Platform lifts · 11 home models checked · 4 November 2026
A platform lift carries a wheelchair or a standing user straight up on an open platform, over steps at a front door or a change of level inside. We read the platform and step lift pages of four UK makers and one seller on 4 November 2026. None of the four makers shows a price. The prices that exist come from sellers and installers.
The short answer
- A home platform lift costs about £6,400 to £25,000 installed. Platform Lift UK, an installer, starts residential step lifts at £6,389 and puts vertical platform lifts at £8,000 to £25,000, depending on height and enclosure. No maker we read shows a price.
- Height decides the type. Step lifts climb up to 500 mm or 1 m, open platform lifts up to 2 m, and the Terry Melody 3 and Gartec UnaPorte up to 3 m in a home. Between full floors you need a platform lift in its own shaft, from £19,000 ex VAT for a Cibes Air.
- A standard wheelchair platform is 800 x 1,400 mm. Wider 1,100 mm platforms are sold for larger powered chairs and scooters.
- All the open models we checked can go outdoors. Ask about weather rating and groundwork; see outdoor platform lifts.
- You pay no VAT if the lift is for a disabled person’s own home, and a Disabled Facilities Grant can pay for it.
Types of platform lift for homes
| Type | What it does | How high | Published price guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Step lift | A small scissor or post lift that replaces a few steps, often at a front or back door. Usually open, with a ramp that folds down. | Up to 500 mm or 1 m | £6,389 to £10,000 installed (Platform Lift UK, 1 to 3 steps) |
| Open vertical platform lift | A larger open platform with side walls and a gate at the top. Used at raised entrances, garden terraces and split levels. | Up to 2 m (3 m for the Gartec UnaPorte at home) | £8,000 to £25,000 installed (Platform Lift UK); from £7,605 supply only (Elevate Echo) |
| Enclosed platform lift | A platform inside its own walls, so no one can reach under it. Can stand outside. | Up to 3 m | £20,000 to £35,000 or more for an enclosed outdoor cabin lift (Platform Lift UK) |
| Platform lift in a shaft | A platform lift certified under EN 81-41 in a self-supporting shaft, sold as a home lift between floors. | Several floors | From £19,000 ex VAT (Cibes Air) |
| Inclined platform stairlift | A folding wheelchair platform that runs on a rail up the stairs. | The length of the staircase | £8,000 to £16,000 installed for a straight staircase (Platform Lift UK) |
Installer figures are from Platform Lift UK’s wheelchair lift cost table and its outdoor cost guide (May 2026). They are guides, not quotes, and do not state a VAT basis. The Cibes Air price is from Cibes’s own page, captured for our price tracker. For lifts between two full floors, see through-floor lifts and wheelchair home lifts.
Which platform lifts reach your height?
Measure from the lower ground to the top step or floor, in millimetres. The model table below then shows only the lifts that climb that far.
11 home platform and step lifts compared
Every figure below was read on the maker’s or seller’s own page on 4 November 2026. Where a page does not give a figure, the table says so.
| Model | Type | Maximum rise | Platform | Load | Time to rise 1 m | Price as published | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSL 500 Terry Lifts | Step lift | 500 mm | 800 mm wide | 250 kg | Not published | Not published | Source ↗ |
| TSL 1000 Terry Lifts | Step lift | 1,000 mm | 800 or 900 mm wide | 250 kg | 17 s | Not published | Source ↗ |
| Melody 1 Terry Lifts | Open platform lift | 1,000 mm | 800 x 1,400 mm | 250 kg | 17 s | Not published | Source ↗ |
| TSL 1100W Terry Lifts | Step lift, extra wide | 1,000 mm | 1,100 mm wide | 385 kg | Not published | Not published | Source ↗ |
| Melody 3 Terry Lifts | Enclosed platform lift | 750 mm to 3 m | 900 x 1,400 or 1,100 x 1,400 mm | 500 kg to 2 m, 440 kg to 3 m | 17 s | Not published | Source ↗ |
| SP500 Wessex Lifts | Step lift | 500 mm | 1,220 x 750 mm | Not published | Not published | Not published | Source ↗ |
| LR800 / LR900 Wessex Lifts | Low-rise platform lift | 1,000 mm | 1,885 x 1,004 or 1,885 x 1,104 mm | 300 kg (400 kg option) | 50 s | Not published | Source ↗ |
| Liberty Open Wessex Lifts | Open platform lift | 2,000 mm | 1,460 x 800 to 1,460 x 1,100 mm | 300 kg | 13 s | Not published | Source ↗ |
| UnaPorte Gartec | Platform step lift | 600 mm to 3 m | 1,100 x 1,400 mm | 385 kg | 7 s | Not published | Source ↗ |
| Echo Elevate (sold by Adapt Life) | Vertical platform lift | 2,000 mm | Not published | 225 kg | Not published | from £7,605, supply only | Source ↗ |
| Echo 100 Elevate (sold by Adapt Life) | Step lift | 1,000 mm | Not published | Not published | Not published | from £8,515, supply only | Source ↗ |
Time to rise 1 m is our arithmetic from the speed each maker publishes (Terry 0.06 m/s, Wessex LR 20 mm/s, Wessex Liberty 80 mm/s, Gartec 0.15 m/s), rounded. Stannah also sells step and platform lifts (the Lowriser and Midilift range) but its platform lift page gives no rise, size or price for them, so they are not in the table.
What the published prices show
- No maker shows a price. None of the four UK makers whose platform and step lift pages we read (Terry, Wessex, Gartec and Stannah) shows a price for any home model. Every figure on this page comes from a seller, a dealer or an installer’s cost guide.
- One dealer shows the same price with and without VAT. Sheen Mobility lists the Elevate Echo vertical platform lift at “£9,000.00 Ex. VAT, £9,000.00 Inc. Vat”. Ask which it is before you compare it with anything else.
- A low guide figure. The trades directory MyJobQuote gives “Step or platform lift” a typical installed cost of £3,000 to £6,000. That is below the lowest installed figure we found from an installer: Platform Lift UK starts its residential step lifts at £6,389.
- Supply-only prices look cheaper than they are. Adapt Life lists the Elevate Echo from £7,605, but its product page says installation and delivery are quoted separately. Compare it with an installed price only after you have both quotes.
- Speed varies sevenfold. On published speeds, a Gartec UnaPorte rises a metre in about 7 seconds, a Terry lift in about 17 and a Wessex LR in about 50. That matters more outdoors in the rain than it does on paper.
Platform sizes, loads and gates
Terry’s standard platform for a wheelchair is 800 x 1,400 mm. For a large powered chair or a scooter, look at 1,100 mm-wide platforms: the Terry TSL 1100W (385 kg), the 1,100 x 1,400 mm option on the Terry Melody 3, and the Gartec UnaPorte (1,100 x 1,400 mm, 385 kg). Platform Lift UK suggests about 800 to 900 mm wide and 1,200 to 1,400 mm deep for a powered wheelchair, and at least 900 x 1,400 mm for a mobility scooter.
Loads run from 225 kg (Elevate Echo) to 500 kg (Terry Melody 3 up to 2 m). Add the weight of the user, the chair and anyone who rides with them.
Higher lifts need a gate at the top. Terry says an upper-level gate is “a requirement for domestic use when lifting height exceeds 290mm”. Ask whether the gate is powered or manual, and which way it opens.
Outdoor and external platform lifts
Most home platform lifts go outside, at a front door with steps or between a house and a garden. Every open platform and step lift in our table is sold for indoor and outdoor use, but the makers protect them in different ways:
- Gartec UnaPorte: rated IP54, with battery-backed travel during power cuts.
- Terry Melody 1: rated to work from minus 10 to plus 40 degrees Celsius, with no dedicated power supply needed.
- Wessex Liberty Open: five-year anti-corrosion warranty.
- Terry Melody 3: enclosed, for indoor or outdoor use up to 3 m.
Costs to add outside, from Platform Lift UK’s outdoor cost guide (May 2026): £500 to £2,000 for groundwork on uneven or soft ground, £500 to £2,000 for a free-standing frame where there is no wall to fix to, and £300 to £1,500 to run a cable if your consumer unit is far away. It puts an outdoor-rated full-rise vertical platform lift at £12,000 to £20,000 installed.
An outdoor lift is a structure outside the house, unlike a lift fitted indoors. Ask your council whether yours needs planning permission before you order, and check our guide to listed buildings, flats and leasehold if any of those apply.
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VAT, grants and running costs
VAT. A lift supplied and installed for a disabled person’s own use is zero-rated. A buyer who does not qualify pays 20% on top, so a lift quoted at £10,000 before VAT costs £12,000. Check which basis a quote uses. Our VAT relief guide explains who qualifies.
Grants. A Disabled Facilities Grant pays up to £30,000 in England, more than the installed guide prices for open platform lifts. The process starts with an occupational therapist’s assessment.
Servicing. Platform Lift UK puts an annual residential service at £150 to £300 a visit and battery replacement at £50 to £200 every three to five years. For how this compares with a home lift, see the servicing guide.
Platform lift, through-floor lift or stairlift?
A platform lift solves a change in level of up to three metres: a few steps outside, a sunken living room or a split level. To get upstairs between two full floors, a through-floor lift goes through a hole in the ceiling instead; the wheelchair home lifts guide compares the models a chair fits. If you can still walk and transfer to a seat, a stairlift costs much less: see stairlift vs home lift.
Platform lifts: questions
How much does a platform lift cost in the UK?
About £6,400 to £25,000 installed. Platform Lift UK, an installer, starts residential step lifts at £6,389 and puts vertical platform lifts at £8,000 to £25,000, depending on height and enclosure. No maker we read shows a price. A platform lift in its own shaft serving two or more floors costs more: Cibes prices the Cibes Air from £19,000 ex VAT.
What is a vertical platform lift?
A vertical platform lift raises a wheelchair, scooter or standing user straight up on a flat platform with a ramp, instead of in a closed lift car. Short-rise versions, often called step lifts, replace a few steps at a front door or between levels. Taller open ones reach two metres (Wessex Liberty Open, Elevate Echo) or three metres (Terry Melody 3, Gartec UnaPorte in homes).
How high can a platform lift go?
Step lifts go up to 500 mm or one metre. Open platform lifts on our list reach two metres, and the Terry Melody 3 and Gartec UnaPorte reach three metres in a home. Terry limits the Melody 3 to two metres for public access. Beyond three metres, or between full floors, you need a platform lift inside its own shaft, such as the Cibes Air or Aritco HomeLift Access.
Can a platform lift be used outdoors?
Yes. Every open platform and step lift we checked is sold for indoor and outdoor use. Gartec rates the UnaPorte IP54, Terry rates its Melody 1 for minus 10 to plus 40 degrees Celsius, and Wessex gives the Liberty Open a five-year anti-corrosion warranty. Budget for groundwork if the ground is soft or uneven: Platform Lift UK puts that at £500 to £2,000.
What size platform does a wheelchair need?
Terry’s standard platform is 800 mm by 1,400 mm, and wider 1,100 mm platforms are sold for larger powered chairs and scooters: the Terry TSL 1100W, the Melody 3 option and the Gartec UnaPorte. Measure your chair or scooter, including footplates, and add room for hands on the wheels before you choose.
Do you pay VAT on a platform lift?
Not if it is for a disabled person’s own use in their home: lifts supplied and installed for a disabled person are zero-rated. A buyer who does not qualify pays 20% on top, so a lift quoted at £10,000 before VAT costs £12,000.
Should I get a platform lift or a through-floor lift?
A platform lift lifts you over a change in level of up to three metres, usually steps at an entrance or a split level inside. A through-floor lift goes through a ceiling opening between two full floors. If you need to get upstairs, compare through-floor and wheelchair home lifts instead.
How we checked this. On 4 November 2026 we read, in a browser, the platform and step lift pages of Terry Lifts, Wessex Lifts, Gartec and Stannah, and the Elevate product pages of Adapt Life, a seller. For each home model we recorded maximum rise, platform size, load, speed, indoor or outdoor use and any price, with its VAT and installation basis. We also read the cost guides of Platform Lift UK and MyJobQuote and the Sheen Mobility price list. Every row has its source link.
What the prices mean. The tables show prices as each company prints them, and say so where a company prints none. Installer cost guides are ranges, not quotes. We did not add VAT or installation to supply-only prices.
Independence. UK Homelifts is an independent guide. No company on this page paid to be included. If you ask for quotes through us, we pass your details to installers.
Related
Types of home lift · Wheelchair home lifts · Home lift prices · Grants · VAT relief · Space needed · Stairlift vs home lift
Compiled by the UK Homelifts research team. Platform lift specifications and prices checked 4 November 2026. We recheck them every quarter.