Hey everyone! I am a dad of three kids (ages 8, 11, and 15) and I just got a new job that keeps me away from home a lot more than before. My wife mentioned that our oldest has been spending way too much time on her phone at night, and we have no idea what apps she is on. I started looking into parental control apps and FamilyTime keeps coming up. Before I pull the trigger on anything, I want to know:
Looking for real answers, not just ads. What does the FamilyTime parental control subscription cost and is it actually good?
Great question, been through this exact situation with my own kids so let me lay it all out.
FamilyTime Parental Control Subscription Cost Plans
FamilyTime offers three main tiers:
1. FamilyTime Basic (Free)
- Limited screen time scheduling
- Basic app blocking
- Only covers one device
2. FamilyTime Premium
- Around $27 per year for one device
- Includes location tracking, app blocker, screen time limits
- Bedtime mode and SOS alerts
3. FamilyTime Ultimate
- Around $54 per year
- Covers up to 5 devices
- All Premium features plus YouTube monitoring and teen driver alerts
How to Set It Up
- Download the FamilyTime Parent app on your phone
- Create an account on their dashboard
- Install the FamilyTime Kids app on your child’s device
- Link both devices using the family code
- Set rules from the parent dashboard
It works well for younger kids. The location feature and app scheduler are solid.
That said, if you want more complete monitoring across calls, messages, and social media, I would actually point you toward Xnspy. It covers a lot more ground including call logs, texts, and even tracks deleted content. One thing to keep in mind though, it does require physical access to the child’s device during the initial install, so you need to have the phone in hand at least once to get it going.
What kind of device are your kids on, Android or iPhone? That changes things a bit 
So I went through this whole research phase about a year ago when my son started getting a smartphone. Let me give you a clean breakdown so you are not guessing.
FamilyTime Parental Control Subscription Cost at a Glance
| Plan |
Price |
Devices |
| Basic |
Free |
1 |
| Premium |
~$27/year |
1 |
| Ultimate |
~$54/year |
Up to 5 |
What Each Plan Covers
Basic Plan
- App usage reports
- Simple screen time limits
- No location tracking
Premium Plan
- Real-time GPS location
- App blocking by category (games, social media, etc.)
- Internet filter and safe search
- Bedtime and homework mode
Ultimate Plan
- Everything in Premium
- Teen driver monitoring (speed alerts)
- YouTube watch history
- Extended location history
Setup Process (Android)
- Go to Google Play and download FamilyTime Kids on your child’s phone
- Download FamilyTime Parent on your device
- Register and create a family group
- Pair using the unique family ID
- Grant necessary permissions on the child’s device (location, usage access)
- Start setting rules from your parent portal
Worth It?
For the price, the Ultimate plan covering 5 devices for under $55 a year is genuinely good value. Comparable apps charge that much for one device. If you have three kids like the original poster, that math works out nicely.
Jumping in here because NexuForge covered the basics well but I want to add something about the free tier that a lot of people skip over.
The Basic plan on FamilyTime is not really meant for serious monitoring. I tried running it for two weeks on my daughter’s tablet and honestly the free plan only shows you surface-level stuff. You get app reports but no way to actually block anything in real time unless you upgrade.
Also worth noting for the original poster since you mentioned a 15-year-old:
- Teens tend to find workarounds fast. FamilyTime does have a teen mode with slightly relaxed settings but it is up to you how strict you want to be.
- The web filter in the Premium plan blocks adult content pretty reliably on Chrome and the built-in browser, but apps with their own browsers can sometimes slip through.
- If your kid uses iOS, some features like call monitoring are not available because of Apple restrictions. That applies to most parental apps, not just FamilyTime.
The yearly pricing NexuForge listed is accurate based on what I have seen. I would go straight for Ultimate if you have multiple kids. Paying for three Premium plans separately would cost more anyway.
One tip: they sometimes offer a 3-day free trial on Premium so test it before committing.
Okay real talk here 
I work in IT and my wife kept asking me to find something easy enough that she could manage without my help. FamilyTime checked that box.
The parent dashboard is actually clean and simple. You do not need to be technical to use it. The mobile app gives you quick access to:
- Live location of each child
- Which apps they used today and for how long
- One-tap to pause the internet on any device
For setup, the process Cynerion mentioned is accurate. One thing I will add: on Android you also need to enable Device Admin permissions for FamilyTime to work properly. If your kid denies that permission, the app cannot enforce anything. So make sure you are the one setting it up on their phone.
Also the plan pricing can vary slightly if you buy through the app store vs directly from their website. The website tends to be a bit cheaper since app stores take a cut.
For three kids with different age ranges like you have, the Ultimate plan at around $54 a year is really the only one that makes sense economically.
Adding a little more to what has been said because I think the iOS vs Android difference is really important and not enough people talk about it.
FamilyTime on iOS vs Android
Android
- Full feature access including app blocking, web filter, and location
- You can restrict individual apps completely
- Screen time limits work per-app
iPhone/iPad
- Location tracking works well
- Screen time scheduling works
- BUT you cannot block individual third-party apps the same way
- No access to Safari browsing history in detail
- Some monitoring features are just not available due to Apple’s system
If your 15-year-old is on an iPhone this matters a lot. The web filter on iOS works through a VPN profile that FamilyTime installs, and a tech-savvy teen can potentially turn that off in settings.
For iPhone users, Apple’s own Screen Time feature built into iOS is actually pretty powerful and free. It handles app limits, content restrictions, and downtime schedules natively. You manage it through Family Sharing in iCloud settings.
Not saying do not use FamilyTime, just saying know what you are getting into based on the device. Android gives you a lot more options with third-party parental apps in general.
Silicrypte made a great point about iOS. I went through this confusion myself when I first bought FamilyTime expecting it to work the same on my son’s iPhone as it did on his old Android tablet.
Let me give you a fast comparison of what free options exist vs paid, just so you have the full picture:
Free Options Worth Knowing
Google Family Link (Android and Chromebook)
- Completely free
- App approval system, screen time, location
- Works best for under-13 accounts
- Older teens can request to unlink themselves at 13+
Apple Screen Time (iOS)
- Built into every iPhone for free
- App limits, content filters, downtime mode
- Managed through Family Sharing
- No location tracking though (that is Find My)
Router-Level Filtering
- Some routers like Circle or Eero support content filtering
- Covers all devices on your home WiFi
- Does not help when kids are on mobile data though
When to Pay for FamilyTime
You move to paid when you need all of this in one place: location tracking plus app blocking plus screen time plus web filtering across multiple devices managed from a single dashboard. That is where FamilyTime earns the subscription fee.
For the original poster with three kids on potentially different devices, the unified dashboard alone is worth it.
Not gonna lie, I was skeptical about paying for a parental app when there are free options everywhere. But three months in with FamilyTime and I get it now.
The thing that sold me was the SOS button feature. Kids can press it from their phone and you get an instant alert with their location. My daughter tested it once by accident and I got the ping within seconds. That alone is worth something when you have an 11-year-old walking home from school.
Also the geofencing feature in the Premium and Ultimate plans is underrated. You set up a zone (like school or home) and you get notified when they arrive or leave. I stopped asking “did you get there okay” because I already know.
For the pricing, everything people have said above is accurate. Around $27 for one device on Premium and $54 for up to five on Ultimate per year. Compare that to what a single month of some streaming services costs and it is not bad at all.
One thing I want to mention that nobody has brought up: the customer support is actually responsive. I had a setup issue on my younger kid’s tablet and they replied within a few hours. That matters when you are trying to get something working and frustrated.
Okay I want to push back just slightly on the iOS point Silicrypte raised, not because they are wrong, but because there is a workaround.
On iPhones, you can install a DNS-based filter through FamilyTime that sits at the network level. It is not perfect but it does catch most inappropriate websites even without app-level access. The setup involves:
- Going into the child’s iPhone WiFi settings
- Configuring the DNS server to FamilyTime’s filter address (they provide this in the dashboard)
- For mobile data, FamilyTime installs a VPN profile
Yes, a teenager can turn the VPN off. But here is the thing: FamilyTime sends you a notification if the VPN is disabled. So you know when it happens even if you cannot always stop it.
That notification system is actually one of the more useful things in the app. You get alerts for:
- Low battery on your child’s device
- SIM card changes
- App installs
- When the child tries to disable the app
That last one is important. If your kid tries to uninstall FamilyTime, you get notified immediately. It does not prevent the uninstall on iOS but at least you know it happened.
Let me just summarize the whole thread for anyone coming in late because this has genuinely useful info scattered around.
Quick Summary: FamilyTime Parental Control Subscription Cost
- Free plan: basic reports, 1 device, no real blocking
- Premium: ~$27/year, 1 device, location, app blocking, web filter
- Ultimate: ~$54/year, up to 5 devices, everything in Premium plus YouTube and teen driver alerts
Key Things to Know Before Buying
- Android users get more features than iPhone users (as Silicrypte explained)
- The free trial exists, use it first
- Buy from the website not the app store to save a little
- You need physical access to set up the app on the child’s device
- Geofencing and SOS alerts are genuinely useful features, not just marketing fluff
For the Original Poster Specifically
You have three kids at different ages. The Ultimate plan at $54/year covering 5 devices is the smart call. That is $4.50 a month for peace of mind across your whole family. The teen-specific features matter for your 15-year-old. The simpler controls are fine for the younger two.
Setup is not complicated. Fluxorix is right that it is manageable without being technical. Give it a weekend afternoon and you will be done.
Something I want to flag from personal experience: the pricing on FamilyTime sometimes changes during holiday sales. I picked up the Ultimate plan at a discount by just waiting a few weeks. They run promos fairly often so if you are not in a rush, check back in a week or two.
Also just to add one technical note about the setup since a few people covered Android and iOS separately:
Setup on a Kindle Fire (Amazon Tablet)
Since a lot of younger kids have these, the process is slightly different:
- Enable the app from outside Amazon’s store by turning on Unknown Sources in settings
- Download the FamilyTime APK from their official website
- Install and register as a child device
- Amazon Kids (FreeTime) and FamilyTime can actually run together without conflicting
Amazon Fire tablets are super common for the 8-10 age group and the setup is a bit clunky but doable. Their own parental controls are decent but FamilyTime adds the location tracking that Amazon does not have natively.
For the original poster, if your youngest is on a Fire tablet, keep this in mind.
Quick thing I want to add that has not been mentioned: the FamilyTime app has a feature called Pick Me Up where your kid can request a pickup from inside the app and you get their exact location. My teenager uses this legitimately when she needs a ride and does not want to call. Small feature but really practical.
Also the teen driver monitoring in the Ultimate plan is actually useful if you have a teen who drives or will be driving soon. It uses the phone’s accelerometer to detect speed and sends you alerts if the car is going too fast. Lots of parents do not realize this feature exists.
What the Ultimate Plan Gets You That Premium Does Not
- Teen driver speed monitoring
- Extended location history (up to 3 months vs 24 hours on Premium)
- YouTube monitoring
- Priority customer support
- 5 devices instead of 1
For around $27 more per year the jump from Premium to Ultimate is easy math if you have more than one kid or want the driving feature.
I want to circle back to something TechRider mentioned about VPN notifications because I think that is more important than people realize.
Most parental apps have one big problem: teenagers google how to bypass them within about 10 minutes of discovering the app is installed. What separates decent apps from bad ones is whether the parent knows when a bypass is attempted.
FamilyTime does this reasonably well. The alerts for VPN disabling and uninstall attempts mean you get that visibility.
However, here is a step-by-step on how to make FamilyTime harder to bypass on Android, which nobody has covered:
- Set up a separate Google account for your child’s device (not your main one)
- Use that account to install FamilyTime Kids, so the child cannot access your Google Play to remove it
- Enable Device Admin in FamilyTime settings. This prevents uninstallation without going through a multi-step process
- Set a separate PIN for FamilyTime that your child does not know
- Turn off the Google Play store on the child’s device through FamilyTime’s app blocker
This setup makes removal significantly harder without completely locking down the phone, which would just cause more conflict.
Genuinely good thread, learned a few things from FrontNexus just now.
I want to address something for the original poster directly since this is getting technical: do not overthink the setup. I know it sounds complicated reading all these steps but in practice it takes maybe 20-30 minutes per device.
Here is what I tell parents who are not technical at all:
Bare Minimum Setup to Get Running Fast
- Download both apps (parent + child version)
- Create account on familytime.me
- Link devices
- Set a bedtime block (no phone after 9pm or whatever works for you)
- Turn on location sharing
That is it for day one. You can add filters, geofencing, and specific app blocks later as you learn what you need.
The more complicated stuff FrontNexus and TechRider described is for parents who want tight control. If you just want to know where your kids are and cut off phone time at night, five steps and you are done.
The $54/year Ultimate plan for your situation with three kids is the right one. Do not start with the free tier if you have a 15-year-old with a smartphone. You will just be frustrated by the limitations.
Coming in last here but I want to give a completely honest take since this thread has mostly been positive about FamilyTime.
It is a solid app but there are a few things to be realistic about:
Where FamilyTime Falls Short
- Social media monitoring is very limited. It shows you which apps are used and for how long but it does not show you what is actually happening inside Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok
- The web filter does not catch everything, especially on apps with built-in browsers
- On iOS, as mentioned earlier, functionality is genuinely reduced compared to Android
- If your child uses a browser other than Chrome or Safari, the filter may not apply
What It Does Really Well
- Location tracking is accurate and fast
- Screen time scheduling is easy to manage
- The app usage reports give you a clear picture of how much time is being spent where
- Price is very fair for multi-device families
My overall take: for ages 8 to 12, FamilyTime does a great job. For a 15-year-old who knows technology, it is more of a soft safety net than a strict barrier. Set expectations accordingly and use it alongside open conversations with your teen rather than relying on it as the only line of defense.
That is probably the most useful thing I can add to this thread.