Bark vs NextDNS

Bark is a paid parental-control service for Android and iOS, with plans starting at $5/mo and a 7-day trial. Its listed tools include content filtering, screen-time schedules, app blocking, activity reports, and location tracking. Bark Premium sends alerts about concerns such as bullying, self-harm, and online predators. Bark Jr lets parents schedule screen time and block internet access for apps and sites; its listed plan covers unlimited children and devices. Other offerings extend beyond the app: Bark Home filters the web and manages screen time for devices connected to home Wi-Fi, including platforms beyond iOS, Android, and Chromebook. Bark Phone has parental controls built in. Bark also offers phone, watch, and wireless plans. Family Wireless options have data limits: speeds are reduced after 35GB and may reduce further or stop after 50GB. Wireless plans do not support hotspots. Support is available daily from 8am to 12am Eastern Time. Bark is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

NextDNS filters internet traffic to block security threats, ads, and trackers, and offers controls for supervising children's access across devices and networks. Its listed threat protections include malware, phishing, cryptojacking, DNS rebinding, lookalike domains, typosquatting, domain generation algorithms, and newly registered domains. Parental controls include category blocking, SafeSearch, YouTube Restricted Mode, and blocks for specific sites, apps, and games, plus scheduled Recreation Time. DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS provide encrypted DNS connections. Users can disable logging or choose retention from one hour to two years and select storage in the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, or Switzerland. The free plan costs nothing and includes 300,000 queries per month; after the limit, it continues answering as a non-blocking DNS service. Pro costs £1.79 a month. Business and Education each cost £17.90 a month, for every 50 employees or 250 students respectively. Free and Pro list community support; Business and Education list email support.