RescueTouch vs. GreatCall Lively Mobile

Date Updated: July 28, 2025

Written by:

Rachel Lustbader

Rachel Lustbader is a writer and editor with a background in healthcare and technology. Her work has been published on websites including HealthCare.com, BiteSizeBio.com, BetterHelp.com, Caring.com, and PayingforSeniorCare.com. She studied health science and public health at Boston University.

Both of Rachel’s grandmothers had very positive experiences in senior living communities, and Rachel saw firsthand the impact that kind, committed caregivers and community managers can have on seniors’ and their family members’ lives. With her work at Caring, Rachel hopes to help other families find communities, caregivers, and at-home products that benefit elderly loved ones and make life less stressful for family caregivers

Medical alert devices are mainstream safety devices for seniors. Advances in fall detection technology along with GPS tracking and innovative two-way voice connections are now built into small electronic devices, comfortably worn or carried all day. They reduce stress for seniors and their families who know help is available at the press of a button.

With many companies providing a broad range of emergency response devices and monitoring plans it can be difficult to sort through them all to make the best choice. GreatCall and RescueTouch are two companies with a strong presence in the medical alert systems market and both have produced a portable cellular medical alert device. This guide provides a side-by-side comparison of these two devices and their associated plans.

GreatCall Lively Mobile Plus Overview

Great Call was founded in 2005 by Arlene Harris and is headquartered in San Diego, California. The company produces several devices with medical alert capabilities. Their Lively Mobile device was released at the end of 2016 and was replaced with the Lively Mobile Plus device in April 2019.

The new model has improved functions and is supported by three plans: Basic, Preferred and Ultimate.

Pros of Great Lively Mobile Plus

U.S.-based company with extensive experience in cellular technologies
The device has GPS with Wi-Fi positioning system
Device can be worn in a variety of ways — belt, lanyard and wrist
Friends and family can be alerted when a 911 call has been made
Support for over 100 languages
No lock-in contracts – plans are month by month
Urgent response service provides 24/7 direct connection to nurse or doctor
Prescriptions can be obtained using the Lively Mobile Plus
GreatCall Link app lets caregivers monitor activity of the wearer via their mobile phones

Cons of Great Lively Mobile Plus

Up-front purchase cost of device at $49 plus $35 activation fee
Fall detection is only included in the highest premium plan

RescueTouch Overview

Scott Lepper’s background as an emergency medical technician led him to develop a way to improve responses to medical emergencies and incidents. In 2014 he founded RescueTouch, producing an innovative mobile device aimed at the seniors’ market.

The RescueTouch device provides greater versatility than traditional monitoring center models. Up to five contacts can be set to respond when the wearer presses the emergency alert button on the device. These contacts can be friends, family or any other desired emergency contact person or a 911 call center.

The medical alert device is supported by two broad service streams – family monitoring or professional monitoring. Six plans are available covering basic to advanced services.

Pros of RescueTouch

U.S.-based company with headquarters in Florida
Five contacts can be set for assistance with medical emergencies or other incidents
Choice of family monitoring or professional monitoring center
Two-way voice connection and family text alerts
Water-resistant and can be worn in shower
Available in four different colors
Unlimited cellular range
Plans start at $19 for basic services up to $64 for an extensive service range
Lifetime price lock-in
No penalties for canceling plans at any time

Cons of RescueTouch

Basic level plans don’t include fall detection
Device purchase costs from $99 – $178

Pricing Comparison

Overall, monthly plans for GreatCall Lively Mobile Plus are lower than RescueTouch. They start at $24.99 for basic services up to $39.99 for advanced services including fall detection. They have an initial start-up cost of $84 for purchase of the device and activation. For only $5 extra per month over the basic plan, features for urgent response and mobile apps appear to be great value for the money. AARP members can get a discount of $60 per year if they purchase the Preferred or Ultimate plans.

By comparison, the most basic package by RescueTouch starts lower than GreatCall at only $19 per month, with an upfront cost of $99 per device. The most expensive packages include a feature called Chit Chat which raises the cost to $54 or $64 per month depending upon whether the plan is for monitoring by family or a call center. However, this allows for two people to be monitored under the one plan—a great option for couples. RescueTouch gives discounts for prepaying plans quarterly and annually with savings of 9% and 17% respectively. They provide additional discounts for AARP members, nurses, first responders and veterans.

Our Pick

The strong similarities between the products of these two companies make it difficult to recommend one over the other. They are evenly matched with their all-inclusive monthly plans. RescueTouch provides a complete range of services for $29 to $39 per month while GreatCall prices the Lively Mobile Plus at $39.99 for the full range of services.

Where RescueTouch appears to come out ahead is with the Chit Chat feature that provides monitoring for couples. This appears to be more cost-efficient than buying two plans with GreatCall. On the other hand, the GreatCall urgent response service with direct connection to nurses and doctors is an extremely useful feature, and RescueTouch does not offer an equivalent feature.

Deciding between the two medical alert systems depends on which features better match the exact medical circumstances of the device wearer and makes their families comfortable with the level of service provided.

Compare More Medical Alert Systems

Click on the links below to read about Medical Alert system comparisons.