Compare: personal alarm and Ondira
Personal alarm or check-in app? What really fits your family
A personal alarm helps when someone can call for help. Ondira notices when someone stops checking in. An honest look at what each is good for.
Free version · Plus CHF 3 a month or CHF 30 a year
Two questions that often get mixed up
Look for safety for a parent and you find the personal alarm: a button on the wrist or a pendant that calls a monitoring centre. It answers “I need help now”.
A check-in app like Ondira answers “Has something happened since yesterday?” The person taps once on a normal day. If they miss a check-in, the people close to them find out.
An alarm only works if the button is worn, at night and in the bathroom too, and can still be pressed after a fall, which is why many devices add fall detection. Ondira only works if someone taps every day. Both have limits. Choose the one you can live with.
“The alarm button is in a drawer. But I don’t want to ring her every single day either.”
Personal alarm and Ondira side by side
We mark who comes out ahead in each row, even when it is not Ondira.
| Criterion | Personal alarm | Ondira |
|---|---|---|
| How it worksEqual | Active alarm: press the button, the monitoring centre or contacts respond. | Sign of life: a daily tap; if it is missing, contacts are told. |
| What happens in an emergency | Voice link to a centre that sends family, home care or an ambulance.Advantage | A reminder to the person, then an email to trusted contacts. No centre. |
| Response time | Minutes, as soon as the button is pressed or a fall is detected.Advantage | Hours, depending on the chosen rhythm and deadline. |
| Hardware needed | Base unit and a worn transmitter, or an alarm watch with a SIM card. | Your own smartphone or tablet.Advantage |
| Installation | Device delivered or installed, emergency details recorded. | Download the app, set rhythm and contacts: a few minutes.Advantage |
| Running costs | Monthly subscription including the monitoring centre, with the Red Cross alarm for example CHF 51–64, plus a one-off CHF 120–150 (CHF 200–220 at SRK Zürich for Casa and Mobil together) (SRK Zürich and Croix-Rouge fribourgeoise, as of October 2026). | Free version with no subscription. Ondira Plus CHF 3 a month or CHF 30 a year. No fee for a device or installation.Advantage |
| Reliance on the userEqual | Button must be worn and pressed, unless fall detection is included. | Works even if someone can no longer act, but needs the daily tap. |
| Privacy | The centre holds health and emergency details so it can help. | No health data, no background tracking. Location only if chosen, at check-in.Advantage |
| Range outside the home | Fixed units work at home only; mobile versions also work outside. | Anywhere the phone briefly has internet, including when travelling.Advantage |
| Suitability with dementia | Better suited: with fall detection the device alerts without a button press. With advanced dementia, still discuss it with the GP or Spitex.Advantage | Poorly suited: the daily tap relies on someone remembering it. |
| Suitability for an acute fall | Built for it: call for help in seconds, voice link, dispatch.Advantage | Only notices the fall when the next check-in is missed. |
Sources: srk-zuerich.ch/fuer-sie-da/hilfe-im-alltag/rotkreuz-notruf and croix-rouge-fr.ch/fr/prestations/services-aux-aines/systeme-dalarme-2025/ (checked October 2026). Prices: public price lists of SRK Zürich and Croix-Rouge fribourgeoise, as of October 2026, no guarantee; Ondira: own price list. A personal alarm and Ondira do different things; a price comparison is not a service comparison. Before signing up, check whether set-up fees, minimum terms and call-outs are included.
Our honest verdict
No winner for everyone, only the right fit for a situation.
When a personal alarm is the better choice
- With a higher fall risk, heart or circulation problems, or after a stroke: wherever minutes count.
- When memory is fading: a daily tap can no longer be relied on.
- When someone does not use, or does not want, a smartphone.
- When trained staff in a monitoring centre should decide who comes. In Switzerland, for example, the cantonal Red Cross associations, some Spitex home care organisations and providers recommended by Pro Senectute offer this.
When Ondira fits
- When someone lives alone, manages well and wants to stay independent.
- When an alarm button is turned down or ends up in a drawer.
- When family live far away and want to know daily life goes on, without ringing every day.
- When privacy matters: nothing worn on the body, no live tracking, no health data.
- When someone often travels or goes hiking.
When combining both makes sense
- The alarm covers the acute emergency; Ondira the quiet case where no one could raise the alarm, say when the button was not worn.
- Agree what each message means: an Ondira email asks you to get in touch; it is not an emergency call.
- If someone forgets medication or gets lost at home, neither helps. Then talk to the GP or a care advice service.
What Ondira is not
Not a personal alarm
Ondira does not call a monitoring centre or an ambulance, has no fall detection and no voice link. It does not replace the emergency number 144.
Not tracking
No live location, no background tracking, no camera, no microphone. The app shares location only if chosen, at the moment of check-in.
Not a medical device
Ondira measures and diagnoses nothing, and replaces neither care nor medical support.
Frequently asked questions about personal alarms and Ondira
How much does a personal alarm cost in Switzerland?
It depends on provider, canton and model. With the Red Cross alarm, for example, you pay CHF 51–64 a month plus a one-off CHF 120–150 (CHF 200–220 at SRK Zürich for Casa and Mobil together) (SRK Zürich and Croix-Rouge fribourgeoise, as of October 2026, no guarantee; the providers’ current prices are binding). Our Swiss personal alarm guide lists sources.
Is there a personal alarm without a subscription?
An alarm with a monitoring centre almost always costs monthly, as staff are on duty around the clock. Ondira is not a personal alarm, but it has a free version with no subscription, and Ondira Plus costs CHF 3 a month or CHF 30 a year.
Personal alarm or app: which is better?
With a fall risk, heart problems or dementia, a personal alarm is better. For people who live alone, manage well and do not want to wear a button, a check-in app like Ondira can fit. Some families use both.
Is there an alarm for elderly people without a wrist button?
There are alarm watches and apps. Ondira needs nothing worn: the person taps on their phone in a rhythm they choose. It only reports a missing sign of life and does not replace an emergency call.
Does Ondira have fall detection?
No. No fall detection, no sensors, no monitoring centre. If you need that, choose a personal alarm with fall detection.
Can you use a personal alarm and Ondira together?
Yes. The alarm helps in an acute emergency; Ondira notices a missed check-in, say when the button was not worn. Tell contacts what each message means.
What is a check-in app for older people?
An app in which someone checks in regularly with one tap. If the check-in is still missing after a reminder, their trusted contacts are informed. Ondira sends a calmly worded email saying when the person last checked in.
Read on
For families
How to raise the subject with your parents without patronising them.
For families →Living alone
What actually helps when nobody else is at home.
Living alone safely →Location sharing compared
Live location or check-in: which suits whom.
Location sharing comparison →Check-in apps compared
Which apps exist and how they differ.
Check-in apps comparison →Personal alarms in Switzerland
Providers, costs and funding at a glance, with sources.
Read the guide →
The right kind of safety, not the loudest
If a personal alarm suits you, choose a personal alarm. If a daily sign is enough, set up Ondira together and try it at your own pace.
Setting Ondira up for someone else? Install it together on the phone of the person who checks in.
Free version, no credit card. Plus can be cancelled for the end of the term.
Feedback & news
Want to hear what changes in Ondira? Leave your email address. Feedback and wishes are welcome at support@ondira.app.