Compare the Best Parental Control Apps of 2026
Seven parental-control tools installed on the same iPhone, Android phone, Windows laptop and Chromebook, then tested against a 40-item checklist of things a child might try. iPhone coverage is scored hardest because it is where most apps fall short.
Last Updated: Sep 2026Suggested parental control apps for you
GNorton Family
Fair
7.9
Unlimited devices for $49.99Learn More
KKaspersky Safe Kids
Fair
7.8
$14.99 a year for unlimited devicesLearn More
All 7
Parental control app for iphoneParental control app for androidFree parental control appsScreen time apps for kids
1
Qustodio - The most complete cross-platform control we tested: best web filter, time limits that held on every device, and a usable free tier Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Blocked 37 of 40 checklist items — best in the test
- Time limits and schedules enforced on iPhone, Android, Windows and Chromebook alike
- Detailed daily activity report and YouTube monitoring
Very Good
8.5
Visit Site
$54.95 · checked Sep 11
Basic $54.95/yr (5 devices); Complete $99.95/yr; free plan for 1 device
5 (Basic) / unlimited (Complete)
2
Norton Family - Unlimited devices for one price, School Time mode for remote learning, and included free if you already have Norton 360 Deluxe Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Unlimited devices for $49.99
- Web supervision blocked 33 of 40 with clear category controls
- School Time restricts to education sites during class hours
Fair
7.9
Visit Site
$49.99 · checked Sep 11
$49.99/yr unlimited devices; included with Norton 360 Deluxe and above
Unlimited
3
Kaspersky Safe Kids - The cheapest paid parental control by a wide margin, with a free tier that covers filtering and time limits Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- $14.99 a year for unlimited devices
- Free tier includes web filtering, app control and time limits
- YouTube search monitoring and safe search
Fair
7.8
Visit Site
$14.99 · checked Sep 11
$14.99/yr unlimited devices; free tier
Unlimited
4
Bark - Alerts on bullying, predators, self-harm and explicit content across texts, email and 30+ social apps — without showing you everything Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Flags risk in messages and social posts rather than dumping everything on the parent
- Covers texts, email, YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, Discord and more on Android
- Unlimited devices
Fair
7.6
Visit Site
$49 · checked Sep 11
Jr $49/yr (screen time, filtering, location); Premium $99/yr adds monitoring
Unlimited
5
Net Nanny - Real-time content filtering that reads the page rather than checking a list — the strongest web filter after Qustodio Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Filters by analysing page content live — blocked 35 of 40
- Profanity masking and app blocking
- Family Feed shows searches and blocked attempts as they happen
Fair
7.4
Visit Site
$54.99 · checked Sep 11
$54.99/yr for 5 devices; $89.99/yr for 20
5 or 20
6
Google Family Link - Free control of Android phones and Chromebooks: app approval, time limits, location and SafeSearch, managed from any phone Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Approve or block every Play Store install
- Daily limits, bedtime and per-app limits on Android and Chromebook
- Location with a device-locate button
Fair
7.1
Visit Site
$0 · checked Sep 11
Free
Unlimited Android and Chromebook
7
Apple Screen Time - Built into every iPhone, iPad and Mac: app limits, downtime, purchase approval and content filters, managed from a parent's phone Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Cannot be uninstalled by the child
- Ask-to-Buy approval for every purchase and download
- Communication Safety blurs nudity in Messages
Fair
7.0
Visit Site
$0 · checked Sep 11
Free
All family Apple devices
Frequently asked questions about parental control apps
Why is iPhone harder to control than Android?
Apple restricts what third-party apps can see. On iOS, apps like Qustodio and Bark work through a VPN profile and Screen Time APIs, which handle web filtering and time limits but cannot read messages inside most apps. Bark reads iPhone texts only through a computer or its own phone plan. Android exposes far more.
Do I need a paid app at all?
Apple Screen Time and Google Family Link are free and handle time limits, app approval and basic web filtering well. Pay when you need cross-platform coverage, better web filtering (Qustodio, Net Nanny) or alerts on what a child is sending and receiving (Bark).
Should I read my child's messages?
Bark's approach — alert on risk signals rather than showing everything — is what most child-safety experts recommend for teens, alongside telling the child the app is there. Our monitoring score rewards alerting over full surveillance for that reason.
How do you test parental controls?
Install on an iPhone, an Android phone, a Windows laptop and a Chromebook with a 10-year-old's profile, then run 40 checks: adult sites by URL and search, VPN and proxy attempts, app installs, time-limit overrides, private browsing, YouTube restricted mode, and more. We log what was blocked, reported, or missed.
*Scores: Filtering & limits 30 · Monitoring 20 · Platform coverage 20 · Ease of use 10 · Value 20; score = Σ ÷ 10, ties break on the earlier test date. Prices shown were checked on the date beside each and may change. Affiliate links are added only after a score is locked and can never change it. How we rank.
#1 Qustodio8.5 · $54.95
Visit Site