Life Alert Systems Review

Life Alert sells the most expensive medical alert devices on the market and offers just the basics. We can count its advantages on one hand — namely its long-lasting batteries and reputation for speedy, professional service once the help button is pressed. 

The disadvantages of Life Alert include its high price, 3-year contract, lack of fall detection, and lack of a caregiving app. 

Some people really like this brand, but it's not right for everyone. This review will help you know what to expect so you can make an informed decision for yourself or a care partner. 

Life Alert sells wearable buttons that connect to a 24/7 monitoring center when pressed during an emergency. Most of Life Alert's equipment is meant to be used inside the home or in the yard, but the company does sell a mobile system that can be used anywhere. 

Some of Life Alert's highlights include:

• Two-way talk in most devices
• Batteries that last for years without charging 
• A waterproof wall button and waterproof wearables
• A reputation for fast, reliable service

Life Alert doesn't offer some popular medical alert features, including:

• Automatic fall detection
• GPS tracking for caregivers
• An app for caregivers
• A medical alert smartwatch

Life Alert costs more than any other medical system. The at-home system alone costs $69.95 per month and requires a 36-month contract. That's double the cost of other in-home systems, most of which offer month-to-month contracts.

Expect to pay at least $248 in equipment fees as well. However, this doesn't mean you own the system. You'll need to return it when your contract ends.

Note that you can't buy Life Alert online. You must call a sales rep to make a purchase. This makes it difficult for us to confirm that prices are standardized throughout the country. You may receive a quote that's different from ours. 

Compared to other medical alert brands, Life Alert ...

1. Is more expensive
2. Requires a long-term contract that's difficult to cancel
3. Doesn't offer fall detection or caregiver features
4. Has better two-way talk in at-home devices
5. Has better battery life in an on-the-go device

Life Alert is more expensive and requires a longer  commitment than other medical alert systems. Other popular brands like Bay Alarm Medical and Medical Guardian don’t require a contract, have starting rates half the cost of Life Alert, and offer more equipment.

We encountered other services, like GetSafe, that require one-time equipment fees like Life Alert, but it’s a rare feature. The monthly cost you pay Bay Alarm Medical and Medical Guardian goes towards the professional monitoring service rather than the equipment.

Life Alert is the only major medical alert company that requires a long-term contract. You sign up for a 3-year service plan with Life Alert. You get a price lock guarantee for the duration of your contract, but the price may go up upon renewal. Companies like Bay Alarm Medical and ADT Medical Alert offer price lock guarantees with no contracts.

Cancelling Life Alert is notoriously difficult. You can't cancel your contract without proof that the user has been moved into a nursing home or assisted living facility, receives 24-hour in-home care, or has died. You need to be near the device when cancelling in order to deactivate it, and Life Alert only accepts cancellation orders from the payer or someone with power of attorney for the payer.

Life Alert doesn't offer automatic fall detection — which is ironic for a medical alert company that's famous for the phrase "I've fallen and can't get up."

Fall detection is common add-on in medical alert systems that detects speed and pressure changes that happen when a person falls. These medical alert devices automatically contact an emergency responder if you’re unconscious or can’t reach your call button.

Life Alert also isn't designed with caregivers in mind. There's no Life Alert app caregivers can use to track their loved one's location, help pay bills, or coordinate with other caregivers.

On the plus side, Life Alert is the only company to offer two-way talk in wall buttons and at-home buttons, so it could be a good choice for people who are hard of hearing or have a larger home. Otherwise, it can be tough to speak through an at-home base station if you've fallen outside or in another room.

The other major perk is that Life Alert's mobile system doesn't need to be charged. People can be vulnerable when their medical alert systems are being charged, so this could be a good option if you're concerned about losing protection, especially at night.  

Learn more about our recommended Life Alert alternatives.

Life Alert sells two types of medical alert devices or personal emergency response systems (PERS): an at-home system and an on-the-go system. The at-home system features several upgrades, including a pendant or wristband with two-way talk and a waterproof help button that attaches to the wall. 

We called Life Alert to get more information about the products, policies, and prices an average customer could expect.

Before we got to ask any questions, we had to provide information to get a free brochure (which we weren’t entirely interested in). Once we got in touch with a sales rep, they were pushy and barely gave us time to ask questions. The rep we spoke to used guilt tactics, dodged direct questions, and ran verbal circles around us. After only 20 minutes on the phone, we were exhausted.

Before writing our Life Alert review, we started by digging through its website and customer reviews from other sites. We also called Life Alert directly.

Once we reached a customer service rep, we took note of how they answered, what they said, and how satisfied we were with their answers.

It's cost-prohibitive for us to buy a Life Alert system for testing. We have reached out to Life Alert to ask if they would temporarily send us equipment to test its performance. We'll update this review if we hear back. 

Learn more about how we review medical alert systems and other safety products in our full methodology.

Life Alert is quick in an emergency and has equipment with some helpful features, but these are standard for a typical medical alert system. The only thing to get excited about is two-way talk in the at-home wearable and wall button, as no other medical alert systems offer this feature in at-home devices that don't need to be charged.

But the pushy sales, lack of fall detection, and sky-high prices eclipse most of Life Alert’s best features.

We’d like to see some modernization in the form of a caregiver app, transparent pricing, and the ability to buy a system online.

While we don’t recommend Life Alert for many people, you can read about the companies we do recommend as the best medical alert systems.