ADT vs. Medical Alert

Medical alert systems are tools designed to allow older adults to live independently without the worry of being left unassisted when emergencies occur. Similarly, it gives reassurance to the senior’s loved ones that help is easily accessible with just one push in the help button. This technology mainly functions to increase survival rate among older adults when medical emergencies arise.

As there are many medical alert systems in the market, it can be very challenging to decide which one to subscribe to. Elderguide created this guide to help you balance your priorities in choosing the right medical alert system that would fit your needs and that would suit your finances. We reviewed two established medical alert providers, ADT and MedicalAlert according to our objective-based assessment to weigh their system’s tech and properties.

ADT and Medical Alert both offer protection and peace of mind with their systems and packages. Read on as we compare these two providers based on their pricing, equipment, features, and coverage.

	ADT	Medical Alert
Overall Grade	Overall Grade: A	Overall Grade: A
Costs
Monthly Cost Price	$29.99 - $39.99	$22.95 - $42.95
Device Cost	$0	$49
Shipping Fee	n/a	$NaN - $NaN
Cancellation Fee	No fee	No fee
Fall Detection Fee	$0 - $10	$10
Cellular Fee	n/a	n/a
Spouse Monitoring	$NaN - $NaN	$0
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	30 hours
On-the-go Battery Life	40 hours	120 hours
Button Range	300 ft or 600 ft	800 ft
Water Resistant	Yes	Yes
GPS Tracking	Yes, some plans	Yes, some plans
Caregiver App	No	Yes
Response Time	10 seconds or 10 seconds	30 seconds
More Details	See All Plans	See All Plans

ADT

Pros:

• Does not require long-term contracts
• Reliable professional monitoring
• Lifetime warranty on all systems
• Rates are guaranteed to not increase
• 6-month money-back guarantee
• Free shipping fee and activation
• No hidden fees
• 24/7/365 monitoring

Cons:

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

Medical Alert

Pros:

• Budget-friendly monitoring fees
• No long-term contracts
• 30-day free trial with a full money-back guarantee
• Free Medical Alert Connect app
• Free Lockbox on all system plans

Cons:

• Limited range capacity
• Offers standard features that other companies offer
• Charges one-time equipment fee of $49

ADT OVERVIEW

ADT’s long experience in the industry granted it the right to be one of the most trusted names in the market. Their brand carries with it a reliable reputation and exceptional customer service. Known in the market for providing home-security systems, they now offer ADT Health in conjunction with their existing emergency monitoring centers located nationwide. They operate a total of nine emergency call centers across 200 locations in the U.S. The company primarily concentrates on building the basics of a medical alert system right, without adding unnecessary nonessentials. All the monitoring centers of ADT are TMA Five Diamond Certified and have passed the standards of several reputable third-party accrediting bodies. They are located in strategic places across the country, and are established in a redundant network. This means that when one monitoring loses function, a backup center will take over so that they can still respond to emergency situations. ADT offers a range of systems to choose from, which are all thorough yet comprehensive, ranging from its 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 the cheapest plan that ADT Health offers, with its base price that starts at $29.99 per month. This includes an in-home base unit that connects to a standard landline connection, and a waterproof help button that can be worn as a wristband or pendant. In case of an emergency, users can press the help button and they will immediately connect with a trained emergency responder who will be dispatched to the location to manage the situation as needed.

A unique feature offered for this system is its home temperature monitoring, which sends an alert if your home temperature goes below or above the normal level. However, the range coverage for this system is somewhat limited, as it only covers a radius of 300ft from the base station, which is lower than the range capacity of other medical alert systems we have reviewed.

Medical Alert Plus System

Medical Alert Plus System is an upgraded variant of the basic system that can be purchased for for $35.99 a month. It does not require a standard landline connection as it connects to the AT & T network. The system offers a more extensive range of 600ft radius from the base, allowing seniors to roam around the house with more protection. Although this range is not as good as the basic in-home systems we have assessed, it may be good enough if the size of your home measures up to this range capacity.

This system also comes with a home-temperature monitoring feature and can be upgraded to have fall detection monitoring for only $10 a month. Users can also opt to add an optional waterproof wall mount button that can be placed anywhere inside the house or multiple pendant options for added protection.

On-The-Go Medical Alert System

This compact, lightweight and easy-to-use mobile medical alert system from ADT provides protection for active seniors who are always on the move. It is equipped with a built-in GPS location tracking feature, features a wireless connection with a 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.

Its mobile base unit offers the same protection as their traditional home-based system but is more compact and portable. With this system, you can get the protection and peace of mind you need while remaining independent and active.

Medical Alert Overview

Medical Alert is part of its parent company, Connect America that has over 15 field service and support locations in the US and all of them are members of the Medical Alert Monitoring Association (MAMA). Medical Alert has been providing emergency response and medical alert monitoring services to thousands of senior citizens nationwide since the start of their operations.

They offer round-the-clock monitoring that provides protection to seniors who want to age in place. One of the key takeaways of Medical Alert is that their systems are all comprehensive and straightforward, offering only the most basic and urgent features without the bells and whistles. They offer three system plans, all of which come with no activation fee and low-cost monthly monitoring fees that would perfectly fit seniors who always go by budget. They also offer a very affordable protection plan that costs only &1 per month, which covers system replacement in case of theft, loss or damage.

Medical Alert Systems

Home-System Landline

Medical Alert Home System landline is their least expensive system, with a starting cost of $22.95 per month. It comes with a base unit and a water-resistant wearable help button that is safe to use in the shower. It provides an in-home protection with up to 800 feet range of protection from the basic console. It also has a 30-hour backup in case of power outage, which keeps you protected in any incident. Possible upgrade costs $10 every month for an optional fall detection.

Home-System Cellular

If a standard landline connection is not accessible, Medical Alert offers an option for cellular connectivity through AT&T network for a monthly fee of $32.95. It has the same features as the Home System Landline model except for the connection. The water-proof wrist and neck pendant have an 800-foot range that provides secure coverage in all areas of your home. An optional upgrade for an automatic fall detection is charged at a standard rate of $10 every month, which is the standard price in the industry.

Mobile System

The Mobile System system costs $42.95 on a monthly subscription and it comes with a compact, water-resistant mobile device that allows immediate access to help anytime, anywhere. It also includes a help button that can be worn either as a wristband or as a pendant. It mainly features a two-way speaker that allows a clear communication with the emergency response operators, and a GPS location tracker that can readily locate the user in case of an emergency. The battery has a capacity of up to 5-days, which is a perfect choice for seniors who want a device they can use for long periods of time. This system can also be upgraded to have fall detection monitoring for $10 a month.

ADT and Medical Alert both offer reliable monitoring and protection to seniors who want to age in place, but they do have slight differences in terms of costs. Let’s take a closer look at how they differ in terms of cost.

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, Medical Alert has a range of $22.95-$42.95 monthly monitoring costs.

ADT ships their equipment for free, while Medical Alert charges $15.5-$35 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. Medical Alert offers no extra cost for monthly monitoring for an extra help button.

Overall, we highly recommend ADT Health if your priority is to have a medical alert system which is cost-efficient in the long run. With their price difference, the cost can definitely add up over time, so choosing the less expensive medical alert system practically saves you more money.

When it comes to features, both ADT and Medical Alert focus on providing reliable monitoring without adding the nonessential tech on its systems. Their systems are simple and straightforward, and don’t dress their packages up with many add-on features.

Both have two-way communication, can connect to either landline or cellular connection, have GPS location tracking, and are compatible with fall detection features and caregiver apps. All their devices are also water-resistant and are safe to use in the shower where most falls occur.

Medical Alert outshines ADT for its battery life, which is 30 hours for its in-home systems, while 5 days for its on-the-go system. This makes Medical Alert an excellent choice for seniors who enjoy traveling and tend to be away from home a lot more often. To compare, ADT has a battery backup of 20 hours for its home-based system and 40 hours for its on-the-go system. Both have a considerably limited device range as compared to other medical alert systems we have reviewed, Medical Alert also offers a range of 800-ft and ADT has it for 600-ft coverage.

Monitoring Center

One of the most important aspects to consider before deciding on a purchase is whether the monitoring center that works behind a medical alert system provides reliable protection and round-the-clock services.

ADT and Medical Alert 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.

Medical Alert keeps pace as their systems connect to a UL-listed monitoring center, where highly trained responders dispatch immediate help as soon as they receive an alert.Their operators utilize International Language Line, which enables Medical Alert to offer real-time assistance in over 140 different languages.

Moreover, ADT has a significantly faster response time of 10 seconds which is thrice as fast compared to Medical Alert, which has an average response time of 30 seconds.

OUR PICK

ADT and Medical Alert both offer straightforward systems that provide high quality monitoring and emergency response services. Depending on the system you purchase, both providers also offer competitive pricing and flexible payment terms.

Between the two, ADT has a knack for its established monitoring centers with well-trained responders that are quick to manage an emergency alert. This gives them an edge over any other medical alert system providers.

As far as Elderguide’s objective-based assessment is concerned, we put in a good word for ADT because of its exceptional monitoring service. It provides independent seniors peace of mind with their 24/7 professional monitoring and their fast response time. Their rates are also within the means of being practical, 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, which anyone can rely on in times of emergencies.