# Bark vs Tend+

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Tend+ at 83% against Bark's 13%. Tend+ also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.3) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). Bark's advantage is ratings volume (36K vs 9) and chart position (#80 vs unranked). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Bark sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Tend+ sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Tend+ holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bark has 36K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 13% of Bark's written reviews are positive against 83% of Tend+'s.

Bark ships an update every 2 months, Tend+ fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bark | Tend+ |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.3 (36K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bark-parental-controls/id1477619146/reviews) | **[4.6 (9 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tend-plus/id6757132975/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **36K** | 9 |
| Positive reviews | 12.5% of reviews | **83.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | **#80** | — |
| Size | 53 MB | 47 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Bark Technologies, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1164495252) | [Daniel Atchison](https://appshunter.io/developer/1864784050) |

## What reviewers say

### Bark

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

**Currently charting:** #80 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


### Tend+

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tend-plus/id6757132975)

This app helps you maintain important relationships by reminding you to reach out to people you care about. It provides daily prompts and allows you to personalize reminders to stay connected with friends, family, and acquaintances.

**Highlights:** Daily outreach prompts, Personalized reminder settings, Birthday and anniversary detection, Life event awareness (Premium), Customizable prompts (Premium), One-tap interaction logging

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tend+ Premium | $2.99 | per month |
| Tend+ Premium | $19.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bark free?

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

### Is Tend+ free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Bark or Tend+?

Tend+ is rated higher. Bark averages 4.3 out of 5 from 36K ratings, while Tend+ averages 4.6 from 9 ratings.

### Do Bark or Tend+ have ads?

Neither Bark nor Tend+ shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Bark or Tend+?

Bark ships an update every 2 months, and Tend+ fortnightly. Most recently, Bark was updated on October 29, 2026 and Tend+ 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.*