App comparisons

Family trackers, safety & smart apps

Which app does what, side by side. Features and prices change often, so check each app's site before you sign up.

GPS location & safety

Share locations with each other, get arrival alerts and, on some apps, crash detection. Agree on it together; secret tracking tends to backfire with teens.

Feature	Life360	Apple Find My	Google Family Link
Place alerts (geofencing)	✓	✓	✓
Crash detection	✓	✓	–
Driving / speed reports	✓	–	–
Free option	✓	✓	✓

Life360

Best for: Families with teen drivers

+ Place and arrival alerts
+ Driving reports on paid plans
+ Works on iPhone and Android
– Best features need a subscription
– Collects a lot of location data

Price: Free; paid tiers

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Apple Find My

Best for: All-iPhone families

+ Built in, no extra app
+ Private and simple
+ Crash Detection on newer iPhones
– Apple devices only
– No driving reports

Price: Free

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Google Family Link

Best for: Kids with Android phones

+ Location plus screen-time controls
+ Approve app downloads
– Mainly for Android kids
– Controls loosen at 13 in many countries

Price: Free

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Screen time & digital safety

Filters and monitoring are training wheels, not a replacement for talking. Start stricter, then loosen as trust grows.

Feature	Bark	Qustodio	Aura
Social media / text alerts	✓	–	✓
Web content filter	✓	✓	✓
Time limits & schedules	✓	✓	✓
Free option	–	✓	–

Bark

Best for: Alerts about bullying, self-harm or predators

+ Flags worrying messages without showing everything
+ Covers many social apps
– Less coverage on iPhone
– Subscription

Price: Paid; free trial

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Qustodio

Best for: Detailed screen-time control

+ Strong web filter and schedules
+ Works across many devices
– Social monitoring is limited
– Full features cost extra

Price: Free basic; paid tiers

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Aura

Best for: Families wanting identity protection too

+ Parental controls bundled with identity theft protection
+ One plan for the family
– More than most families need for a first phone

Price: Paid; free trial

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Shared family calendars & organizers

One calendar everyone can see cuts down on missed pickups and nagging.

Feature	Skylight Calendar	Cozi	Maple
Color-coded family calendar	✓	✓	✓
Chore lists	✓	✓	✓
Meal planning	✓	✓	✓
Free option	–	✓	✓

Skylight Calendar

Best for: A wall display the whole family sees

+ Touchscreen in the kitchen
+ Syncs with Google and Apple calendars
– Hardware to buy
– Some features need a subscription

Price: Device purchase; optional plan

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Cozi

Best for: A free, simple family organizer

+ Shared calendar, lists and meals
+ Free to start
– Ads in the free version

Price: Free; paid tier

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Maple

Best for: Splitting the mental load

+ Assign tasks to each parent
+ Calendar and meal plans
– Newer, smaller app

Price: Free; paid tier

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Allowance & teen banking

A kid debit card turns allowance into real practice with saving and spending, with you watching.

Feature	Greenlight	GoHenry	FamZoo
Automatic allowance	✓	✓	✓
Savings goals	✓	✓	✓
Debit card with parent controls	✓	✓	✓
Chores linked to pay	✓	✓	✓

Greenlight

Best for: Teens learning to invest and save

+ Parent-controlled debit card
+ Savings goals and investing lessons
– Monthly fee

Price: Paid monthly plans

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GoHenry

Best for: Younger kids starting out

+ Kid-friendly app and money lessons
+ Spending limits by store type
– Monthly fee per child

Price: Paid monthly plans

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FamZoo

Best for: Hands-on families with several kids

+ Very flexible rules
+ Low cost per family, not per child
– Plain, older design

Price: Paid; lower with prepay

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Disclosure: we are not paid by these apps and these are not affiliate links. If that changes, links will be labeled and may earn us a commission. Brand names are for comparison only.

General information only. Reviewed by a pediatrician.