Stairlift Models Compared: Capacity, Rail, Width and Lead Time

Most stairlift comparisons online are written to reach a conclusion. This one lists the figures that matter, says where each came from, and marks what we could not confirm.

The four numbers that decide it

Everything else is preference. These four eliminate models.

Rated capacity. A design limit, not a suggestion. Above it the drive and brake work outside what they were tested for.

Folded width. What is left of your staircase when the lift is parked.

Rail type. Straight from stock, or curved and manufactured for your staircase.

Lead time. Hours, or weeks.

What the manufacturers publish

Sources: Bruno and Harmar product pages. Where a figure is not in this table, it is because we could not confirm it from a manufacturer page, and we would rather leave a gap than fill it with a number from a retailer listing.

Folded width

Harmar publishes the Pinnacle SL600 as folding to 10.5 inches and describes it as the narrowest in the industry when folded completely.

Bruno takes a different approach on the Elan, building the rail tall and narrow rather than wide so the lift sits close to the wall. Both are answers to the same problem, and on a tight staircase the practical difference is best judged by measuring rather than by reading.

Our narrow staircase guide covers how to measure your own flight in two minutes.

Lead time

Straight lifts come from stock rail cut to your measurement, which is why a straight install is two to four hours in a single visit.

Harmar publishes 2 to 4 weeks from measurement to installation for a custom curved rail. Bruno’s Elite Curve rail is factory-bent from a photographic survey, and lead times vary by configuration.

Anybody quoting a curved lift in days is describing modular track assembled on site rather than a rail manufactured for your staircase. Our rail types guide explains the difference and why it matters.

Battery operation

All of these run on batteries charged at parking points, so they work in a power cut. Harmar states the SL600HD manages up to 60 trips on batteries during an outage.

The habit that makes this real is parking at a charge point every time, which our outage guide covers.

The drive

Harmar uses a nylon polymer gear rack that requires no grease or lubrication. That is a maintenance fact worth knowing: adding lubricant attracts grit and makes things worse.

On curved rails, gear rack position differs by design. Custom flat rail shields the rack behind a flange; tube rail carries it on the surface.

What the table cannot tell you

How the person transfers. Bruno does not recommend the Elan for somebody who scoot-pivot transfers without bearing weight through their legs, or whose knees buckle during a stand-to-sit, and names the Elite for those situations.

That is clinical guidance from the manufacturer and it eliminates a model faster than any specification. Nothing on a comparison chart replaces it.

Seat dimensions. Capacity and seat width are different numbers. A lift rated for the weight can still have a seat that is uncomfortable or hard to stand from. Ask for width, depth and seat height from the tread.

Who services it. Both manufacturers sell through authorized dealers, which affects parts and warranty regardless of which model you choose.

How to use this

1. Get an honest weight and add headroom rather than specifying to the limit.
2. Measure the narrowest point of your flight and subtract about eleven inches.
3. Establish straight or curved by looking for any turn, including a single wedge-shaped step.
4. Decide your deadline, because that alone may rule out curved.
5. Describe the transfer to whoever is quoting, before they name a model.

Those five steps usually reduce a market of dozens to two or three. Our buying checklist is what to put to a supplier afterward, and our capacity guide explains why headroom matters.

What we will not do

Publish a specification we cannot source. Plenty of comparison pages carry figures that trace back to a retailer listing rather than a manufacturer, and those numbers drift as models change.

If you want a figure that is not here, ask and we will read it off the current spec sheet rather than quote it from memory.

Smaller equipment that needs no comparison chart, rollators, transport chairs, shower seating and threshold ramps, ships free from our online shop.

Options that change the comparison

Two models with identical capacity can be very different machines once the options are in.

Powered swivel turns the seat toward the landing automatically. On a tight top landing this is worth more than almost anything else on the list, and it is the option most often cut to win a quote.

Hinged or folding rail lifts the last section clear of a door at the foot of the stairs. It has to be ordered with the lift; adding it later means new rail and a return visit.

Powered footrest folds with the seat rather than by hand or foot. Small, and it matters for somebody who cannot bend easily.

Extended overrun carries the rail further past the top step so the transfer happens further from the stairs.

Our options guide covers which are worth the money and which are not.

Outdoor versions

Both manufacturers build weather-rated outdoor models, and these differ throughout rather than being an indoor lift with a cover: sealed controls, corrosion-resistant fixings, UV-stable upholstery, drainage designed in.

If a quote offers an indoor model with a cover for outdoor use, that is the wrong equipment. Bruno sets out how the outdoor build differs, and our outdoor guide covers living with one.

The comparison that is not on the chart

Who comes back. Parts availability in ten years, whether the installers are employees, and whether the company services what it sells.

Those decide the experience of owning a stairlift far more than the difference between 350 and 400 lb, and none of them appear in a specification table.

Reading a quote against this page

Take any quote and check it names all four: model, rated capacity, rail type with length, and lead time. Then check it names the seat width and what options are included.

Six items. Most quotes carry two or three, and the missing ones are where the differences between suppliers hide.

If two quotes differ by thousands on the same staircase, the answer is almost always in the rail type, the capacity band, or the options that were left off to reach a number.

If none of these fit

It happens, and it is usually the staircase rather than the person. A tight spiral, open risers with nothing to fix into, or a doorway immediately at the top step.

At that point the answer is a platform lift somewhere else in the house, a ground-floor rearrangement, or occasionally that this house will not work. Our fit guide covers each case and what to do instead.