How we score electric wheelchairs
One formula, 9 criteria, every weight and scale published, with figures read on November 13, 2026.
The principle
Every chair gets one score out of 10. It is a weighted average of 9 criteria, each scored from a figure that the brand, or the seller we link, publishes. We don't run a test lab: nothing in a score comes from our own measurement, and a figure that isn't published scores 2 out of 10, because we can't credit what isn't stated.
A chair is scored only if it has a published price and at least 5 stated criteria. Today 15 chairs are scored; the highest is the Pride Jazzy Carbon at 9.5/10.
The criteria and their weights
| Criterion | Weight |
|---|---|
| Price at the linked seller, against the catalog median (dated) | 20% |
| Weight you actually lift: the chair with its battery out, or its heaviest piece | 20% |
| Getting it in the car: folded bulk, or take-apart, or neither | 10% |
| Range per charge stated by the brand | 10% |
| Rated weight capacity | 10% |
| Turning radius (how tight a hallway it handles) | 10% |
| Warranty: frame years and electronics months | 10% |
| Comfort and controls (suspension, seat width, caregiver control, joystick side) | 5% |
| Return terms of the linked seller | 5% |
The first two criteria carry 40% together, on purpose. Price is what you pay; the weight you lift is what decides whether the chair leaves the house.
The scales
Each figure is turned into a score out of 10 by straight-line interpolation between the anchor points below (figure → score), capped at both ends. The median price of the comparison is $2,695 on November 13, 2026.
| Criterion | What we read | Anchor points |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Price at the linked seller divided by the median price of the comparison | 0.5 → 10 · 0.65 → 9 · 0.8 → 8 · 1 → 7 · 1.2 → 6 · 1.4 → 5 · 1.7 → 4 · 2.2 → 3 |
| Weight you lift | Pounds: the chair with its battery out, or the heaviest piece of a chair that comes apart | 26 → 10 · 28 → 9.7 · 33 → 9 · 36 → 8.5 · 40 → 8 · 43 → 7.5 · 53 → 6.2 · 60 → 5.4 · 80 → 3.5 · 100 → 2 |
| Getting it in the car | Folding chair: folded bulk in cubic feet (5/10 when the folded size is not published). Take-apart chair: 4/10. Full-size chair: 1/10 | 4.5 → 10 · 5 → 9.6 · 6.2 → 8.6 · 7 → 8 · 8 → 7.2 · 10 → 6 |
| Range | Miles per charge stated by the brand, standard battery | 8 → 5 · 9.3 → 5.8 · 10 → 6.2 · 12.4 → 7.2 · 14 → 7.8 · 16 → 8.6 · 20 → 9.5 · 25 → 10 |
| Capacity | Rated rider weight in pounds | 240 → 5 · 253.5 → 5.6 · 275 → 6.5 · 300 → 7.5 · 330 → 8.2 · 400 → 9.2 · 450 → 10 |
| Turning radius | Inches | 22 → 10 · 24 → 9.5 · 25.5 → 9.1 · 28.5 → 8.3 · 30 → 8 · 32 → 7.5 · 33.5 → 7 · 36.5 → 6 · 47 → 3 |
| Warranty | Half on the frame (years; a lifetime warranty counts as 10), half on electronics and motors (months) | Frame: 1 → 4 · 3 → 7 · 5 → 8.5 · 10 → 10. Electronics: 6 → 3 · 12 → 6 · 13 → 6.3 · 24 → 8 · 36 → 9.5 |
| Comfort and controls | 2.5 points each: suspension; a seat of 18 in or more, or a choice of widths; a caregiver control (included 2.5, optional 1.5); a joystick that mounts on either side | Sum of the points, out of 10 |
| Returns | Restocking fee of the linked seller, in percent; a seller that takes no change-of-mind return scores 1/10 | 0 → 10 · 10 → 7 · 20 → 5 · 25 → 4 |
From the weighted average to the score
The nine criteria give a weighted average out of 10. It is then placed on our editorial scale: score = 7.5 + 0.85 × (weighted average − 5.1), kept between 7.5 and 9.6 and rounded to one decimal. This scale spreads the chairs worth considering between "fair" and "excellent" without pretending that any of them is perfect. Labels: Excellent from 9.0, Very good from 8.5, Good from 8.0, Fair below.
Why no two chairs have the same score
A score has one decimal, so two close chairs could land on the same tenth, and you could not tell which one we rank higher. The last step of the method settles it. Chairs are ordered by their weighted average, then by the lower price per pound of rated capacity, then by the longer frame warranty, and each chair scores at least one tenth less than the chair ranked just above it. That is why the 15 chairs have 15 different scores, and why a chair has one score only, the same on every page of the site.
Rankings by need: same criteria, other weights
A ranking "for a need" re-orders the chairs with another set of weights. The score stays the overall one, so a chair has one score everywhere on the site.
| Criterion | Overall | Smallest when folded | Lightest to lift | Weight capacity | Easy to live with |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price at the linked seller, against the catalog median | 20% | 15% | 15% | 15% | 15% |
| Weight you actually lift | 20% | 15% | 50% | 10% | 20% |
| Getting it in the car | 10% | 40% | 5% | 5% | 10% |
| Range per charge stated by the brand | 10% | 5% | 5% | 10% | 5% |
| Rated weight capacity | 10% | 5% | 5% | 40% | 5% |
| Turning radius | 10% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 15% |
| Warranty | 10% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 15% |
| Comfort and controls | 5% | 0% | 0% | 5% | 10% |
| Return terms of the linked seller | 5% | 5% | 5% | 0% | 5% |
The lists: best electric wheelchairs, folding electric wheelchairs, lightweight electric wheelchairs, heavy-duty electric wheelchairs, electric wheelchairs for seniors. Each list also has an entry rule (for example, 400 lb or more for the heavy-duty list), stated on its page.
Where the figures come from
From the brand's own product and specification pages, and from the page of the seller our button links to (price, stock, return terms). When a brand's site could not be read, we use the linked seller's page and say so in the review. Every review ends with its list of sources and the date we read them. Prices are checked on the date shown next to them and can change the day after.
Owner comments quoted in reviews come from seller pages and are named as such. They never enter a score.
What the score does not tell you
Whether a chair suits a health condition, a body or a home: a doctor or an occupational therapist can tell you that, and can measure the seat you need. Whether Medicare or an insurer will pay: see what medicare.gov says. And how a chair feels after two years: we report warranty terms, which are the only long-term promise a brand puts in writing.
Money
Some links on this site are affiliate links. A commission never enters the formula, and the order of the rankings is computed, not sold. Details on our disclosure page. Questions about a score: contact@best-electric-wheelchair.com.