Bark vs. mSpy 2024: Which Is Best To Keep Your Children Safe Online?

If you want a parental control app and you think you’ve narrowed your choices down to Bark vs. mSpy, this article is for you.

Patti Croft, Author

Kalleigh Lane, Editor

Last updated Apr 18, 2024

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4.7

Editorial Rating

On Bark Premium's website

Bark Premium

Machine learning catches the latest slang and keywords
Screens content across 19 categories
Activity can only be viewed if it’s triggered

3.0

Editorial Rating

On mSpy's website

mSpy

Extensive monitoring capabilities
Real-time location tracking
Features like remote camera access can be intrusive

When it comes to Bark vs. mSpy, you’ll find Bark is hard to beat. It uses machine learning to check for slang words, supports unlimited devices, and starts at $5.00/mo.

But if you need more surveillance capabilities, mSpy can access your child’s microphone and camera and has real-time location tracking. It does cost a little more, with prices starting at $11.67/mo, and you can only get protection for up to three devices, which may put some users off.

There’s a lot to unpack with these two applications. We’ll look at the pros and cons of both to help you choose the best parental control app for your family.

In this article

Bark vs. mSpy review at a glance
Bark vs. mSpy: prices
Bark vs. mSpy: monitoring and alerts
Which is safer, Bark vs. mSpy?
Bark vs. mSpy: Compatibility and customer support
Bark vs. mSpy FAQs
Bark vs. mSpy: Which is better?

Bark vs. mSpy review at a glance

One of the main differences between these two parental control apps is the number of devices covered. While Bark can protect unlimited devices, mSpy only covers up to three. For larger families, this could pose an issue.

There are also pricing differences to consider. Bark has plans ranging from $5.00–$39.00/mo. If you get mSpy, you’ll pay $11.67-$48.99/mo. You also have to sign up for longer periods to get the cheaper price.

Bark offers a better budget option, especially if you don’t care to read your child’s text messages. Alternatively, mSpy has higher pricing but gives you a more granular view with text message and email monitoring.

Both of these products have location-tracking capabilities, except for Bark Home, which is more of an internet router than a parental control app.

You can install these parental controls on iOS or Android devices.

Bark: Best for controlling screen time for a reasonable price
mSpy: Best for extensive monitoring

Bark vs. mSpy compared


Starting price	Starts at $5.00/mo	Starts at $11.67/mo
Free version
Max number of protected devices	Unlimited	3
Web filtering
Screen time limits
Location tracking
Activity reports
Learn more	Get Bark Read Bark Review	Read mSpy Review

Bark pros and cons

Pros

Machine learning helps catch popular slang words
Unlimited devices
Monitors over 30 social media apps

Cons

Doesn’t scan file images
No phone customer support

mSpy pros and cons

Pros

Extensive monitoring abilities
Includes keyword alerts
Real-time location alerts

Cons

Remote camera and mic access may seem intrusive
Only covers up to three devices
No cyberbullying monitoring

Bark vs. mSpy: prices

	Best value
Price range	$5.00–$39.00/mo	$11.67-$48.99/mo
Best value plan	Bark Premium for $14.00/mo	3 Months for $28.00/mo
Free trial	Yes — 7 days	No
Money-back guarantee	Yes — 30 days	Yes — 14 days
Learn more	Get Bark Read Bark Review	Read mSpy Review

Bark plans

Bark has four different options, with one being the Bark Phone. All Bark plans come with a 7-day free trial to test the product and a 30-day money-back guarantee if you decide it’s not what you need. You may be required to enter your debit or credit card information for compliance purposes, but Bark assures you there will be no charge.

Bark Jr: Bark Jr is the entry-level plan for younger children. Parents can monitor screen time, filter websites, and use location alerts.
Bark Home: Bark Home is an internet router that won’t have as many in-depth features. You’ll get website and app blocking, and you can create screen time schedules.
Bark Premium: Bark Premium packs a punch with features like location tracking, text and email monitoring, website blocking, and expert tips for addressing internet issues with your child.
Bark Phone: This plan has everything Bark offers, with a device included. Bark is pre-installed, and your child can’t delete texts without your consent. You get to control everything your child can do online.

mSpy plans

mSpy’s plans all come with the same options, with a few exceptions. You’ll get the 14-day money-back guarantee with all plans, but you should carefully read the refund policy. The company is specific regarding what qualifies you for a refund. If you need more than one device covered, you’ll have to get the Family Kit, and even so, this covers only three devices.

mSpy Premium: With the Premium package, parents can monitor texts, installed applications, phone calls, and more. According to mSpy, this plan gives you extra insight into your child’s online activity.
mSpy Extreme: This is the plan mSpy considers to have the most powerful features. With mSpy Extreme you can listen to your child’s conversations, see social media chats, and activate their phone’s camera.
mSpy Family Kit: This is the only plan offered that covers more than one device. It has most of the features of the Premium plan, like app and email monitoring, and works in stealth mode, meaning it leaves no trace of being installed.

Winner: Bark is the winner. It offers tons of features and has a longer money-back guarantee than mSpy.

Bark vs. mSpy: monitoring and alerts

	Our Pick
Website filtering	Yes, 18 categories	Yes, but does not filter by category
App filtering	Yes, 30+ social media apps, like YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok	Yes, common apps include Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and Tinder
Social media monitoring
Text message monitoring
Email monitoring
Internet search monitoring
Screen time limits
Remote lock
Cyberbullying and online predator alerts
Location tracking
Geo-fencing
Activity reports
Learn more	Get Bark Read Bark Review	Read mSpy Review

From the table above, you can see Bark gives you plenty of options. Like most parental control apps, not all features come with every plan, so if you opt for Bark Jr or Bark Home, you’ll get fewer options. We don’t think that’s a big deal since those are the entry-level plans and internet router subscriptions.

Bark Premium and Bark Phone have all the features available. We consider location tracking and website filtering critical features for parental control apps. You likely want to know your child is always safe and that you can choose the content they can view.

With mSpy, you get almost the same features as you have with Bark, except no online predator and cyberbullying alerts, or remote lock ability.

Although these might not be considered critical features, today’s social media use makes it easier for predators to contact children. To help kids stay safe on social media, these alerts are useful. This missing feature may be a dealbreaker for some parents and we understand why.

Also, unlike Bark, mSpy doesn’t have category filtering, which could mean potentially missing something you want to know about since you must manually block each website.

Winner: Bark is the winner. It has more features than mSpy, and the lack of category filtering with mSpy can be problematic for catching items you don’t want your children exposed to.

Which is safer, Bark vs. mSpy?

With any software, including parental control apps, top security is a must. You want to know there are safeguards in place to protect your children and your data. There are different security measures, like two-factor authentication and compliance regulations that these applications can include to make them safe.

Most apps collect data. The difference is how that data can be used and what data gets collected. Some collections are reasonable as they pertain to app administration, payment requirements, and effective content monitoring. If an app makes it difficult to find how data is collected, that should be considered a red flag.

Bark vs. mSpy data security

	Our Pick
Two-factor authentication
Multi-factor authentication
Collects data
Shares data with third parties
Learn more	Get Bark Read Bark Review	Read mSpy Review

Both of these parental control apps claim to keep your data safe and not share it with third parties. We did notice Bark complies with many privacy regulations, such as the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which protects minors from deceptive marketing, and uses Amazon Web Services for extra security protection.

Winner: Bark wins this round. Although the table looks even regarding data, seeing how open Bark is about security and complying with numerous regulations makes us feel safer.

Bark vs. mSpy: Compatibility and customer support

	Our Pick
Windows
macOS
Android
iOS
Browser extensions	Chrome, Edge, and other browsers with Bark Home plan	Chrome, Opera, Firefox
24/7 customer support
Customer support options	Chat, email, online guides and forums	Phone, email, online guides
Learn more	Get Bark Read Bark Review	Read mSpy Review

Setting up mSpy was a straightforward process. It took only a few minutes, and the interface was well organized, with intuitive settings. We did have issues connecting to iCloud and when it did connect, it didn’t refresh our data. Again, we do think mSpy could improve by allowing category-based web filtering.

Bark was easy to set up and we had an account ready to go in a few minutes. It may take a little time to connect each device for monitoring, though. There must be a separate account for each child, but the instructions provided are clear and we had no issues setting everything up. The dashboard was easy to use, with four tabs for monitoring.

Neither parental control app offers 24/7 customer support. That would be a good option for parents to have, but Bark returned our email query within an hour.

Winner: Bark. Although both apps were easy to install, we did note some iCloud connectivity issues with mSpy. Bark’s fast turnaround time for our support questions was also impressive.

Bark vs. mSpy FAQs

Is Bark better than mSpy?

Bark is better than mSpy if you want more security transparency regarding extra regulatory compliance as well as better pricing with more features. Similarly, when comparing Bark vs. Qustodio, you get a bit more data transparency.

Is Bark free?

Bark does not offer a free plan, but you can try it free for 7 days. After that, Bark has a 30-day money-back guarantee.

What does Bark do?

Bark is a parental control app that monitors your child’s apps, texts, emails, and social media platforms. It looks for cyberbullying and adult content and tracks your child’s locations to give you some peace of mind.

Can someone tell if mSpy is on their phone?

Your kids can’t tell if mSpy is on their phone. There’s no mSpy app on the device for them to see.

Does mSpy work?

mSpy works to monitor your child’s online activity and geographical location. It will also allow you to listen to conversations and read their text and email messages.

Bark vs. mSpy: Which is better?

Both of these apps will monitor your child’s device and provide you with some peace of mind. Still, Bark surpasses mSpy with more features, better pricing, and clearer data transparency.

You can also purchase the user-friendly Bark Phone if you prefer a device over an app. Both Bark and mSpy are worth considering, but comparing the two side by side, Bark is the best parental control app for your money.

Bark vs. mSpy alternatives

What if you have checked out both of these parental control apps, and neither one works for your family? We know this can be the case, so we have included some alternatives you might like better:

Norton Family: Norton Family filters 47 categories of content and supports unlimited devices. You won’t get text or email monitoring with this software. See how Norton compares in our Norton Family vs Bark review.
Get Norton Family | Read Our Norton Family Review

Aura Parental Controls: You won’t have location tracking with Aura, but you will get website filtering for unlimited devices and screen time management features. See how Aura compares in our Aura Parental Controls vs. Bark review and our Aura Parental Controls vs. mSpy review.
Get Aura | Read Our Aura Review

Kaspersky Safe Kids: With Kaspersky Safe Kids, parents have geo-fencing capabilities, social media monitoring, and internet usage. You’ll have limited functionality for iOS.
Read Our Kaspersky Review

4.7

Editorial Rating

On Bark Premium's website

Bark Premium

Machine learning catches the latest slang and keywords
Screens content across 19 categories
Activity can only be viewed if it’s triggered

Author Details

Patti Croft

About the Author

Patti Croft is a seasoned writer specializing in technology, with three years of experience. With a B.S. in Computer Science and a background as a technical analyst and security specialist, she covers a range of topics like data security and parental control software.