Water softeners are almost a commodity product.

You are fine going with even a local water softener company - where they will likely have their own branded water softener that they build from standard parts. You certainly don't need to spend a lot of money for a brand that doesn't use electricity...

I prefer units that were built using a Fleck or Clack valve - they are very high quality, very common, and you can get parts.

I purchased mine off of Amazon - but I understand that's not for everyone.

Local quotes are from $2000 to $6500 (3 different companies) Looks like I can order a Fleck 5600 for around $1400. Not sure how much a plumber would be for install. Just trying to determine if the Fleck would be better than going with the lowest softener from a local company.

In our previous house, we had an ECO brand. It always worked perfectly and used less salt than other brands, as we understand.