Family Orbit vs PapaTime
Family Orbit
familyorbit.comPapaTime
trypapatime.comSide by side
| Figure | Family Orbit | PapaTime |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $7.50/mo | $3.33/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 3 | 6 |
| Spec score · Parental control apps | 8.8 (#9) | 8.3 (#26) |
| Activity reports | Yes | Yes |
| App blocking | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Location tracking | Yes | No |
| Privacy | The privacy policy says data may be stored or processed in Australia, the United States, India, and Hong Kong, and describes transfers via HTTP or FTP. | PapaTime says it does not sell data, run advertising, or access the child’s browsing history, location, messages, microphone, or photo library. |
| Purpose | Family Orbit is a parental control app for monitoring a child’s phone usage, location, and online activities. | PapaTime is an iPhone and iPad parental-control app where a child manages a screen-time budget set by a parent. |
| Screen-time schedules | Yes | Yes |
Plans
Family Orbit
- Monthly$19.95 a month
- QuarterlyPrice not published
- Annual$89.95 a year
PapaTime
- Free on-deviceFree
- Managed backend monthly$4.99 a month
- Managed backend annual$39.99 a year
- Free on-device useFree
- Managed backend monthly$4.99 a month
- Managed backend yearly$39.99 a year
In their own words
Family Orbit
Family Orbit is a parental control app for monitoring a child’s phone use, location and online activity. Parents can review text messages, call logs, browsing history, photos, videos, contacts and calendar events, and use content filtering, app blocking, screen-time schedules and activity reports. GPS features include real-time location, location history, geofence alerts, check-ins and panic alerts. The maker describes AI-powered alerts for inappropriate photos, profanity, sexting, cyberbullying and harassment. WhatsApp monitoring is listed, and the pricing page also names iMessages. Family Orbit supports Android and iOS devices, with desktop downloads for Windows and macOS; web is also listed as a platform. A desktop app supports Wi-Fi Sync with iTunes or Finder from the parent’s computer. iCloud monitoring uses the child’s iCloud credentials and does not require installing an app on the child’s device. The Monthly plan costs $19.95 a month for up to five devices, and a 3-day trial is offered. The maker says explicit parental authorization is required and the product is for legal parental monitoring.