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4 min read
Edited ByRebecca EdwardsKasey is a trained Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) member, an expert writer in emergency preparedness and security, and the mother of four kids.
Qustodio is a parental control app for computers, tablets, and smartphones that helps you monitor your kids’ screen time, prevent them from seeing inappropriate content, and protect them from cyberbullies and online predators. You can set specific filters and time limits for websites and apps they use, and supervise their device usage history.
We picked Qustodio as the most customizable parental control app in our first-ever Kids Safety Awards.
Real-time AI-powered alerts for suspicious content*
Social media monitoring*
Easy installation and use
Multiple device management
Additional parent/guardian can be linked to the family account
Bonus features e.g. location monitoring and panic button 
Antivirus software conflicts
Must install Qustodio Advance app to get uninstall protection *Only available with the "Complete" plan.
Qustodio packs in powerful features that make it a standout among parental control apps—especially if you're concerned about cyberbullying, online predators, or inappropriate content. You can monitor text messages, block dangerous apps, and even restrict calls from specific numbers. It also features new AI-powered alerts, a panic button, SMS monitoring, and user-friendly tools like location tracking and geofencing. While it's a bit more expensive than some other top apps (still under $10 per month for the top plan) and doesn't include a tamper-alert feature, the robust protections and intuitive design help justify the higher price.
Plan | Annual fee | Number of devices | Phone support | Onboarding and rule setup assistance | Learn more |
| Basic plan |
$54.95
| 5 |  No | No | View Plans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Complete plan |
$99.95
| Unlimited |  Yes with Care Plus | Yes with Care Plus | View Plans |
Data as of post date. Offers and availability subject to change.
We love that Qustodio works on a range of different devices:
*Calls & messages for iOS requires a Mac computer.
Each Qustodio plan includes these features:
Qustodio Free does a great job on basic protection, but if you have multiple devices or multiple kids, you'll probably want to invest in the Complete plan for full protection and monitoring across all your kids' devices. This is what additional access you get with a Complete paid plan:
Some features aren't available on particular devices due to privacy restrictions, but this problem is consistent with virtually every parental control app. It's out of Qustodio's control.
The Qustodio interface is easy to navigate, so even less tech-savvy parents shouldn't have a problem setting up specific guidelines for their kids' devices. Its new AI-powered alerts help protect your tweens and teens from suspicious websites, online search and social media messages. As a parent of guardian you will get real-time alerts if your child sends or receive problematic messages over SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Line. You can see text messages and calls and block suspicious contacts.
It has some other cool features like the Activity Timeline and Panic Button, too. Rather than just a list of the sites your child has visited, the Activity Timeline shows a minute-by-minute breakdown of all your child's activity on their device, including the apps they used and websites they visited.
In addition to allowing or blocking certain categories of websites, the Qustodio app can also alert you if a child accesses a specific type of website in 29 categories, like a file-sharing or chat site. The app allows kids to access some potentially risky—but not totally unsafe—sites, but you’ll get an alert when that happens. That way, you can keep an eye on their activity.
Qustodio is pretty solid when it comes to online security, but there's no feature to alert you if your child tries to alter the settings on the app.
Many parents give younger children hand-me-down phones, mobile devices, and tablets after an upgrade, but depending on how old the devices are, Qustodio’s parental control software may not work on them. Check out the Qustodio site for system requirements and supported platforms to find out if the software is compatible with your devices.
We got several incompatibility messages from our antivirus software when we installed Qustodio on a Mac, and the Qustodio website even warns against this. The company recommends uninstalling antivirus software and then reinstalling it after you install Qustodio.
Product | Best for | Monthly starting price | Trial period | Image scanning |
| Preferred partner | $0/mo. | Forever free; optional 3-day premium trial | No | |
| Best overall | $5.00/mo. | 7 days | Yes | |
| Best management tools | $2.42/mo.† | 3 days | No | |
| Best contact management | $4.99/mo. | 14 days | Yes | |
| Best for blocking explicit content | $7.99/mo.†† | 7 days | Yes |
Info current as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. Read full disclaimer.
†Paid annually: $29/yr. for 1 device.
††Paid annually: $95.90/yr. for 3 devices.
Image: Qustodio
To write our Qustodio review, we downloaded the software and tested it ourselves to see how it operated in real-world situations. We read what others were saying about it, and we compared it to similar products. Find out more about our review process by checking out SafeWise's methodology.
When we downloaded the free Qustodio app, we got an instant three-day free trial of the Premium version. And, unlike many free trials, the Qustodio Premium trial didn't require a credit card number, so we didn't have to worry about canceling after the three free days.
Three days isn't a lot of time to test out a parental control product. Children's device activities are unpredictable and can vary from one day to the next. On top of that, you want to make sure the software can handle whatever your kid throws at it. We'd like to see a seven-day trial, at minimum, for this kind of software.
If you do subscribe, Qustodio gives support preference to customers with Complete subscriptions. If you often need tech support, consider upgrading to reduce wait time, or add on the Care Plus package for an additional fee.
The biggest difference in Qustodio's cost is that the Basic version lets you protect only five devices, while the Complete package offers unlimited device support.
Both paid packages offer helpful tools such as games and app blocking, daily time limits, web filtering, location monitoring and pausing internet access.
With the Complete plan you get advanced features and customization including AI-powered alerts, social monitoring, custom routines, app insights, games & apps time limits, and calls & messages monitoring.
Bark and Qustodio share many of the same features, including web filtering, blocking apps and websites, social media monitoring, location monitoring and time limits, but there are a few differences between the two. Bark does not have a panic button like Qustodio (unless you have a Bark watch), and Qustodio can block incoming and outgoing calls and messages. Qustodio also has a free version and provides daily or weekly email reports in addition to alerts, Bark only sends alerts. On the other hand, Bark is more compatible with iOS apps, has more comprehensive social media monitoring, and monitors emails while Qustodio does not.
Read more: Qustodio vs. Bark: Which Parental Control Is Better?
Net Nanny and Qustodio share many of the same features, including web filtering, time limits, and activity monitoring, but there are a few differences between the two. Net Nanny does not have a panic button, but Qustodio does not have language and image censoring like Net Nanny does. Net Nanny is also less expensive than Qustodio—but barely.
Qustodio works on multiple devices including Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Android, iOS, and Kindle.
For iOS devices you need a mac computer to monitor with Qustodio.
No, Qustodio does not currently offer the ability to read chat conversations in Facebook/Meta. However, you can see chat conversations on WhatsApp and Line on iOS and Android. Android devices can also monitor Instagram chats.
Yes. Facebook monitoring doesn't start working until either you or your child log into their Facebook account on their device and allow Qustodio to access account information. Keep in mind that it may take a little while for it to connect after logging in—it took us about an hour after connecting Qustodio to a Facebook account to start seeing Facebook activity on our Qustodio online dashboard.
Yes, your child can delete Qustodio from the child's device unless you download Qustodio Advance on your computer. The number of devices you can protect depends on your plan.
If you're looking to go beyond basic pornography protection and want software that will help you keep your kids safe from cyberbullying and online predators through text messages, apps and online monitoring, Qustodio is a good choice.
Its time limit controls help keep kids safe from screen addiction, too, which is great for today’s high-tech households. Just keep in mind that it's more expensive than other parental control options, and you need a mac computer in order to monitor iOS devices.
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