In today’s digital era, where online safety for children is a necessity, parents are increasingly turning to parental control apps. Qustodio and Bark are frontrunners in providing digital safety solutions, offer diverse features, from screen time management to advanced monitoring of social interactions. but they bring different strengths to the table. I thoroughly tested these two apps and will tell you their differences to help you make the right decision.
Qustodio Has More Extensive Features. Bark Stands Out for its Content Monitoring Capabilities.
In the comparison of “Qustodio vs Bark,” Qustodio emerges as the overall winner. Especially for families seeking detailed and customizable digital parenting tools.
With extensive features, user-friendly interface, and adaptable web filtering capabilities is exceptionl for those who prioritize a thorough understanding and management of their child’s online activities.
Qustodio excels in providing in-depth insights into various aspects of a child’s digital life, from web browsing habits to social media interactions and app usage.
This level of detail, combined with the ability to tailor restrictions to specific needs, sets Qustodio apart.
Furthermore, its intuitive interface ensures that even the most technologically apprehensive parents can navigate and utilize its features effectively.
Bark, while not the overall winner in this comparison, stands out for its content monitoring capabilities.
Particularly in the realm of social media, and innovative hardware solutions like Bark Home and the Bark Phone.
It appeals to parents looking for a more automated approach, focusing on alerts for potential issues such as cyberbullying or inappropriate content.
This approach is well-suited for those who prefer less invasive monitoring, relying on the app to highlight concerns rather than delving into every aspect of their child’s online interactions.
Ultimately, while both Qustodio and Bark offer robust solutions for digital parenting.
But Qustodio’s comprehensive monitoring and customization options give it a slight edge in meeting the diverse and evolving demands of modern digital parenting.
Qustodio vs Bark: Making the Right Choice
Qustodio is Best Suitable for Children of All Ages, Most Especially the Younger Ones.
Qustodio is tailored to cater to children of all ages, particularly those who are younger. It is more detailed and flexible in terms of blocking harmful websites and setting time limits. It can also customize the time limits for different programs, which is very important for children. Unlike Qustodio, Bark does not have this feature, and some of its intrusive features might not sit well with older children. Parents can opt to use these features depending on their preferences.
Bark is Better Suited for Teenagers Who Are Keen On Social Media
Bark can limit mobile phone usage and block harmful websites and apps, however, its functionality leans towards simplicity. It focuses more on content monitoring of social networking sites and apps, and is suitable for parents who are more concerned about their children being exposed to cyberbullying or inappropriate online content. However, at the moment, Bark is lacking in evasion capabilities. If your child is knowledgeable in network technologies, such as using VPN or private browser, then Bark will not be able to monitor their internet activity, unlike Qustodio, which remains effective even against tech-savvy children.
Because of competition, both Qustodio and Bark have extensively outline their disparities on their official websites. Each emphasizing their unique strengths over the other . You can visit both their websites to get a more detailed comparison and obtain comprehensive information.
Risk-free trial
Both Qustodio and Bark Offer Free trial for Their Ssers. Qustodio Offers a 30-day Money-Back Guarantee
Qustodio also offers a 3-day free trial and a 30 day money back guaranteed if you’re unsatisfied with the product. Bark, on the other hand, only offers a seven-day free trial, which is enough for you to know whether their product is up to your standards! I recommend trying Qustodio first as it has broader range of parental control options, boasts of a more user-friendly interface, and can better meet your needs!
Qustodio vs Bark: Detailed comparison
Overall Qustodio is better than Bark
Qustodio and Bark are both top parental control apps. They both offer essential parental control features like web and app filtering, location tracking, scheduling, and activity reports. Their apps are compatible with all major platforms, including Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS and are very intuitive to use.
But I recommend getting Qustodio over Bark. It filters websites from 25+ predefined categories, its web and app filtering can’t be easily bypassed, and it blocks offline apps which Bark can’t do. it allows you to set daily and app time limits, its activity reports are more detailed, and it’s quicker and easier to get up and running.
Meanwhile, Bark fails to match Qustodio in a handful of areas. While Bark has great social media monitoring tools, it only filters websites from 15+ predefined categories, it’s unable to set screen time limits or time limits for individual apps, its activity reports are extremely vague, and its setup process is a bit more involved. Plus, your kid can disable Bark’s web and app filtering by simply turning off the VPN that Bark uses to manage these features.
Qustodio has better call and SMS monitoring
Qustodio is the better choice for call and SMS monitoring. Only Qustodio has a call & SMS monitoring feature that lets you see your child’s call history, block incoming or outgoing calls, and read every one of your child’s SMS messages. For comparison, Bark only shows you text messages that contain potential issues.
Qustodio is better for screen time management
Qustodio is superior to Bark for screen time management. While both Qustodio and Bark offer scheduling tools to restrict device usage at certain times, only Qustodio allows parents to set daily screen time limits in 15-minute increments.That said, its scheduling feature is more flexible than Bark’s — it allows you to adjust restricted times in 15-minute increments whereas Bark makes you work with hour-long chunks.
Qustodio also provides more options for what happens when your child’s time is up: you can block internet access or lock your child out of their devices entirely. In comparison, Bark only pauses the internet, so even during restricted times, your child can still use offline apps.
Bark has better location tracking.
Bark offers slightly better location tracking than Qustodio. Both apps can accurately track your child in real-time, provide directions to their location on Google Maps, offer geofencing features, and maintain a location history, which tracks where your child has been recently.
Bark’s location history feature is more detailed. It tells you not just where your child was but also how long they spent in each location. Its geofencing alerts are also more responsive, and it includes an alternative to real-time location tracking, which allows you to request a check-in from your child — this sends you their physical address, a timestamp, and shows you their location on the map.
Extra Features — Both Parental Controls Have Great Extra Features
It’s hard to call a winner for this category. Which one you prefer very much depends on what you’re looking for in a parental control app.
Qustodio has better YouTube monitoring, Call & SMS monitoring, and can’t be easily removed due to its uninstall protection feature.
But Bark stands out for its ability to monitor social media content. It scans 30+ social media platforms and apps, including Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter for 15+ categories of potential issues, such as Bullying, Depression, Sexual Content, and Violence, and shows you the offending content if it finds any, so you can have a chat with your kid about it. This unique feature monitors your child’s DMs, posts, photos, videos and/or comments on these apps and sites.
Plans & Pricing — Both Parental Controls Have Good Plans and Pricing
Qustodio has a Basic and Complete paid plan. The Complete plan allows you to monitor an unlimited number of devices. It has all of the features included in the Basic plan, plus games & apps time limits, YouTube monitoring, saved places alerts, and calls & SMS monitoring.
Qustodio doesn’t have monthly plans, so you have to commit to a year-long subscription. It’s also more expensive than most other parental control apps. That said, I think it’s well worth the price given how much value it provides. You can try out Qustodio yourself risk-free by taking advantage of its 3-day free trial and its 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bark’s Bark Jr. and Bark Premium both include all of the same features, except only Bark Premium has its content monitoring feature that allows you to monitor your kid’s social media, which is one of Bark’s main selling points.
You can try Bark risk-free with its 7-day free trial, but unlike Qustodio, it doesn’t back its plans with a money-back guarantee.