LifeFone Medical Alert System Review

LifeFone is a popular medical alert system company, earning  an average of 4.8 out of 5 stars from customer reviews. It's easy to see why people love LifeFone. Policies like a lifetime price guarantee, 30-day money-back guarantee, free spouse monitoring, and a free equipment lease mean you get a lot of value for your money. 

LifeFone beats out the competition in other ways too. You pay extra for services like daily check-in calls on any device, get free room temperature alerts with the in-home systems, or set up safe zone alerts on the VIPx2 mobile app. 

Chances are, LifeFone has what you need in a medical alert system. In this guide, we'll breakdown LifeFone's prices, explain the differences between each product, and compare it to the competition. Let's see if LifeFone is right for you. 

LifeFone sells professionally monitored medical alert systems. You can choose between a traditional at-home system or four on-the-go systems. Each is equipped with an emergency button that connects you to a live agent any time you need help from a neighbord, family member, caregiver, firefighter, police officer, or emergency medical technician. 

LifeFone offers much more than that, though. Here's a quick look at the company's main features and services:

• Automatic fall detection
• Landline, cellular, and on-the-go options
• GPS tracking for caregivers
• Geofencing
• Room temperature sensor
• Daily check-in calls and activity assurance
• Phone, email, and text notifications for caregivers
• Necklace, wristband, smart watch, and belt clip options 

Note that some of these features may cost an additional monthly fee, and some may only be available in specific products. We'll share more details below to help you choose the best one for you.

LifeFone's core equipment is loaned to you for free, and accessories cost a one-time fee. The monthly service fee varies considerably depending on the product, payment schedule, and optional features you select.

• Device cost: Free lease
• Monitoring fees paid monthly: $29.95/mo. to $47.95/mo. without add-ons
• Monitoring fees paid quarterly: $27.95/mo. to $45.95/mo. without add-ons
• Monitoring fees paid annually: $22.87/mo. to $40.29/mo. without add-ons
• Shipping: $0 to $93.62

You could spend about $275 to $576 on a LifeFone subscription without paying for any additional features, services, or accessories.

But if you do add optional features, the cost of a LifeFone system could reach up to $81 per month, or $972 per year.

We'll break down the cost of LifeFone to help you decide what's worth paying for and what you can do without. 

LifeFone stands out as the only medical alert company to offer daily check-in calls and activity assurance. It's also hard to find systems that offer safe zones, medication reminders, and temperature sensors like LifeFone's.

The majority of customers report feeling highly satisfied with LifeFone, and it's the highest-rated medical alert system on the market. 

Although its monthly fees can get expensive depending on which add-ons you choose, LifeFone is an affordable system overall. There are no equipment fees or activation fees, and you can save about $7 per month by paying for a year's worth of service in advance. That's a better annual discount than what you can get with most competitors. 

Your investment is protected by a prorated refund policy for unused full months (not partial months) should you decide to cancel. At $5 per month, fall detection costs 50% less with LifeFone than with other brands. And you don't have to pay recurring fees to use accessories like wall buttons. 

LifeFone is one of the oldest medical alert companies out there, which allows it to offer a certain level of stability that can be difficult to find with newer brands. 

• MobileHelp's prices tend to be lower than LifeFone's, but LifeFone offers more diverse products.
• Medical Guardian gives LifeFone a run for its money in terms of product diversity, but LifeFone offers lower prices and a 30-day money-back guarantee. 
• Bay Alarm Medical also offers similar products for a similar price as LifeFone, and its free app works with all mobile devices. 
• Compared to Medical Alert, LifeFone is a better option for budget-conscious shoppers.

All in all, LifeFone holds its own against the competition.

With six quality products to choose from, how do you pick the best LifeFone system for you? Let's take a closer look at each.

🏠 = At-home device, 🌞= On-the-go device

Yes, LifeFone has excellent customer service. LifeFone has earned an average rating of 4.75 out of 5 stars from more than 1,700 customer reviews on sites like Trustpilot and the Better Business Bureau. That makes it the highest-rated medical alert system company on the market.

Happy customers praise LifeFone's customer service representatives for friendly and fast service. They also tend to be happy with the quality of the devices, and dozens of people have shared how a LifeFone device did exactly what it was meant to do — called for help during an emergency. 

Unhappy customers are few and far between. On Trustpilot, LifeFone hasn't received anything less than a four-star review for more than a year. 

LifeFone has a 50-year history of helping people live safely. We appreciate the company's pricing transparency and that the service Terms and Conditions are readily available online. You can also choose to pay your bill online or through the mail.

And LifeFone's lifetime price guarantee protects you from future cost increases. Many medical alert companies don't offer any price guarantee, or they offer a one-year guarantee. We've seen service prices slowly increase every couple of years across the medical alert industry, so a lifetime price guarantee is a big deal. 

LifeFone offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. This is the only time you can return accessories for a refund, and the 30-day period starts once the equipment ships.

After the first 30 days, you can cancel at any time and get a refund for any full months of unused, prepaid service. LifeFone does not provide prorated refunds for partial months of service.

All leased equipment must be returned before the service is officially canceled and your refund is processed. You have to pay for return shipping. There may be an extra fee if the equipment is damaged and you weren't subscribed to the monthly Protection Plan. 

For our LifeFone review, we combed through the LifeFone website, watched every video, and read every FAQ to better understand the ins and outs. We read what LifeFone customers had to say about using the service, and we checked its Better Business Bureau profile for red flags. We also compared its prices, features, and policies to other companies on our list of best medical alert systems to determine LifeFone's relative value. We tested the LifeFone Safe Watch Active hands-on.

Read our full methodology to better understand how we rate and review products.

If we were to create our own medical alert system, LifeFone would be it. It's simple to install, it has quick response times, and it's easy to cancel at any time. We like the straightforward pricing and wide variety of add-on options and devices for helping older adults and their families have more peace of mind, like fall detection, check-in calls, and the mobile app.

Like anyone, we always love a better deal, so we wouldn't mind an even lower monthly price. Still, you get a lot for your money, and LifeFone outperforms competitors on enough fronts to make the moderately higher fees worth it.

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