Qustodio vs. Bark: finding the right fit for family safety in 2024

Are you concerned about your family's safety in the digital world? If so, read my comparison of Qustodio vs. Bark to discover which tool best suits your family’s needs.

Qustodio vs. Bark: overview

Qustodio and Bark are two of the best parental control apps to provide top-notch safety for your family. While both apps offer robust security features, such as setting time limits, blocking apps and websites, and monitoring social media, they each have their unique selling points.

Qustodio offers in-depth web filtering, calls and text monitoring, a panic button, and incredible geofencing features. On the other hand, Bark has a mobile phone with a Bark-infused operating system and a whole-home Wi-Fi filter device that applies content and search monitoring on the Wi-Fi level (not just individual devices).

So, the choice of whether to get Bark or Qustodio is entirely yours. Now, I'll briefly break down both parental control apps to see which suits you better.

Winner

Visit Qustodio

Key Features comparison in detail

Qustodio and Bark have many security features that let you ensure your children’s online safety. However, Qustodio is more affordable and in-depth, while Bark has numerous features and monitors 30+ social media platforms and apps. With this in mind, let’s compare their key features in more detail!

Plans & Pricing

On the one hand, I tested Qustodio, which offers a range of plans that suit different needs and budgets. Its free plan provides basic features like SafeSearch, Web Filtering, and daily limits, but it’s limited to one device and 7-day activity reports.

The Basic plan adds features like Games and App Blocking, location monitoring, and protection for up to 5 devices. This costs $54.95/year, which is $4.58/month.

Additionally, the Complete plan includes all the features of the Basic plan, plus custom routines, AI-powered search alerts, custom alerts, Games & Apps time limits, Calls & Messages Monitoring, and protection for an unlimited number of devices. You can get all this for $8.33/month or $99.95/year.

When comparing Bark vs. others, it can get a bit confusing because Bark has purely app-based as well as device-based offerings. On the Bark App side, Bark has two plans - Bark Jr. and Bark Premium - plus the unique option of the Bark Phone or the Bark Home device, each including parental control features. However, unlike Qustodio, Bark has no free plan.

Notably, Bark Jr. is a scaled-back offering. It starts at $5.00/month and allows web filtering, screen time management, and location tracking. Bark Premium offers the full suite of Bark features, costing $14.00/month. Bark Premium enables you to monitor texts, apps, social media, and web searches.

You can also get Bark Home–a whole-home Wi-Fi filter device that connects to your router—for $6.00/month, $49/year, or a one-time purchase price of $79. This device enables you to apply safety features directly at the Wi-Fi network level, meaning any of your children’s devices connected to the internet will be subject to the same monitoring and filtering features. Notably, this protection will not follow them outside of your home.

There is also Bark Phone, currently a mid-range Samsung A series mobile phone with all Bark’s protection features preinstalled. It starts at $39.00/month and includes an unlimited talk and text plan. This is currently the only Bark service that can prevent text message deletion, create alerts on the phone, and approve the app installation and new contacts. For a more detailed look at Bark's features, check out our comprehensive Bark review.

Now, let’s briefly explore the overview of Qustodio and Bark pricing plans:

Based on my testing of what both parental apps offer, Qustodio is slightly better than Bark, as it’s more affordable and has a free plan and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Winner

Visit Qustodio

Screen time management

Qustodio has one of the best screen time management features. You can set daily time limits, block device access on specific days, and customize the rules on what happens at those limits. You can also restrict device usage during particular times of the day and choose between no restrictions, daily limits, or complete app blocking.

However, one feature that stands out is Routines. This enables you to schedule different rules for various events, such as homework or bedtime, and customize rules for specific website categories and apps.

With Bark, you can easily limit screen time and create custom schedules for how and when your kids can use their devices. The best part is that it is all available with the tap of a button. In addition, I must point out that Bark has more customization options, which allow you to get alerts for issues like bullying, predators, sexual content, and more.

Still, Qustodio ensured that you could implement screen time management for particular activities, which is why it has a minor advantage over Bark.

Winner

Visit Qustodio

Location tracking

Qustodio’s location tracking feature lets you monitor your children’s real-time whereabouts. You can track their location, save frequently visited places, and receive notifications when they arrive at or leave those locations.

You can also create custom boundaries on the map and receive notifications when your children enter or exit those areas. Although the geofencing notifications are generally helpful, they could be improved in terms of delay.

With Bark, you’ll be able to track your kid’s location in real-time, get alerts, and find out if they’re walking, biking, or driving – even how fast. Not only does Bark offer full location tracking, but it also has a location alert feature. This means you don’t have to open the map app to see where your child is.

However, the most notable difference that sets Qustodio apart is that it allows you to set up a boundary within which your kid can move without you being alerted. Also, you will get insights into 30-day reports compared to Bark’s 7-day reports.

Winner

Visit Qustodio

Web Filtering

Qustodio allows you to block access to websites in ten categories, including Drugs, Gambling, Pornography, Proxies/Loopholes, and Violence. You can also customize web filtering by blocking, allowing, or receiving alerts about access to specific categories.

Furthermore, Qustodio blocks unsupported browsers and uncategorized websites by default. It works on major browsers like Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari but not on Brave, Opera, and Tor. It also implements safe searches on popular search engines and notifies you when it blocks a site. However, Qustodio does not block specific keywords or profanity.

Compared to it, Bark can block websites associated with keywords because machine learning catches the latest slang and coded keywords. In addition, Bark monitors a broader range (30+) of social media platforms and apps through app and web filtering.

Bark even monitors and sends alerts for any suicidal, sexual assault, or bullying content that your child may face online.

Overall, Qustodio gets another plus, as its web filtering feature offers more granular control than Bark's. Qustodio lets you automatically filter websites across 29 different categories, whereas Bark only offers 17 categories. While this doesn’t mean that Bark simply fails to block objectionable sites and materials, it does mean that Qustodio has much more granular controls that allow you to fine-tune what is and isn’t allowed.

Winner

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Games & Apps

Qustodio’s Games & Apps feature allows you to control your child’s app usage by allowing, blocking, or setting time limits. In fact, you can view all apps your kid has accessed and receive alerts for new app usage. While this feature helps create a safe gaming and app environment, there may be occasional delays in enforcement.

However, Bark can only block internet access to mobile apps, so it can’t block offline apps like games or video players. Therefore, Qustodio is the clear winner in this aspect.

Winner

Visit Qustodio

Activity reports

Qustodio provides comprehensive activity reports, including daily, weekly, and monthly reports of your child’s online activity. Additionally, you can receive real-time reports to track your kids’ activity while they are online.

In comparison, Bark provides regular activity reports in its parent dashboard, offering insights into your child’s screen use, including recently installed apps and top contacts. The app also sends weekly summary reports and alerts via email, text, or the Bark app if it detects potential issues in your child’s online activities.

However, I give Qustodio a few extra points because it has daily, weekly, and monthly reports, while Bark has only weekly ones.

Winner

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Extra features

An incredible standout feature of Qustodio is its Panic Button. More precisely, Qustodio’s Panic Button feature allows your child to send an SOS alert in an emergency. You just need to add a few trusted contacts, and the kid will be able to send all of you an alert with a single click.

The app will continue to track their location until the Panic Button is deactivated either by the child or via the web portal.

Bark also offers unique physical devices called Bark Home and Bark Phone for parental monitoring. Bark Home connects to your router and manages all internet-connected devices, while Bark Phone is a Samsung phone with additional features like remote alarms and text deletion prevention.

Both devices offer unlimited device and account support, website and app blocking, screen time management, and location tracking. Bark Phone also includes monitoring and alerts for texts, apps, and social media, as well as offering app and contact approvals.

Still, these Bark features are essentially all included in the Qustodio premium subscription, which is why it emerges as a slightly better solution once again.

Winner

Visit Qustodio

Apps & Ease of Use

Qustodio is easy to install and set up on various devices, including Windows, Android, iOS, Mac, and Kindle. You can use the same app for your and your child’s accounts, making the setup process seamless. Qustodio is user-friendly on mobile and web platforms, with intuitive navigation and well-organized features.

On the other hand, installing and setting up the Bark Premium account was straightforward, but connecting individual devices took some time. I created child accounts, selected a device and apps for monitoring, and followed step-by-step instructions.

I connected my device and downloaded the Bark app from their website, which raised concerns about my phone’s safety. After enabling numerous permissions, I connected my child’s accounts for monitoring. The dashboard was initially confusing but became more accessible to navigate and use.

Winner

Visit Qustodio

Customer Support

The last aspect I’ll review is the customer support of both Qustodio and Bark. Starting with Qustodio, it offers excellent customer service through its responsive ticketing system and premium Care Plus service (US only). Although it lacks live chat, you can find helpful information and solutions in the knowledge base or FAQ section.

Ultimately, Bark provides customer support via live chat, email, online forums, and guides. Although its online forums and guides are detailed, I was especially surprised by the breadth of its YouTube channel, which offers tutorials on various Bark features and troubleshooting.

Due to the extensive customer support, Bark gains a point against Qustodio.

Winner

Visit Bark

Overall Winner: Qustodio

In my Qustodio vs. Bark comparison, Qustodio is the overall winner. It easily beats the competition thanks to its more granular web and app filtering capabilities, strong screen time management, and robust security features like VPN and private browser protection.

Also, Qustodio’s filters effectively block online and offline apps and provide detailed activity reports, a panic button, and SMS monitoring. For an in-depth analysis of all of Qustodi’s stand-out features, head over to our comprehensive Qustodio review.

Bark excels at content monitoring across 30+ social media platforms and apps and offers valuable scheduling and location-tracking tools. However, Qustodio outshines it in critical areas, particularly its robust, harder-to-bypass restrictions and more informative activity reporting.

FAQ