Life Alert is a very well known company that dominates the medical alert system community. With its infamous commercials and slogans, this company is portrayed to be the best of the best for seniors. But is it? Several issues about this brand should probably be looked at first.
- Life Alert can’t be ordered online. To receive products from them, you must make a call to the sales department, which could be time-consuming in a sense where you can’t look at the products themselves and make a quick decision with the push of a button.
- Life Alert doesn’t publicize its prices. Not knowing these prices could again bring you back to another sales call.
- Finally, Life Alert has a 3-year contract. This contract is lengthy compared to other medical alert companies’ contracts and is extremely difficult to opt-out of once you’re in.
Henceforth, Life Alert has a few problems that may concern a lot of consumers, which is why there are better alternatives than just Life Alert.
Medical Alert System Alternatives
Option 1 – Medical Guardian
Medical Guardian is the #1 rated medical alert company by clients and consumers everywhere, with its excellent products and reasonable prices, Medical Guardian could be considered a much better medical alert system company than Life Alert.
CLASSIC GUARDIAN
An in-home safety system that comes with a base station connected to your landline phone number; a waterproof pendant or wristband emergency button option, plus, the emergency button can be pushed at a maximum of 1,300 feet away from the base unit.Cost: $29.95 per month with no equipment or activation fees
Home Guardian
Another in-home system that comes with a base station connected to either a landline or a cellular device, a waterproof pendant or wristband emergency button, 600 feet of protection from the base station, and this plan has fall detection capabilities (extra $10 per month).
Cost: $34.95 per month with no equipment or activation fees
Mobile Guardian
A GPS enabled tracking plan that comes with a mobile medical alert unit and a waterproof pendant or wristband emergency button. The mobile unit has a speaker with two-way communication to speak to an emergency responder, but the unit must be within 350 feet of the emergency button if it gets pushed.
Cost: $49.95 per month with no equipment or activation fees
Active Guardian
A system similar to the Mobile Guardian, accept this plan also has WiFi connection capabilities to help pinpoint your location along with the GPS tracking. It comes with a single mobile unit, and can only be worn on a pendant (waterproof). This plan also has fall detection if enabled (extra $10 per month).Cost: $44.95 per month with no equipment or activation fees
Cost: $44.95 per month + $99 dollars for initial smartwatch purchase; still no activation fee
Medical Guardian
1 (800) 668-9200
Overall, Medical Guardian offers a wide variety of plans for all of its customers, whether they are a senior who is leaving their home constantly or is one that’s not, Medical Guardian is bound to offer a plan that fits them at a good price.
Option 2 – Medical Alert
Medical Alert offers not as many plans as Medical Guardian but has personalized features that customers can alter within each plan, making them perfect for each client’s lifestyle. Medical Alert is also the nation’s #1 provider of medical alert systems, and with so many products, the prices for this company are relatively low.
Standard System
This in-home system comes with a base unit linked to your landline, a waterproof pendant or wristband emergency button, a 32-hour backup battery, and fall detection capabilities (extra $10 per month).Cost: Starting at $18.29 per month for annual payment method with no activation or equipment fees
Cellular Base System
Another in-home system that comes with a base unit either linked to a landline or a cellular device, a waterproof pendant or wristband button, a 36-hour backup battery, and fall detection capabilities (extra $10 per month).Cost: Starting at $27.45 per month for annual payment method with no activation or equipment fees
Mobile/GPS System
A mobile system that works for on-the-go or at home; comes with a base/mobile unit linked to a cellular device, GPS tracking, waterproof interchangeable pendant and wristband options, a 36-hour backup battery, and has fall detection capabilities (extra $10 per month).Cost: Starting at $32.04 per month for annual payment method with no activation or equipment fees
Medical Alert
(877) 321-0349
In the main, Medical Alert has affordable and personalized products for you and all of their other customers. And by reeling back to the main topic, Medical Alert is a very strong alternative to Life Alert much like Medical Guardian was.
Option 3 – Bay Alarm Medical
Bay Alarm Medical offers simple, yet efficient products that work well for seniors. Similar to Medical Alert, Bay Alarm Medical has relatively low prices for excellent products that will keep your loved one protected no matter where they are outside or inside of the home.
In-Home Landline
An in-home system that comes with a base station linked to a landline, a waterproof pendant or wristband, and a 32-hour backup battery. The button can be pushed within 1,000 feet of the base unit and fall detection can be added for an extra $10 per month.Cost: $19.95 per month with no activation or equipment fees
In-Home Cellular
This system is the same as the landline one, but this system connects to a cellular device instead of a landline. Fall detection can still be added for an extra $10 per month.Cost: $29.95 per month with no activation or equipment fees
Mobile/GPS System
This on-the-go system comes with a waterproof mobile device that can be worn on a pendant or a belt. The device has two-way communication and GPS tracking built-in with 72 hours of battery life between charges. The device is also linked to a cellular connection and can have added fall detection with an extra $10 per month.Cost: $29.95 per month with no activation or equipment fees
360 Protection
All in one system with mobile, home, and on-road security. Customers will have to pay an extra $10 per month for an in-home cellular system type or fall detection. $20 per month for both.Cost: $59.95 per month with no activation or equipment fees
On the Road
This system is for protection on the road and can be added to any of the other systems above for an extra $20 per month. It doesn’t have available fall detection but does come with automatic crash detection. It does have a button included on the device itself for emergencies that may occur in the vehicle. (The device is plugged into the car)Cost: $29.95 per month with no activation or equipment fees
All in all, Bay Alarm Medical offers quite a few plans for its customers, as well as an on-road system that isn’t included or seen in many other medical alert system companies. They also offer plans that allow you to combine other packages for cheaper than just paying for each plan individually. Overall, Bay Alarm Medical is a good company with great prices, and excellent equipment, plus, is a great alternative to Life Alert.
Bay Alarm Medical
1 (877) 522-9633
Non-Medical Alert System Alternatives
Cell Phone
A medical alert system is not meant for everyone whether it’s Life Alert or a different company. A cell phone could be used instead and still work just as well for seniors as a medical device. But, counting on a cellular device to save your life if the time comes could be risky. For starters, a cell phone isn’t fully waterproof and can’t be brought into a bath or shower where an emergency may happen. You also can’t rely on having your phone on you at all times, since people put them down constantly and walk somewhere else. Either way, those main cons of using a phone instead of a medical alert system is something that seniors and their families should consider before making a final decision.Life Alert Alternatives No Monthly Fee
If you are looking for a very cost efficient solution and do not want to pay a monthly fee and would rather make a 1 time payment, please see our review on Revolar. For more information on unmonitored vs monitored systems check out this article on unmonitored medical alert systems.
Medical Guardian, Medical Alert, Bay Alarm Medical, and possibly (but not recommended) a cell phone could all be good alternatives to Life Alert. No matter the company or plan, as long as the senior using the products and the family of the senior feel calm, then that is all that matters in the long-run.
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LifeCall is an American company with a long history of providing excellent monitoring services and efficient emergency alert systems to health care facilities catering to the elderly and individuals for use both indoors and on the go all over the United States.
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