Quick Answer: The SoftPro Elite is a good buy if your main goal is lower salt use on city water. It regenerates upflow, only makes the brine it needs, and can skip unnecessary backwashes, and those features genuinely save salt and water. For a family of four or more on moderately hard water, the SoftPro Elite HE 64,000-grain is the size to get. It's a weaker choice if you want a valve any plumber can fix. Then the Fleck 5600SXT 48k is the safer bet. It's also not the best pick if you have iron in well water, where the Aquasure Harmony 50k fine-mesh fits better.
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Go looking for SoftPro Elite reviews and you'll notice something odd. Most of what comes up is published on SoftPro's own website: dozens of "real user experience" pages, plus comparison pages where SoftPro rates itself against Fleck, SpringWell, Aquasure and US Water Systems. That doesn't make the softener bad. It does mean you should read every efficiency number with a raised eyebrow.
So this review separates the two. First, what SoftPro's product page actually commits to as specs. Then, which marketing claims don't line up. Then, what owners report going wrong. We haven't installed one ourselves. This is built from the published specs and owner reviews.
In this guide
What the product page commits to
These come from SoftPro's own Elite (city water) product page, which is the closest thing to a spec sheet:
- Sizes: 32,000, 40,000, 48,000 and 64,000 grains
- Upflow regeneration: brine moves up through the resin, which is where the salt savings come from
- Precision brining: the valve pre-makes only about 70% of the brine and tops up the rest as needed. SoftPro says this saves up to 30% more salt
- Soft-water brine refill: the brine tank refills with treated water, not raw hard water
- Backwash skip: on clean city water it can skip up to 10 backwash cycles
- Resin: 10% crosslinked, which SoftPro says holds up to chlorine better than standard 8% resin
- Control: digital display, a capacitor that keeps the clock running at least 48 hours in an outage, settings stored in permanent memory, vacation mode, and a 15% reserve
- Warranty: limited lifetime on the control valve and essential components
A few things are missing. There's no published service flow rate in gpm for any size, just a line about "1-inch and larger internal plumbing." There's no built-in Wi-Fi. SoftPro sells a separate salt-level sensor with an app. And the certification logos (NSF, WQA, ANSI, IAPMO) don't say which standard covers the softener itself.
The Amazon listings describe the package as a high-efficiency softener with a large brine tank, bypass valve and protective tank jacket. SoftPro's own site doesn't list a bypass in the softener-only package. So confirm what's in the box before you plan your plumbing.
Where the marketing gets fuzzy
Salt savings are the whole pitch, so it's worth checking the numbers against each other. SoftPro's Elite-vs-Fleck comparison page claims upflow regeneration cuts salt and water use "by up to 75%." In another section of the same page it says 50–75%. The product page itself says "up to 30% more" from precision brining. The FAQ on that comparison page lists the Elite at 64,000 grains while the specs list 32,000–110,000. None of it comes with third-party test data.
Here's the honest version. Upflow regeneration plus metered, on-demand cycling does use less salt than an old timer-based downflow unit. That's well-established engineering, and it's why we explain how to optimize any softener for salt and water efficiency. But a well-programmed downflow Fleck, set to a modest salt dose, closes much of that gap. Expect real savings over your current system if it's old. Don't expect three-quarters off your salt bill compared with a modern metered softener.
The figures from SoftPro's own replies to owner questions are more useful. They put it at roughly 30 gallons of wastewater per regeneration, with a typical household using a 40 lb bag every 2–4 months. One owner said they used about a third less salt than with their previous GE unit. That's believable, and it's a good real-world expectation.
Picking a size without overbuying
SoftPro's own guidance puts the Elite at up to about four people per unit. The 48k is the middle of the range. Here's a quick way to check, using the method in our softener sizing guide:
People × 75 gallons × hardness (gpg) = grains per day. Multiply by 7 to 10 days, and you want a softener that covers that at a moderate salt setting, not its maximum rating.
- Couple, 12 gpg: 2 × 75 × 12 = 1,800 grains/day. The 32,000-grain Elite HE is plenty.
- Family of four, 15 gpg: 4,500 grains/day. That's about 31,500–45,000 per week-plus. A 48k would be running near its full rating, so the 64,000-grain Elite HE is the more comfortable fit at a moderate salt setting.
- Family of five or six, 20+ gpg: 7,500+ grains/day. The 64,000-grain Elite HE is the largest Elite we link, and you should check that your plumbing is 1 inch.
A note on versions. The Amazon listings we link are the Elite HE for well water. They mention a 1-inch plastic bypass valve, an automatic system refresh that flushes stagnant water after 7 days of non-use, and a 10-year warranty on the valve with lifetime coverage on the tank. The resin differs by size: the 32k lists 10% high-capacity resin, the 64k lists fine-mesh resin. Since the backwash-skip feature is designed for clean municipal water, the well version is the better match if you're on a private well. SoftPro also makes an Elite Plus that adds a KDF 55 filter stage for chlorine. That's worth asking about on heavily chlorinated city water, because chlorine slowly damages resin (we explain how chlorine damages softener resin).
What owners report going wrong
Reading through owner reviews on SoftPro's product page, the complaints cluster around setup, not the softening itself:
- The brine well and float. One owner had the brine well installed wrong and the high-level float set too high. That blocked brine draw and stopped regeneration completely. If your Elite isn't softening in the first week, check this before anything else. Our page on a brine tank that's full of water covers the related symptoms.
- Thin instructions. Several owners want the manual reorganized, especially the brine tank setup.
- Fittings and parts. One owner found leaks at plastic fittings that needed extra thread tape. Another needed an extra flex connector, and another was missing an O-ring. One found the inlet and outlet reversed relative to their plumbing.
- Shipping damage. One owner received a broken valve that had to be replaced.
None of these is unusual for a DIY softener. But together they say: budget an afternoon, read the brine setup twice, and have thread tape and a spare O-ring on hand.
Settings worth knowing about on day one
The Elite does a few things automatically that can confuse new owners into thinking something's broken:
- It regenerates at 2 AM. That's the default full regeneration time. If someone in your house showers at 2 AM, change it.
- It may run a short 15-minute "refresh." SoftPro calls this Auto System Refresh. It kicks in when remaining capacity drops below 3%, then a full regeneration follows at 2 AM. A brief drain run in the evening is normal.
- The 15% reserve is the default. If your household's water use swings a lot, such as weekend guests or a teenager's marathon showers, leave it. If use is very steady, you can trim it slightly and get a bit more time between regenerations.
- Vacation mode exists. Use it. After seven days of no water use, the valve runs a quick refresh on its own so the resin doesn't sit stale.
Enter your actual hardness from a test, not a guess from your city's annual report. If your water has iron, the hardness setting needs to be bumped up to compensate. See how iron changes softener sizing. Every efficiency claim above assumes this setting is right.
Who should pass on the Elite
- You want maximum serviceability. Fleck and Clack parts are stocked by almost every water treatment supplier. SoftPro doesn't publicly name its valve maker, so plan on getting parts through SoftPro.
- You have iron or manganese in well water. The city-water Elite and its 10% resin aren't aimed at iron, and the well-water HE listings don't publish an iron rating. If iron is your main problem, pick a softener that states one.
- You need a published flow rating. If you have a big house with simultaneous showers and irrigation, a valve with published gpm numbers is easier to size with confidence.
- Your hardness is low (under ~7 gpg) and you rent. A smaller system, or none, may be the better call.
Alternatives worth comparing
| Option | Choose it when | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Fleck 5600SXT 48k (AFWFilters) | You want the most common, easiest-to-repair valve in the US | Downflow, so less salt-thrifty out of the box. Programming is plain and has no extras |
| Aquasure Harmony 50k fine mesh | Well water with some iron. The listing says the fine-mesh resin reduces iron by up to 10 ppm, and it comes with a triple-purpose pre-filter | Fine-mesh resin needs periodic cleaning when it's handling iron |
| Genesis 2 Premier 32k Up Flow | You want upflow efficiency from another brand. The listing mentions 1.25" porting | Parts support is narrower than Fleck's |
Check price on Amazon for the Fleck 5600SXT, the Aquasure Harmony or the Genesis 2 Premier.
Bottom line
The Elite's real strengths are upflow regeneration, partial brine making and backwash skipping on city water. Together, they do mean less salt and less drain water than a basic timer softener. Ignore the "75%" headlines, plan your install carefully around the brine tank, and the 64,000-grain SoftPro Elite HE is a solid softener for a typical family. Check price on Amazon