Comparison

Circle Parental Controls App vs Qustodio Parental Control App

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

Head to head
About

Circle Parental Controls App

This app helps parents manage their children's online activity and screen time. It allows for content filtering, setting time limits, pausing internet access, and monitoring usage across devices. Parents can also set bedtimes, reward good behavior, and schedule focus time for schoolwork.

Highlights
  • Content filtering by age
  • Set daily screen time limits
  • Pause internet access
  • Monitor browsing history and usage
  • Set device bedtimes
  • Reward extra online time
  • Schedule focus time
Features
Read full description

Block and limit screen time. Keep kids safe and focused with the most comprehensive and easy to use parental control app for devices in home and on the go. Circle Parental Controls App gives parents screen time control whether kids are playing their favorite online game, connecting with friends or doing schoolwork. Circle goes beyond setting Screen Time Limits and Filters with additional parental control features like Pause, History, Rewards and Bedtime. Parents can customize screen time and WiFi control based on their kids’ ages and their own family preferences, and even limit or block social media. SCREEN TIME PARENTAL CONTROL APP • Filter: Choose appropriate (or block inappropriate) content by age with web filters. Even block social media. • Time Limits: Set daily screen time limits for popular apps and sites. • Pause the Internet®: Make the Internet stop for every family member (or just one). MONITOR AND KEEP TRACK OF ONLINE TIME • History: Check out sites kids visited (or tried to visit) throughout the day. Or go back as far as you’d like for screen monitoring and phone monitoring. • Usage: Get a complete picture of your family’s Internet use, across all devices • Location: Keep track of your kids through their mobile devices. Monitor kids’ phones to keep them safe. BALANCE TIME ONLINE AND OFFLINE • Bedtime: Ensure your kids get the sleep they need. Set a bedtime for connected devices. • Rewards: Celebrate good behavior by giving a little extra online time just for the day. • Focus Time: Schedule distraction-free Internet time for school, homework or offline time. Start managing your family’s online screen time today with a free trial to access all the parental control app features like WiFi blocker, app blocker and other premium parental control app and screen time control features. Circle’s WiFi manager, Internet and website blocker, and mobile device management make for the most robust screen time parental control app available. Kids can use the Circle parental control app to keep track of their own screen time online with a personalized dashboard. THE ULTIMATE PARENTAL CONTROL APP Over 90% of Circle parental control app users say it helps keep their kids safe online and makes it easier to manage screen time in their family. ———— Circle Home Plus — sold separately Need an in-home device to manage online screen time on smart TVs, video game consoles, and computers? Manage all Wi-Fi connected devices in your home with the Circle Home Plus parental control device - universal parental control at home and away! Learn more: meetcircle.com The Circle Parental Controls App is not for use with Circle with Disney or Circle on Netgear routers. ———— Need Help? If you have any parental control app questions, need help with the Circle parental control app, or want to provide feedback, please contact our Support Team: help@meetcircle.com help.meetcircle.com ———— Subscription Pricing & Terms A Circle subscription is required and gives your family access to every Circle parental control feature. Circle Subscription comes with a FREE trial period (for new premium members only). The Circle subscription is an automatic renewing subscription. Your subscription will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase and will automatically renew unless auto-renewal is disabled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Subscriptions are billed at the start of each period and cannot be refunded. Subscribers can manage subscriptions and disable auto-renewal by visiting their iTunes Account Settings after purchase. Privacy policy: https://meetcircle.com/privacy/ Terms of use: https://meetcircle.com/license/

About

Qustodio Parental Control App

This app helps parents manage their children's digital lives by setting screen time limits, blocking apps and websites, and monitoring online activity. It also offers location tracking and alerts for searches and messages to ensure online safety and encourage healthy digital habits.

Highlights
  • Screen time limits
  • App and website blocking
  • Web content filtering
  • GPS location tracking
  • Search and message alerts
  • Social media monitoring
  • Co-parenting feature
Features
Read full description

Awarded PC Mag’s Editors’ Choice, Qustodio Parental Control App makes parenting easier with daily screen time limits, app blocking, kid tracking, AI powered search and message alerts, social media monitoring, porn blocking and more. Start by downloading this Qustodio Parental Control App onto your device. Then download the Kids App Qustodio companion app onto your child’s device or devices. Our two monitoring apps work together to give parents all the tools they need to protect their kids online and encourage a healthy, balanced digital presence. Parents, with Qustodio Parental Control App you can: Protect your child’s online safety • Filter web (block games, porn, gambling and block all unwanted content) • Receive alerts about web activity and blocked websites • Block games & apps • Enforce safe search (filter out inappropriate results in search engines such as Google, Bing, YouTube) • App insights Nurture healthy habits • Set daily screen time limits • Schedule restricted times • Pause the internet at the click of a button • Set limits on games & apps • Custom routines for apps and websites Have full visibility • Receive search alerts • Receive SMS message alerts. • Receive social monitoring alerts. (available WhatsApp, Instagram, and Line) • 30-day online activity reports • App download alerts • Monitor Youtube activity • Track calls • Supervise together: Invite another parent/guardian to monitor and set rules for your child (co-parent) Locate family • GPS location monitoring (geolocation kid tracker) • Find your child’s phone • Locate kids on the move • Share your location • Save your favorite places Choose Qustodio’s basic parental control plan to access some of these features, or upgrade to the premium plan for full access to all features Qustodio Premium family parental control & screen time app is available with an annual subscription. Your payment will be charged to your iTunes account upon purchase confirmation and any unused portion of your free trial period will be ended. Your subscription will renew automatically and at the same cost unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. To avoid being billed for an additional period, subscriptions must be canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription and set auto-renewal to off by going to “Settings” on your iPhone or iPad. If you have any questions or need help, contact us at info@qustodio.com We take privacy and the protection of your family and children’s data extremely seriously. We do not and will not sell data to third-parties. Your child’s screen time activity is for your eyes only. Our Terms of Use are available here: https://www.qustodio.com/family/terms/ The Qustodio family parental control & screen time app is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese Dutch & Brazilian Portuguese.

Screenshots

Circle Parental Controls App4 screens
Qustodio Parental Control App4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is chart position: Qustodio Parental Control App at #68 against Circle Parental Controls App's unranked. Circle Parental Controls App's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Circle Parental Controls App sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Qustodio Parental Control App sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $54.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.2 for Circle Parental Controls App against 4.2 for Qustodio Parental Control App. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13K and 9.6K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 10% of Circle Parental Controls App's written reviews are positive against 15% of Qustodio Parental Control App's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Circle Parental Controls App ships an update every 6 weeks, Qustodio Parental Control App monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Circle Parental Controls App versus Qustodio Parental Control App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCircle Parental Controls AppQustodio Parental Control App
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (13K ratings)4.2 (9.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews10.4% of reviews15.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13K — better9.6K
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#68 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size144 MB152 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCircle Media IncorporatedQustodio

Customer experience

Circle Parental Controls App

All ratings13,424 ratings
Positive80.4%
Neutral3.5%
Negative16.1%
Written reviews231 reviews
Positive10.4%
Neutral8.2%
Negative81.4%

Qustodio Parental Control App

All ratings9,454 ratings
Positive80.3%
Neutral3.8%
Negative15.8%
Written reviews715 reviews
Positive15.2%
Neutral8.4%
Negative76.4%

User reviews

Circle Parental Controls App

From 13K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Effective at blocking content
  • ⏱️ Helpful for setting time limits
  • 👍 Allows monitoring of device usage

Room to improve

  • 🐢 Slows down internet speed
  • 🔒 Privacy concerns with monitoring
  • 🔍 Lack of control/customization
  • 🤬 Causes family conflict
  • 💔 Damages parent-child relationship

Qustodio Parental Control App

From 9.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Helpful for monitoring family
  • 🔒 Provides parental control and tracking
  • 👍 Comprehensive features
  • 👍 Useful for protecting children

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitchy and unreliable
  • 🔒 Easy for kids to bypass
  • 🔒 Lacks password protection
  • 👎 Difficult to use and set up
  • 🔋 Drains device battery

Bugs and requests

Circle Parental Controls App

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inconsistent behavior
  • Connectivity issues
  • Difficulty setting up and managing

Requested features

4 requests
  • More flexible time/content controls
  • Ability to whitelist/blacklist apps/sites
  • Better notification system
  • Improved performance and reliability

Qustodio Parental Control App

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Settings and restrictions randomly reset
  • Inability to block certain apps and websites
  • Inconsistent tracking of device usage

Requested features

4 requests
  • More customizable time and app restrictions
  • Ability to block specific websites/content
  • Improved compatibility with iOS and MacOS
  • Better monitoring of calls, texts, and location

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Circle Parental Controls App

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly14 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Yearly14 Days trial$89.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Annual$89.991 Year
10 purchases

Qustodio Parental Control App

Subscriptions10
  • Qustodio 5 devices 1-year$54.991 Year
  • Qustodio Premium Basic 1y$59.991 Year
  • Qustodio Premium Basic ADV$69.991 Year
Show 7 more
  • Qustodio Premium Basic PLS$69.991 Year
  • Qustodio 10 devices 1-year$94.991 Year
  • Qustodio Premium Complete 1y$99.991 Year
  • Qustodio Complete+Care 1y$99.991 Year
  • Qustodio Premium Complete ADV$119.991 Year
  • Qustodio Premium Complete ADV+Care$119.991 Year
  • Qustodio Premium Complete PLS+Care$124.991 Year

Questions

Is Circle Parental Controls App free?
Circle Parental Controls App is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Qustodio Parental Control App free?
Qustodio Parental Control App is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Circle Parental Controls App or Qustodio Parental Control App?
Qustodio Parental Control App is rated higher. Circle Parental Controls App averages 4.2 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while Qustodio Parental Control App averages 4.2 from 9.6K ratings.
Do Circle Parental Controls App or Qustodio Parental Control App have ads?
Neither Circle Parental Controls App nor Qustodio Parental Control App shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Circle Parental Controls App or Qustodio Parental Control App?
Circle Parental Controls App ships an update every 6 weeks, and Qustodio Parental Control App monthly. Most recently, Circle Parental Controls App was updated on November 4, 2026 and Qustodio Parental Control App on November 7, 2026.

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