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Life Alert is expensive but reputable. Here are some alternative medical alert companies you can trust.
Best overall
Best GPS tracking
Most affordable
Best at-home system
Best for all detection
By Cathy Habas
May 07, 2024
6 min read
SafeWise experts have years of firsthand experience testing the products we recommend. Learn how we test and review.
Life Alert is arguably the most famous medical alert system on the market—and also the most expensive. Bay Alarm Medical is our favorite alternative to Life Alert, because you get the same medical alert devices and quality service without exorbitant fees, long-term contracts, or confusing sales tactics. But if you’re looking for something specific, try one of our other recommended brands.
Best Life Alert alternatives
- : Best overall
Bay Alarm Medical
- : Best GPS medical alert
Medical Guardian
- : Most affordable
MobileHelp
- : Best at-home system
LifeFone
- : Best for fall detection
Medical Alert
How we reviewed
Compare Life Alert system alternatives
Product | Best for | Price starts at | Contract length | Warranty | Fall detection option | Learn more | Read review |
Best overall Life Alert alternative | $24.95/mo. | Month-to-month | Paid lifetime |
| View Packages | Read review | |
Best for GPS tracking | $29.95 | Month-to-month | Paid lifetime |
| View Packages | Read review | |
Most affordable Life Alert alternative | $19.95/mo. | Month-to-month | Free lifetime |
| View Packages | Read review | |
Best at-home Life Alert alternative | $24.95/mo. | Month-to-month | Free lifetime |
| View Packages | Read review | |
Best for fall detection | $19.95*/mo. | Month-to-month | $5/mo. |
| View Packages | Read review | |
Best to avoid | $49.95/mo. | 36 months | Free lifetime |
| View Packages | Read review |
Info current as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*$19.95 Medical Alert starting price for landline in-home system with annual plan paid up front. Month-to-month plans start at $27.95/mo.
Best Life Alert alternative reviews
1. Bay Alarm Medical: Overall best Life Alert alternative
Best overall Life Alert alternative
Bay Alarm Medical offers the same equipment as Life Alert—a panic pendant, a waterproof wall button, and a GPS help device—all for a fraction of the cost. Plus, Bay Alarm Medical is just as reputable as Life Alert since they’ve both earned an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.1,2
Pros
Month-to-month contracts
30-day trial period
Waterproof wall button
Mobile GPS help button
Fall detection
Five-Diamond certified
Free spouse coverage
Price lock guarantee
Cons
Paid lifetime warranty
Relatively short time in business
Cost of Bay Alarm Medical versus Life Alert
Buying all of Life Alert’s devices costs $198 up front and nearly $90 per month. If you buy the same types of devices from Bay Alarm Medical, you’ll pay $79 up front and nearly $50 per month.
That’s a savings of $119 up front and $40 per month by choosing Bay Alarm Medical instead of Life Alert.
Learn more in our full Bay Alarm Medical review or take a closer look at Bay Alarm Medical vs. Life Alert.
2. Medical Guardian: Best GPS medical alert
Best GPS medical alert
One of our biggest complaints with Life Alert is its lack of equipment diversity. Medical Guardian doesn't have that problem—it sells virtually everything you could want in a medical alert system, including three options for GPS tracking.
Pros
Month-to-month contracts
14-day refund period
Voice-activated wall button
Smartwatch option
Fall detection
Five-Diamond certified
Cons
Paid lifetime warranty
Relatively short time in business
No price lock guarantee
With Life Alert’s GPS pendant, only the monitoring center knows where you are when you ask for help. In contrast, Medical Guardian gives caregivers the ability to see where you are through a mobile app. But Medical Guardian understands that your privacy is still important—caregivers don't get real-time location updates unless you press the help button.
Cost of Medical Guardian versus Life Alert
Medical Guardian's prices technically start at $29.95/mo., but that's an in-home price. Medical Guardian's GPS trackers start at $39.95 a month. This medical alert company doesn't offer a free lease option right now for on-the-go systems, so expect to pay about $125 to $200 for equipment.
That's still more affordable than Life Alert's various activation fees and equipment fees, especially when you consider that Life Alert's mobile device must be bundled with the in-home base station. You'd easily pay about $200 in activation fees and about $70 in monthly fees for a GPS device from Life Alert.
Learn more in our full Medical Alert review or take a closer look at Medical Guardian vs. Life Alert.
3. MobileHelp: Most affordable Life Alert alternative
Most affordable Life Alert alternative
A lot of folks look up Life Alert because it’s the only medical alert brand they know of. Then, they’re turned off by the high price. We hear you on that. If a budget-friendly help button is what you’re after, MobileHelp has the best starting price.
Pros
Month-to-month contracts
30-day trial period
Waterproof wall button
Mobile GPS help button
Fall detection
Free lifetime warranty
Discounted spouse coverage
Cons
Relatively short time in business
Not Five-Diamond certified
Price lock guarantee costs extra
Cost of MobileHelp versus Life Alert
The MobileHelp Classic is an in-home medical alert system that connects to a cellular network, so you don’t need a landline to use it. Just like Life Alert’s basic in-home system, it includes a base station and a pendant.
MobileHelp charges around $50 for activating the system, but monitoring costs around $20 a month. Life Alert’s pendant-only system costs $96 upfront and nearly $50 a month, so you save $30 each month by choosing MobileHelp.
Plus, MobileHelp sends you a free lockbox with your purchase, giving you even more bang for your buck.
Cost of adding a waterproof wall button
If you want to add a waterproof wall button to keep in the shower, your monthly MobileHelp bill increases by about $3 per month (total of $23/month). Life Alert charges an astonishing $20 extra for a shower button, bringing the total up to almost $70/month.
MobileHelp has plenty of additional devices and services that you can add to your system, so the total price can get expensive. But no matter how much you pay with MobileHelp, its overall value is much better than Life Alert’s.
Learn more in our full MobileHelp review, or check out other affordable medical alerts.
4. LifeFone: Best at-home Life Alert alternative
Best at-home Life Alert alternative
If you’re attracted to Life Alert because it’s been in business for so long, take a look at the LifeFone medical alert system. LifeFone has been in business for nearly 50 years and offers a full suite of medical alert options (in-home, GPS, and more) and caregiver support—all for a lot less money than Life Alert.
Pros
No contracts
No equipment fees
Mobile GPS help button
Fall detection
Caregiver resources
30-day trial period
Five-Diamond certified
Interpreters available for any language
Cons
No voice activation
Cost of LifeFone versus Life Alert
LifeFone's monthly monitoring starts at $30 per month, and if you don't choose any extra accessories, you'll pay $0 for LifeFone equipment. But LifeFone offers several upgrades that can land you between $65 and $83 per month.
Without upgrades, you'll save around $20 per month with LifeFone versus Life Alert. You save on equipment costs, too. Life Alert's lowest equipment price is $95—you can get LifeFone equipment for nothing. The only up-front fee you need to pay is shipping, starting around $17 for standard ground shipping.
Plus, included with every LifeFone system you get a free lifetime warranty, free low-battery button replacements, and free spouse coverage. And, LifeFone has been in business for 47 years—3 years longer than Life Alert.3
Learn more in our full LifeFone review.
5. Medical Alert: Best for fall detection
Best for fall detection
*$39.95 price for mobile system with annual plan paid up-front. Month-to-month plans start at $47.95/mo.
It’s odd that a company whose slogan is, “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up,” doesn’t sell any automatic fall detection devices, but it’s true. So, if you spend time alone and are at risk of falling, consider Medical Alert's mobile system with add-on fall detection. Medical Alert includes three different fall sensors for better accuracy—the most on the market. Plus, it calls the monitoring center automatically if you fall. Learn more about how fall detection works in our FAQ.
Pros
Month-to-month contracts
Mobile GPS help button
Fall detection
3 different fall sensors
Free trial period
Free equipment lease
Five Diamond certified
Cons
$5/mo. equipment warranty
No free spouse coverage
No price lock guarantee
Cost of Medical Alert versus Life Alert
Like Life Alert, Medical Alert charges some up-front fees but loans out its devices for free. Expect to pay $79 for activation programming and if you opt to pay monthly, you'll also have to cover shipping costs.
The mobile system—that gives you coverage at home and around town—costs $39.95 a month if you can pay for a full year in advance. If you want to pay monthly, that price jumps to $47.95, but you can pay for six months at a time for $44.95 a month. Unfortunately, fall detection is the industry standard extra $10 per month, but it's more than worth it for Medical Alert's three-sensor fall detection.
If you don’t want a mobile system, you can get Medical Alert's landline in-home system for just $19.95 per month (paid annually) or $27.95 if you pay monthly. Depending on the type of system and how you pay, you can save between $30 and $10 per month with Medical Alert, compared to Life Alert. But if you add fall detection, your base price goes up $10 per month—that extra cost gets you fall protection that Life Alert doesn't even offer.
Other medical alert systems with fall detection
Medical Alert offers a top-tier fall detection device with some of the best sensors and a track record of accuracy. But there are more affordable options available from other brands, including some non-wearable solutions.
Learn more in our full Medical Alert review.
Final word
We struggle to recommend Life Alert because it’s so much more expensive than higher-quality alternatives. Regardless of why you’re drawn to Life Alert, there’s a more affordable option:
- Bay Alarm Medical for a three-in-one bundle
- Medical Guardian for GPS tracking
- MobileHelp for the best deal
- LifeFone for industry stability
- Medical Alert for fall detection
FAQ
Yes. Aloe Care Health’s in-home base station gives the option to call a caregiver instead of the professional monitoring center.
Or, check out the Angel Watch Series R - Assist—it’s a senior-friendly smartwatch with automatic fall detection that calls family.
How we chose the best Life Alert alternatives
We began our search for the best Life Alert alternatives by identifying Life Alert’s main features and strengths: a solid reputation, fast response to calls, a waterproof wall button with two-way talk, and a long battery life.
We then identified other brands that provide the same (or very similar) products and services at a more affordable price or with extra features like automatic fall detection or a caregiver app. We evaluated the quality of those brands by testing products hands-on, reading customer testimonials, and leaning on our overall editorial experience in the medical alert field. To learn more about what we consider when recommending medical alerts, read the methodology section of our Best Medical Alerts page.
Related articles on SafeWise
Sources
- Better Business Bureau, “Bay Alarm Medical.” Accessed July 31, 2023.
- Better Business Bureau, “Life Alert Emergency Reseponse, Inc.” Accessed July 31,2023.
- Better Business Bureau, “Lifeline.” Accessed July 31, 2023.
Written by
Cathy Habas
With over eight years of experience as a content writer, Cathy has a knack for untangling complex information. Her natural curiosity and ability to empathize help Cathy offer insightful, friendly advice. She believes in empowering readers who may not feel confident about a purchase, project, or topic. Cathy earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Indiana University Southeast and began her professional writing career immediately after graduation. She is a certified Safe Sleep Ambassador and has contributed to sites like Safety.com, Reviews.com, Hunker, and Thumbtack. Cathy’s pride and joy is her Appaloosa “Chacos.” She also likes to crochet while watching stand-up comedy specials on Netflix.
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