hole size or spacing that you need: single, double, three hole, or even four hole faucet arrangements.

You can get a variety of different mounts or arrangements. They’ve got wall mounts, deck mounts, centerset, widespread, etc. 

While they do have all of the options you might need, the actual design or appearance leaves something to be desired. 

They honestly just look bland. If you go to your local home depot, none of them are going to be particularly eye-catching. 

But if you’re trying to replace a faucet in your rental apartment, you may not care about eye catching. You just want something that won’t break the bank.

3. Technology

Moen is the winner when it comes to technology. They do a great job at trying to be innovative and they’re constantly finding new ways to make their faucets more effective. For a budget brand, Glacier Bay really does try hard to implement tech functions to help their faucets perform better.

Moen

Moen has the widest selection of faucets in the industry. You can get super standard faucets that are affordable. But if you want to go a bit more high-tech, they’ve got the bells and whistles to offer. 

They have a number of innovations to make their faucets some of the most effective on the market. 

  • Motion Sense Technology – This tech involves operating the faucet without the need to touch it. By just moving around the faucet, the sensors located at the neck or base sense the control you need.
  • Power clean tech – Releases water with 50% more force to help clean dishes easier and faster. Makes it ideal for low water pressure kitchens. 
  • M•PACT – Helps to change faucet style without replacing and plumbing costs. They offer compatible installation parts for easy changing.
  • Spot Resist technology – Helps keep your faucets free of water spots and stains! Available in stainless steel and brushed nickel finishes.

Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay is a budget faucet brand that still tries to have some technological features built in. They aren’t industry leaders by any means, but they do their best to keep up. I honestly appreciate their desire to make quality products for budget-minded buyers. 

They actually offer touchless technology on both their kitchen and bathroom faucets. This is more than some of the big brands can say. 

They do have some exclusive technological features: 

  • TurboSpray – Provides focused water columns with 30% more power than your standard pull-down faucet.
  • FastMount – Mounting system that helps make installation quicker and easier

It’s worth mentioning that most of the best bathroom faucet brands have similar technologies to these.

4. Finishes and colors

Moen and Glacier Bay have almost the exact same amount of faucet finishes and color options. Glacier Bay has jut a couple more options for the bathroom.

Moen

Moen offers a fairly standard selection of faucet finishes and colors. For the bathroom, you can pick from 11 different options with the most popular being chrome or brushed nickel. For the kitchen, the most popular of their 7 selections is matte black or stainless steel. 

Moen faucet finishes

Glacier Bay

When it comes to finish options, Glacier Bay is right in the middle of the pack. They offer 9 different bathroom faucet finishes to pick from and 11 finishes for their kitchen faucets. They have a couple of two-tone options as well that we didn’t include here. If you like the look of matte finishes, Glacier Bay has you covered.

Glacier bay faucet finishes

5. Models

Moen has an incredible selection of models. They’ve got more than any of the best faucet brands we’ve researched. Compared to Glacier Bay, it isn’t even close. They’ve got almost 5x as many options to pick from.

chart breakdown of number of faucets with each brand

Moen

Moen has 450+ kitchen faucet options to pick from and 400+ bathroom faucet models available. This is just another evidence of how innovative and creative Moen has been over the years.

When it comes to kitchen faucets, no other brand comes even close to this much variety. They’ve also got the widest offering of laundry and bar area faucets.

Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay has a limited selection of different models to pick from. They have 113 different bathroom faucets to pick from and only 76 different kitchen faucet options. This total of 189 is on the lower end compared to most brands.

6. Warranty

All of the warranties we’ve seen offered by different faucet companies are the exact same. Most faucet brands have a lifetime warranty, but the “limited” means they may have different restrictions or exceptions.

Moen

Moen offers a lifetime limited warranty which covers almost every part except damage resulting from installation. As long as you’re the original owner of the faucet, you can get it replaced if it ever starts leaking or dripping. 

It’s good to note that the electronic parts have a different warranty depending on the model.

Glacier Bay

The Glacier Bay warranty is a limited lifetime warranty. This means that the product is guaranteed against manufacturer defects but not against everyday wear and tear. It’s good to know that you have this kind of warranty on a product. It protects your purchase and gives you confidence in the product.


Final Verdict: Moen vs Glacier Bay Faucets

Moen is known for creating amazing faucets and shower heads with modern styles, technology, and design. Their products are also durable and perform well over time. I’m confident that if you purchase a faucet from Moen, you are going to love it.

I honestly can’t say the same for Glacier Bay. They are just a lower quality brand. But if you’re on a budget, then you should feel comfortable buying one!

If we had to pick one brand to go with, we’d go with Moen. But it really depends on what you’re looking for.

  • Moen – Best for Touchless Faucets, high-end faucets, and great warranties.
  • Glacier Bay – Best for people on a budget or people trying to buy faucets for residential or commercial spaces.

I hope this Moen vs Glacier Bay comparison helped you decide which brand is right for you!

If you’re leaning towards Moen, check out our full comparison of the big 3 brands: Moen vs Delta vs Kohler.

Photo of author

Richmond Howard

Richmond Howard started My Plumbing DIY in 2022 to help people solve all their home plumbing issues. He and his wife have been problem solving DIY issues all around their fixer-upper house they bought in 2018. His goal is to build My Plumbing DIY into the one stop shop for home plumbing needs so that people can save money and time.

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