Best Medical Alert Necklaces For Older Adults

Top Medical Alert Necklaces

• Best for an Active Lifestyle: Medical Guardian
• Best Pricing Options: Bay Alarm Medical
• Best At-Home System: MobileHelp
• Best Mobile System: LifeFone
• Best for Those Without a Landline: Lively
• Best for Mobility Challenges: Aloe Care Health

How We Research and Test Medical Alert Necklaces

You deserve the best products for a better quality of life. As such, we strive to create honest, helpful reviews that are backed by firsthand shopping, testing, and research. Our content is medically reviewed and unbiased to help you choose the right medical alert system for you or your loved one.

From over 1,000 hours of research, we chose six of the top brands that we believe are the best medical alert necklaces. We did the following throughout our research process:

• Engaged in ongoing independent research
• Consulted with geriatricians and adult caregivers
• Mystery shopped the brands
• Surveyed 1,000 medical alert system users
• Tested various medical alert systems
• Interviewed experts in the field
• Read hundreds of verified customer reviews from trusted third parties, such as Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Trustpilot

We grade each medical alert company against a 1–10 rating scale and score them according to the following categories:

• Essential features
• Product functionality
• Special features
• Customer service
• Purchasing process

Features and criteria within each of these five categories are assigned point values. The more points a company receives for each criteria, the higher it scores in the overall category.

See our full explanation of our methodology for a full breakdown of criteria in each category and our scoring system.

Best Medical Alert Necklaces

There are a lot of medical alert necklaces on the market, and they vary by cost, features, and style. The good news: We’ve narrowed down your options to help you find the best one to suit your needs.

What Is a Medical Alert Necklace?

A medical alert necklace is a wearable device that allows the user to call for emergency help with the press of a help button. Medical alert necklaces, commonly called life alert necklaces, are available as part of an at-home or on-the-go medical alert system. The at-home device typically connects to a base station that allows coverage for a specified range.      

At-home systems come with a base station that either plugs into the wall as a landline or is wireless and runs off of a cellular network. Necklaces paired with these systems let you call for help up to a certain distance from the base station. The standard necklaces that automatically come with at-home systems are similar in appearance and function across most brands. Some brands, like LifeFone and Bay Alarm Medical, offer decorative pendants or pendant accessories to disguise the help button as a piece of jewelry, which helps distinguish these at-home necklaces from other brands. But because most at-home necklaces are so similar, it’s more important to look at the features of the base stations they pair with and the reputation of the medical alert company itself when deciding which one to purchase. At-home models also offer separate necklaces known as fall detection pendants that can be purchased at an additional cost each month. Fall detection pendants are also very similar in appearance and function across most brands.

On-the-go, or mobile, devices use cellular service and aren’t limited by the range of a base station, so you can use your necklace when you’re away from home. The on-the-go device is a necklace because it attaches to a lanyard to be worn from the neck, but it can be worn in other ways as well, such as on a belt clip. They don’t require a cell phone plan, and cellular service fees are included in the subscription to the medical alert system. You can also “bundle” medical alert systems to include both at-home and on-the-go systems on one subscription plan.

How Medical Alert Necklaces Work

Medical alert necklaces work by connecting you to an operator at a monitoring station once you press the help button on the necklace. The operator may respond to your request for help by contacting friends, family, or 911 if necessary and are available to assist you 24/7, any time you press the help button. Operators also help you decide if you need emergency assistance or less urgent help from a caregiver.

For at-home medical alert necklaces, once you push your help button, you can speak to the operator through your base station’s speaker when you’re close to it or through add-on voice-activated wall buttons that also contain speakers. If you’re not near any of your speakers for two-way communication, the operator will still receive your call for help and send an ambulance if they can’t get in touch with you or your emergency contacts.

On-the-go medical alert necklaces come equipped with a speaker so you can communicate with the monitoring center directly through the necklace. They run off of rechargeable batteries. Some on-the-go necklaces are voice-activated and will respond to a verbal request for help instead of the push of a button. On-the-go necklaces can also use GPS tracking so the operator can find your exact location if you need help when you’re away from home. 

Both at-home and on-the-go medical alert necklaces have the option of automatic fall detection. To get fall detection with at-home models that come with a standard help button necklace and base station, you have to buy a separate fall detection necklace in addition to the default necklace that is included with the system. With mobile necklaces, you can add fall detection capabilities to the necklace itself. Fall detection means the device can detect when you’ve fallen and will call the monitoring station if you’ve fallen and can’t press the button yourself.

Difference Between a Medical Alert Necklace and a Medical ID

Medical alert necklaces and medical ID alert necklaces (also called medical ID necklace or medical ID pendant) are used for different purposes. A medical ID alert necklace will not help you request help from family or medical personnel during an emergency. Medical ID necklaces are tags that list your health conditions should you be unable to verbally communicate this information to medical personnel if they need to administer treatments that could conflict with one of your conditions. Medical alert necklaces include the help button that’s part of a medical alert system and helps you call for assistance during an accident or emergency. You should use a medical alert necklace over a medical ID pendant if you need a help button for requesting assistance from a monitoring center.

Do I Need a Medical Alert Necklace?

Older adults, people recovering from surgery, or anyone with physical or cognitive deficits that put them at risk of falls or injuries may benefit from a medical alert necklace.

Medical alert systems also go a long way in giving your loved ones peace of mind knowing you have a way to get help when they can’t be there with you in person. And for the fashion-conscious, some may even say medical alert necklaces can be trendy and fashionable.

Where to Buy a Medical Alert Necklace

You can purchase life alert necklaces as part of your personalized medical alert system package directly from the manufacturer’s website or from third-party retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Walgreens. Some systems, however, are only available directly from the manufacturer.

Also, some medical alert companies don’t sell systems but instead lease them, so you can use their systems for however long you subscribe to their services. Each company’s customer service team can give you more specific details on the medical alert necklace and system you’re interested in.

How Much Do Medical Alert Necklaces Cost?

Monthly Costs

Medical alert pendants vary in cost depending on their equipment, features, and subscriptions. Medical alert companies charge a monthly fee that includes a subscription to their monitoring service. Some companies will automatically include other costs in their subscription fee, like the monthly fee for leasing a device if you’re not buying it, GPS tracking, and access to caregiver apps. Other fees may be added on to your monthly subscription fees depending on what optional features you select with your life alert necklace. Many companies also charge upfront costs to buy and ship their equipment, and some charge activation fees.

Upfront Costs 

Upfront costs vary within the same company depending on the cost of the device and whether you buy or lease it. Some companies only let you lease their products. Other companies allow you to lease only certain devices and buy others. Medical alert companies often offer free shipping as a promotion or with longer subscriptions. The best way to know what their current promotions are is to call and ask a sales representative.

Are Medical Alert Necklaces Waterproof?

Some medical alert necklaces are waterproof and others are water-resistant. Water-resistant necklaces can be splashed with water, such as when in the shower or out in the rain, without causing harm. Whereas, waterproof necklaces can be submerged in water, so you can wear them when bathing or swimming.

All medical alert necklaces we featured are water-resistant at minimum. At-home necklaces are typically waterproof, while on-the-go necklaces tend to be only water resistant.

What to Consider When Buying a Medical Alert Necklace

When shopping for a medical alert necklace, you want to make sure you consider all the features it comes with.

Fall Detection

In a survey of 1,000 Medical Alert System users conducted by AgingInPlace.org, respondents stated that fall detection was the most important feature they looked at when purchasing a medical alert system. Automatic fall detection is a safety feature available with most medical alert necklaces. It allows your medical alert necklace to detect when you’ve fallen and call your monitoring center without you having to do anything. This is especially important since people may lose consciousness before or during a fall, making them unable to call for help on their own. Most companies charge an additional monthly fee on top of your subscription for this feature.

Response Time

The response time is the average time it takes for an operator to pick up your call after the help button’s been activated. The shorter the response time, the better. In general, this ranges from 12-60 seconds. In our scoring criteria, anything under 15 seconds is considered the fastest response time. Anything over 25-35 seconds is relatively slow.

Battery Life

All on-the-go necklaces come with a rechargeable battery. How often you need to charge a medical alert necklace is a key consideration for many people, especially if you’ll be using it on the go. For many on-the-go necklaces we tested, battery life lasts almost a week. 

Style

Most medical alert necklaces are similar in style but differ slightly in size. In general, the wearable device is either rectangular (usually for mobile necklaces) or circular (usually for at-home models), and hangs at about mid-chest level. They typically come in the basic colors of black, white, or silver, although some offer more stylish customizations, like Bay Alarm Medical’s Bella Charms.

Durability

One reason many people like using a medical alert necklace is the durability of the wearable help button. All necklaces we reviewed are water resistant, and some are waterproof. To make necklaces last longer and keep from getting caught or snagged, some people tuck them under their shirt during activities.

Warranty

Not all medical alert companies offer a free warranty on their products. They may, instead, offer an optional protection plan that costs extra. If your device has a warranty or you want to purchase a protection plan, make sure you read what it covers and includes before buying. 

Comfort

The fit and feel of a medical alert necklace will be similar regardless of the system you choose. Check the size and weight of each device if size is a particular concern to you, and make sure the lanyard doesn’t irritate the back of your neck.

Pros and Cons of Medical Alert Necklaces