8 Best Medical Alert Systems of 2023

Medical alert systems provide fast, easy access to emergency help with the press of a button. They're particularly important for people who live alone and are older than 65—the milestone age when the risk of heart attack, stroke, dementia, and falls starts to increase significantly.

All medical alert devices include a wearable help button, and some also include GPS tracking and automatic fall detection for extra protection. These devices—also called personalized emergency response systems (PERS)—share a lot of features from brand to brand.

To help you choose the right medical alert, we reviewed the differences between each and conducted hands-on testing. Only the most reliable and user-friendly brands made it onto our best medical alert systems list. We've named Bay Alarm Medical the best-of-the-best, but we encourage you to read through the entire list to find your perfect match.

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Many other brands rely on just GPS data for location tracking. Because there’s more than one technology at work in the Mini Guardian, it’s more likely to transmit an accurate location to caregivers or the monitoring center.

The Mini Guardian comes with a lanyard and belt clip, and its battery lasts up to five days. You can add a built-in fall-detection sensor to this mobile medical alert system for an extra $10 a month.

We also like the MyGuardian app and online dashboard, which lets your loved ones and caregivers see where you’ve been and where you are now. You have full control over who gets this information.

Other medical alert companies have no caregiver portal, make you pay extra for one, or only give location information through text.

MyGuardian also lets your loved ones keep an eye on the Mini Guardian’s battery or pay your monthly bill.

Check out our Medical Guardian product guide for more details.

Both ADT Medical Alert Basic and ADT Medical Alert Plus monitor ambient temperature. This feature alerts you to temperatures that are too hot or too cold—a very important thing to watch as older people are more at risk of complications from the dangers of extreme temperatures.

Learn more about ADT Medical Alert in our full review. 

The more sensors in a device, the more accurately it detects falls. Out of more than 75 devices we considered, only three had dual fall-detection sensors—and only Medical Alert had three.

The data from all three sensors is cross-referenced, which reduces false alarms and improves fall alert accuracy. While this technology blows away the competition, you still need to recognize—as with all automatic fall detection technology—that you're not guaranteed 100% accuracy.

Overall, Medical Alert’s equipment is pretty basic. The in-home systems come with the usual base station and a waterproof help button you can wear with a lanyard or wristband. The mobile GPS system has a docking station and a removable, wearable base unit plus an extra wearable button.

One nice feature is that when the help button batteries get low, the device sends an alert to the monitoring center and Medical Alert ships a free replacement. 

But there aren't any fancy extras (after the fall detection) and there's no option for voice control. Overall, we recommend Medical Alert's mobile system with fall detection, especially if you’re active outside the home but want the reassurance of advanced fall detection tech.

Get all the details in our complete Medical Alert review.

LifeFone monitors all system batteries and sends you replacement devices when the battery gets low (which takes about five years). The wearable pendants can double as a phone receiver, allowing you to answer all incoming calls anywhere in the house or yard, and the base units monitor indoor temperature.

LifeFone’s extra features provide a fail-safe for people at risk of passing out or being unable to push the help button.

• Fall detection starts at $5/month
• Activity assurance for $6/month
• Daily check-in calls for $19/month

Learn more in our full LifeFone review.

Read our full review of the most affordable medical alert systems for more details.

All MobileHelp subscribers have access to a telehealth service called MDLive. MDLive allows you to speak to a doctor on demand. They can prescribe common medications, ensuring a small problem doesn’t turn into a big deal. You don’t pay a co-pay or even have to verify your insurance.

Learn more in our full review of MobileHelp.

We also like that Aloe Care sells extra motion sensors that offer a second layer of protection. The sensors learn your typical routine and alert caregivers if you aren’t active at your usual times.

Aloe Care does have a few kinks to work out like the base station backup battery—it lasts just six hours, which is way behind the 32-hour life of many other brands.

In addition, Aloe Care’s wearable button has the smallest range we encountered, so you can’t really wear it into the yard. You’ll have to grab the mobile unit on your way out.

Learn more about our testing experience in our full review of Aloe Care Health. Or compare it to another voice-activated system in our GetSafe vs. Aloe Care Health head-to-head review.

Lifenet also offers a free lifetime warranty on all equipment. Many other companies will charge you for the price of lost or damaged equipment—which can easily cost over $300—or make you pay for an extended warranty.

We also like these Lifenet policies and services:

• Prorated refunds
• Batteries monitored and replaced by the company
• Affordable spouse coverage ($3.99/mo.)

Lifenet sells two equipment packages: Home and Garden, and Home and Away.

Home and Garden is an in-home system. Its base unit connects to a landline, and you wear a wristband with a button on it. The button works within about 1,000 feet of the base station so you can go out into the yard and know that help is still a push away. It costs $29.95 per month, and you can add wall buttons for an additional $2.49 a month each.

Home and Away is a wearable medical alert device. It includes a help button, a speaker, and a microphone so you don’t have to stay near a base station to ask for help. This waterproof device also detects falls and features GPS technology so helpers can know where to find you if you get lost. The Home and Away costs $49.95 per month.

The only extra service offered by Lifenet is a “daily assurance” check-in. A Lifenet representative speaks to you every day, and they send help if you don’t respond.

We considered more than 75 products across nearly 30 brands. Here are a few that didn’t quite make the cut.

Medical Care Alert offers similar equipment to Bay Alarm but costs around $5 to $7 more each month. We also found its website a little confusing because there’s no way to easily see its full product lineup.

It’s worth mentioning that Medical Care Alert used to offer a fall detection device with the holy trinity of sensors: an accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer. This product was discontinued because it relied on the now-defunct 3G cellular network.

If Medical Care Alert releases this device again with 4G or 5G cellular service, we’ll sit up and pay attention. But for now, we think other brands offer better value. 

We like Philips Lifeline as a "runner-up" for the best fall detection system. Combining an accelerometer and barometric pressure sensor, the Lifeline AutoAlert accurately detects about 95% of falls. You can get this fall detection device as part of an in-home or on-the-go system to suit your lifestyle. We’re also impressed by Lifeline’s transparency and commitment to fall-detection education.

Learn more in our full Philips Lifeline review.

GetSafe, a branch of Bay Alarm Medical, is the only medical alert company that charges a flat rate for monitoring—$27.95—no matter how many buttons you want in your home. (GetSafe recommends one button for each room in your home for best results.) Other companies charge an extra monthly fee for every button.

But GetSafe is also one of the only companies that requires you to pay an upfront equipment fee, which can be challenging for some. 

Learn more in our full GetSafe review.

LifeStation deserves a shout-out as the only other medical alert company besides Lifeline to combine an accelerometer and a barometric sensor in its fall detection device. LifeStation’s basic in-home package starts at $32 per month, but GPS tracking, fall detection, wall buttons, spouse coverage, and a warranty all add to the monthly fee.

Learn more in our full review of LifeStation.

The Lively Wearable 2 has been discontinued, but it was never our favorite medical alert device to begin with since it didn't include a built-in speaker—you needed a smartphone nearby for it to be useful

The Lively Mobile Plus is still available. There’s really nothing wrong with this product—we just prefer the extra tracking technology in the Medical Guardian Mini Guardian and the superior fall detection technology in the Lifeline AutoAlert.

Lively also partnered up with some big names in the tech industry. It's now the professional monitoring option for Apple Watches and Alexa Together. Although it can get pricey, Lively's concierge services are worth looking into.

Learn more in our full Lively review. 

Our hearts definitely went pitter-patter when we saw this gorgeous medical alert watch. The BellPal doesn’t look like a medical alert device at all, but it includes GPS tracking, fall detection, and an SOS button. Like the Lively Wearable 2, BellPal only works when it’s close to a smartphone.

We were also bummed to see that you have to take this watch to a jeweler every four to six months to replace the battery. We know “replace battery” would end up on our to-do list for weeks. That’s why many other companies just send you a new wearable device instead of asking you to do it yourself.

BellPal costs about $200 up front. Monitoring is provided through BlueStar SeniorTech starting at around $20 a month.

Life Alert is an industry pioneer famous for its TV commercials, but it hasn’t moved its sales and marketing into the 21st century. There’s almost no information about the system online.

We called to discover the cost of Life Alert. It’s by far the most expensive medical alarm system on the market, with monitoring prices starting at nearly $50/month. The minimum activation fee is around $95. The price significantly increases if you add a GPS button, and there’s no automatic fall detection option at all.

Learn more in our full Life Alert review or check out our recommended Life Alert alternatives.

QMedic offers a cellular in-home system and a mobile GPS button. This company lost our interest once we found out it doesn’t offer any fall detection at all. It’s also the only company we found that requires a full year of payment up front.

FastHelp is not a monitored medical alert system, so we don’t recommend it for most situations.

Because it always calls 911 directly, you may get fined for false alarms. The 911 dispatchers and emergency responders also won’t have your medical history, lockbox code, or emergency contacts on file. In contrast, monitored systems retain this information and relay it to the emergency service for fast, accurate, and safe help.

The main advantage of FastHelp is that you only pay a one-time equipment fee. Since there’s no emergency monitoring, there are no monthly fees.

Learn more in our full FastHelp review.

We like Bay Alarm Medical best overall because it covers all the bases at a competitive price. But every person and situation is a little different, so you might prefer the price, tech, or policies of another company. The key is to find a device that makes you feel confident and independent.

Read answers to more senior safety FAQs.

We compared each medical alert company's lowest monthly cost for an in-home cellular system. We didn't compare landline prices, because some companies don't offer landline-compatible equipment. However, we did take into consideration whether a landline option was offered. 

We also compared the lowest equipment fees, regardless of whether it was available as a landline or cellular system. Rounding out the in-home cost comparison was our analysis of hidden or extra fees, such as activation or installation fees.

We also considered backup battery life, maximum signal range, and more. And we investigated whether each company monitors and replaces their help button batteries for free.

We prefer seeing more equipment options since this allows people to make custom packages that suit their needs. We also looked at the cost of each option, preferring one-time fees over monthly fees for long-term affordability.

Some of the in-home equipment options we evaluated included fall detection, voice activation, wall buttons, jewelry pendants, and accessories like a lockbox or Vial of Life.

Because mobile devices often feature more technology than in-home devices, we scored them separately. 

For this category, we considered the lowest equipment costs and monthly costs, plus the maximum battery life. We preferred standalone devices that aren't dependent on a smartphone, and we liked seeing more than one wear option (such as a belt clip).

We also compared the number and type of fall detection sensors (tri-axial accelerometers, barometric pressure sensors, magnetometers, and gyroscope)  and location technologies (GPS, Wi-Fi, and 4G). 

Caregiving features were also considered in our medical alert rankings but given less weight than other categories because medical alert systems still work without these features. 

We looked for smartphone apps or online portals geared toward caregivers and considered the cost of these tools. We preferred systems with location tracking and battery alerts on the app, plus medication reminders and inactivity alerts.

Finally, we compared each medical alert brand across 13 policies and attributes. For example, we considered warranties and trial periods, price lock guarantees, the cost of spouse coverage, cancellation penalties, and whether the monitoring center is Five Diamond certified. 

Learn more about our methodology.

Contributing author: Rebecca Edwards

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