Adding a bathroom below the sewer line is the single most common reason homeowners end up Googling "macerating toilet" at 11pm. The problem is simple physics: your basement floor sits below the main drain line leaving the house, so gravity can't do the work. From there you have two real paths — install an upflush (macerating) toilet that grinds waste and pumps it up through a 3/4" or 1" discharge pipe, or break up the concrete slab, dig a pit, and install a sewage ejector basin so you can run a conventional gravity toilet.
Both work. Both are code-legal in most of the U.S. when installed properly. But they cost wildly different amounts, make different noises, and fail in different ways. This comparison looks at four specific options homeowners are actually choosing in 2026: Simple Project macerating and smart toilet systems, Saniflo (the category's 60-year incumbent), Liberty Pumps ASCENT II, and the traditional route — a standard gravity toilet over a sewage ejector pit.
We're not going to pretend one answer fits everyone. A finished basement in a 1920s home with a slab you can't legally cut is a completely different project from a new-build basement where the plumber roughed in a pit before pouring concrete. Here's the honest breakdown.
Average order value: $300+
Shop Simple Project — See PricesSimple Project is the value-and-features play in this category. Their upflush units typically land in the $450–$800 range for a complete toilet-plus-macerator package, which undercuts a comparable Saniflo SaniAccess setup by roughly $200–$400 once you account for the fact that Saniflo often sells the macerator unit and the bowl separately. Simple Project's macerating models generally advertise a vertical lift around 15–25 feet and horizontal runs up to roughly 100–150 feet depending on the model, which covers virtually any residential basement scenario. Where they differentiate hardest is on the fixture side: Simple Project also sells smart toilets with heated seats, bidet wash functions, auto-open lids and tankless one-piece designs, so if you want your basement guest bath to feel like a hotel rather than a utility closet, they have SKUs Saniflo and Liberty simply don't offer. The trade-off is brand maturity — Simple Project is a newer, direct-to-consumer-leaning brand, so you won't find a plumbing supply house in every town stocking replacement blades and impellers on a shelf. Parts come from the manufacturer, not the local counter.
Saniflo essentially invented the residential macerating toilet and remains the default spec for contractors. The SaniAccess 3 is the workhorse: about $1,000–$1,300 for the pump alone in 2026, plus a bowl, and it will handle a toilet, sink, shower and tub in a full basement bathroom. Its genuine advantage is serviceability — access panels on the front of the housing let a plumber get to the motor and blade without pulling the whole unit off the wall, which matters a lot in year seven when a flushable wipe finally kills the impeller. Saniflo's parts network is the deepest in the category and most plumbers have worked on one. The Sanicompact is a smaller all-in-one for half baths at a lower price but with a fixed, non-serviceable design and a distinctly loud, short flush cycle. Saniflo is the safe, expensive, contractor-approved choice. You pay a real premium for that safety.
Liberty is an American pump manufacturer that came at this category from the pump side rather than the fixture side, and it shows. The ASCENT II RS series runs roughly $1,300–$1,700 for a complete macerating toilet system — the most expensive option here — but it uses a 1 HP motor versus the fractional-horsepower motors typical elsewhere, a quick-release tank connection so you can pull the unit for service in a couple of minutes, and an electronic float switch instead of a mechanical one, which is the component that most often fails in cheaper units. If you're planning a basement bathroom that gets daily use from a full-time tenant or teenager rather than occasional guest use, the ASCENT II is the most durable macerator on this list. It's also physically larger behind the toilet and demands the biggest budget.
Don't dismiss the traditional route. A basic Kohler, American Standard or Toto gravity toilet costs $180–$500 and will last 30 years with nothing but a $12 flapper. The catch is everything under it: cutting the slab, excavating a pit, setting a sealed basin with a sewage ejector pump (a Zoeller M267 or Liberty LE41 runs $500–$900), running a 2" vent to the outside and a 2" discharge to the main. Installed, you're realistically looking at $3,000–$7,000+ for the rough-in, and it must be permitted and inspected. But the payoff is real: normal flush volume, normal quiet operation, a normal-looking bathroom, no proprietary macerator to replace in 8–12 years, and better resale appeal. If your slab is accessible, your budget allows it, and you're building a bathroom you intend to use every day for decades, this is still the technically superior installation.
On upfront cost, Simple Project wins clearly — often half the delivered price of an ASCENT II. On long-term serviceability and parts availability, Saniflo wins. On raw motor durability and heavy daily use, Liberty Pumps wins. On lifespan and resale value, a gravity toilet over an ejector pit wins, but only if you can absorb the demolition cost. On features per dollar — heated seats, bidet functions, modern one-piece styling — Simple Project is the only brand here even playing that game. Noise is roughly a wash between all three macerators: expect 8–20 seconds of grinding at 55–70 dB, which is noticeably louder than a normal flush no matter whose logo is on the box.
If you can cut the slab and your budget clears $4,000, install a standard gravity toilet over a sewage ejector pit. It's quieter, lasts longer, uses commodity parts and adds more resale value than any macerator. That's the honest technical answer. If cutting concrete isn't an option — post-tension slab, radiant heat, a finished basement you don't want to demolish, a condo, or a rental you don't own — then a macerating toilet is the right call, and the question becomes which one. For a guest bath or occasional-use half bath where budget and looks matter, Simple Project is the best value here and the only one that'll give you a heated bidet seat for the price of a bare Saniflo pump. For a full-time bathroom used daily by adults, spend the extra money on the Liberty Pumps ASCENT II — the 1 HP motor and electronic float are worth it. And if you want the option of calling any plumber in town at 9pm on a Sunday and having them know exactly what they're looking at, buy the Saniflo. Different winners, different jobs.
Average order value: $300+
Shop Simple Project — See PricesPlan on 8–12 years for the macerator pump under normal residential use, regardless of brand. The toilet bowl itself lasts indefinitely. Liberty's ASCENT II and serviceable Saniflo models can push longer because you can replace the blade and float assembly instead of the whole unit. A gravity toilet over an ejector pit will outlast all of them, with the ejector pump itself typically lasting 10–15 years.
In most U.S. jurisdictions, yes — any new fixture connection requires a plumbing permit, and macerating toilets must still be vented per code. The practical difference is that a macerator installation is a much simpler, faster inspection than excavating a slab for an ejector basin. Check with your local building department before you buy, since a small number of jurisdictions restrict upflush systems to non-primary bathrooms.
It depends on the model. Half-bath units like the Saniflo Sanicompact handle the toilet only. Full-bathroom macerators — including Simple Project's larger units, the Saniflo SaniAccess 3 and the Liberty ASCENT II RS — have side inlets for a sink, shower and sometimes a tub. Confirm the number and height of inlet ports before purchasing, because retrofitting a shower into a toilet-only unit isn't possible.
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