Quick answer: Monitored medical alert plans cost about $24.99 to $64.95 a month as of September 2026. The cheapest in-home system with a published price is Bay Alarm Medical’s landline plan at $27.95 a month. Fall detection adds roughly $10 a month almost everywhere.
What these systems actually do
You press a button. A monitoring center answers through a speaker and talks to you.
The operator decides whether to call a neighbor, a family member, or 911. Most centers stay on the line until help arrives.
That is the whole product. Everything else is packaging.
Who really needs one
A medical alert helps most when someone lives alone and cannot always get up after a fall.
It also helps people with heart trouble, low blood pressure, or a recent hospital stay. A doctor or occupational therapist can tell you whether the risk is high enough to bother.
It is a poor fit for someone with advanced dementia. They may not remember to press the button or may take the pendant off.
Prices you can check yourself
We compared list prices published by Bay Alarm Medical, Medical Guardian, MobileHelp and Lively on September 2, 2026.
We only used numbers a company printed on its own site. Two good examples are the Bay Alarm Medical pricing page and the Medical Guardian pricing page.
Several well-known brands still make you call a salesperson first.
| Company | Lowest Monthly Fee | Device Cost | Fall Detection | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lively | $24.99 Basic plan | $79.99 Mobile2 | +$9.99/mo | Plan required at activation |
| Bay Alarm Medical | $27.95 landline | $0 lease on SOS Home | +$10/mo | 15-day risk-free trial |
| MobileHelp | $29.95 home cellular | Free activation | +$10/mo | Free shipping |
| Medical Guardian | $34.95 MG Home | $149.95 list, Guardian Flex | +$10/mo | No activation or cancellation fee |
| Life Alert | Not published | Not published | Not published | Phone quote only |
All figures as of September 2026. Taxes and fees are extra on some plans.
Bay Alarm Medical: the clearest price list
Bay Alarm Medical prints every plan on one page. That alone puts it ahead of most rivals.
The in-home SOS Home costs $27.95 a month on a landline or $34.95 on cellular. The device itself is a free lease.
Mobile options run higher. The SOS All-In-One 2 is $34.95 a month plus $89.40 for the device. The SOS Smartwatch is $39.95 a month plus $159.20.
Fall detection raises each plan by $10 a month. On the SOS Home you also pay a one-time $30 fee for the fall button.
Our full Bay Alarm Medical review breaks the bundles down.
Medical Guardian: strong mobile devices
Medical Guardian starts at $34.95 a month for MG Home. The Guardian Flex mobile device starts at $39.95 a month.
The Guardian Flex lists at $149.95, though the company runs deep promotions. Fall detection is a $10 monthly add-on.
Two things stand out. The company states it charges no activation or cancellation fees and does not require long-term contracts.
See the device-by-device numbers in our Medical Guardian review.
MobileHelp: simple and cheap at home
The MobileHelp Classic home system starts at $29.95 a month. Activation and shipping are free.
Fall detection costs $10 a month. The on-the-go Elite package starts at $37.95 a month.
There is no smartwatch and no fancy app tier. For many families that is a feature, not a flaw.
Lively: the lowest monthly fee
Lively has the cheapest plan we found. The Basic package is $24.99 a month plus taxes and fees.
The Premium package is $34.99 a month and adds a nurse line and a care advocate. Fall detection is $9.99 a month on either plan.
You buy the Lively Mobile2 device for $79.99, and a plan is required at activation. Lively also sells simple cell phones, so one bill can cover both.
Life Alert: the famous one
Life Alert does not publish a single price. Its cost page sends you to a phone number for a quote.
The company advertises free equipment with installation, free ground shipping, and a price-lock guarantee. It sells in-home, on-the-go, and total coverage packages.
Because nothing is posted, you cannot compare it before you call. We walk through what to ask in our Life Alert cost guide.
In-home or mobile?
Pick in-home if the person rarely leaves the house alone. It is cheaper and the speaker is louder.
Pick mobile if they drive, walk the dog, or garden out back. GPS lets the operator send help to the right spot.
Many people end up with both. Bay Alarm Medical bundles a mobile device with an in-home base for $59.95 to $64.95 a month.
Fall detection and its limits
Fall detection uses motion sensors to guess when someone has fallen hard. It calls for help on its own.
It is not perfect, and the sellers say so. Lively states that fall detection does not detect 100% of falls. It tells users to still push the button when they can.
Wear position matters too. Lively requires the pendant on a neck lanyard for the feature to work as designed. Our fall detection guide covers the trade-offs.
What Medicare will and will not pay
Original Medicare does not cover these systems. Medicare Part B pays only for durable medical equipment. Medicare defines that as items used for a medical reason in your home, expected to last three years or more.
The published DME list covers canes, walkers, hospital beds, wheelchairs, oxygen and similar items. Personal emergency response systems are not on it.
Some Medicare Advantage plans add extra benefits, and some state Medicaid waivers pay for monitoring. Read our Medicare coverage guide before you assume you must pay full price.
Costs that are not in the monthly fee
The advertised fee is rarely the whole bill. Read the checkout page line by line.
Watch for a device purchase, a lockbox for the front door, and a second pendant for a spouse. Bay Alarm Medical charges $89.40 to $159.20 for its mobile devices, on top of the plan.
Also watch for taxes and regulatory fees. Lively lists its plan prices as $24.99 and $34.99 a month plus taxes and fees.
Annual billing usually saves money. Bay Alarm Medical, Medical Guardian and Lively all let you pay monthly, quarterly or yearly.
Three brands we could not price
LifeFone, ADT Health and Medical Alert are all real national providers. Families ask about them often.
We could not confirm their current published prices on September 2, 2026. Their sites blocked our checks that day, so we left them out of the table.
If you call them, ask for three numbers: the monthly fee, the one-time device cost, and the fall detection add-on. Get all three by email before you give a card number.
Five questions before you order
Ask what happens if you cancel in month two. Ask whether the monthly price rises after the first year.
Ask who the operator calls first, and in what order. Ask how long the pendant battery lasts and who replaces it.
Finally, ask what the range is from the base station in feet. If a company will not answer in writing, that is your answer.
If a monthly bill is out of reach, look at unmonitored options and free local programs instead.
Bottom line
For most people living alone at home, start with Bay Alarm Medical’s $27.95 landline plan or MobileHelp’s $29.95 cellular plan. Choose Medical Guardian if the person is active outside the house and wants a better mobile device. Choose Lively if you also need a simple phone on the same bill. Add fall detection only if the person has a history of falls they cannot recover from alone. Whatever you pick, call the company, confirm the price in writing, and use the trial period.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a medical alert system cost per month?
Published monthly fees ran $24.99 to $64.95 as of September 2026. A basic in-home system starts near $27.95 a month at Bay Alarm Medical and $29.95 at MobileHelp. Mobile GPS devices cost more, usually $34.95 to $44.95. Fall detection adds about $10 a month on top.
Do medical alert systems require a contract?
The largest sellers no longer require one. Medical Guardian states it does not require long-term contracts and charges no activation or cancellation fee. Bay Alarm Medical offers a 15-day risk-free trial. Life Alert does not publish its terms online, so ask about the contract length in writing before you sign.
What is the difference between an in-home and a mobile medical alert?
An in-home system uses a base station and works inside the house and a short way into the yard. A mobile system has GPS and cellular built into the pendant, so it works anywhere with cell service. In-home plans usually cost $5 to $10 less per month.
Is fall detection worth the extra cost?
It costs about $10 a month, or $120 a year. It helps most if the person has fainting spells, seizures, or falls that leave them unable to press a button. No system catches every fall. Lively states plainly that fall detection does not detect 100% of falls.
Does a medical alert system need a landline?
No. Most companies now sell cellular versions that use a built-in mobile signal. Bay Alarm Medical charges $27.95 a month for the landline version of SOS Home and $34.95 for the cellular version, as of September 2026.
Sources
- Bay Alarm Medical pricing and plans — accessed 2026-09-02
- Medical Guardian alert system pricing — accessed 2026-09-02
- MobileHelp Classic product page — accessed 2026-09-02
- Lively medical alert plan comparison — accessed 2026-09-02
- Life Alert cost page — accessed 2026-09-02
- Medicare.gov durable medical equipment (DME) coverage — accessed 2026-09-02