A study by the American Heart Association reveals that children of age between 8 and 18 spend more than 7 hours on screen – which is not healthy at all. The rate of underage kids’ exposure to inappropriate content and harmful online activities is similarly high.
All it takes to limit your kid’s screen time, filter out inappropriate content on their device, and monitor their activities is a feature-rich parenting monitoring app. So, what is the best parental control software for Mac? That we’ll find out today.
Without taking another moment, let’s roll in.
1. Best Overall Mac Parental Control App: Qustodio
If you’re looking for the best Mac parental control software on the market, don’t look any further, Qustodio is the way to go. Qustodio is an authoritative parental control software serving over 4 million users around the world.
Whether it’s about filtering inappropriate content, monitoring your child’s activities with pinpoint accuracy, or putting time limits, Qustodio has you covered. In fact, Qustodio is an all-in-one solution for all your child’s problems associated with Mac and other devices.
With such great features and pinpoint accuracy as a parental control app, Qustodio is ranked high by various authoritative organizations like Wired, Business Insider, and The New York Times. Another marvelous stand of Qustodio is the offering of the free trial. It helps you determine if Qustodio is a fit for your needs.
That said, if you’re looking for a parental control app that you can also use on iOS, go through our detailed guide on best parental control apps for iPhone and iPad.
Pros
- Free trial
- Trusted by 4 million parents
- Lots of tracking features
- Convenient & handy
Cons
- Limited devices with the starter plan
Devices supported
5, 10, and 15 devices depending upon the plan you pick
Supported platforms
Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Chromebook, iPhone/iPad, Kindle
Pricing
$4.58/month, $8.08/month, and $11.5/month with Small, Medium, and Large plans, respectively.
Download for Mac here.
2. Best Easy to Use Mac Parental Control App: FamiSafe
Here we’ve got another competitive parental control software for Mac. What’s exciting about FamiSafe from Wondershare is the availability of a free version which many other parental control apps lack. Other than that, it offers pretty much all the essential features which makes it a great option to consider.
One of the major highlights of FamiSafe is control. Whether your child is around 3 or a teenager, the app lets you set appropriate limits to their device usage and the things they search for. The location tracker is another significant addition – allowing you to monitor your child’s location and see where he spent all day.
Below is a breakdown of the features offered by FamiSafe:
That said, getting started with Famisafe is pretty simple and straightforward. There are three steps to go through. These are the registration, installation, and connection. That’s it. Once done, you can now track your child’s activities on the Mac.
Pros
- Straightforward and easy-to-use
- Amazing for web blocking
- Free version available
- Trusted platform
Cons
- Expensive
- Geonection costs extra
Devices supported
The monthly plan lets you protect up to 5 devices while the yearly and quarterly plans include 10 devices for monitoring.
Supported platforms
iOS, Windows, Kindle, Chromebook, Mac
Pricing
The monthly plan starts from $10.99/mo, the annual plan at $60.99/year, and the quarterly plan at $20.99/quarter.
Download for Mac here.
Also, if you’re looking for free parental control apps, you can read our definitive guide on best free parental control apps for Android.
3. Best Free Parental Control App for Mac: Kidlogger
As the name shows Kidlogger is a spyware app designed for parents to monitor their child’s online activities. The app is compatible with nearly all the popular operating systems including Mac.
But what sets it apart from the pack is the availability of the FREE version for a lifetime. Of course, this free version won’t include the most premium monitoring features, but you do get a lot of control and benefits.
First off, whether it’s about monitoring your child’s web history or tracking the time they spent on Mac, Kidlogger got you covered. Furthermore, it also offers the extras like recording keystrokes of your child, their screenshots, and all the data on their device.
Speaking of the free version, it lets you monitor 5 devices while offering 9 MB storage and 9-day log history. The history duration and disk space increase as you choose a premium plan. But the offering of the essential monitoring features for FREE is indeed a significant addition.
Pros
- Free to use
- Versatile support for platforms
- Trusted by 1 million users
- Coordinates tracking
Cons
- Lacks some advanced features
- Limited features with a free plan
Devices supported
The free and standard versions both come with 5 devices while the professional plan includes 10.
Supported platforms
Android, Windows, Mac
Pricing
The starter plan comes for free. The standard and professional packages start from $29/year and $89/year.
4. Best Hidden Mac Parental Control App: Spyrix
If your concern is to secretly track your child’s phone without letting him know that there’s a spy app on their phone, Spyrix is your call. It’s a hidden parental control software for Mac and offers a variety of premium features that might be helpful in keeping your child protected.
What’s exciting about Spyrix is the inclusion of a free version which tends to be pretty helpful as well. The main highlights of Spyrix are the keylogger feature (record of the keystrokes of your child) and continuous screen recording for the most effective monitoring of your child’s activities.
Making it one of the best Mac child monitoring software is also the message monitoring feature. It lets you monitor all your child’s messages including Facebook messages, emails, Whatsapp messages, and whatnot?
Another marvelous stand of the app is a versatile support for platforms. Aside from Mac, it also works with Android, iOS, and Windows. So, you get peace of mind knowing all your child’s devices are being monitored and under control.
Pros
- Free version available
- Hidden and silent operation
- Live screen viewing feature
- Fit for keylogging
Cons
- The interface is not that appealing
- Lots of promotions with the free version
- Limited features with the starter plan
Devices supported
Depends upon the plan you choose. The starter plan restricts to a single Mac device only.
Supported platforms
Android, iOS, Mac, Windows
Pricing
The Spyrix Mac desktop plans start from $79/year for 1 device. It jumps to $89 on choosing 3 devices and to $119 with 5 of them. The higher plans are also in place.
5. Best Cheap Parental Control Software for Mac: Kaspersky
Kaspersky is a popular cybersecurity application focused on finding and removing viruses and malware. The platform offers a variety of other products. What we’ll talk about is their Kaspersky Safe Kids service. The highlights of Kaspersky’s parental control application are the cheap pricing and FREE version which offers a variety of uncompromised features.
The main benefit of choosing Kaspersky is web filtering that lets you block inappropriate websites on your child’s device/s. The screen time feature is another significant addition. You can use it to limit the time your child spends on a device. Furthermore, you also get to track your child’s location with GPS.
The installation of Kaspersky only takes 3 main steps. 1) You sign up on Kaspersky and install the app on your device. 2) You select Parent mode on your device. 3) You install it on the kid’s device and select child Mode. It’s that easy.
Pros
- Cheap yearly price
- Simple and easy
- Trusted platform
- Supports multiple operating systems
Cons
- No battery tracker with the free version
- The standard plan only allows a single device
Devices supported
Only one device is supported by the standard plan.
Supported platforms
Android, iOS, Mac, Windows
Pricing
The premium version starts from $15/year. The free plan is also available with limited features.
6. Best Internet Filter for Mac: Hoverwatch
Last but not the least, Hoverwatch is another amazing option for Mac parental control apps. It’s an award-winning child supervising app for parents designed to monitor all their online activities – with the aim of keeping your child safe from the dark sides of the internet.
The highlight of Mobicip is filtering inappropriate content from the web to make sure your child is not exposed to adult content. It’s available for various platforms and also offers time-limiting and app management features. Furthermore, the extras included are browsing history monitoring, allocation/blocking of streaming videos, and so on.
One of the exciting parts about Mobicip is the satisfactory user reviews that show how effective Hoverwatch is. Furthermore, it has also been featured on trusted organizations like The New York Times, Top Ten Reviews, and Today. With that sort of popularity, it easily becomes one of the best parenting monitoring software for Mac.
Pros
- 7-day free trial
- Lots of extra features
- Fit for website filtering
- Trusted parental control app
Cons
- No free version
- Requires you to pay annually
Devices supported
The Small, Medium, and X-Large plans support 5, 10, and 20 devices respectively.
Supported platforms
iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Kindle, Chromebook
Pricing
The plans start from $6.00/mo. The latter package costs $9.99/mo while the highest package starts from $24.95/mo.
Download for Mac here.
For further information regarding Hoverwatch, read our detailed Hoverwatch review here.
With that out of the way, if you find yourself unable to decide between these options, consider going through this buyer’s guide.
How to Find the Best Parental Control Software for Mac?
If you’re looking for a suitable parental control app for Mac, it’s important to evaluate each option with the following factors in mind.
Time Restrictions
Many of the parental control apps let you set daily and weekly schedules for the accessibility of a device. In other words, they would let you limit the time your child can use the device. Our recommendation is to go for such an option.
Blocking Performance
The major reason for you to look for a Mac parental control app is probably web filters. So, it’s important to make sure the parental control software you consider offers a good accuracy in blocking out inappropriate content.
Monitoring Features
Monitoring your child’s on-screen activities is equally important. Different parental control apps offer different monitoring features. Many of them let you monitor a variety of things like keystrokes, social media messages, browsing history, and all the data on the device. So, when choosing a parental control app, be sure to review the monitoring features.
Supported Platforms
Of course, you’d like an all-in-one and long-term solution for your child. Whether he uses Mac, iOS, Windows, or all of these, you should go for an app that covers the platforms you want to monitor. Thankfully, many of the apps are versatile and support all these operating systems.
Analytics
Analytics is pretty helpful as they offer a breakdown of your child’s screen time, their keystrokes, activities, apps usage, location, and so on. So, it’s recommended to choose an option that’s good in breaking down analytics.
Pricing
A parental control app can have the best features. But, it’s of no use if it outranges your budget. So, as a rule of thumb, go for the app that doesn’t make you break a bank and offers the best value for your money.
Key Takeaways
To sum things up, here’s which way to go:
- The best parental control software for Mac so far is definitely Qustodio.
- Qustodio offers an amazing value for your money and brings forth lots of protection features. The support for versatile platforms is another significant addition. With over 4 million parents actively using it for their child’s protection, you certainly cannot go wrong with it.
- A great alternative to Qustodio is FamiSafe, another Mac parental control software.
- FamiSafe is known best for its simplicity and easy-to-use interface which makes things pretty convenient for parents. Furthermore, the inclusion of the free trial is another significant addition helping you fearlessly evaluate their services.
What Does Parental Control Software Do?
Parental control software helps parents monitor what their kids do on their devices. A good parental control app offers web blocking to filter out inappropriate content, a location tracker, a history monitoring feature, and lots of other features that would help to monitor a child’s activities on a device.
How Can I Monitor My Child’s Laptop Without Them Knowing?
The best way to monitor a laptop secretly is by using a hidden or silent parental control like Spyrix. Such a spy app would not appear in task manager nor an antivirus program could find it as malicious software. Nevertheless, an operation spy app will still let you track a device’s activities.
Are There Any Free Parental Control Apps?
Kidlogger and Kaspersky are the best free parental control apps you’ll find on the market. Both offer powerful features with their free versions and stand out among other competitors. Speaking of Kidlogger, it lets you monitor 5 devices with 9 MB storage with the free version. Kaspersky’s free version comes with one device only.
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