Modern children had never experienced a period when they could not connect to the entire globe via the internet. Children spend more time online than anybody else and certainly more than their parents. There has been an adverse impact of the internet on children’s attitude and behavior.
However, it is well known that the internet may expose children to a wide range of inappropriate materials. This is a significant concern if you are a parent since you do not want your children to see explicit, upsetting, and unlawful websites and applications.
This is why parental control applications are essential. They can monitor their child’s online activities and limit what they do on their gadgets. Parental control programs can assist you in managing your children’s ever-increasing hours of device usage.
However, finding the best parental control application, on the other hand, might be difficult because there are so many to pick from, each offering something different.
Here, I’ll make the process of selecting the best parental control for your family a little simpler by examining and comparing two of the top parental controls – Qustodio vs Net Nanny review.
What is Qustodio and Net Nanny?
Qustodio is a highly customizable parental control tool that allows you to keep track of your child. It is compatible with Android devices, iOS, Kindle, and desktop operating systems like Windows and Mac.
Also, the app has many tracking features, including Internet filtering, calls, messages monitoring, and app blocking. It also features a Panic button and a recently introduced YouTube monitoring tool, allowing parents to closely monitor their children’s look for and view the famous video site.
On the other hand, Net Nanny is one of the most dependable and thorough programs available. Net Nanny enables you to monitor your family’s Internet behavior while also safeguarding your children from potentially hazardous materials. You can restrict your children’s screen time and keep them from viewing unsuitable materials.
Now, let’s go through the Qustodio vs Net Nanny review.
Qustodio vs Net Nanny Review: Features
Here are some of the features reviews of both Qustodio and Net Nanny.
1. Web Filtering
The internet includes various materials, including both informative and inappropriate things. Some explicit stuff on the internet may be incredibly harmful to the vulnerable minds of young ones. As a result, effective online website filtering is required in every parental control tool.
Many web contents are filled with scams and phishing. So, how do you keep your kid safe from scam?
Both of these applications scan sites and provide a full report on whether or not the websites are secure. Based on your child’s age and needs, you may manually ban any platform, from sports, games, and social media to adult content.
Similarly, Qustodio lets you ban particular websites by 29 categories. Safe Search can also be enabled by default on Chrome, Firefox, and Silk. Net Nanny offers a force filter that allows parents to restrict the internet by 14 categories.
2. Limit Screen Time
Another significant problem that practically every parent is concerned about is the amount of time their children spend on their devices. Once a child begins to use their smartphones or computers, it isn’t easy to get them to stop.
Excessive screen time is also a big issue in a child’s development since it promotes irregular sleep, headaches, eye irritation, short-sightedness, and other issues.
However, you do not need to be afraid because parental control has been implemented to handle this issue. Net Nanny and Qustodio both have excellent screen control features.
You may set a time restriction for your children to use the internet in both apps. If they continue to use it for longer than the permitted period, you will be automatically notified.
3. Provides Activity Reports
Qustodio sends parents detailed daily and weekly activity reports that include location history information, online surfing, and app usage of your child’s activities.
You can also see your child’s activities in real-time through the Parent dashboard, as you don’t want to be hovering over your child’s shoulder at all times. Qustodio provides notifications when your child installs a new app, exceeds a time restriction, or accesses adult content.
On contrast, Net Nanny does not send the activity reports through email. Still, it does allow parents to monitor real-time, web-based reports, including websites and online search phrases, via their Family-feed, as well as get warnings of warning or restricted actions.
4. Tracks Location History
Nowadays, the most significant concern of a parent is their child’s location. Growing children, particularly teens, do not feel the need to keep their parents informed of their whereabouts, which might lead to difficulty, a significant concern for all parents. So, location tracking of the children may be quite reassuring for the parents.
Also Read: How To Track an iPhone Location Using Phone Number
Fortunately, Net Nanny and Qustodio are both excellent at location tracking. After installing the app on both of your devices, you can easily track the location history of your children.
5. Social Media Monitoring
Social media is often recognized as the most recent and successful means of communicating and maintaining a social life. Everyone, from youngsters to parents to the elderly, is glued to social media.
Various online concerns develop due to misuse of social media, such as online harassment, bullying, threats, etc. Hence, it is necessary to be careful while using social media, especially children.
Qustodio provides comprehensive and up-to-date capabilities that aid in monitoring social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. However, Net Nanny does not include social media monitoring, a significant disadvantage for the software.
6. Geofencing
Geofencing is simply the process of establishing a virtual barrier around a geographical site, such as a school, a friend’s house, or a neighborhood.
Qustodio employs this helpful technology to tell you when a family member enters or exits an area you choose under the category ‘Your Places’. Furthermore, Qustodio also has a quick and straightforward Panic button for your child to communicate their position and notify a trusted list of contacts that require assistance.
Likewise, Net Nanny also has the geofencing feature, but it is not up to the mark compared to Qustodio. And it does not provide the panic button.
Qustodio vs Net Nanny Review: Pros and Cons
Pros and cons of parental control apps are:
Pros Of Qustodio
- Packages have a comprehensive range of tracking features.
- Can operate on a variety of devices and operating systems
- Simple and easy to use
- The free version is fully functional.
- Both mobile and desktop platforms are supported.
Cons Of Qustodio
- Cost-effective
- There are no social media tracking features.
Pros Of Net Nanny
- It has the best web filtering techniques.
- Simple setup
- Limits screen time options
- App blocking
- Provides monthly or weekly records of the child’s online activities.
Cons Of Net Nanny
- Geofencing features aren’t imposing.
- A free version is not available.
- The default filter settings are insufficient.
Qustodio vs Net Nanny Review: Pricing Comparison
Qustodio’s pricing is divided into three categories: small plan, medium plan, and large plan. These versions were created to satisfy the demands of various family sizes. The cost of the small plan is $49.46 per year for 5 devices, the medium plan is $87.26 per year for 10 devices, and the large plan is $124.16 per year for 15 devices.
Net Nanny costs $39.99 per year to get started, but you will only be able to monitor one device, and another pricing package is $54.99 per year. With this version, you can safeguard 11 devices, and it works across all device platforms.
In addition, it also provides another best value deal at $89.99 per year. You can monitor and safeguard up to 20 devices and work across all platforms. Net Nanny is a completely paid app with no free membership plan and no trial version.
Qustodio vs Net Nanny Review: Installation and Setup
Installation Of Qustodio
- Go to the Qustodio website and begin the download procedure.
- Double-click the Qustodio installer when it has been downloaded.
- Then install the app.
- Enter your name, email, and password to create an account if you don’t already have one.
- If you already have an account, enter your Qustodio login information. Then, press the Next button.
- Select your child’s profile you wish to track. Press the Next button.
- After carefully reading the instructions, click next and then complete.
Installation Of Net Nanny
- Create an account with Net Nanny.
- Select any subscription plan that matches your needs.
- Add the Net Nanny Configuration Wizard to your child’s laptop.
- Tap the Net Nanny icon to begin the installation procedure.
- Select the drop-down menu, pick the desired language, and press OK.
- Close all other programs, wait for the Net Nanny Configuration Wizard to start, and then hit Next.
- Accept the term and condition, then press next.
- Click on the Finish tab and restart your device to complete the Net Nanny installation.
- Log in to your account on your child’s device, and link both the accounts.
- And the app is ready to track your child’s activities.
Qustodio vs Net Nanny Review: Comparison Table
The comparison table of Qustodio and Net Nanny is shown as:
| Specifications | Qustodio | Net Nanny |
| Free Version | Available | Unavailable |
| Location Tracking | Available | Available |
| Device Limits | 5/10/15 | 1/11/20 |
| Social Media Monitoring | Available | Available |
| Geofencing | Available | Unavailable |
| Panic Button | Available | Unavailable |
| Cross-Platform | Available | Available |
| Screen Time Limitations | Available | Available |
| Web Filtering | Available | Available |
| YouTube Monitoring | Available | Unavailable |
| Safe Search | Available | Available |
| Calls and Messages Monitoring | Available | Unavailable |
| Activity Reports | Available | Available |
Conclusion
As can be seen from Qustodio vs Net Nanny review, both parental control apps are far superior to others on the market. These parental control apps have several features to help protect your children from internet threats and predators.
Both applications are excellent in their way, but I prefer Qustodio over Net Nanny. The only two reasons I believe Qustodio is superior to Net Nanny are its geofencing features and superior web filtering techniques.
Finally, I hope you have a good understanding of what parental controlling apps are and why they should be utilized after reading this post. And I hope it helps you pick which parental control to use after reading this post.
Also Read: Top 9 Internet Filters for Android
Also Read: Net Nanny Review
