Parenting & Family · head to head
Apple Screen Time vs Tiny Beans
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; Tiny Beans the free Tinybeans plan is capped at 20 uploads per month and 5GB of storage
- They diverge on capability: Apple Screen Time covers Screen time tracking, Tiny Beans covers Private photo sharing.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Apple Screen Time and Tiny Beans actually diverge.
| Attribute | Apple Screen Time | Tiny Beans |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | free | freemium |
| Platforms | Ios, Ipados, Macos | Ios, Android, Web |
| Founded | 2016 | 2012 |
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 Tiny Beans
- Private photo sharing
- Video sharing
- Milestone tracking
- Daily email digests
- Child timelines
- Comments & reactions
- Print products
- Memory search
Both cover
- Cloud deployment
- Ios support
- English language support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Apple Screen Time
- Screen time managementnot Tiny Beans
- Content filteringnot Tiny Beans
- Device controlnot Tiny Beans
- Family safetynot Tiny Beans
Tiny Beans
- Keeping a private family photo and video journal organised by datenot Apple Screen Time
- Sharing baby photos with invited grandparents and relatives onlynot Apple Screen Time
- Turning saved moments into printed photo booksnot 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
Tiny Beans
- The free Tinybeans plan is capped at 20 uploads per month and 5GB of storage
- The free plan shows ads; an ad-free experience requires Tinybeans+
- A second user account to share the journal is a Tinybeans+ feature
- High-quality video uploads are limited to 5 minutes and require Tinybeans+
- Tinybeans+ storage is capped at 200GB rather than unlimited
- Priority support is restricted to Tinybeans+
- Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is switched off at least 24 hours before the period ends
Pricing, plan by plan
Apple Screen Time
Free- Included with iOS/macOSFree
- Screen time limits
- App restrictions
- Content filtering
Tiny Beans
Free- FreeFree
- Photo & video sharing
- Daily email updates
- Milestone tracking
- Premium$4.99/month
- Everything in Free
- Unlimited storage
- Video longer than 1 min
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 Tiny Beans if
- You need private photo sharing.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Ios, Android, Web.
- You also want video sharing.
Questions people ask
- Is Apple Screen Time or Tiny Beans better?
- Neither clearly leads. Apple Screen Time starts at Free and Tiny Beans at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Apple Screen Time or Tiny Beans?
- Apple Screen Time starts at Free and Tiny Beans at Free.
- Does Apple Screen Time or Tiny Beans run on more platforms?
- Apple Screen Time runs on Ios, Ipados, Macos. Tiny Beans runs on Ios, Android, Web.
- 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 Tiny Beans is typically brought in for.
- What can Apple Screen Time do that Tiny Beans cannot?
- Apple Screen Time covers Screen time tracking, App limits, Downtime scheduling, Content filtering. Tiny Beans covers Private photo sharing, Video sharing, Milestone tracking, Daily email digests. Both handle Cloud deployment, Ios support, English language support.