# Bark vs Slate Educational Scheduling

The clearest difference is rating: Bark at 4.3 against Slate Educational Scheduling's 2.0. Bark also leads on ratings volume (36K vs 5) and chart position (#77 vs unranked). Slate Educational Scheduling's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Bark sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Slate Educational Scheduling asks for nothing beyond the download.

Bark holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bark has 36K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 13% of Bark's written reviews are positive against 33% of Slate Educational Scheduling's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Bark ships an update every 2 months, Slate Educational Scheduling weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bark | Slate Educational Scheduling |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.3 (36K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bark-parental-controls/id1477619146/reviews)** | [2.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/slate-educational-scheduling/id1573005377/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **36K** | 5 |
| Positive reviews | 12.8% of reviews | **33.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#77** | — |
| Size | 53 MB | 123 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | **15.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Bark Technologies, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1164495252) | [Penmac](https://appshunter.io/developer/1121004147) |

## What reviewers say

### Bark

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bark-parental-controls/id1477619146)

**Currently charting:** #77 Top Grossing · Productivity (US App Store)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Bark Jr Monthly | $5.99 | per month |
| Bark Monthly | $14.99 | per month |
| Bark Jr Annual | $49.99 | per year |
| Bark Annual | $99.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


### Slate Educational Scheduling

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/slate-educational-scheduling/id1573005377)

This app streamlines the process of managing classroom absences and substitute teacher assignments for school districts. It provides real-time staffing information and detailed reports.

**Highlights:** Enter absences quickly, Accept substitute assignments, Real-time staffing information, Robust reporting, Streamlined communication

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bark free?

Bark is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Slate Educational Scheduling free?

Slate Educational Scheduling is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Bark or Slate Educational Scheduling?

Bark is rated higher. Bark averages 4.3 out of 5 from 36K ratings, while Slate Educational Scheduling averages 2.0 from 5 ratings.

### Do Bark or Slate Educational Scheduling have ads?

Neither Bark nor Slate Educational Scheduling shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Bark or Slate Educational Scheduling?

Bark ships an update every 2 months, and Slate Educational Scheduling weekly. Most recently, Bark was updated on October 25, 2026 and Slate Educational Scheduling on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*