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Sudden cardiac arrest takes ~350,000 American lives each year. Survival can exceed 70% when a shock is delivered within 3 minutes. Get CPR + AED trained →
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AED for General Use
  • Industry guide · Small business and general use

Best AED for small business 2026: one device that works everywhere.

Mixed environments · Versatile · Any buyer
Most AED buyers do not run a hospital, a school district, or an airport. They run a shop, a studio, a salon, an office suite, a mixed-use building, and they need one device an untrained employee can use on the worst day of someone's life. This is that verdict, the four features that decide it, and, if your business actually fits one of our 21 specialized guides, the fastest route to the right one.
10,000
Sudden cardiac arrests strike US workplaces each year per OSHA
60%
Of witnessed public arrests show a shockable rhythm vs 35% at home
74%
Survival when a public-access shock lands within 3 minutes
0
Federal AED mandates for general private businesses
  • Direct answer

The best AED for most small businesses is the Philips HeartStart OnSite, $1,589 at 2026 US list: the market’s best all-environment balance of untrained-rescuer simplicity and total cost. Tightest budgets take the HeartSine 350P at $1,411; any outdoor or rough-duty exposure takes the IP55-rated Philips FRx.

  • 🏆 Top 3 Picks

Which AED fits your business?

Three picks for the three ways small businesses actually differ: the balanced default, the tightest budget, and the building with weather or rough duty in the job description. Prices are 2026 US list at authorized distributors; every model is FDA-approved via PMA.
Heartsine Samaritan PAD 350P Products
Lightest AED
HeartSine

Heartsine Samaritan PAD 350P

Decision shortcut The HeartSine 350P puts the pads and the battery in one cartridge with

SKU

SAM-350P

FDA PMA

PMA P160008

Manufacturer

HeartSine

From

$1,411.00
Shop →
Philips HeartStart FRx AED 861304 Product
🏆 Editor's Pick
Philips

Philips HeartStart FRx

Decision shortcut The Philips HeartStart FRx ($2,099, 2026 US list) covers adults and children on

SKU

861304

FDA PMA

P180028

Manufacturer

Philips Healthcare

From

$2,099.00
Shop →
Philips HeartStart OnSite AED M5066A Product
Best Value
Philips

Philips HeartStart OnSite AED (M5066A)

Decision shortcut The Philips HeartStart OnSite ($1,589, 2026 US list) is the only AED sold

SKU

M5066A

FDA PMA

P160029

Manufacturer

Philips Healthcare

From

$1,589.00
Shop →
Not sure which AED? · 60-second match · FDA PMA

Match your facility to the right FDA-approved AED.

Every setting has a different best pick: pediatric capability for schools, real-time CPR feedback for gyms, a video screen for public lobbies. Answer a few questions and get a matched, FDA-approved (PMA) recommendation with 2026 pricing.

FDA PMA approvedMatched to your setting2026 pricingNo sales pressure
Free Tool · 30 seconds
Not sure which AED is right for your space?
Answer 4 quick questions and we'll match you to one of 14 FDA-approved AEDs — independently reviewed, MD-approved.
Take the Quiz
⚡ Quantity planning

How many AEDs does your facility need?

The AHA program target is simple: a responder retrieves the AED and returns to the victim in about 3 minutes, proven with a stopwatch, not a formula. The AHA publishes no square-feet-per-AED coefficient, so treat every calculator output, ours included, as a planning estimate you validate with a timed walking drill on your actual floor plan.

Survival drops with every minute of delay before defibrillation, which is why placement beats brand choice in almost every deployment.

Find Your Perfect AED

5 questions about your environment, training, and budget. Matched to a specific model with the reasoning shown.

Take the 60-second quiz →

AED Quantity Calculator

Floors, detached buildings, and risk zones in, planning estimate out. Then validate with a walking drill.

Plan your coverage →

AED Cost Calculator

Device, pads, batteries, and cabinet over a multi-year horizon, with 2026 pricing and visible math.

Estimate total cost →
Replacing pads and batteries on schedule is where most programs quietly fail. The pads and batteries guide covers expiry cycles by model, and new buyers should start at the complete buyer’s guide or the basics in what is an AED.
  • Not actually general-purpose?

Your industry probably has its own verdict

General use is the right page only when no specialized guide fits. If your business is on this map, the dedicated verdict accounts for your laws, your layout, and your rescuer, and it sometimes picks a different machine:
Kids & education

Pediatric rules apply

Schools & daycares · Sports & athletics · Non-profits & community orgs · Churches & worship

Fitness & hospitality

State mandates common

Gyms & fitness · Hotels · Restaurants & bars · Casinos · Entertainment venues

Industrial & field work

Durability decides

Construction · Manufacturing · Utility crews · Farms & agriculture · Transportation · Military

Offices, retail & home

Closest cousins to this page

Offices & workplaces · Retail stores · Banks · Airports · Dental offices · Home & family

Or browse the full map with every verdict side by side on the AED Industries hub.
  • Budget reality

What does ownership cost over 5 years?

Sticker price is half the story; pads and batteries are the other half. Per unit with cabinet, 2026 US list for devices, typical street consumable pricing (labeled estimates):

 

Cost line Philips OnSite HeartSine 350P Philips FRx
Device · 2026 US list $1,589 $1,411 $2,099
Pads over 5 yrs (est.) ~$150 · 2x M5071A cartridge ~$169 · 1x Pad-Pak (pads + battery, one cartridge) ~$148 · 2x SMART Pads II
Battery over 5 yrs (est.) ~$89 · 1x M5070A (4-yr) ~$89 · 1x M5070A (4-yr)
Cabinet + signage (est.) ~$199 ~$199 ~$199
5-year total per unit (est.) ~$1,970 ~$1,660 ~$2,380

Consumable and cabinet figures are typical 2026 US street pricing at authorized distributors and vary by package; device prices are 2026 US list. Businesses with children on premises add pediatric capability: the FRx infant-child key or M5072A pediatric cartridge (Rx). Browse all pads and batteries, run your numbers in the Cost Calculator, and multi-location chains of 5+ should price the fleet as one program.

  • Free tool · 60 seconds · no email

Still between two models? Let the quiz decide.

Answer a few questions about your building, your staff, and your budget and get one specific model with the reasoning shown, weighted by the same four features this page taught you. Multi-location chains should take the fleet path instead.
Find your perfect AED
Multi-location quote (5+ units)
  • Weighted by the 4 features
  • FDA-approved models only
  • 2026 pricing shown
  • Reasoning explained
  • Program checklist

The owner's 10-point AED checklist

Check whether a specialized guide fits your business first; the router above sometimes changes the verdict.
Check your state's rules in the Laws by State tracker ; a few sectors carry real mandates.
Score your building against the 4 features: pediatric, CPR feedback, IP rating, self-testing.
Mount at the front-desk anchor: staffed every open hour, nameable by every employee.
Walk the 3-minute drill from the farthest workspace; failures earn a second unit ( Quantity Calculator ).
Put the AED briefing in onboarding: location plus the 911-compressions-pads sequence ( why both ).
Fund CPR training for at least the shift leads; group rates at  CPR1 make it cheap.
Stock pediatric capability if children are ever present (pads guide).
Calendar pad and battery expiries with payroll dates; teach staff  SCA vs heart attack so nobody hesitates.
Standardize the model across locations; chains of 5+ price the fleet as one program.
  • Buyer questions

Small-business AED questions, answered straight

No blanket federal mandate exists for general private businesses; OSHA recommends workplace AEDs without requiring them for general industry. Real mandates are a state and sector patchwork: check your state and your sector’s guide in the router above.

Yes: AEDs analyze the rhythm themselves and will not shock a heart that does not need it, and Good Samaritan laws in all 50 states protect good-faith rescuers. The casino study that proved public-access defibrillation used security officers, not medics.

Margin call: the 350P wins pure budget and single-date maintenance, while the OnSite wins the balance of coaching clarity, consumable cost, and two decades of track record. Either is a defensible buy; the quiz splits the difference for your specifics.

The moment your AED leaves climate control: patios, docks, vehicles, yards. IP55 sealing, crush resistance, and the infant-child key are why the FRx anchors our rough-duty verdicts across construction and utility crews.

Survival falls roughly 7-10% per minute without defibrillation, and immediate CPR buys time at 2-3x survival. When public-access shocks landed within 3 minutes in the landmark casino study, 74% survived to discharge: that is the number your 3-minute drill defends.

Different math entirely: home arrests are mostly unwitnessed with fewer shockable rhythms, so read the honest-odds breakdown on the Home & Family guide before spending. Start with what an AED actually does if you are new to this.

  • Why public-access AEDs work

The evidence behind every claim on this page.

AED Best Brands is an editorial AED-review publication, independent of every AED manufacturer. No manufacturer pays for placement or sees a verdict early. Every number below links to its primary source.

10,000

Workplace arrests yearly

OSHA's count across US workplaces

74%

Survival at 3 minutes

Public-access shocks within 3 min of collapse

60%

Shockable in public

Witnessed public arrests with VF/VT vs 35% at home

2-3x

Survival multiplier

Immediate CPR while the AED arrives

Read Full Methodology
Meet our advisory board

References · primary sources

  1. RegulatoryUS OSHA. Saving Sudden Cardiac Arrest Victims in the Workplace, Publication 3185. osha.gov 3185 (PDF)
  2. ProgramAmerican Heart Association. Implementing an AED Program, 2023 guide. cpr.heart.org AED guide (PDF)
  3. ClinicalWeisfeldt ML, et al. Ventricular tachyarrhythmias after cardiac arrest in public versus at home. NEJM. 2011;364:313-321. nejm.org
  4. ClinicalValenzuela TD, et al. Outcomes of rapid defibrillation by security officers after cardiac arrest in casinos. NEJM. 2000;343:1206-1209. nejm.org
  5. ClinicalAmerican Heart Association. CPR Facts and Stats. cpr.heart.org facts
  6. LegalCDC. Public Access Defibrillation State Law Fact Sheet. cdc.gov PAD fact sheet
  7. ClinicalAmerican Heart Association. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, annual update. Circulation. heart.org statistics
  8. RegulatoryUS FDA. Automated External Defibrillators and Premarket Approval database. fda.gov AEDs
Updated · July 2026 Review methodology Medical Advisory Board AED Laws by State All 22 Industries AED Resource Library
Key takeaways
  • •Match the AED to who will use it: most settings need a unit an untrained bystander can operate with clear voice prompts, like the Philips OnSite or ZOLL AED Plus.
  • •Plan for a shock within about three minutes: that response-time goal drives how many units you need and where they go, more than floor area does.
  • •Budget for the full life, and consider recertified: pads and battery add to the cost, and a recertified unit can cost well below new. Use our Find your perfect AED quiz or see best refurbished AEDs.
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