Price
*Typical published pricing. Tiers and features change, so check each app before you buy.
Free
Free to set up and connect. Optional upgrade $9.99/mo for more kids and activities.
Perfect for parents who
Want kids to earn screen time and build real habits.
Price
*Typical published pricing. Tiers and features change, so check each app before you buy.
Free
Included on every iPhone through Family Sharing.
Perfect for parents who
Want the free built-in tools and no extra apps.
Setup & feel
How painless it is to connect a child's device.
Scan a code, five minutes
Buried in Settings menus
What it actually takes to get running.
QR link, no profile
Family Sharing, buried menus
Whether setup forces a login before you can start.
Value-first, no login
Family Sharing account required
Whether you can try it before signing up or paying.
Free tier and trial, no login
Free, but needs Apple ID
Day to day, how easy it is for a parent to run.
Kids self-serve earning
Buried; settings won't stick
How modern and clear the app looks in the iOS 26 era.
Modern, iOS 26-era cards
Native but dense grey lists
Trust
How consistently limits and blocks actually hold.
On-device, hardened enforcement
Kids bypass; limits vanish
How clearly you can see what is really happening.
Clear live status, balances
Aggregate summaries only
How much of your family's data leaves the device.
Mostly stays on-device
On-device, no vendor cloud
Whether it spies on your kid's messages and movements.
No message or location spying
Never reads your content
An illustrative paraphrase of common review themes.
Great earn model, thin base
Free but buggy, bypassed
What it does
Can kids earn screen time back?
Earn time back repeatedly
One-off manual grants only
Limits on social apps and feeds.
Rolling hourly caps, presets
Blunt daily app limit
A calm ramp before downtime.
Calm window before downtime
Downtime schedule only
Control over texts and chat apps.
Caps chat apps privately
Communication limits, group loopholes
Blocking unsafe or adult sites.
Adult and tracking filter
Content restrictions, on-device
Different settings for home, school and out.
Rules adapt by place, privately
Basic locate, separate feature
Glanceable status on the lock screen.
Lock-screen live status
No live activity
Prices and product details were checked on July 12, 2026. Retailers, carriers, and regional availability can change, so please check the latest pricing yourself before buying.
This is an editorial comparison, not a lab test. Ratings are our informed opinion of the tradeoffs parents care about.
Review quotes are illustrative paraphrases of common review themes, not verbatim customer quotes. Pricing and features change, so use each app's own site before you buy.
Source notes
Pricing and features shift often, so the links below are the trail to each product rather than a claim about today's exact number.
Start free
Ratings reflect Thrive's editorial view as of July 2026.
Just a Phone, Thrive's lock-it-down setup, is a phone choice rather than an add-on app, so it lives on the kids phone options page.
