Stairlift Brands We Install & Review (2026)

Every number below comes from manufacturer specifications and our own installation records. Noise levels are measured at the rider's ear at full speed on a standard 14-step straight rail. Prices are fully installed — equipment, rail, labor, and rider training included.

Rail warranty is lifetime on all five name brands — Bruno, Harmar, Stannah, Handicare, and Acorn. If a quote does not include a lifetime rail warranty, the unit is either a marketplace import or a relabel. For methodology, see our brand selection guide.

Two brands manufacture stairlifts in the United States: Bruno (Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, since 1984) and Harmar (Sarasota, Florida). Three brands manufacture in the UK or Canada: Stannah (Andover, England), Handicare/Savaria (UK and Canada), and Acorn (East Yorkshire, England). AmeriGlide is a reseller that rebadges units from various OEM factories — sometimes Bruno, sometimes Handicare, sometimes a Chinese OEM depending on the product line and model year.

Overseas manufacturing is not automatically a problem. Stannah has 750,000+ units in the field and routinely hits 20-year service life. Handicare is the quietest unit on the US market. Acorn is the lowest-cost legitimate brand available. The trade-off in every case is parts delivery speed: 7–14 days from the UK vs. 3–5 days from Wisconsin or Florida. That gap is invisible until something breaks — and when something breaks, the rider cannot use the stairs.

Bruno — Oconomowoc, Wisconsin

Bruno Independent Living Aids was founded in 1984 by Vietnam veteran Michael R. Bruno at 1780 Executive Drive in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. Every unit they sell was engineered and assembled in that building. No imports. No relabeling.

Bruno is our most-installed brand. The Elan SRE-3000 is the mid-range workhorse — what we quote for a straight staircase when the buyer wants the best combination of value and warranty. The Elite SRE-2010 adds a quieter motor, softer start/stop, and a more finished seat. The CRE-2110 curved is the industry benchmark for custom curved rails — clean tracking through 90-degree and 180-degree turns without jointed sections. The bariatric line goes to 600 lb capacity, a threshold most brands do not reach.

Harmar — Sarasota, Florida

Harmar Mobility manufactures in Sarasota, Florida, and their product line reflects the geography. Marine-grade powder coating over galvanized steel, sealed motor housings, UV-stabilized seat covers, and batteries rated for wider temperature swings than any other brand in the residential market. Their batteries can power up to 60 full rides on a single charge — three to four times the reserve of a standard unit. In hurricane country, that is a genuine safety margin.

The Pinnacle SL600 at 600 lb capacity is the unit to call when no other brand reaches the rider's weight requirement. It is one of the few true 600 lb residential stairlifts sold in the US. Harmar's dealer network is strongest in the Southeast and Gulf states — the same territory where outdoor expertise matters most.

Three major brands manufacture in the UK or Canada. All three are legitimate engineering operations with long track records. The consistent trade-off: parts take 5–14 days to reach a US installer instead of 3–5.

Stannah — Andover, England

Stannah has manufactured stairlifts at their factory in Andover, Hampshire, since the mid-1970s. The company itself dates to 1867. They have produced over 750,000 units globally — a real track record, not a marketing claim. The Siena 160 (straight) and Siena 260 (curved) are their US residential models. Stannah units routinely hit 20+ years of service life with basic maintenance. The 10-year extended warranty on the motor and gearbox is the longest in the residential market.

The premium over Bruno runs 15–25% on a straight install ($800–$1,200 more) and $1,500–$3,000 more on a curved install. For a buyer who plans to stay in the home for 20 years, the math often works. For a buyer selling in five to seven years, the resale value of a Stannah vs. a Bruno is roughly the same, and the premium does not come back.

Handicare / Savaria — UK and Canada

Handicare was a British-Dutch manufacturer, now owned by Savaria Corporation of Canada. Their US models are the 1000 (straight) and the Freecurve (curved). Build quality matches Bruno across every measurable specification. The differentiator is noise: Handicare runs approximately 50 dB — 3 dB quieter than Bruno at the rider's ear. Decibels are logarithmic; 3 dB is roughly a 50% reduction in perceived loudness. If the stairlift is near a bedroom or either a rider or household member is a light sleeper, Handicare is the rational pick.

The trade-off is parts delivery: 7–10 business days through Savaria's North American distribution vs. Bruno's 3–5. That gap is invisible until something breaks — and then it matters, because the rider cannot use the stairs while waiting.

Acorn — East Yorkshire, England

Acorn is a direct-to-consumer brand — they do not sell through independent dealers. Acorn's own crews handle every sale, installation, and service call. The Acorn 130 straight sits at $2,500–$3,200 installed, the lowest price of any name-brand stairlift in the US market. It does what a stairlift is supposed to do: carries 300 lb, runs on DC battery backup, mounts to the stair treads. It works.

The trade-offs are real. Warranty is 2 years, not 5. The motor runs at roughly 60 dB — about 7 dB louder than Stannah or Handicare, which is a clearly perceptible difference. Ride smoothness on start and stop is below mid-tier brands. In smaller markets and rural areas, service availability depends entirely on whether Acorn has crew coverage in that territory — and in many areas they do not.

AmeriGlide sells stairlifts under their own model names — "Rubex HD," "Rave 2," and others — but does not manufacture any of them. The units are rebadged hardware from other factories. Sometimes the unit is a Bruno. Sometimes a Handicare. Sometimes a Chinese OEM. The answer changes by product line and model year.

We do not install AmeriGlide units. Not because the hardware is necessarily bad, but because our warranty commitment to the homeowner requires us to know exactly which factory made the drive mechanism and which company will ship the replacement part in year six. AmeriGlide cannot consistently answer that question.

Each comparison below puts two brands side-by-side on warranty, parts speed, noise, price, and what each brand does better than the other. No filler — every comparison picks a winner for each use case.

Unbranded Chinese-import stairlifts have flooded online marketplaces in the last three years. The pitch is $1,500–$1,800 delivered, "fits any staircase," DIY install. We have personally removed three of these from homes in the past 12 months. All three failed within 14 months of installation. All three had no domestic parts supply. None of the warranties were honored — because the sellers either disappeared from the marketplace or stopped responding to warranty claims.

The second category to avoid: "modular curved" or "flexirail" systems — jointed rails assembled from straight sections with flexible couplings at turns. They do not track cleanly. They develop squeaks and vibration within 6–12 months. No name-brand manufacturer sells them. They exist solely to avoid the cost of custom curved-rail fabrication, and the money saved on the rail comes back as service calls and eventual replacement.

If reading six brand profiles is more than you want right now, answer four questions. They narrow the decision in under three minutes.

1. Does the rider weigh over 350 lb? — Harmar Pinnacle SL600. 600 lb capacity, no real competitor at this tier.
2. Is the staircase outdoor, coastal, or in hurricane country? — Harmar for outdoor straight. Bruno SRE-2010E for outdoor curved.
3. Is noise the top concern? (bedroom adjacent, nighttime use, light sleepers) — Handicare or Stannah. Both run at ~50 dB.
4. Budget under $3,200 with no funding available? — Acorn 130. Otherwise — Bruno: best combination of warranty, parts speed, dealer coverage, and value for most buyers.

For the full five-factor decision framework with decision flow, match-your-situation matrix, and red-flag shopping checklist, read our how to choose a stairlift brand guide. For ranked recommendations across our 2026 installs, see best stairlifts of 2026.