Kairoo and Qustodio: what each does

Where Qustodio goes further

Qustodio does several things Kairoo does not do. If you need any of them, Qustodio is the tool for it. Each point is from Qustodio’s own pages, checked on 26 October 2026.

• Laptops, tablets and Kindle. Qustodio covers Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Android, iPhone, iPad and Kindle. Devices under one child profile share the same limits. Kairoo is for phones, and the child’s app also runs on iPad.
• Content filtering. You can filter websites by category, turn on Safe Search and block games and apps. Kairoo does not filter content.
• Location. Qustodio shows where the device is. Its Family Locator and My places features can put a virtual fence around a place. Kairoo does not track location.
• Calls, messages and chat alerts. On the Complete plan you can see who your child calls and texts, and read their text messages. On iPhone this needs your own Windows or Mac computer. Social monitoring alerts you, with a snippet of the chat, when it detects topics such as bullying or self-harm. Kairoo never reads messages.
• A hard stop and a pause. At the limit Qustodio can lock the internet or the whole device. You can also pause the internet straight away, for one child or the whole family.
• A panic button. On Android your child can send an alert to trusted contacts from the Kids App.

What Kairoo does differently

Kairoo is two free apps: Kairoo Parents on the grown-up’s phone and Kairoo on the child’s. Its job is the daily part of screen time, so that you no longer have to be the one who says no every evening.

• The rules are written together, and both of you sign. You and your child agree when screens start and stop, how long, which apps, and how extra time can be asked for. It takes about ten minutes. On Qustodio the parent sets every rule, and there is no record both of you sign.
• A heads-up, then the agreed limit, with a reason. Kairoo gives a heads-up before time is up and then does what was agreed. Every no comes with a reason: what was asked for, what the agreement says, and how today’s time was spent.
• Your child asks Kairoo, with a reason. If the agreement has room, Kairoo says yes and nothing reaches your phone. A bigger ask is decided inside the ceiling you set, and you hear about it afterwards. A new app comes to you, with your child’s reason attached. Your child can also ask for the agreement itself to change.
• A choice at the limit. Your child can stop and bank the spare minutes in a jar, ask for more, or carry on and spend it.
• First things before screens. Homework and chores can come first. Your child ticks them off, you choose whether their word is enough, and games and other fun apps can stay locked until they are done.
• Ideas for when they are bored, and jobs that earn. An I’m bored button gives ideas away from the screen. Extra jobs earn coins. Coins buy Roo, the child app’s character, new looks, and can become pocket money if you switch that on.
• Time and apps, and nothing else. Kairoo never reads messages, looks through photos or tracks location. Your child knows what it can see, because they signed it.
• iPhone and Android, mixed. An iPhone parent can set up an Android child, and an Android parent can set up an iPhone child. The child’s app is also on iPad. Kairoo is free, no card needed.

Using both

Qustodio and Kairoo do different jobs, so some families run both. Qustodio covers the safety settings: web filtering, location and, if you choose it, messages. Kairoo covers the evening: the agreement, the heads-up and the reason for every no.

Kairoo’s suggestion is to keep one set of time limits. If Qustodio’s daily limits and the agreement in Kairoo both run, your child cannot tell which one counts. One way to split it: keep Qustodio’s filters and location on, set its daily limits to Allow, and let the agreement carry the time.

Your child’s agreement says what Kairoo can see. It does not cover Qustodio, so tell your child what Qustodio is set to show you.