Parenting & Family · head to head
Apple Screen Time vs Glow Baby
Apple Screen Time
Parenting & Family
Apple's built-in parental controls for iOS and Mac
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Apple Screen Time parental controls require setting up Family Sharing and a Child Account rather than working standalone; Glow Baby glow Premium is $59.99 a year after a 7 day free trial and is required for the GlowGPT health assistant, advanced analytics, comparative health insights and an ad free experience
- They diverge on capability: Apple Screen Time covers Screen time tracking, Glow Baby covers Nursing & bottle tracking.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Apple Screen Time and Glow Baby actually diverge.
| Attribute | Apple Screen Time | Glow Baby |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | free | freemium |
| Platforms | Ios, Ipados, Macos | Ios, Android |
| Founded | 2016 | 2013 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Parenting & Family).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Apple Screen Time
- Screen time tracking
- App limits
- Downtime scheduling
- Content filtering
- App restrictions
- Communication limits
- Purchase controls
- Family Sharing management
Only in Glow Baby
- Nursing & bottle tracking
- Pumping log
- Diaper tracking
- Sleep tracking
- Growth tracking
- Milestone tracking
- Multiple caregivers
- Breast pump sync
Both cover
- Cloud deployment
- Ios support
- English language support
- Spanish language support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Apple Screen Time
- Screen time managementnot Glow Baby
- Content filteringnot Glow Baby
- Device controlnot Glow Baby
- Family safetynot Glow Baby
Glow Baby
- Tracking ovulation, pregnancy and newborn care across linked appsnot Apple Screen Time
- Building a baby registry and logging feeding and sleep for a newbornnot Apple Screen Time
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Apple Screen Time
- Parental controls require setting up Family Sharing and a Child Account rather than working standalone
Glow Baby
- Glow Premium is $59.99 a year after a 7 day free trial and is required for the GlowGPT health assistant, advanced analytics, comparative health insights and an ad free experience
- The free trial has no stated cancel-anytime disclaimer beyond a general cancel anytime note, and converts to the paid annual charge unless cancelled first
Pricing, plan by plan
Apple Screen Time
Free- Included with iOS/macOSFree
- Screen time limits
- App restrictions
- Content filtering
Glow Baby
Free- FreeFree
- Basic tracking
- Feeding log
- Diaper log
- Premium$47.99/year
- Everything in Free
- Unlimited data history
- Advanced insights
Which should you pick?
Choose Apple Screen Time if
- You need screen time tracking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Ios, Ipados, Macos.
- You also want app limits.
Choose Glow Baby if
- You need nursing & bottle tracking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Ios, Android.
- You also want pumping log.
Questions people ask
- Is Apple Screen Time or Glow Baby better?
- Neither clearly leads. Apple Screen Time starts at Free and Glow Baby at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Apple Screen Time or Glow Baby?
- Apple Screen Time starts at Free and Glow Baby at Free.
- Does Apple Screen Time or Glow Baby run on more platforms?
- Apple Screen Time runs on Ios, Ipados, Macos. Glow Baby runs on Ios, Android.
- Can I use Apple Screen Time for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Apple Screen Time best used for?
- Apple Screen Time is most often used for screen time management, content filtering, device control, family safety. Of those, screen time management and content filtering are not what Glow Baby is typically brought in for.
- What can Apple Screen Time do that Glow Baby cannot?
- Apple Screen Time covers Screen time tracking, App limits, Downtime scheduling, Content filtering. Glow Baby covers Nursing & bottle tracking, Pumping log, Diaper tracking, Sleep tracking. Both handle Cloud deployment, Ios support, English language support, Spanish language support.