Heavy duty stair lifts
A heavy duty stair lift can hold a heavier rider than a standard one. We looked at 16 lifts, and their weight limits run from 265 lb up to 600 lb, with 350 lb sitting in the middle.
- Top limit overall 600 lb, the Harmar Pinnacle SL600HD
- Best a curved lift can do 400 lb, the Bruno Elite Curved
- Typical weight limit across the 16 models: 350 lb
- Lightest limit 265 lb, the Acorn 180
Heavy duty stair lifts compared
| Model | Stairs | Weight limit | Heavy-duty option | Seat width | Installed price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Harmar Pinnacle SL600HDPro: the highest weight limit among the straight lifts here (600 lb). Con: folded, it sticks out the most (16½ in). Sources | Straight | 600 lb | 18¾ in | $8,230 published: lift + fitting, one dealer | |
 Handicare 1000Pro: up to 440 lb with the heavy-duty version. Con: it sticks out 15¼ in from the wall when folded. Sources | Straight | 350 lb | 440 lb | $3,990–$5,490 estimate: lift price + usual fitting | |
 Bruno ElitePro: the major components are covered for life (a limited warranty). Con: it sticks out 15⅛ in from the wall when folded. Sources | Straight | 400 lb | 17½ in | $5,499–$6,999 estimate: lift price + usual fitting | |
| Bruno Elite CurvedPro: the highest weight limit among the curved lifts here (400 lb). Con: the highest installed price among the curved lifts here. Sources | Curved | 400 lb | 17½ in | $12,000–$25,000+ published: a dealer's installed range | |
 Stannah Siena 260Pro: up to 352 lb with the heavy-duty version. Con: the parts warranty runs one year. Sources | Curved | 300 lb | 352 lb | $10,800 published: the manufacturer's installed price | |
 Acorn 130Pro: it fits stairways only 26 in wide, the manufacturer says. Con: 280 lb as standard, the lowest weight limit among the straight lifts here (350 lb with the heavy-duty option). Sources | Straight | 280 lb | 350 lb | $3,000–$5,000 estimate from review sites | |
| Harmar Pinnacle SL600Pro: of the straight lifts here, it folds closest to the wall (10½ in). Sources | Straight | 350 lb | 18 in | $5,380 published: lift + fitting, one dealer | |
| Harmar HelixPro: the drive system is covered for life (a limited warranty). Con: it sticks out 16 in from the wall when folded. Sources | Curved | 350 lb | 19 in | $11,495–$12,995 estimate: lift price + usual fitting | |
 Savaria K2Pro: parts are covered for 3 years. Sources | Straight | 350 lb | $4,135 published: lift + fitting, one dealer | ||
| Stannah Siena 600Pro: the motor gearbox is covered for life. Con: the parts warranty runs one year. Sources | Straight | 350 lb | $4,700 published: the manufacturer's installed price | ||
 AmeriGlide Rave 2Pro: parts are covered for 2 years, longer than the one year some manufacturers give. Con: you buy it online, so fitting it is up to you: hire your own installer or do it yourself. Sources | Straight | 350 lb | 19½ in | $2,749–$4,249 estimate: lift price + usual fitting |
Every model's weight limit and seat width in one chart
Ask for a written quote
Picking a Stair Lift for a Heavier Rider
Begin with how much the rider weighs, then pick a lift rated to hold more than that. In our comparison, most lifts top out somewhere between 300 lb and 350 lb. A handful go to 400 lb or beyond.
A number of models are sold in two versions, a standard one and a heavy-duty one. The Handicare 1000, for instance, holds 350 lb as standard and 440 lb in its heavy-duty form. The Acorn 130 jumps from 280 lb to 350 lb when you choose that option.
The table covers the straight-stair lifts rated for 350 lb or more. The folded distance tells you how far the lift juts from the wall once it's parked. That's how much space the folded lift takes up, not how much room remains for other people to use the stairs.
Each manufacturer's own site supplied these figures: Harmar's SL600HD page, Handicare's 1000 page, Bruno's Elite page, Harmar's SL600 page, Savaria's K2 page, AmeriGlide's Rave 2 page, Stannah's dimensions page, and Acorn's 130 page.
What Does "Bariatric" Mean?
"Bariatric" is a term from medicine that describes products designed for people who weigh more. So a bariatric stair lift is simply a heavy-duty model that carries riders past the usual limit. Three lifts in our comparison carry 400 lb or more in their standard form: Harmar's Pinnacle SL600HD, Bruno's Elite, and the curved version of the Bruno Elite.
The Handicare 1000 also gets there if you choose its heavy-duty version, which raises the limit from 350 lb to 440 lb.
Is There a 500 lb Stair Lift?
Only one lift in our comparison can carry 500 lb or above: the Harmar Pinnacle SL600HD, rated for 600 lb. The closest runner-up is the Handicare 1000 with its heavy-duty option, good for 440 lb.
The SL600HD only works on straight stairs. If your stairs curve, the strongest lift we found is the Bruno Elite Curved, which is rated for 400 lb.
Harmar's Pinnacle Heavy Duty Lift
The Harmar Pinnacle SL600HD holds up to 600 lb, more than any other model we compared. It needs straight stairs at least 28 in across. Parked against the wall, it still sticks out 16.5 in, so it takes up more of the staircase than the lighter versions do.
The warranty runs three years on parts, one year on the battery, and ten years on the gear rack.
Harmar's other straight models carry less. Here's how the three Pinnacles line up.
| Harmar model | Weight limit | Folded depth | Lift cost (single dealer) | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinnacle SL300 | 300 lb | 11 in | $3,640 | Parts covered 2 years, gear rack 10, battery 1 |
| Pinnacle SL600 | 350 lb | 10.5 in | $4,655 | Motor covered for life, gear rack 10 years, battery 1 year |
| Pinnacle SL600HD | 600 lb | 16.5 in | $7,505 | Parts covered 3 years, gear rack 10, battery 1 |
That same dealer charges $725 to install any of the three.
Heavy Duty Curved Stairlift Options
With curved stairs, the rail has to be built to match your staircase. That narrows the options for heavier riders. These are the curved lifts we compared, starting with the highest weight limit:
- Bruno Elite Curved: 400 lb. Installed prices run $12,000 to $25,000 or more, going by dealer quotes; the warranty is limited lifetime
- Stannah Siena 260: 300 lb on its own, or 352 lb if you add the heavy-duty version. Installed from $10,800
- Harmar Helix: 350 lb. Starts at $10,995 at one dealer, with the price set by your staircase
- Handicare Freecurve: 275 lb. $9,999 at one dealer
- Acorn 180: 265 lb. Fitted, it runs roughly $8,000 to $15,000 or more, per reviewer estimates
Four of these, the Bruno Elite Curved, the Stannah Siena 260, the Harmar Helix, and the Handicare Freecurve, need a staircase at least 30 in wide. The Acorn 180 manages stairs as narrow as 27.5 in.
What a Bariatric Stair Lift Costs
At one dealer, the 600 lb Harmar Pinnacle SL600HD costs $7,505 for the lift, plus $725 to install. The 400 lb Bruno Elite costs $4,999 for just the lift at one dealer, and installation is billed on top. For a 400 lb curved option, the Bruno Elite Curved comes to $12,000 to $25,000 or more once it's installed.
As a point of reference, the National Council on Aging lists these installed prices for stair lifts overall:
| Kind of lift | Price with install |
|---|---|
| New straight staircase | $2,500 to $5,000 |
| New curved staircase | $8,000 to $12,000 |
| Secondhand, straight | $1,500 to $3,000 |
With straight stairs, the price climbs a little as the staircase gets longer. Our cost tool uses a standard rail length of 15.5 ft for these general estimates; they are not quotes for heavy-duty models. Any rail beyond that costs extra.
| Steps going straight up | Rail length | Price installed, new lift |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Will Your Stairs Be Wide Enough?
A heavy-duty lift needs space, so the width of your stairs decides what will fit. Almost all the straight lifts we compared require stairs 28 in wide or wider. At 28 in, all 11 straight lifts should fit, but of the curved lifts only the Acorn 180 does; the rest need 30 in.
At 26 in, only one straight model will work: the Acorn 130, which offers a 350 lb heavy-duty version too. None of the curved lifts we checked works on stairs that narrow.