ADT vs. GetSafe

As most seniors opt to gracefully age in place, independence brings about a strong sense of purpose for them. This retention of independence somehow facilitates a huge improvement in their quality of life. However, as they live alone, medical emergencies or even simple falls can quickly escalate into a tragic scene if not managed effectively.

To prevent this, medical alert systems are a valuable tool that provide monitoring and protection for older adults who wish to remain independent until old age. These life alert systems can be a life-saving device as they increase survival rate among its users in cases of emergencies.

Since medical alert systems basically provide the same function, the best way to single out what works best for you or for your loved one is to identify your priorities, your preferences, and your budget. We evaluated two reputable providers, ADT Health and GetSafe, comparing their cost and features side by side, to help you make an informed decision on which system would be an excellent choice for your consideration.

	ADT	GetSafe
Overall Grade	Overall Grade: A	Overall Grade: A
Costs
Monthly Cost Price	$29.99 - $39.99	$24.95
Device Cost	$0	$79 - $279
Shipping Fee	n/a	$12
Cancellation Fee	No fee	No fee
Fall Detection Fee	$0 - $10	$10
Cellular Fee	n/a	n/a
Spouse Monitoring	$NaN - $NaN	$25
Features
Connectivity Option	Cellular or Landline	Cellular or Landline
Two-way Speaker & Microphone	Yes	Yes
Home-based Back Up Battery Life	20 hours or 20 hours	32 hours
On-the-go Battery Life	40 hours	No
Button Range	300 ft or 600 ft	No
Water Resistant	Yes	Yes
GPS Tracking	Yes, some plans	No
Caregiver App	No	No
Response Time	10 seconds or 10 seconds	20 seconds
More Details	See All Plans	See All Plans

ADT

Pros:

• No long-term contracts
• Reliable 24/7 monitoring
• No upfront equipment fees
• Lifetime warranty on all systems
• Monthly costs guaranteed not to increase
• 6-month money-back guarantee
• Free shipping fee and activation
• No hidden fees
• 24/7/365 monitoring

Cons:

• Restrictive range for in-home systems
• No companion app for caregivers
• Short battery life

GetSafe

Pros:

• Wearables are optional
• Affordable monthly monitoring fees
• Straightforward pricing plans
• 30-day free trial
• No long-term contracts
• Systems can support small to large home sizes
• Extra buttons may be added to the plans they offer

Cons:

• Does not offer on-the-go system
• High upfront equipment fees
• Lacks touchscreen and smartwatch devices
• Does not offer features like activity tracking, medication reminders, etc.

ADT OVERVIEW

ADT is among the most well-known companies in the U.S that provide top-quality medical alert systems. With their long experience in the industry, they have been able to establish a culture of trust among its customers. They also operate nine emergency monitoring centers across 200 locations in the U.S, which beats other medical alert providers that have two monitoring centers at most. All the monitoring centers of ADT are TMA Five Diamond Certified and UL-approved. They also earned an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. Their monitoring centers are established in a redundant network, which ensures network availability especially during incidents when any of their monitoring centers loses function. ADT’s medical alert services are designed to efficiently sustain the essentials of a medical alert system minus the bells and whistles. Their systems include: Medical Alert Basic System, Medical Alert Plus System, and On-the-go system.

Medical Alert Systems

Medical Alert Basic System

ADT's Medical Alert Basic System is a great choice for seniors who spend most of their time at home. It is the cheapest plan that ADT Health offers, with its base price that starts at $29.99 per month. This includes an in-home base console, a two-way speaker, plus a waterproof help button that can be worn as a wristband or pendant. This system connects to a standard landline connectivity and can be used up to 300 feet away from the base unit, in any direction. Though the range is limited, this covers enough area of a standard home with a few rooms at most. It features home temperature monitoring, which sends an alert if your home temperature goes below or above the normal level.

Medical Alert Plus System

Medical Alert Plus is an alternative choice for an in-home system for seniors who do not have a standard landline connectivity in their home. The system connects to the AT & T network, which works anywhere as long as cellular signal can be accessed. This plan costs $35.99 a month, and can be upgraded to have fall detection monitoring for only $10 a month.

The system has a device range of 600 ft from the base, so users can roam around the house with more protection. An optional waterproof wall mount button can also be added and can be placed anywhere inside the house or multiple pendant options for an extra layer of protection.

On-The-Go Medical Alert System

ADT’s on-the-go system is designed to offer mobile monitoring with GPS location tracking for only $39.99/month. This plan comes with a lightweight, water-proof, portable device which you can bring anywhere. It is equipped with wireless connection with two-way talk, and it can also be upgraded to have an optional fall detection feature which uses sensors to detect a fall and automatically contacts the ADT monitoring center for help.

GetSafe Overview

GetSafe offers a first-rate medical alert system, with its monitoring center that is UL-certified and licensed to operate in all 50 states. Among the medical alert providers we have reviewed, GetSafe has the most straightforward pricing plan, as it offers a fixed pricing rate of $24.95 for its monthly monitoring fee, and only requires users to pay for a one-time fee for equipment. What makes GetSafe different from other providers is that they offer highly customizable plans, depending on the home size of the users.

Their systems include the base unit, voice-activated wall button, and standard wall button. Get Safe is a great option for seniors who want an alternative for wearable medical alert devices, as their device options offer three ways to get you help: call, press, and pull. GetSafe is highly recommended for people who prioritize a customizable system that allows them to access help fast without having to wear a pendant around the house.

Medical Alert Systems

Starter

Starter is mainly intended for small apartments or homes with only one bedroom. It comes with one 4G-LTE base unit, one voice-activated wall button, and one personal help button. Starter charges an upfront fee of $79 for its equipment, and a fixed monthly monitoring fee that costs $24.95.

The 4G-LTE base unit is an easy-to-use, cellular-connected, in-home console that acts as the control center for the medical alert system. It has a two-way speakerphone, so you can communicate with the monitoring center directly from the unit. An emergency button is attached to the unit that, when pressed, will immediately send a signal to the monitoring center and start the help process. The base unit has a 32-hour backup battery so it can operate even in severe weather conditions that may cause power outages.

The voice-activated wall button is a compact, wireless and water-resistant device, which you can safely place even in damp areas of your home.

Standard

The Standard plan is next to the Starter, and it can cover a standard single-family home with 2-3 bedrooms. The system includes one 4G-LTE base unit, two voice-activated wall buttons, one standard wall button, and one personal help button. Users have to pay $179 upfront for this plan's one-time equipment fee.

Select

GetSafe’s Select plan includes one 4G-LTE base unit, three voice-activated wall buttons, two standard wall buttons, and one personal help button. The one-time device fee for this plan costs $279. This is a great option for users who intend to get protection for larger, multi-level homes with many bedrooms and bathrooms.

While ADT and GetSafe both provide premium monitoring services and reliable protection for independent seniors, they differ mainly in their technology and of course, their costs. Let’s go through each system’s costs thoroughly:

The monitoring fee of ADT Health ranges at $29.99-$39.99 per month, with no additional upfront fee for any of its devices. On the other hand, GetSafe’s monthly monitoring fee is a fixed $24.95 per month. While this rate is relatively competitive for monitoring charges, they do require a separate upfront fee for their equipment, which ranges from $79-$279 depending on the size of your home.

ADT ships their equipment for free, while GetSafe charges a $12 fee for shipment. Both have systems that are compatible with an added feature of fall-detection for a $10 cost on top of the basic monthly pay. Lastly, ADT charges $14.99 for its upfront device cost for an extra help button, with an additional $5 for its monthly monitoring fee. GetSafe offers $25 for spouse monitoring.

If your priority is to have an affordable medical alert system that can save you from the stresses of pricey fees in the long run, ADT is a good option as it has efficiently built its systems to function as an exceptional personal emergency response.

When it comes to features, ADT provides a key takeaway in providing reliable monitoring without dressing up their packages with many add-on features that are otherwise nonessential. GetSafe, on the contrary, shines in their unique devices that provide non-wearable options. They also allow customization based on the coverage requirement of their customers’ home.

Both have two-way communication, have GPS location tracking, and are compatible with a fall detection feature. All their devices are also water-resistant and are safe to use in the shower where most falls occur. The difference lies in their connection options, as GetSafe does not support any landline connectivity for their in-home system, which can be an issue for users who live in areas that have a spotty cellular connection.

GetSafe features a 32-hour backup for its wireless in-home device. To compare, ADT has a battery backup of 20 hours for its home-based system and 40 hours for its on-the-go system. ADT has a considerably limited device range capped at 600ft only, while GetSafe allows its users to choose a plan that fits the coverage required by their home.

ADT is a good option for seniors who want reliable monitoring both for their home or on-the-go, as GetSafe primarily focuses on designing their in-home systems, only providing on-the-go protection through an add-on of a mobile GPS help button. However, GetSafe stands out in the fact that their devices eliminate the need for a wearable medical alert pendant, making this system ideal for those either unable or unwilling to wear a personal call button.

Monitoring Center

The heart of any medical alert system lies in their monitoring center. ADT and GetSafe both have monitoring centers that operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and provide nationwide coverage across all 50 states in the country, ADT’s monitoring centers are certified by various third-party accrediting bodies. They are TMA Five Diamond Certified, UL-certified, and FM-approved, which means that the centers adhere to the highest standards in the industry.

GetSafe, being owned by Bay Alarm Family of Companies, has monitoring centers that are also UL-listed, and are CSAA Five Diamond Certified, which ensures that their operators are well-trained to handle any type of emergency and their services are keeping up with the highest industry standards.

Moreover, ADT has a significantly faster response time of 10 seconds which is twice as fast compared to GetSafe, which has an average response time of 20 seconds.

OUR PICK

ADT and GetSafe are two top-tier medical alert providers that offer straightforward systems and provide trusted emergency response services. Depending on your priorities and needs, you have to do a well-refined research on the intricacies of the medical alert system that you are looking into.

ADT has a knack for its established monitoring centers with well-trained responders that are quick to manage an emergency alert. This gives them a cutting edge among other medical alert providers, as time is the essence of an emergency. This is especially important for seniors with medical conditions, as the response time of a personal emergency system plays a huge role in the survival rate in any given incident.

Based on our objective-based assessment, Elderguide puts in a good word for ADT not only because of its exceptional monitoring service, but also for their 24/7 professional monitoring and their impressively quick response time. They also offer affordable pricing plans so it is a great choice for seniors who want long-term cost-efficiency. It also has all the essential features of a medical alert system minus the nonessentials, which anyone can rely on in times of emergencies.