Medical Alert vs. GetSafe

Aging brings countless life changes. As people get older, it can be extremely important to plan out for these anticipated changes. Knowing how to cope with these presents you an opportunity to lessen the need for your family members to constantly monitor you while you enjoy your independent living.

As many seniors opt to age in place, it is necessary to invest in useful tools and technology to ensure their safety and protection. Medical alert systems, or widely known as personal emergency response systems, enable older adults to retain their independence while being confident that help is within reach when they need it. Today’s medical alert systems are furnished with advanced technology to spare convenience on top of the primary function of providing protection through professional monitoring.

The only challenge is to find the right medical alert system that will best fit your needs according to your own preferences. In this guide, we provided a comprehensive comparison of two reputable medical alert system providers, Medical Alert and GetSafe to help you evaluate their products and services before ultimately deciding on which to subscribe to.

	Medical Alert	GetSafe
Overall Grade	Overall Grade: A	Overall Grade: A
Costs
Monthly Cost Price	$22.95 - $42.95	$24.95
Device Cost	$49	$79 - $279
Shipping Fee	$NaN - $NaN	$12
Cancellation Fee	No fee	No fee
Fall Detection Fee	$10	$10
Cellular Fee	n/a	n/a
Spouse Monitoring	$0	$25
Features
Connectivity Option	Cellular or Landline	Cellular or Landline
Two-way Speaker & Microphone	Yes	Yes
Home-based Back Up Battery Life	30 hours	32 hours
On-the-go Battery Life	120 hours	No
Button Range	800 ft	No
Water Resistant	Yes	Yes
GPS Tracking	Yes, some plans	No
Caregiver App	Yes	No
Response Time	30 seconds	20 seconds
More Details	See All Plans	See All Plans

Medical Alert

Pros:

• Budget-friendly monthly monitoring fees
• No long-term contracts required
• 30-day risk-free subscription 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

GetSafe

Pros:

• No wearable buttons required
• Affordable monthly monitoring fees
• 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.

Medical Alert Overview

Medical Alert is a company under Connect America, which has established over 15 field service and support locations across the U.S. Medical Alert is headquartered at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With their long experience in the industry, they have already mastered the science of providing reliable monitoring for a good value. Their devices mainly focus on delivering high quality monitoring and protection without the bells and whistles of nonessential features. They also have budget-friendly rates and comprehensive pricing plans.

Medical Alert offers three system plans, all of which come with no activation fee and low-cost monthly monitoring fees. 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

This system is Medical Alert’s most basic plan, and also the least expensive, having a starting cost of $22.95 per month. It includes an in-home base unit which connects to a standard landline connection, and a water-resistant wearable help button in the form of a neck pendant or a wristband. The device has an 800-ft range as measured from the base console. It also has a reliable battery that can provide up to 30 hours of power in case of a power outage. An optional fall detection may be added to this plan for only $10.

Home-System Cellular

Medical Alert offers another in-home medical alert option for seniors who do not have a standard landline connection at home. The Home System-Cellular can be purchased for a monthly fee of $32.95, and requires a strong connection to the AT & T network. This system has the same range and features as the landline model. 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

This system is the on-the-go option for Medical Alert, which costs $42.95 on a monthly subscription. The plan comes with a compact, water-resistant mobile device that allows immediate access to Medical Alert’s monitoring center with just one press on the help button. The help button comes as a wearable wristband or pendant, which the user can wear anywhere they go. 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.

GetSafe Overview

GetSafe has served thousands of seniors since the start of their operations in 2015, GetSafe, while being new to the medical alert industry, has brought about advanced tech in their systems to match the demands of the modern world. It uses cellular technology to operate their voice-activated devices that can easily connect the user to a 24-hour emergency response network. There’s no need to have either a landline telephone or an internet connection to make it work.

Their pricing plan is also unique and comprehensive. They only charge a fixed rate of $24.95 for its monthly monitoring fee, and require users to pay for a one-time fee for equipment depending on their choice or subscription. GetSafe’s system plans are tailored to fit the range demands of your home according to its size and number of rooms. 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

This system is a good option for seniors who live in a small living space, or in a one-bedroom house. It comes with a 4G-LTE base unit, one voice-activated wall button, and one personal help button. This plan costs a monthly base pay of $24.95, and a device fee of $79 which needs to be paid upfront.

The 4G-LTE base unit has a two-way speakerphone, with a 32-hour backup battery to provide protection even in the event of a power outage. The voice-activated wall button is a compact, wireless and water-resistant device, which you can install in an area of your home that might be accident-prone.

Standard

GetSafe’s Standard plan is an upgraded version of the Starter, with an added coverage for 2-3 bedroom homes. This plan 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

If you reside in a multi-level home, or if your home has multiple bedrooms, GetSafe’s Select plan is the best option. It includes one 4G-LTE base unit, three voice-activated wall buttons, two standard wall buttons, and one personal help button which you can install anywhere in your home to ensure coverage for protection. The system requires an upfront device fee of $279.

When it comes to costs, these two medical alert providers have varying pricing strategies. We evaluated their costs to help you decide which fits your budget best.

What’s unique about the pricing plans of GetSafe is how they charge a flat monthly rate of $24.95 on any of their systems, and only requires customers to pay an upfront fee for their equipment which ranges from $79 - $279 depending on the user’s choice of system.

Medical Alert also offers straightforward systems with an affordable monthly rate which ranges from $22.95-$42.95 for their monitoring. What we like about Medical Alert is that they give the highest value for their systems at an affordable price, which saves us from the stress of additional and hidden fees.

Medical Alert ships their equipment for $15.5-$35, while GetSafe ships their systems for a cheaper price at $12. Both companies charge a standard fee of $10 additional monthly cost for the optional automatic fall detection feature.

Medical Alert and GetSafe both have core goals to provide reliable monitoring and protection to the elderly. However, how they designed their systems and devices vary. Medical Alert’s systems are simple and straightforward, and don’t dress their packages up with many add-on features. On the other hand, GetSafe intently worked on their systems to have an advanced tech, particularly their unique voice-activated wall buttons.

GetSafe offers customizable in-home systems that provide options for customers according to their home size. One key takeaway of this company is that they offer an alternative to the traditional wearable help buttons, as they have voice-activated wall buttons that are directly connected with their monitoring center. This is great for seniors who do not want to wear anything while inside their home. While GetSafe has excellent in-home systems, they do not offer an on-the-go system; instead, they have a mobile GPS help button as an add-on to their plans, which can be a point of consideration for seniors who have an active lifestyle.

Medical Alert outshines GetSafe when it comes to having an on-the-go system, as they offer a mobile medical alert device which is perfect for seniors who love to be out and about. Medical Alert has a device range of up to 800-ft, which is good enough for an average home. Their devices 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 app. All their devices are also water-resistant and are safe to use in the shower where most falls occur.

Monitoring Center

The monitoring center works as the lifeblood of any medical alert system as thi is where the real deal happens. When assessing the reliability of a monitoring center, several core considerations must be evaluated, to include network redundancy, third-party certifications, emergency operators’ qualifications, response time, and multi-lingual availablity, among others.

It is reasssuring to note that Medical Alert 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. Both companies also adhere to the industry’s standard of safety and quality of monitoring as seen on their third-party certifications.

Medical Alert connects 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.

GetSafe also 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. They are on-call all the time, providing nationwide coverage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. GetSafe’s response time is as good as the 30-second record of Medical Alert.

OUR PICK

While both companies have a lot to offer to its customers, there are particular areas that make them stand out as a medical alert system. GetSafe is known for having the best in-home system, and Medical Alert for having the most affordable protection plan.

Between both providers, we give a good word for Medical Alert because they provide a wider option for seniors for both in-home and mobile systems. GetSafe focused on their in-home systems, making them lack a suitable device that seniors can use when they’re out and about. Medical Alert also provides options for landline or cellular connectivity, while GetSafe only has cellular connectivity option which may be a point of issue for seniors residing in areas with a spotty cellular signal.

We praise the exceptional monitoring service of both providers, as they give independent seniors peace of mind with their 24/7 professional monitoring and their fast response time. However in terms of having the best value for your money, MedicalAlert is a good choice especially if you want long-term cost efficiency.