Sheepdog Filter vs Qustodio: which is simpler for your family?

Qustodio is one of the best-known parental control apps. Here's how a no-install filter compares, and when Qustodio is the better fit.

Updated November 12, 2026·2 min read

Short answer

Qustodio is an app you install on each child's device for web filtering, time limits, app blocking, location and reports; its free plan is limited and full features are a yearly subscription. Sheepdog Filter needs no app: one setting per device, or one on your router, blocks sites, apps and categories on every device including TVs and consoles, with bedtimes, homework mode and a weekly email, free to start. Choose Qustodio for location tracking and detailed per-app time limits; choose Sheepdog Filter for simple, whole-family filtering that kids can't uninstall.

What Qustodio does well

  • Lots of features in one app: web filtering, daily time limits, per-app limits, location, and on Android some call and text visibility.
  • Detailed reports of time spent in each app.
  • Mature product with apps for most phones, tablets and computers.

Where Sheepdog Filter is different

  • No app to install or uninstall. Qustodio needs its app on each device. Sheepdog Filter is one setting, so there's nothing for kids to delete, force-stop or drain the battery.
  • Covers the whole house. Set it on your router once and Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, smart TVs and friends' phones on your Wi‑Fi are filtered too. Device apps can't reach those.
  • Simpler. One switch per worry, a profile per child with age presets, and protection on from the start.
  • Hard to dodge. VPNs, proxies and "unblocked games" sites are blocked, with an email if someone tries.
  • Free to start, with every feature. Qustodio's free plan is limited, and the full product is a paid yearly plan.

Where Qustodio is the better fit

  • You want location tracking or a panic button.
  • You want per-app daily time limits (like "YouTube 1 hour a day"). Sheepdog Filter does schedules, bedtimes and homework mode, and shows time online per child, but not per-app daily allowances.
  • You want to see calls and texts on Android.

A good combination

Use your phone's free built-in controls for per-app time limits (Screen Time on iPhone, Family Link on Android), and Sheepdog Filter for blocking and bedtimes on every device. See free parental controls compared.

Sheepdog Filter

The internet, childproofed in five minutes.

One switch per worry, every device in the house, and a plain-English report each week. Free to start, no app to install.

Start free

Questions parents ask

Can my child uninstall Sheepdog Filter like an app?

There's no app to uninstall. On a device where your child doesn't have the passcode or admin rights, the setting is hard to remove, and you get an email if a device stops using the filter or tries a VPN.

Does Sheepdog Filter track location?

No. We filter sites and apps and tell you how it's going. For location, use Find My on iPhone or Google Family Link on Android.

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