Best Bed Rails for Seniors

Seniors are more likely to experience falls in their bedrooms than any other place in the home.¹ Bed rails prevent your loved one from falling out of bed—whether they roll off the mattress or lose their balance when sitting or standing.

Our overall favorite is the Stander EZ Adjust Bed Rail. It’s adjustable, sturdy, and can fold out of the way in a breeze. Plus, it comes with a mesh bumper to prevent serious entrapment injuries.

Other bed rails on our list work with different mattress heights compared to the EZ Adjust Bed Rail. Proper mattress fit is essential for bed rail safety—but we’ll explain all of that below.

You don’t need any tools to install the Stander EZ Adjust Bed Rail. While we wish it had legs for even more stability, the anchor strap does a good job of locking this bed rail into place.

This option fits stationary bed frames and works best with mattresses 12 to 17 inches thick.

On the downside, this bed rail doesn’t work well for people at risk of falling out of bed. It’s only 17 inches wide and can’t be adjusted.

The Stander Bed Rail Advantage Traveler works best on mattresses 10 to 16 inches thick.

We’re not fans of the two-toned look since it seems like something you’d expect in a hospital—not something that boosts morale when you see it every day in your home. It also doesn’t fold down or easily scoot out of the way when it’s time to change the sheets.

On the plus side, the Vaunn Medical Adjustable Bed Assist Rail works with all stationary bed frames. It has an adjustable depth of 36 to 45 inches and fits twin- to king-sized mattresses. The height adjusts from 31 to 37.5 inches, but there’s no way to extend or shorten the length of its 20-inch handle.

This bed rail works best with mattresses 7 to 11 inches thick.

The Stander Mobility Rail is 19 inches long. It doesn’t adjust any longer than that, so it may not provide enough protection for people at risk of falling out of bed.

This bed rail works best with mattresses 8 to 18 inches thick.

You get about one inch of wiggle room in the height of this bed rail. Nothing else is adjustable. The handle is just over 20 inches wide and the base sits 26 inches under the mattress.

It’s called the Click-N-Go because you can remove the handle with the push of a button, giving caregivers easy access to your loved one for therapy, treatments, or grooming.

This bed rail works best with mattresses 8 to 14 inches thick.

The Stander Prime Bed Rail supports up to 400 lb. and folds out of the way for easy caregiving or sheet changes. Neither the height nor the length is adjustable. It comes with an anchor strap and works best with mattresses 6 to 15 inches thick.

The Able Life Bedside Mighty Rail doesn’t fold up like the Stander Bed Rail Advantage Traveler. Instead, you’ll need to snap a few pieces together. In exchange for having to do a little extra work, you’ll enjoy how it only weighs 1.5 lb. It supports 300 lb. and works best with mattresses 8 to 16 inches thick.

The Lunderg Bed Rail offers a design with nighttime bathroom breaks in mind. It features a rechargeable motion-activated light to guide you to and from the bed, and the handle has a glow-in-the-dark tag to help you find it when you first wake up. However, the rail isn’t adjustable, and users consistently complain that it’s not as sturdy as expected.

The Medokare Bed Rails for Elderly Adults feature a wide base that straps to bed slats. It doesn’t work with any other type of bed frame and has a lower weight capacity than our top picks.

The Medical King Bed Assist Rail is an ultra-affordable option that advertises a 350-pound weight capacity. But with multiple reviewers reporting that theirs broke or was difficult to put together, we chalk this one up to “you get what you pay for.”

The Stander EZ Adjust Bed Rail should do the trick for most people. Its adjustable length allows it to serve as a fall-prevention device in two ways: when rolling over and when getting in and out of bed. We also love that it folds out of the way when it’s not needed.

Here’s a quick summary of which bed rails we suggest for special circumstances:

• Stander Bed Rail Advantage Traveler: a convenient and portable bed rail that’s easy to pack in your suitcase.
• Vaunn Medical Adjustable Bed Assist Rail: a sturdy model that’s more affordable than our other top picks.
• Stander Mobility Rail: features a unique swing-out handle for extra support during sit/stand transitions.
• Able Life Click-N-Go Bed Handle: the best option for adjustable mattresses like Sleep Number.

We looked for bed rails that supported at least 300 lb., fit twin- to king-sized mattresses, worked with most stationary bed frames, and included an anchor strap for the best fit. We also looked for bed rails that could accommodate a variety of situations with unique designs or adjustability.

To understand more about bed rail safety, we talked to Sally Russell MN, CMSRN, CNE, and read bed rail safety recommendations from government agencies like the FDA. To learn more about how we rank and review products, visit our methodology page.

• Room-by-Room Guide to Senior Home Safety
• 10 Ways to Upgrade Your Home for an Older Family Member
• What Is Fall Detection?

1. Antoine Piau, MD, Ph.D., et al., The Journals of Gerontology, "The Five W's of Falls: Weekly Online Health Survey of Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Analysis of 4 Years Prospective Follow-up," May 2020. Accessed January 4, 2023.
2. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “Safety Concerns About Bed Rails,” July 2018. Accessed January 4, 2023.
3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff, Hospital Bed System Dimensional and Assessment Guidance to Reduce Entrapment,” March 2006. Accessed January 4, 2023.