Where to buy a stair lift

Whichever route you pick decides who measures your stairs, who does the installation, and who you go to for warranty service.

• The manufacturer directly. Stannah sells, fits and looks after its own lifts throughout the US. Acorn gives you a quote after a home visit.
• A local dealer. You buy brands like Bruno, Harmar, Savaria and Handicare through dealers. For Savaria and Handicare, the parts warranty is handled by the dealer you buy from.
• Online. AmeriGlide sells the Rave 2 through its website, and you can fit it yourself or bring in a fitter.

Of the 16 models we compare, only one is sold with a published online price you can order and install without a dealer: the AmeriGlide Rave 2, at $2,249 before shipping.

The Rave 2 takes riders up to 350 lb and needs stairs no narrower than 28 inches. The warranty covers the drive train and parts for two years, though the batteries are covered for just 30 days.

Order online and the lift is shipped to you, but somebody still has to fit it to your staircase. The rail is the metal strip fixed to the stair treads that the seat travels along. With a straight staircase, the rail must be cut to the right length for your step count.

Dealers or manufacturers price and install the other models we compare. With those, the seller normally measures your stairs, and many dealers look after the warranty too.

Here are the straight models we compare, priced as published by the manufacturer or by a single dealer. "Lift only" means you pay extra for installation.

Model	Price	Fitting included?	Maximum load
AmeriGlide Rave 2	$2,249	No, DIY or hire a fitter	350 lb
Acorn 130	$3,000–$5,000 (reviewer estimate)	Yes	280 lb
Bruno Elan	starting at $3,000	Not included	300 lb
Handicare 1100	$3,299	No	310 lb
Handicare 1000	$3,490, 16 ft rail included	No	350 lb
Harmar Pinnacle SL300	$3,640 + $725 to fit	No	300 lb
Savaria K2	$3,790 + $345–$445 to fit	Not included	350 lb
Harmar Pinnacle SL600	$4,655 + $725 to fit	No	350 lb
Stannah Siena 600	starting at $4,700	Included	350 lb
Bruno Elite	$4,999	Not included	400 lb
Harmar Pinnacle SL600HD	$7,505 + $725 to fit	No	600 lb

Most of the lifts we compare carry riders up to about 350 lb, though limits range from 265 lb to 600 lb. A few offer a heavy-duty version, a sturdier build for a heavier user. The Acorn 130 reaches 350 lb in this way, and the Handicare 1000 manages 440 lb.

With a curved lift, the rail is built to match your stairs, so the final price is only set once your stairs have been measured.

Model	Price	Weight limit	Minimum stair width
Acorn 180	$8,000 to $15,000+ fitted (reviewer estimate)	265 lb	27.5 in
Handicare Freecurve	$9,999 at one dealer we checked	275 lb	30 in
Stannah Siena 260	from $10,800, fitted	300 lb (352 lb with the heavy-duty option)	30 in
Harmar Helix	$10,995 upward, quoted by a single dealer	350 lb	30 in
Bruno Elite Curved	$12,000–$25,000 or more, fitted	400 lb	30 in

All five of these curved lifts work on stairs 30 inches wide or more. Between 27.5 and 30 inches, only the Acorn 180 will fit.

Plenty of lifts ship with a standard rail of roughly 15.5 feet, known as the stock rail. Extra rail is needed for a longer staircase, and that pushes the cost up.

With 20 steps, the extra eight feet of rail adds about $600.

Installation charges can also vary with your step count. Here is what one dealer charges for the Savaria K2:

Measure your stair width before you start shopping and you will save yourself time, since it rules out some lifts right away. On stairs 26 inches wide, the Acorn 130 is the only model that fits. With 28-inch stairs, all 11 straight lifts we compare should fit.

On a narrow staircase, how far the lift protrudes when folded also matters. Folded, the Harmar Pinnacle SL600 sticks out just 10.5 inches. The Harmar SL600HD and the Handicare Freecurve need 16.5 inches each when folded.

Warranties differ quite a bit between models, so weigh them against the price as well.

Model	Warranty
Bruno Elan, Bruno Elite Curved	Lifetime cover (limited)
Harmar Pinnacle SL600	Motor for life; gear rack 10 years; battery 1 year
Stannah Siena 600 & 260	Lifetime motor gearbox; 1 year parts and labor
Savaria K2	36 months on parts, via your dealer
Harmar Pinnacle SL600HD	3 years parts; gear rack 10 years; battery 1 year
Harmar Pinnacle SL300	2 years parts; gear rack 10 years; battery 1 year
Harmar Helix	2 years parts; drive system covered for life (limited)
AmeriGlide Rave 2	Drive train and parts 2 years; batteries 30 days
Handicare 1000, 1100 & Freecurve	24 months on parts, via your dealer
Acorn 130 & 180	12 months

The gear rack, that toothed strip on the rail, is what the motor grips to move the lift.

Second-hand straight lifts usually change hands for $1,500 to $3,000 fitted, and that is the buyer's side of the deal. What a seller receives for an old lift is not part of the figures we use.

A used lift has to suit the stairs it moves to. You could ask the seller or installer whether a used straight lift suits your stairs. Curved rails, though, are made for one particular set of stairs.

Our step-count prices start from the $2,500–$5,000 fitted range for new straight lifts. We estimate rail length from the step count. Each foot of rail past the 15.5 ft stock rail adds about $75 to both ends of the range.

The fit results check your stair width against the narrowest stairs each manufacturer lists for its model.