Comparison

AppClose vs Bark

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

AppClose

This platform simplifies co-parenting by providing tools for organized communication, scheduling, and expense tracking. It offers secure messaging, call recording, and court-trusted documentation to help families stay connected and compliant with legal requirements.

Highlights
  • Secure messaging and call recording
  • Shared calendars and parenting schedules
  • Expense tracking and reimbursements
  • Court-trusted, unalterable records
  • Parenting time tracker
  • Secure file storage
Features
Read full description

WE KNOW CO-PARENTING And that is why AppClose is the most downloaded co-parenting app in the world, with more than 3.1M downloads, and has more daily and monthly active users than any other co-parenting app in the world. AppClose has been court-ordered in all 50 states, as well as Canada, UK, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, based on user-supplied data. Every feature in AppClose exists to keep children first — SO THERE IS ONE PLAN, AND EVERYTHING IS IN IT. No tiers, no upsells, no add-ons. No limits on calling, call recording, storage or records exports. Messaging, recorded calls, calendars, notes, pets, expenses, payments and court-ready records, for one price, with 60 days free — includes all features, no payment, no commitment. Fee waivers are available for qualifying families experiencing financial hardship and for survivors of domestic violence. Discounts are available for active military and veterans. See if AppClose is right for your co-parenting needs. Selected by Apple for its "Parenting Essentials" collection and named to Inc.'s 2024 Best in Business list for Operational Excellence. COMMUNICATE AND DOCUMENT YOUR COMMUNICATIONS • One-on-one and group messages that users cannot edit or delete; time-stamped when sent and when first viewed • Unlimited audio and video calls — no per-minute charge; your phone number and location are never shared • With both parents' consent, calls are recorded and transcribed and kept with your records • Co-Parent Assist™ (optional) reviews your draft before you send it, flags wording that could escalate conflict and offers a calmer rewrite. It never blocks or sends a message for you. It runs on privately managed AI infrastructure — your messages never go to third-party AI services and are never used to train AI ORGANIZE THE SCHEDULE • Shared calendars for parenting schedules, events and appointments • Parenting-time tracker: planned vs. actual time • Pick-up, drop-off and switch-day requests your co-parent approves or declines — each answer is recorded • Calendar notes for what the family must remember • Pet management and pet schedules — pets are in the plan too SHARE THE COSTS • Expenses by category, with receipts kept in the record • Send and receive reimbursements with ipayou® (U.S.) KEEP EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE • Child details: doctors, allergies, medications, immunizations, school and emergency contacts • Secure file storage for photos, scans and files; location data is removed from uploaded photos and videos • Private Check-Ins log your arrival and departure, visible only to you — never a tracker • Your Circle: family, caregivers, guardians ad litem, attorneys and other professionals COURT-READY RECORDS — EXPORT AS OFTEN AS YOU NEED Every message, call, request, expense and payment is time-stamped and unalterable by users. Export at no extra cost: • Unlimited Certified Records (U.S.), each with a unique Export ID that attorneys and courts can verify • One-on-one and group messages • Call logs • Expense and reimbursement records • Pick-up, drop-off and switch-day requests • Check-ins • Notes • In-app session logs If your subscription ends, your account goes read-only and your records stay exportable at no cost. AppClose SOLO Your co-parent doesn't use AppClose? Send requests, events and expenses by text or email. WORK WITH YOUR PROFESSIONALS Share chats or Certified Records with your attorney, mediator or guardian ad litem only when you approve it, through AppClose Pro — free for family law professionals. MILITARY FAMILIES Deployed or on limited access? Requests and updates still reach you by email. BUILT FOR REAL-WORLD CO-PARENTING Co-parenting, parallel parenting, joint custody, supervised visitation and blended families, on phone, tablet or computer — always in sync. Available in English, Spanish and six other languages. Terms of Service: https://appclose.com/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://appclose.com/privacy/

About

Bark

This service helps families manage their children's digital lives by monitoring online content, managing screen time, and filtering websites. It alerts parents to potential issues like cyberbullying or adult content, offering peace of mind.

Highlights
  • Content monitoring for texts, email, YouTube, and social media
  • Alerts for cyberbullying, adult content, and threats
  • Screen time limits and scheduling
  • Website filtering by category or specific sites
  • Monitors 30+ apps and social media platforms
Features
Read full description

Bark provides families with all the tools they need to raise kids in the digital age. Our comprehensive service lets you monitor content, manage screen time, and filter websites so you can get peace of mind while your child is online. CONTENT MONITORING Bark monitors your child’s texts, email, YouTube, and 30+ apps and social media platforms for issues like cyberbullying, adult content, sexual predators, profanity, suicidal ideation, threats of violence, and more. Parents receive alerts only when something potentially problematic occurs online. You won’t have full access to everything on your child’s phone — just the things you might need to know about. SCREEN TIME MANAGEMENT Families can set healthy time limits and create schedules for when their children’s devices can connect to the internet (through both cell service and Wi-Fi). WEB FILTERING Our web filter lets you select which websites your child can access on their devices. You can allow or block specific sites — or even whole categories like streaming services, online gaming, sexual content, and more. BARK TESTIMONIALS • "My wife and I LOVE Bark. We've had some tough but productive conversations with our 13-year-old son. It's proving to be extremely valuable." — Josh L. • “It’s just another set of protections we as parents give our kids for the digital environment (or as my 10-year-old calls it, a “cell phone seat belt”). My oldest is a 9th grader, and while I trust her, I’ve come to realize through the alerts that some of her friends aren’t truly her friends. It’s led to some amazing conversations about choosing friends wisely and recognizing toxic people. While she wasn’t for Bark at first, she’s since said she’s grateful that I saw those messages because it reaffirmed what she was feeling but didn’t know how to verbalize without sounding sensitive.” — Bark Parent • "Bark notified me that my young daughter had unknowingly revealed her phone number to strangers on Twitter. The fact that Bark notified me was impressive and led to an informative discussion with her the same day." — Jon B. • “Since Bark alerted us to the suicidal language used in the Google doc that was being used in a chat document with a friend, we have seen both a pediatrician and a licensed counselor. We are hopeful for a positive outcome. Thanks to Bark for letting us peek into our child’s mind!” — Bark Parent • “This app is a lifesaver! It has allowed us to catch so many “red flags” in the content my kids have accessed on their devices and in their interactions with friends and other people online that I wouldn’t have ever known about otherwise. The big difference between Bark and other “Parental Control” software is that Bark allows your kids to have so much more privacy. It doesn’t show you everything they do, but sends an instant alert regarding any activity that might be concerning. Highly recommended!” — Bark Parent With Bark, you can help keep your kids safe both online and in real life. Try it out for seven days absolutely free! Our Family Online Safety Specialists are standing by to help answer any questions you may have. Email help@bark.us or visit help.bark.us to get answers and advice from the Bark Team. Terms of Use https://www.bark.us/terms

Screenshots

AppClose4 screens
Bark4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: AppClose at 4.7 against Bark's 4.2. On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. AppClose sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month and Bark sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AppClose holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 39K and 35K respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 13% and 13% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AppClose ships an update monthly, Bark every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 3, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 10 level
AppClose versus Bark: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAppCloseBark
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (39K ratings) — better4.2 (35K ratings)
Positive reviews13.2% of reviews — better12.9% of reviews
Number of ratings39K — better35K
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#46 — better#63
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size152 MB30 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperAppClose, IncBark Technologies, Inc.

Customer experience

AppClose

All ratings39,271 ratings
Positive93.0%
Neutral3.6%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews584 reviews
Positive13.2%
Neutral11.8%
Negative75.0%

Bark

All ratings34,867 ratings
Positive80.5%
Neutral3.4%
Negative16.1%
Written reviews567 reviews
Positive12.9%
Neutral7.2%
Negative79.9%

User reviews

AppClose

From 39K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 🔒 Secure communication
  • 💡 Helpful for co-parenting
  • 👍 Customizable schedules
  • 👍 Useful for court documentation

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Calendar issues and bugs
  • 🐛 Glitchy app performance
  • 🐛 Unreliable notifications
  • 🐛 Lost data and documents
  • 🐛 Complicated user interface

Bark

From 35K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💯 Solid recommendation
  • 🔒 Helps keep watch over family
  • 🔒 Necessary for child safety
  • 🚀 Disturbingly good app so far
  • 🚀 Unique helpful tracker

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Very hard to navigate
  • 🐛 Can't install
  • 🐛 Annoying features
  • 🐛 Useless, don't waste money
  • 🐛 Confusion during setup

Bugs and requests

AppClose

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Calendar events not saving properly
  • Shared schedules not displaying correctly
  • Inability to delete or edit calendar entries
  • Notifications not working as expected
  • Uploaded documents/photos not loading
Show 1 more
  • App crashes and freezes frequently

Requested features

7 requests
  • Improved calendar functionality
  • Better syncing between parents
  • Group chat feature
  • Call recording option
  • Integration with other calendars
Show 2 more
  • Notes section for documentation
  • Expense tracking improvements

Bark

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Frequent disconnections and reconnections required
  • Inability to monitor certain popular apps like TikTok and Snapchat
  • Delayed alerts and notifications
  • Unexpected phone performance issues like slower speeds and battery drain

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improve compatibility with iOS devices
  • Provide cloud-based backups instead of manual device backups
  • Add password protection to prevent app uninstallation
  • Improve sensitivity settings and notification management

In-app purchases

3 purchases

AppClose

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Unlimited Subscription$8.991 Month
  • One Year Subscription$98.991 Year
One-time1
  • 30 Days of Call Recording$12.99
4 purchases

Bark

Subscriptions4
  • Bark Jr Monthly7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Bark Monthly7 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • Bark Jr Annual7 Days trial$49.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Bark Annual7 Days trial$99.991 Year

Questions

Is AppClose free?
AppClose is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bark free?
Bark is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, AppClose or Bark?
AppClose is rated higher. AppClose averages 4.7 out of 5 from 39K ratings, while Bark averages 4.2 from 35K ratings.
Do AppClose or Bark have ads?
Neither AppClose nor Bark shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AppClose or Bark?
AppClose ships an update monthly, and Bark every 2 months. Most recently, AppClose was updated on October 3, 2026 and Bark on October 3, 2026.
Which is more popular, AppClose or Bark?
AppClose currently peaks at #46 in the App Store charts, and Bark at #63. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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