Top parental control apps compared

About Top parental control apps compared

Parental control tools fall into different shapes. Some are full apps that set screen time limits, filter web content and report a child's location across a family's devices. Others are spending tools, mostly kids' debit cards, that carry a web filter and leave screen time to the phone or bank already in the house. This ranking covers both kinds and weighs 47 brands on the things readers ask about most: what a plan costs at entry, what it costs when it renews, what it includes, and where it runs. The main trade-off is cost against reach. A free tier inside a device you already own can do a lot, while a paid plan that also covers laptops, tablets and routers costs more by the year. The middle brand here charges €38.46 at entry and works out to €5.95 a month, and free plans appear at 73.9% of brands.

How we picked

Every brand here is scored on weighted parts that are then added together. Cost carries 40% of the total, offer carries 40% and trust carries 20%. Cost compares what you pay at entry with what you pay when a plan renews, because a cheap opening price means little if the same plan costs more later. Offer looks at what a plan includes, how many devices it covers, whether a free tier exists and which support routes you can reach. Trust looks at the company behind the name, the legal entity named in its terms and the support it lists. Prices and plan details come from official pricing and product pages, feature and support details from the provider's own help content, and company details from official legal pages and company records. Partners are listed first and every other brand follows by score, so a partner can sit above a brand with a higher score. Where a name covers more than one market, the entry keeps the publisher that sells the service in that market, which is why prices appear in the currency each publisher lists.

Our top picks

1. 4. Kaspersky

   Kaspersky sits at rank 9 in this ranking as a security suite that comes alongside the other device protection brands here. Its listed features are kill switch and split tunnelling, which are connection controls, and it runs on Windows, macOS and Android under a free model, backed by AO Kaspersky Lab in Switzerland, founded in 1997. Compared with the member ranked next, Batela, the difference is reach: Kaspersky covers 10 across desktop and mobile operating systems, while Batela works over SMS and WhatsApp. Its support runs on help centre and community, the thinnest list in this ranking, with no phone, email or live chat route. Screen time, web filtering and location are not among kill switch and split tunnelling.

   • Devices: 10
   • Server countries: 93
   • Money-back period: 30 days

   Pros

   • Kaspersky Premium bundles the VPN, password manager and parental controls (vpn, password manager and parental controls) in one subscription a family plan can share
   • Device and platform coverage is generous: 10 devices at once, with apps for Windows, macOS and Android on desktop and mobile
   • Streaming and travel are stated features, with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ supported and kill switch and split tunnelling built in as standard

   Cons

   • Support runs on help centre and community only, so quick answers go through documentation or the community rather than live chat
   • The protocol list is WireGuard, so readers who want a wider choice of protocols have less room to compare
   • The free version that Kaspersky lists sits with antivirus rather than a free VPN, so VPN features start on a paid subscription

2. 6. ESET Brasil

   ESET Brasil sits at rank 2 in this ranking on reach, with device cover running 1 to 25 and plans working across Windows, Windows Server and macOS. Support runs on phone, email and help centre, and the legal entity behind it is KS Solucoes Corporativas Ltda. The trade-off against the member ranked next, Control D, is what a plan does rather than how many devices it holds. ESET Brasil's listed features are kill switch, split tunnelling and obfuscation, so screen time limits, web filtering and location are not part of what it describes, while its fees run BRL 64.22 to BRL 278.32. Control D lists screen time, web filter and location instead and offers free and budget tiers, which suits a family that wants the controls themselves.

   • First-year price: R$64.22
   • Devices: 1 to 25
   • Platforms: Windows, Windows Server, MacOS, and 2 more

   Pros

   • First-year price of BRL 64.22 ranks 1 of 36, ahead of the €49.95 category median.
   • Support runs on phone, email and help centre, with phone and email alongside self service material.
   • Protection plans bundle vpn and parental controls, so one subscription carries a VPN and child controls.
   • A single plan covers Windows, Windows Server and macOS, mixing consumer desktop and mobile with a server edition.
   • Encryption covers files, folders and USB drives, with full disk and removable media encryption for business.

   Cons

   • Device cover runs 1 to 25, short of the 50 that Comodo (Xcitium) covers, so wider estates must shop elsewhere.
   • The free version is reached through the mobile security app rather than a desktop product, and the model is listed as free.
   • The bundled VPN reaches 40 to 70, below the 74 median across antivirus listings.
   • Prices are quoted in BRL under BR, so they do not line up with the USD first-year price of $14.99 at Vipre Security.

3. 9. Norton

   Norton sits at rank 8 in this ranking as a familiar security name that also sells family controls. Its listed features are screen time, web filter and location, covering screen time, web filtering and location, the plan is priced at $49.99 a year, and the company behind it is Gen Digital Inc in the US, founded in 1982. It covers 1 to 10 across Windows, macOS and Android. Compared with the member ranked next, Kaspersky, both draw on a long security history, but the parental features sit on the Norton plan while the Kaspersky listed features are kill switch and split tunnelling. Norton's support runs on phone, help centre and community, a list with no email or live chat route.

   • First-year price: $19.99
   • Renewal price: $59.99
   • Devices: 1 to 10

   Pros

   • Entry price of $19.99 for Norton Deluxe is well under the antivirus median of €49.95, and renewal at $59.99 still sits low.
   • One subscription covers 1 to 10 across Windows, macOS and Android and bundles vpn, password manager and parental controls that would otherwise be separate subscriptions.
   • A free version of the apps lets you try the security side before paying, with a free trial of 7 and a money back window of 60.
   • Support reaches phone, help centre and community, including phone, which is less common in the category.
   • The VPN has a no-logs audit by VerSprite, July 2025 (Technical Privacy Impact Assessment), a published third party review rather than a promise alone.

   Cons

   • Renewal sits well above entry: Norton Deluxe jumps from $19.99 to $59.99, and many antivirus plans renew under €3.97 a month.
   • The Norton Deluxe device allowance of 1 to 10 is behind the antivirus median of 10, while Apple covers more device types through iOS, iPadOS and macOS.
   • Support runs on phone, help centre and community, so help is by phone, help centre and community only.
   • Norton also lists standalone subscriptions: a VPN plan of $34.99 a month, a family plan at $49.99 a year and a password manager from $9.99.

What to look for

The entry price, not the headline

Look at what a brand charges before you commit. In this category the middle brand asks €38.46 at entry, with the lower and upper ends at €17.53 and €56.84. A low opening figure says little about what the plan asks afterwards.

The renewal price beside the plan name

Introductory and renewal prices are separate numbers and this ranking keeps them apart. The middle brand settles at €5.95 a month, or €43.84 a year, with the usual entry point at €6.95. Check the yearly figure next to the plan name you are actually buying.

Whether a free plan exists

Free plans appear at 73.9% of brands, free is the most common model at 75%, and budget models sit at 40%. A free tier makes a sensible trial, but read carefully what it leaves out before you rely on it.

How many devices the plan covers

The middle brand here covers 10 devices. Households with a phone for each child plus shared laptops and tablets need the upper end of a provider's range, while a smaller family can take the lowest number offered.

What the plan actually filters

Screen time limits, web filtering and location each take real work to build, and providers list them unevenly. screen time, web filter and location covers more ground than screen time and web filter, while Starling Kite (Under 16s Debit Card) lists web filter. Read the feature list rather than the category label.

Who answers when something goes wrong

A help centre appears at 95.7% of brands, email at 71.7%, a phone route at 56.5% and live chat at 37%. A parent who needs a quick answer should check for a phone or chat route first.

Frequently asked questions

Top parental control apps compared by country

• Australia
• Brazil
• Canada
• China
• France
• Germany
• India
• Italy
• Japan
• Mexico
• South Korea
• Spain
• Turkey
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV