Rent a stair lift or use a portable stair climber
- Rental per month
- $300 to $500
- Three months
- $900 to $1,500
Renting a stair lift through a dealer generally runs $300 to $500 each month, or $900 to $1,500 if you take it for a full three months. There may also be a deposit and an installation fee, so the monthly figure alone may not cover everything you pay. The alternative is a portable stair climber. That is a chair an assistant guides up and down the stairs, and nothing gets attached to your home.
- Monthly rental: $300 to $500
- Three-month rental: $900 to $1,500
- Lowest monthly rate we came across: starting at $125, installation extra
- One portable option, the Mobile Stairlift LITE, costs $3,199.99 to buy.
What dealers charge to rent a stair lift
The National Council on Aging says many dealers charge $300 to $500 a month to rent a standard stair lift, or $900 to $1,500 for three months. That same guide mentions that a deposit and installation may be billed separately. Ask for both figures in writing before you sign anything.
Some dealers ask for less. MobilityWorks advertises stair lift rentals from $125 a month, with installation charged on top.
A rental still has to suit your staircase. Straight lifts mostly call for stairs at least 28 inches wide. On a 26-inch staircase, just one of the 11 straight lifts in our comparison fits. At 28 inches, 11 of those 12 work.
Stair chair lift rental versus buying: how do the costs compare?
Renting can make sense for a short-term need. When the need will go on longer, buying a used or new lift can work out cheaper. The rental and fitted-lift purchase prices below come from the National Council on Aging, and the portable stair climber price is the listed purchase price for the Mobile Stairlift LITE.
| Option | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Standard lift rental, one month | $300 to $500 |
| Standard lift rental, three months | $900 to $1,500 |
| Used straight lift, bought and installed | $1,500 to $3,000 |
| New straight lift, bought and installed | $2,500 to $5,000 |
| New curved lift, bought and installed | $8,000 to $12,000 |
| Mobile Stairlift LITE (portable), bought outright | $3,199.99 |
If you're thinking of buying rather than renting, a long staircase costs a bit more. With 20 straight steps, for example, the extra rail adds about $600.
Portable chair lifts for stairs: what is a stair climber?
A portable stair climber works as a chair on tracks, powered by a battery. As MobilityWorks explains, a helper guides it up and down while the rider stays seated. Nothing is fixed to your staircase or walls, and that means no rail needs installing.
Unlike a fitted lift, this chair cannot be operated by the rider alone. Each trip needs someone else there to do the steering.
The Genesis Mobile Stairlift
One such model sold by MobilityWorks is the Genesis Mobile Stairlift. At the top there is a padded handle with the controls, for whoever is steering. The part that sits on the stairs has an anti-slip track system.
Using a portable stair climber safely
MobilityWorks recommends that operators be trained before they start. It is also a good idea to make a few empty runs down the stairs, with nobody seated, before taking a passenger.
A portable stair climber needs a trained helper for every trip, so consider whether someone will be available whenever you need to use the stairs.
How much weight can each type carry?
The Mobile Stairlift LITE sells for $3,199.99 and is built for straight stairs. The chair weighs 44 pounds on its own, which matters if the helper will sometimes need to lift or carry it between floors. It takes riders up to 250 pounds.
Fitted lifts tend to handle more weight. Looking at the 16 fitted models we compared, the median weight limit comes to 350 pounds. At the bottom end it is 265 pounds, and at the top it reaches 600 pounds.
| Model | Maximum rider weight |
|---|---|
| Mobile Stairlift LITE (portable) | 250 lb |
| Fitted lift with the lowest limit | 265 lb |
| Fitted lift in the middle | 350 lb |
| Fitted lift rated for the heaviest rider | 600 lb |
Which suits you: a fitted lift or a portable climber?
The right choice mostly comes down to two things: whether someone will always be there to help, and how long you expect to need it.
- Rented fitted lift: check whether the model fits your stairs and whether installation and a deposit cost extra.
- Portable stair climber: there is nothing to install, but a trained helper has to steer every trip, and the LITE model tops out at 250 pounds for riders.
- If you buy: a used straight model comes to roughly $1,500 to $3,000 installed, which can cost less than several months of rental.