The Best Medical Alert Systems for Fall Detection

Automatic fall detection is a feature found in all of our best medical alert systems.

Fall detection is important because it gives you instant help if you fall, and falls are the number one cause of injuries for Americans over 65.¹

We like Philips Lifeline because automatic fall detection is part of its base package—no extra fees required. Philips also offers both at-home and on-the-go options.

A lot of medical alert systems offer fall detection only as an extra emergency pendant, which means you may have to wear multiple devices throughout the day. With Philips, you only need one emergency device to cover medical needs and falls.

Philips Lifeline’s AutoAlert pendant automatically sends a signal to the monitoring center when it detects a fall. There’s no need to press a panic button or raise your voice to get help.

It’s water resistant for showering and bathing, comes with a free battery replacement, and has a 600-foot range from the communicator base.

The biggest downside to Philips Lifeline is its price. The at-home systems are affordable, but monthly bills can reach up to $50 per month.

We’ve also noticed that Philips adds extra fees (like one for self-installation) to the checkout process.

With over 40 years in the business, Philips recognizes how important fall detection is for its customers (literally lifesaving).

That’s why most of its equipment comes with the feature already built in. An all-in-one system like this means less for you to remember and more time for you to enjoy your day.

The Medical Guardian fall alert pendant is available for most of the packages from the company. Its Home Guardian base station has a built-in speaker that connects you to the monitoring center.

The best thing about this base station is its 30-hour backup battery (handy for when the power goes out).

With Medical Guardian, you pay for fall protection adds $10 to your monthly subscription. The only package you can’t add fall protection to is the Freedom Guardian smartwatch.

Medical Guardian's systems are highly customizable, down to the fall detection option.

If you want to tailor your medical alert system to your preferences, including fall detection, it's a company worth considering.

This medical alert company also uses two cellular networks to maintain a strong connection between your device and their professional monitoring centers. So you’re covered anywhere you go.

The At-Home and On-the-Go GPS base systems have a built-in speaker that connects you to the monitoring center and an LED screen that displays the time, date, and temperature. They also have a long backup battery and two-way communication.

LifeFone’s standard medical alert help button can be worn as a pendant or wristband. It’s waterproof too, so you can use it while you shower, swim, or break a sweat on a hike.

Most affordable fall detection add-on

LifeFone is our budget pick for a reason. It offers the cheapest fall detection add-on price and there aren’t any equipment or activation fees. LifeFone provides a 30-day money-back guarantee and will prorate unused days if you need to cancel your service in the middle of the month.

Plus, its lowest package price is $30 per month including fall detection ($10 cheaper than Medical Guardian and $15 cheaper than Philips Lifeline).

Without activation and equipment fees, LifeFone costs less upfront. And its automatic fall detection is affordable (even if it is an add-on). The savings make sense when you consider it’s missing a few standard features like a voice-activated button. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a quality system.

The On-the-Go system costs $199, while the Around-the-Home system costs $229.

The former requires a smartphone because the device connects to an app that allows you to communicate with your loved ones. Around-the-Home doesn’t need a smartphone because it acts more like a standard at-home medical alert system.

MyNotifi comes with a few fun features too. Within the app, you can also find mobility exercises for strength and range of motion. You can also get the wristband and belt clip in different colors to fit your style (goodbye stuffy, clinical panic buttons).

MyNotifi is a modern, budget-friendly alternative to fall detection attached to a medical alert system. It's the simple, stand-alone solution that cuts out the middleman and reaches your loved ones directly.

Technically, the MyNotifi fall detection system isn’t part of a larger medical alert company, so we had to place it at the bottom.

Whether you’ve got a fall detector or not, there are things you can do to prevent falling in and out of the house.

• Secure rugs with nonslip carpet pads.
• Install grab bars in bathtubs and showers.
• Affix nonslip decals to slippery surfaces.
• Add motion-activated night lights to halls and stairways.
• Keep traffic paths free of clutter.
• Make sure handrails are secure.
• Wear shoes, slipper, or socks with nonslip grips on the bottom.
• Keep up on landscaping and other outside maintenance like fallen leaves and snow removal.

• Wear sturdy shoes with good traction that fit well.
• Take your time. You’re more likely to trip or stumble if you’re in a hurry.
• Be aware of your surroundings. Avoid walking and talking on the phone at the same time, and look out for cracks in sidewalks and other uneven surfaces.
• Take care at curbs. Stop for a second and make sure you have a good sense of a curb’s height before stepping up or down.
• Use handrails, a cane, or other mobility support to keep your movement steady and stable.
• Leave your porch light on to make sure you get to the door safely when you get home.

Whatever medical alert system you decide on, remember that fall detection is an important and lifesaving feature. Adults over 65 suffer the greatest number of fatal falls, which are the second leading cause of accidental or unintentional injury deaths  in the world.²

A feature like automatic fall detection can’t prevent you from every crack in the sidewalk or slippery tile floor, but it can connect you to help in minutes when you need it most.

If you’re considering a medical alert system, Philips Lifeline is an all-in-one medical alert system that tracks your loved one’s location and emergencies. It’s pricier than others, but with automatic fall detection built in, the price is worth it.

To choose the best medical alert systems with fall detection, we combined data from research, customer interviews, conversations with medical alert companies, expert and customer reviews, and hands-on testing.

We also looked into the impact that falls have on older adults and others at higher risk for falling.

Falls are such a major contributor to injury and death, so we prioritized companies that included fall detection or had lower prices if you added it to a medical alert package.

In addition, we considered and compared overall pricing, ease of use, reliability, and customer satisfaction.

To learn more about how we rank and review products and services, read our full methodology.

• Best Medical Alert Systems
• Best Safety Wearables for Seniors
• Best Safety Devices for Seniors
• Best Blood Pressure Monitors
• How to Help Seniors During the Coronavirus Pandemic

1. CDC, “Important Facts about Falls,” February 2017. Accessed November 11, 2021.
2. World Health Organization, “Falls,” January 2018. Accessed November 11, 2021.