The 10 Best Bark Alternatives in 2026
Compared on monitoring, filtering, blocking, platforms and price · Updated
Bark is a parental monitoring service that scans a child's messages, social accounts and browsing and alerts a parent when it finds something concerning. It also sells its own phone and watch. Parents look for a Bark alternative for one of three reasons: they want to pay less, they want a tool that blocks content instead of reporting on it, or they need something for a computer rather than a phone. Here are ten alternatives, compared on what they monitor, what they block, which devices they cover and what they cost.
Key takeaways
- Closest full replacement: Qustodio, $59.95 a year for five devices or $104.95 a year for unlimited devices.
- Cheapest paid suite: Mobicip, from $2.99 a month for five devices, billed annually.
- Strongest on explicit content: Canopy, which filters pages and images as they load.
- Free options: Google Family Link on Android and Chromebook, Apple Screen Time on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
- For blocking websites on a Windows PC: Ascension, which blocks rather than monitors.
Prices and features reflect each vendor's own pages in September 2026. Notice something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
What Bark costs in 2026
Bark sells one app subscription at $14 a month or $99 a year after a 7-day free trial, covering every child and device in the family. Bark Home, the box that blocks and schedules devices on the home Wi-Fi, costs $6 a month or $79 once. The Bark Phone starts at $29 a month for service plus $10 a month for the handset over 24 months, and the Bark Watch is $15 a month plus $10 a month for the device. On computers and Chromebooks, Bark works through Chrome and Edge extensions that monitor page titles, site visits, searches and incognito browsing.
Monitoring, filtering and blocking
Most people comparing these products are trying to settle one question, so it is worth separating the three approaches.
Monitoring means the tool watches activity and tells a parent about it, scanning messages, searches and browsing and sending an alert or a report. Nothing is stopped as it happens. Bark, Covenant Eyes and the reporting half of Qustodio work this way, and monitoring a child's messages is a decision worth discussing with the child first.
Filtering means the tool inspects content as it loads and refuses whatever matches a category, usually pornography, violence or gambling. A filter can stop a page it has never seen, because it judges the content rather than the address. Net Nanny, Canopy and Norton Family are filters.
Blocking means a rule refuses a site, an app or a device outright for a set period, whatever the content turns out to be. It produces no report. Google Family Link's app controls, Apple Screen Time's restrictions and Ascension all block.
A family worried about who a teenager is messaging wants monitoring, a family worried about what a child might see wants filtering, and anyone who wants a site to be unreachable on a computer wants blocking.
Comparison table
We ranked these by how well each one answers the query, which is parental monitoring and control: fit for a parent first, then device coverage, then price. Tools that only block, including ours, sit below the tools that monitor and filter for families.
Bark compared with ten alternatives on monitoring, filtering, blocking, platforms and price, September 2026
| Tool | Built for | Monitors | Filters | Blocks | Platforms | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bark | Parents | Messages, social, browsing | No | Phones, and home Wi-Fi with Bark Home | iOS, Android, Chrome and Edge extensions | $14/mo or $99/yr |
| Qustodio | Parents | Browsing, social, calls and messages | Yes | Sites, apps, games | Win, Mac, iOS, Android, Chromebook, Kindle | Free (1 device), $59.95/yr, $104.95/yr |
| Net Nanny | Parents | Searches and app use | Yes | Sites and apps | Win, Mac, iOS | $39.99 to $89.99/yr |
| Canopy | Parents and adults | Sexting alerts, location | Yes, AI image filtering | Sites and apps | Win, Mac, iOS, Android, ChromeOS | $8.33 to $12.50/mo billed annually |
| Mobicip | Parents | Activity reports, social | Yes | Sites and apps | Win, Mac, iOS, Android, Chromebook, Kindle | $2.99 to $7.99/mo billed annually |
| Norton Family | Parents | Sites, searches, videos | Yes | Sites and schedules | Win, iOS, Android | $49.99/yr first year |
| Aura | Parents | Usage reports, gaming alerts | Yes | Sites, apps, internet pause | iOS, Android, Windows for gaming | $10/mo billed annually |
| Google Family Link | Parents | Activity and location | Chrome, YouTube, Search | Apps and device time | Android, ChromeOS | Free |
| Apple Screen Time | Parents | Usage reports | Safari and content ratings | Apps, sites, downtime | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Watch | Free |
| Covenant Eyes | Adults and families | Screenshots shared with allies | Yes | Explicit sites | Win, Mac, iOS, Android | $18/mo, $198/yr, $950 once |
| Ascension | Individuals & Parents | No | No | Anything on the web | Windows | $12.99/mo or $50 once |
1. Qustodio
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Chromebook, Android, iOS, Kindle
Price: Free for one device, Basic $59.95/year for up to five devices, Complete $104.95/year for unlimited devices, 30-day money-back guarantee
Qustodio is a parental control suite that combines reporting with rules. It shows a parent what a child browsed, which apps they used and where the device is, and it sets filters, time limits and schedules from one dashboard.
Key features
- Coverage: Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Android, iOS and Kindle on one subscription.
- Rules: web filtering by category, games and apps blocking, daily limits, custom routines.
- Reporting: 30 days of activity, social platform monitoring, family location with place alerts.
Limitations: the panic button is Android only, and calls and messages tracking has platform limits.
Best for: parents who want one product covering phones and computers with both reports and rules.
2. Net Nanny
Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS
Price: $39.99/year for one desktop, $54.99/year for 5 devices, $89.99/year for 20 devices
Net Nanny is parental control software built around content filtering. It checks pages as they load, blocks the categories a parent turns on and sends an alert when a child looks for a flagged topic.
Key features
- Filtering: real-time category filtering with a parent alert on flagged topics.
- Controls: screen time limits, app blocking, site allow and block lists.
- Reporting: Family Feed showing searches and app usage.
Limitations: There is no message or social media scanning.
Best for: parents whose main worry is what a child can reach on a family computer.
3. Canopy
Platforms: Windows 10 and later (not ARM), macOS 10.13+, iOS 12+, Android 9+, ChromeOS
Price: $8.33/month for one device, $9.99 for three, $12.50 for up to ten, billed annually. One-week trial with no card, 30-day money-back guarantee
Canopy is a content filter that removes explicit images and pages while they load, rather than relying on a blocklist. It also warns a parent when it detects an explicit image being sent or received on a child's phone.
Key features
- Filtering: AI image and page filtering, including sites no blocklist has seen.
- Alerts: sexting detection with a parent notification, location notifications.
- Controls: app and website blocking, screen time management.
Limitations: subscription only with no free plan, and it does not read messages or social feeds.
Best for: parents whose main concern is explicit content rather than who a child is talking to.
4. Mobicip
Platforms: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Chromebook, Kindle Fire
Price: $2.99/month for 5 devices, $4.99 for 10, $7.99 for 20, billed annually. 7-day trial with no card, 30-day money-back guarantee
Mobicip is a parental control app that covers a large number of devices for a low annual price. It filters websites, blocks apps, sets schedules and limits, tracks location and reports activity from a parent dashboard.
Key features
- Coverage: up to 20 devices across six platforms on one plan.
- Controls: app blocker with uninstall protection, website blocker, screen time limits, remote lock.
- Extras: family locator with geofencing, social media monitor, activity reports.
Limitations: all plans are billed annually, and it does not scan message content.
Best for: larger families who want every device covered for the lowest yearly cost.
5. Norton Family
Platforms: Windows 7 through 11 (not S Mode), Android 8 and later, iOS. No Mac
Price: $49.99/year for the first year, also included with Norton 360 Deluxe and Premium
Norton Family supervises a child's web use, screen time, searches and videos across Windows PCs and phones from one parent portal, and it can lock a device remotely or restrict it to schoolwork.
Key features
- Supervision: web, search and video supervision with site reports.
- Controls: daily limits, schedules, Instant Lock, School Time.
- Location: device location with 30 days of history on Android and iOS.
Limitations: no Mac support, and the price shown is for the first year only.
Best for: families on Windows PCs and phones, especially anyone who already pays for Norton 360.
6. Aura
Platforms: iOS 16 and later, Android 12 and later, plus Safe Gaming on Windows PCs
Price: Kids plan $10/month billed annually or $13/month monthly, Family plan $32/month billed annually. 14-day trial, 60-day money-back guarantee on annual plans
Aura sells online safety for a whole household, with parental controls included rather than sold separately. Its Safe Gaming feature, from Kidas, listens for cyberbullying and predatory contact inside more than 200 PC games.
Key features
- Controls: content filtering, site and app blocking, screen time schedules, internet pause.
- Gaming: Safe Gaming alerts for bullying and predatory contact on Windows PCs.
- Family plan: identity theft protection and credit monitoring for up to five adults.
Limitations: parental controls run on phones and tablets, with the PC component limited to supported games.
Best for: parents who want gaming safety and family identity protection in one subscription.
7. Google Family Link
Platforms: children on Android and Chromebook, parent app on Android or iPhone
Price: Free
Google Family Link is Google's free supervision service for a child with a Google account. A parent approves app installs, sets limits and a bedtime, sees location and turns on content settings for Google's own apps.
Key features
- Controls: app approval, per-app limits, daily screen time, device bedtime.
- Content: SafeSearch, Chrome site restrictions, YouTube and Play Store settings.
- Location: child location with arrival and departure alerts.
Limitations: it supervises Android and Chromebook devices only, and it does not scan message content.
Best for: parents of younger children on Android phones or Chromebooks who do not want another subscription.
8. Apple Screen Time
Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro
Price: Free, built into the operating system
Apple Screen Time is Apple's own parental control system, set up through Family Sharing. A parent decides which apps and websites a child can open, who the child can contact and when the device is available at all.
Key features
- Controls: Ask to Buy, Ask to Browse, app and website allow lists, content ratings.
- Schedules: Downtime, per-app and per-category allowances, separate school and weekend routines.
- Communication: contact limits during screen time and downtime, Communication Safety image warnings.
Limitations: Apple devices only, and it reports usage rather than message content.
Best for: families already on iPhones and Macs who want controls at no extra cost.
9. Covenant Eyes
Platforms: Windows 10+, macOS 11+, iOS 15.1+, Android 11+
Price: $18/month, $198/year or $950 once, 30-day money-back guarantee, unlimited devices for up to 10 people
Covenant Eyes, now sold as Victory, is an accountability product. It takes blurred, encrypted screenshots of screen activity, shares them with the allies the user chooses and filters explicit sites. Screenshots are deleted after 30 days.
Key features
- Accountability: blurred screenshots shared with chosen allies, activity notifications.
- Filtering: explicit site filtering alongside the reporting.
- Household: one subscription covers up to 10 people and unlimited devices.
Limitations: screen accountability is not available on Chromebooks, Kindle Fires or smart TVs.
Best for: households where an adult or an older teen agrees to share their activity with someone they trust.
10. Ascension
Platforms: Windows 10 and 11 (iOS and Mac in development)
Price: 15-day free trial, then $12.99/month or $50 one-time
Ascension is a hard-to-bypass blocker that blocks harmful and distracting content on the web. A block can be locked with a password, so a parent can set rules on a child's computer that the child cannot change or remove. It does not monitor messages or social media, so it works alongside a phone monitoring app rather than replacing one.
Key features
- Blocking: websites, sections of sites, keywords and search terms.
- Protection: tamper protection, uninstall protection.
- Block lists: premade adult content, gambling and social media lists.
Limitations: Windows only (iOS and Mac in development).
Best for: people looking for a way to block distractions and harmful content that is not easy to bypass.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Bark?
Qustodio is the closest single replacement, because it reports on browsing, apps and social use and also sets rules on phones and computers. Canopy is the better choice if the concern is explicit content, and Mobicip is the cheapest way to cover a lot of devices.
Is there a free alternative to Bark?
Yes. Google Family Link is free for children on Android phones and Chromebooks, and Apple Screen Time is free on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Qustodio also has a free plan for one device. None of them scan message content.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Bark?
Bark costs $14 a month or $99 a year. Mobicip starts at $2.99 a month for five devices, Net Nanny at $39.99 a year and Canopy at $8.33 a month, all billed annually. Google Family Link and Apple Screen Time cost nothing.
Does Bark work on a Windows PC?
Bark monitors browsing on Windows and Mac computers and on Chromebooks through its Chrome and Edge extensions, which report page titles, site visits, searches and incognito browsing. Blocking on a computer is handled by the separate Bark Home device.
What is the best Bark alternative for a Windows PC?
On a Windows PC, Bark works through Chrome and Edge extensions that report browsing, and blocking needs the separate Bark Home device. Qustodio and Net Nanny are the strongest choices for monitoring and filtering on Windows. Ascension is the choice for blocking: a parent can lock blocks with a password, and tamper and uninstall protection stop the child from removing them.
Can I use a parental control app on myself?
You can, but these apps are built around a parent holding the password, so an adult using one on their own computer can change the rules whenever they want.
Available on Windows 10 & 11