GetSafe vs. Bay Alarm Medical

Bay Alarm Medical owns the GetSafe brand, so perhaps it’s no surprise that they share some policies and even sell the same mobile GPS device. Other than that, these medical alert systems are very different: Bay Alarm Medical offers a traditional medical alert experience with a pendant and base unit, whereas GetSafe’s voice-activated equipment caters to people who don’t want to wear a help button.

After testing both medical alert systems, we think Bay Alarm Medical is the best choice overall, even though GetSafe is better for couples and large homes. Both are among the most affordable medical alert systems on the market, but Bay Alarm Medical is cheaper if you want only a mobile alert.

Of these two medical alert companies, only Bay Alarm Medical offers an in-home fall detection pendant. If there’s a chance you could pass out and fall, this is an important device to wear because it calls for help automatically. GetSafe doesn’t sell this accessory.

Read our Bay Alarm Medical review to learn more.

With GetSafe, you can add as many extra wall buttons (both standard and voice-activated) as you want without increasing the monthly monitoring rate. This makes it affordable to put a help button in every room of your home and for anyone—such as your spouse—to get help when needed.

Read our GetSafe review to learn more.

Bay Alarm Medical owns the GetSafe brand, so it’s no surprise that some of their policies and attributes are identical:

• 30-day free trial
• No contract
• Free spouse coverage
• Paid lifetime warranty
• No activation or installation fees
• No free pendant battery replacements
• TMA Five Diamond-certified monitoring center

GetSafe and Bay Alarm Medical sell identical mobile GPS devices and use the same caregiver app. Here are more equipment similarities:

• Cellular connection via AT&T 4G network
• 32-hour backup battery
• Wearable pendant button
• Standard wall buttons
• Vial of Life
• Lockbox

• Compare packages
• Best mobile-only price: Bay Alarm Medical
• Best testing performance: Bay Alarm Medical
• Best home coverage: GetSafe 
• Best fall detection: Bay Alarm Medical 
• A quick look at aesthetic differences

GetSafe’s flat-rate monthly monitoring fee is completely unique among medical alert companies. As long as you can afford to pay for the equipment up front, you’ll enjoy affordable monitoring for less than $28 per month. Best of all, that price stays the same no matter how much extra in-home equipment you pile onto your order.

On the other hand, if you’d prefer to lease your medical alert system for free and pay a higher monthly price, go with Bay Alarm Medical.

We tested Bay Alarm Medical’s In-Home Premium package and GetSafe’s Starter package to find out which one is easiest to use. Bay Alarm Medical gets our vote for this category thanks to better audio quality and easier range tests.

GetSafe’s poor audio quality made it difficult to hear the monitor during our test calls. We had trouble canceling calls, even though it should be as simple as pressing the “Reset” button on the base station. We also accidentally set off a call when conducting a signal range test with the GetSafe accessories.

Setting up and testing Bay Alarm Medical’s system was a breeze in comparison.

That said, GetSafe did have the fastest answer times during our test calls, averaging less than 30 seconds. In comparison, Bay Alarm Medical averaged a little less than 90 seconds.  It may be worth struggling a bit with installation—or reviewing GetSafe’s instructional videos—in order to get help a full minute faster during an emergency.

GetSafe’s equipment works up to 1,300 feet from the base unit, whereas Bay Alarm’s has a smaller range of 800–1,000 feet. You really only need to worry about a long signal range if you live in a multi-level home or enjoy sitting out in the yard.

We also like GetSafe for larger homes because you can add up to 16 wall buttons to the system. Bay Alarm Medical lets you buy up to four.

Plus, if you say, “Call 911, call 911” to get help through GetSafe’s voice-activated buttons, you’ll talk to the monitoring center through that button’s speaker. Otherwise, you’d have to shout to be heard through the base unit if it’s far away.

Bay Alarm wins this category by default since GetSafe doesn’t offer an in-home fall detection option. The only way to get automatic fall detection through GetSafe is to purchase the mobile help button and pay for the fall detection upgrade.

It’s important to find a medical alert system that gives you confidence whenever you wear the pendant or see the buttons around your home, so don’t forget to consider how a system looks.

Note that Bay Alarm Medical updated its equipment line after we had a chance to test it and take photos. Visit Bay Alarm Medical's website to see the new designs.

We like Bay Alarm Medical’s Bella Charms, which snap over the help button and turn it into a chic fashion statement. The GetSafe pendant doesn’t look too bad on its own, but you might find yourself hiding it under your shirt, making it harder to reach during an emergency.

The standard wall buttons also have a different appearance. Both are about the size of a bar of soap, but the GetSafe button is bulkier. It’s mostly white with an inch-long red button, which is recessed to prevent false alarms if you accidentally bump into it.

In contrast, the entire surface of the red Bay Alarm Medical wall button can be pressed, and it’s not recessed. Bay Alarm’s button is also thinner and features the word HELP written in large letters. It’s the better choice if you have vision impairments since the red area is so much larger, providing good contrast against any background.

Bay Alarm’s wall button also has two nail slots on the back, whereas GetSafe’s button is installed with sticky tape.

Bay Alarm Medical triumphs over GetSafe thanks to more options like its landline system, in-home fall detection pendant, jewelry covers, and standalone mobile GPS device. Although you’re limited to four wall buttons, that’s plenty for the average-size home—especially if you commit to wearing the pendant.

That said, choose GetSafe if you need to prioritize long-term affordability, have a large home, or don’t want to wear a help button.

Still undecided? Read our full Bay Alarm Medical and GetSafe reviews to learn more.

To prep for our review of GetSafe versus Bay Alarm Medical, we tested systems from each company. We evaluated how easy it was to set up and use each piece of equipment and timed how long it took the monitoring center to answer. We also compared both medical alert companies across 36 objective criteria.

Learn more on the SafeWise methodology page.

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