5 Best Wheelchair Lifts

Bruno provides wheelchair lifts that meets all the commercial-grade code compliance standards either for your home or perhaps for your church, business, or store.

Bruno makes commercial vertical platform lifts in accordance with ASME A18.1, Section 2, and which can be used in some applications for ANSI A117.1 National Accessibility Guidelines. These lifts also meet Canadian guideline CSA B355. Bruno’s Enclosure Vertical Platform Model is self-contained and requires no hoistway or shaftway. The Enclosure has a full-sized door and window panel inserts for protection, safety, and visibility.

This lift gives you access to 14 feet of vertical rise and has a 750-pound capacity. The Enclosure lift runs on a DC motor with a continuously charging battery. Its weather-protected controls and powder-coated paint allow you to install it outdoors if needed.

The platform controls have an emergency stop switch and an audio/visual alarm, plus a key to activate the lift for additional safety. Prices are not available on the company website.

If you want an outdoor lift and live in a coastal area with high winds or in a state prone to hurricanes, the outdoor elevator by Precision Lift Industries may be your best option to endure those conditions.

If you have steps that lead up to your front or back porch, or from your patio to your porch, you might consider a wheelchair. But you’ll need one foot of ramp for every inch of ramp incline, so that you have the muscle power to wheel your chair up the ramp. If your stairs rise 24 inches, then you’ll need a 24-foot ramp. If your property doesn’t have that much runway space, a porch lift for your wheelchair may be a better option. 

The Outdoor Elevator by Precision Lift Industries is engineered and built to withstand winds of up to 160 miles per hour. The secret behind its extreme weather resistance is the Outdoor Elevator’s welded aluminum design.

The standard model’s weight-lift capacity is 500 pounds, and it runs on standard 110VAC power (an upgraded version can hold 750 pounds). Despite its highly engineered design, it has simple Plug N’ Play wiring for quick installation. The Outdoor Elevator can travel up to three landings, and it's faster than most at 24 feet per minute. Most other lifts average less than 20 feet per minute.

You'll need to speak with a local dealer for a price quote, which will include product, installation, and service costs. Labor costs will vary widely based on the region.

Affordable Wheelchair Lifts is a standout for best value; this smaller, younger, American-made brand is gaining more popularity.

This vertical platform lift works in your garage, inside your home, or completely outdoors for porch and patio access. Starting at around $2,995 plus shipping, the product can be installed by the average handyman, which is a major perk because most other manufacturers recommend a factory-trained installer to install their more complicated units.

Affordable Wheelchair Lifts has an option to ship the unit pre-assembled. This makes the freight cost a little more, but could save you hours of frustration when putting it together and setting it up in your home.

One of the ways Affordable keeps its costs lower is by getting the basic standard model out to you without a lot of optional features embedded in that base price. For an additional upcharge, you can get a battery backup and call buttons.

Affordable’s unit reaches 18 feet and lifts up to 500 pounds of capacity—and even more with some customization. It’s powered with standard household electrical power and ships with a three-prong electrical plug.

One feature the lift does not have is a weight sensor that will disable the motor if there is too much weight on the platform. So you need to be sure you are not exceeding the weight limit when using the lift.

With a standard weight capacity of 750 pounds and the option to customize up to 1,000 pounds of lifting power, Precision Lift Industries' Aspire leads the way if you need a unit strong enough for a bariatric user and/or multiple people at once.

The Aspire from Precision Lift Industries wins best heavy-duty not just because it is strong, but also for its array of features in such a powerful lift. It comes with a weather-resistant, epoxy-coated floor, so it’s durable for outdoor and garage use where snow and rain can be a factor.

Aspire is battery-powered and has an automatic, self-lowering folding ramp, so power outages won’t be a worry. Additional safety features include obstruction detection under the platform, an emergency stop switch, and an emergency alarm.

Options abound. There are over 150 color choices. You can customize the floor dimensions up to 42 by 66 inches. Choose polycarbonate/glass walls instead of solid if you prefer. You can specify an enclosure with a roof. Other available features include an automatic gate operator, an additional grab rail, or lighting in the cab.

The Aspire Vertical Platform Lift prices are not readily available on the company website.

The Titan Residential Incline Platform lift by AmeriGlide mounts on a rail and to the stairs, which means less time and money spent on installation, and the user doesn’t have to get in and out of a chair.

An incline wheelchair lift works similarly to a stairlift. Instead of a chair mounted to a rail that moves the seated user up and down a staircase, a platform big enough to hold the user in their own wheelchair may be a better choice for some. When you don’t have to attach to the wall, the renovation is less expensive and less invasive in your home.

The unit is about $11,995 plus shipping, and that price includes basic installation from AmeriGlide. It has a 550-pound capacity and is battery-powered to avoid electrical outage risks.

The basic model has enough rail to cover 16 feet of stairs, but for an upcharge, you can extend the range to 40 feet. For safety, the unit is powered with constant pressure control, which means the power button must be continuously pressed for the platform to move. There is a wireless control switch that can be used either by the rider or by someone assisting the rider.

The smallest wheelchair platform requires at least a 35-inch wide staircase, but when the platform is parked and folded, it only extends 13 inches from the wall.