I smoke a bong exclusively. I never liked the taste of paper, even “ashless” paper, so even when I was young if I was smoking solo it was more commonly a pipe but sometimes a bong, rarely a joint. I only smoked joints with others. I like the ritual of passing the joint and the fellowship that that simple act implies. But my lungs are not what they used to be, so these days it is only a bong for me. FWIW, I don’t find vaporizers provide the full weed experience, and I want it all.
Regarding filters, I used Moose Labs filters for a little more than a year. IMO, they are definitely a good thing. As with lots of products that require replacement parts, the holder is inexpensive. The replacement filters, while inexpensive individually, over time get expensive. I was using at least one a day, some days two.
I agree with @potpotpot that the activated charcoal filters work better than the corn based filters. The corn based filters are, however, fully recyclable. They’re also more expensive as well as not filtering as well as the charcoal. A real lose/lose! 
In a thread of mine about bong filters in particular, @ifish suggested a RooR filter that uses activated charcoal.This is the thread -
It’s pretty short and while there are some posts that don’t address the issue of filters, many do. I personally don’t think I have anything to add to that discussion other than I had to order my RooR filter from Germany and, mostly due to shipping, it wasn’t inexpensive. The shipping for the glass filter body and a small bag of activated charcoal cost more than the two items combined. On the other hand, the glass filter body itself should be a one time purchase (I’m pretty careful with my glass), and I can buy the activated charcoal locally or at least in the US. I had no problems getting the order. RooR shipped very timely. My only issue was they sent me some shipping info in German, which I don’t read. I try to be an easy going person, so I just gave it a few days and USPS delivered it just as I had hoped.
As for one or the other, for me there is simply no comparison. Again, the Moose Labs filter absolutely does make a difference, but not nearly as much as the RooR. The RooR also helps your bong and the water remain cleaner longer. Significantly cleaner. The Moose Labs filter holder sits directly in the suck hole. Your mouth doesn’t touch glass, it touches the holder. For me, that wasn’t a problem. I had a couple of them for guests to use. The RooR, on the other hand, resides between the bowl and the down-stem, so “dirty”/unfiltered smoke never hits the water or really any part of your glass. It doesn’t eliminate the need for cleaning, but it substantially reduces the need. If you change your bong’s water every day, you will be astounded at how much better your weed tastes!
I never hit either of my bongs without it. If I was still dabbing I’d be using it every freakin’ hit too.
As @Papalag mentioned, you get a discount if you buy in relative bulk. I think it’s 10%, at least that’s what it was when I had a subscription. And they were never late with a delivery. IMO, a very dependable company!
For me the bottom line is that while it’s true that initially the RooR was the more expensive of the two, I believe that in the short time I have had it, it has paid for itself already.