Comparison of pumps

This article lists different types of pump and provides a comparison of certain key design features. Different types of pumps are suitable for different applications, for example: a pump's maximum lift height also determines the applications it can be used for. Low-lift pumps are only suitable for the pumping of surface water (e.g., irrigation, drainage of lands, ...), while high-lift pumps allow deep water pumping (e.g., potable water pumping from wells).

Direct lift devices

Pump type	Cyclic/continuous ?	Maximum lift height	Production cost	Efficiency	Output	Size of device	Fabrication requirements	Difficulty of production	Durability	Difficulty of repair	Suction lift ?
Continuous bucket pump	continuous	5m-50m	low-medium	medium	low-medium	?	?	traditional	?	?	no
Counterpoise lift or Shadoof	cyclic	1m-4m	low-medium	low-medium	low-medium	?	?	traditional	?	?	no
Mohte	cyclic	3m-8m	low-medium	low	medium	?	?	traditional	?	?	no
Persian wheel "Tablia"	continuous	3m-10m	low-medium	medium	medium	?	?	traditional	?	?	no
Persian wheel "Zawaffa"	continuous	3m-15m	medium	medium-high	medium-high	?	?	traditional	?	?	no
Pivoting gutters and "dhones"	cyclic	1m-1,5m	low-medium	low-medium	low-medium	?	?	traditional	?	?	no
Reciprocating bucket hoist	cyclic	100m-500m	medium-high	medium	medium-high	?	?	industrial	?	?	no
Rope & bucket and windlass	cyclic	5m-50m	very low	very low	very low	?	?	basic	?	?	no
Scoops and bailers	cyclic	>1m	very low	very low	low-medium	?	?	basic	?	?	no
Scoop wheel "Sakia"	continuous	>2m	medium-high	medium-high	medium-high	?	?	traditional	?	?	no
Swing basket	cyclic	>1m	very low	very low	low-medium	?	?	basic	?	?	no
Waterwheels or noria	continuous	>5m	low-medium	low-medium	low-medium	?	?	traditional	?	?	no
Watering car	cyclic	>3m	very low	very low	very low	?	?	basic	?	?	no

Displacement pumps

Pump type	Cyclic/continuous ?	Maximum lift height	Production cost	Efficiency	Output	Size of device	Fabrication requirements	Difficulty of production	Durability	Difficulty of repair	Suction lift ?
Archimedean screw	continuous	>2m	medium	medium	medium-high	?	?	industrial	?	?	no
Chain (or rope) and washer pump	continuous	3m-20m	medium-high	medium-high	medium	?	?	traditional	?	?	no
Coil pump and spiral pump	continuous	>6m	medium	medium	low-medium	?	?	traditional	?	?	no
Diaphragm pump	cyclic	5m-10m	medium	medium-high	medium	?	?	industrial	?	?	yes
Flash wheel and treadmill	>2m	low-medium	low-medium	medium-high	?	?	?	traditional/industrial	?	?	no
Flexible vane pump	continuous	10m-20m	medium-high	medium	medium	?	?	industrial	?	?	yes
Gas or vapour displacement pump	cyclic	5m-50m	medium	medium	medium-high	?	?	industrial	?	?	no/yes
Gear and lobe pump	continuous	10m-20m	medium	low-medium	very low	?	?	industrial	?	?	yes
Open screw pump	continuous	>6m	high	medium-high	medium-high	?	?	industrial	?	?	no
Peristaltic pump	continuous	>3m	medium	medium	very low	?	?	industrial	?	?	yes
Petropump	continuous	10m-100m	medium-high	high	low-medium	?	?	industrial	?	?	?
Porous rope	continuous	3m-10m	?	?	low-medium	?	?	industrial	?	?	no
Progressive cavity pump (Moyno)	continuous	10m-100m	medium-high	medium-high	medium	?	?	industrial	?	?	no
Piston pump, bucket pump	cyclic	2m-200m	medium-high	high	medium	?	?	traditional/industrial	?	?	yes
Plunger pump	cyclic	100m-500m	high	medium-high	low-medium	?	?	traditional	?	?	yes
Pulser Pump	cyclic	1-300m	low-medium	low	low-medium	small-huge	?	traditional	very high	easy	no
Semi-rotary pump	cyclic	5m-10m	low-medium	low-medium	low-medium	?	?	industrial	?	?	yes
Water ladder	cyclic	>2m	medium	medium	medium	?	?	traditional	?	?	no

Velocity pumps

Pump type	Cyclic/continuous ?	Maximum lift height	Production cost	Efficiency	Output	Size of device	Fabrication requirements	Difficulty of production	Durability	Difficulty of repair	Suction lift ?
Centrifugal (regenerative) pump	continuous	10m-30m	medium-high	medium	medium	?	?	industrial	?	?	yes
Centrifugal (turbine) pump	continuous	3m-200m	medium-high	medium-high	high	?	?	industrial	?	?	yes
Centrifugal (volute) pump	continuous	3m-20m	medium	medium-high	high	?	?	industrial	?	?	yes
Flap valve pump	?	2m-4m	very low	low-medium	very low	?	?	basic/traditional	?	?	no
Inertia pump, joggle pump	cyclic	2m-4m	low-medium	medium-high	low-medium	?	?	traditional, industrial	?	?	no
Jet pump (water, air or stream)	continuous	2m-20m	medium	low-medium	low-medium	?	?	industrial	?	?	no
Mixed flow pump	continuous	2m-10m	medium-high	medium-high	high	?	?	industrial	?	?	no
Propeller (axial flow) pump	continuous	5m-30m	medium-high	medium-high	high	?	?	industrial	?	?	no
Rebound inertia	cyclic	2m-60m	medium	medium-high	very low	?	?	industrial	?	?	yes
Resonating joggle pump	cyclic	2m-10m	medium	medium-high	medium-high	?	?	traditional	?	?	no

Buoyancy pumps

Pump type	Cyclic/continuous	Maximum lift height	Production cost	Efficiency	Output	Size of device	Fabrication requirements	Difficulty of production	Durability	Difficulty of repair	Suction lift ?
Airlift pump	Continuous (with collector)	5m-50m	medium-high	low-medium	medium	?	?	industrial	?	?	no

Impulse Pumps

Pump type	Cyclic/continuous ?	Maximum lift height	Production cost	Efficiency	Output	Size of device	Fabrication requirements	Difficulty of production	Durability	Difficulty of repair	Suction lift ?
Hydraulic ram	cyclic	10m-100m	medium	low-medium	low	?	requires flowing water as power source (e.g. river)	industrial	high	?	no

Note: reciprocating pumps are cyclic, rotary pumps are typically continuous.