Stairlift Lifetime Cost Calculator

Last reviewed: 14 November 2026. Written by the Stairlift Guru editorial team.

A new straight stairlift bought at the median published price of £1,995 costs roughly £3,180 to £4,160 to own for ten years, once yearly servicing, replacement batteries and electricity are added. That works out at about £6 to £8 a week. The calculator below lets you change the type of lift, the number of years, the aftercare you choose and what happens to the lift at the end, and shows how the total is made up.

Every figure it uses is already published on this site with its source and the date it was collected, and all of them are listed in the table under the calculator. The result is an estimate to help you plan. It is not a quotation, and it does not replace a home survey by a stairlift company.

Work out the cost of owning a stairlift

The figures the calculator uses

The calculator reads its numbers from this table, so what you see here is exactly what it adds up.

How the sum is done

The total is the purchase price, plus aftercare for each year after the warranty ends, plus batteries, plus electricity for every year, plus or minus whatever happens at the end. During the warranty the calculator counts no servicing cost, because many warranties include it. Check that yours does.

Batteries are counted once every five years for the lower figure and once every three years for the higher one, and a replacement that would fall in the final year is not counted. On a full cover plan the lower figure assumes the plan pays for batteries and the higher figure assumes it does not, because plans differ. Call-outs are only added if you enter a number, and never on full cover. We do not publish a breakdown rate, so the calculator does not assume one.

Worked examples

These rows use the same rules as the calculator, with ten trips a day, no call-outs and the lift left in the house at the end.

The warranty lengths in these rows are assumptions for the example. The warranty comparison shows what ten UK brands publish.

How long does a stairlift last?

Age UK Mobility says the average stairlift lasts for around ten years, and that batteries last between three and five years on average. Our stairlift prices guide gives 10 to 15 years with an annual service. That is why the calculator starts at ten years and stops at fifteen. How long your own lift lasts depends on how often it is used, where it is fitted and whether it is serviced, and no company we have read publishes a guaranteed life.

If the lift is only needed for a year or two, owning may not be the cheapest route. Our buy, rent or reconditioned guide compares the three.

What the calculator leaves out

It does not include interest on finance, parts fitted during a paid call-out, or the small amount of electricity the charger uses while the lift is parked, which our running costs guide explains nobody publishes. It does not apply a grant or VAT relief. If either applies to you, type the price you will pay yourself into the price box. The grant checker and the VAT relief calculator can help with that figure. Buy-back amounts are for working straight lifts, and firms usually want newer ones, so read what a used stairlift is worth before relying on that line. A used curved lift is usually worth little, because the rail was made for one staircase.

Frequently asked questions

What does a stairlift cost to own over ten years?

At the median published price of £1,995 for a new straight stairlift, with a two-year warranty and one paid service a year after that, the estimate is £3,183 to £4,163 over ten years. The range comes from published service prices of £125 to £145 and from batteries being replaced between one and three times.

What is the biggest cost after buying a stairlift?

Servicing. One paid service a year costs £125 to £145 at the prices companies publish, while electricity for ten trips a day comes to about £11 a year.

Is a reconditioned stairlift cheaper to own?

The purchase price is lower: a median of £1,550 against £1,995 new. Servicing, batteries and electricity are counted the same way, so the saving is the difference in price, less anything lost through a shorter warranty.

Compare real quotes

The figure that matters most in this sum is the price on your own quote. To see whether a quote is in line with published prices, use the quote checker, and take our questions to ask a stairlift company to the survey.

We don’t sell or fit stairlifts. Quotes go to UK suppliers. Quotes are free. We’re only paid if you buy: the supplier we introduced you to pays us a fee.