Best stair lifts for each kind of need

There is no single best stair lift. The best one for you depends on your stairs, the rider and the budget, so each list below says how it is ranked.

Best stair lifts for narrow stairs

Ranked by the narrowest stairs listed (the manufacturer figure, or the usual 28 in guide), then by how slim the lift folds.

Model	Narrowest stairs	Folded, from wall	Weight limit
Acorn 130	26 in manufacturer's figure	12¼ in	280 lb heavy-duty version: 350 lb
Stannah Siena 600	27 in manufacturer's figure	14½ in	350 lb
Harmar Pinnacle SL600	≈ 28 in usual guide	10½ in	350 lb
Savaria K2	≈ 28 in usual guide	10¾ in	350 lb
Harmar Pinnacle SL300	≈ 28 in usual guide	11 in	300 lb

Only Acorn and Stannah publish a minimum stair width for their models. ≈ marks the usual planning guide (28 in for straight stairs, 30 in for stairs that turn); the installer measures your stairs before quoting.

Best stair lifts for heavier riders

Ranked by the highest weight rating, standard or heavy-duty option.

Model	Stairs	Weight limit	Heavy-duty option	Seat width
Harmar Pinnacle SL600HD	Straight	600 lb		18¾ in
Handicare 1000	Straight	350 lb	440 lb
Bruno Elite	Straight	400 lb		17½ in
Bruno Elite Curved	Curved	400 lb		17½ in
Stannah Siena 260	Curved	300 lb	352 lb

Best curved stair lifts

Every curved model we list, ranked by weight rating.

Model	Weight limit	Folded, from wall	Installed price
Bruno Elite Curved	400 lb	15 in	$12,000–$25,000+ published: a dealer's installed range
Stannah Siena 260	300 lb heavy-duty version: 352 lb	16 in	$10,800 published: the manufacturer's installed price
Harmar Helix	350 lb	16 in	$11,495–$12,995 estimate: lift price + usual fitting
Handicare Freecurve	275 lb	16½ in	$10,499–$11,999 estimate: lift price + usual fitting
Acorn 180	265 lb	13¼ in	$8,000–$15,000+ estimate from review sites

Best low-cost stair lifts for a tight budget

Ranked by the lowest installed price we can source for a straight lift (a manufacturer, dealer or review-site figure). Lifts sold without fitting are not ranked against them.

Model	Installed price	Weight limit	Folded, from wall
Acorn 130	$3,000–$5,000 estimate from review sites	280 lb heavy-duty version: 350 lb	12¼ in
Savaria K2	$4,135 published: lift + fitting, one dealer	350 lb	10¾ in
Harmar Pinnacle SL300	$4,365 published: lift + fitting, one dealer	300 lb	11 in
Stannah Siena 600	$4,700 published: the manufacturer's installed price	350 lb	14½ in
Harmar Pinnacle SL600	$5,380 published: lift + fitting, one dealer	350 lb	10½ in

Call for an installed price Ask for a written quote

The best stair lifts are not the same for every home, since no single stair lift suits every staircase. The right one depends on three things: the shape of your stairs, how much the rider weighs, and what you can spend. This page looks at 16 models and matches each one to a need, using the numbers the manufacturers publish.

Installed, a new straight-stair lift is about $2,500 to $5,000
A new lift on curved stairs usually costs $8,000 to $12,000 installed
A pre-owned lift for straight stairs runs about $1,500–$3,000 with fitting included
Most riders are covered by a 350 lb limit

We drew these price ranges from the National Council on Aging. For the weight limit, we took the middle figure across the 16 models listed here.

Start with the shape of your stairs

If your stairs run in one straight line, a straight lift on a standard rail will do. If your stairs turn or have a landing, ask the dealer which lift would suit the layout; the curved models listed here generally cost more than the straight models.

Lift	Kind of stairs	Weight limit	Cost
AmeriGlide Rave 2	Straight	350 lb	Listed online at $2,249; install it yourself or hire an installer
Bruno Elan	Straight	300 lb	Starts at $3,000; fitting billed separately
Handicare 1100	Straight	310 lb	$3,299 at a single dealer, before installation
Harmar Pinnacle SL300	Straight	300 lb	$3,640 with a $725 install fee from one seller
Savaria K2	Straight	350 lb	$3,790 plus a fitting fee of $345–$445 at one dealer
Stannah Siena 600	Straight	350 lb	Installed from $4,700
Acorn 180	Curved	265 lb	$8,000–$15,000+, installation included
Handicare Freecurve	Curved	275 lb	$9,999 from one dealer; your stairs set the final price
Stannah Siena 260	Curved	300 lb, or 352 lb in a heavy-duty build	$10,800 and up, installation included
Harmar Helix	Curved	350 lb	$10,995 and up via one seller
Bruno Elite Curved	Curved	400 lb	From $12,000 to $25,000+, installation included

Not every price here covers installation, so check that before you compare one quote with another. Acorn will only give a price after visiting your home, and the Acorn numbers on this page are one reviewer's guess.

Lifts that leave the most room on the stairs

A rider needs a lift that fits the staircase, holds their weight, and still leaves enough space for other people to get by. The fold width tells you how far the lift juts out from the wall once the seat, arms, and footrest are folded. When this number is small, more of the stairway stays clear for everyone else.

Lift	Fits stairs from	Folds back to	Weight limit
Acorn 130	26 inches	12.25 inches	280 lb, or 350 lb in a heavy-duty build
Stannah Siena 600	27 inches	14.5 inches	350 lb
Harmar Pinnacle SL600	28 inches	10.5 inches	350 lb
Savaria K2	28 inches	10.75 inches	350 lb
Harmar Pinnacle SL300	28 inches	11 inches	300 lb
AmeriGlide Rave 2	28 inches	11 inches	350 lb
Bruno Elan	28 inches	12 inches	300 lb

If your stairs measure 26 inches across, the Acorn 130 is the only model here that fits, and no curved lift will work. At 28 inches, every straight lift on this page fits, but the Acorn 180 is the only curved lift that does. At 30 inches, all five curved models listed here are made for stairs of that width.

Lifts for heavier riders

The Acorn 180 carries the lowest rating at 265 lb, and the Harmar Pinnacle SL600HD tops out at 600 lb. Lifts built for higher weights usually fold out farther from the wall, which is worth knowing on a narrow staircase.

Lift	Kind of stairs	Weight limit	Folds back to
Harmar Pinnacle SL600HD	Straight	600 lb	16.5 inches
Handicare 1000	Straight	350 lb, or 440 lb in a heavy-duty build	15.25 inches
Bruno Elite	Straight	400 lb	15.125 inches
Bruno Elite Curved	Curved	400 lb	15 inches
Harmar Helix	Curved	350 lb	16 inches

Cost by staircase length

With straight stairs, a longer rail pushes the price up a bit. Our cost tool assumes a standard rail length of 15.5 feet and adds about $75 per extra foot; these are estimates, not prices for every model.

Steps	Rail length	New lift, installed
8	Roughly 10 ft	Roughly $2,500 to $5,000
13	Roughly 16 ft	Roughly $2,575 to $5,075
16	Roughly 19 ft	Roughly $2,800 to $5,300
20	Roughly 23 ft	Roughly $3,100 to $5,600

A 13-step staircase needs a rail about 1 ft longer than the stock 15.5 ft, which adds roughly $75.

Warranties compared

Warranties vary even more than prices. Some manufacturers cover the motor for life, while parts elsewhere are covered for between one and three years. Along the rail runs a toothed strip called the gear rack, which the lift climbs, and several Harmar models give you 10 years of cover on that strip.

Both the Bruno Elan and the Bruno Elite Curved come with a limited lifetime warranty; your dealer can tell you which parts it covers.
Bruno Elite: limited lifetime on major components
Harmar Pinnacle SL600: motor covered for life; gear rack for 10 years; battery for 1 year
Harmar Pinnacle SL300: parts for 2 years; gear rack for 10 years; battery for 1 year
Harmar Helix: parts for 2 years; limited lifetime cover on the drive system
Stannah Siena 600 and Siena 260: motor and gearbox covered for life; parts and labor for 1 year
Savaria K2: parts covered for 36 months via your dealer
Harmar Pinnacle SL600HD: parts for 3 years; gear rack for 10 years; battery for 1 year
Handicare 1000, 1100, and Freecurve: parts covered for 24 months via your dealer
AmeriGlide Rave 2: drive train and parts for 2 years; batteries for 30 days
Acorn 130 and Acorn 180: 12 months of cover from the manufacturer

How we compare these lifts

We compare manufacturers' specifications and warranties, with prices drawn from manufacturer listings, dealer listings, and reviewer estimates. Your stair width can help narrow the list, but it does not confirm that a lift will fit; ask the dealer to check the fit when preparing your quote.

Getting a quote

Whichever dealer quotes you, check the model and any heavy-duty option they name against these tables, ask whether installation is in the price, and ask the dealer to explain its warranty coverage. Warranties from Savaria and Handicare, among others, run through your dealer.