Education · head to head
Labster vs Securly
Securly
Education
Web filtering, student safety monitoring and device management for K-12 schools
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Labster customization is limited and labs cannot be easily adapted to specific course learning outcomes; Securly pricing stacks by module and only Filter has rates that surface publicly, so the quoted total for Filter plus Aware plus On-Call is routinely several times the number a district budgeted from the filtering line alone.
- They diverge on capability: Labster covers Virtual simulations, Securly covers Filter.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Labster and Securly actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Education).
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 Labster
- Virtual simulations
- 3D environments
- Theory pages
- Quizzes
- Lab reports
- Progress tracking
- Mobile access
- Multiplayer
Only in Securly
- Filter
- Aware
- On-Call
- Classroom
- MDM
- Pass
- Home
- Delegated admin
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Labster
- Virtual labsnot Securly
- Pre-lab preparationnot Securly
- Supplemental learningnot Securly
- Remote educationnot Securly
Securly
- A district that must show CIPA compliance for take-home Chromebooks used on home broadband, where network-level filtering does nothingnot Labster
- A district whose safeguarding policy requires that a human being reads a self-harm alert within minutes at any hour, including school holidaysnot Labster
- A one-to-one iPad programme needing Apple device enrolment, filtering and classroom control from a single agent rather than threenot Labster
- A district under pressure from parents who want visibility of what their child does on the school device at home, without the school having to field each request by handnot Labster
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Labster
- Customization is limited and labs cannot be easily adapted to specific course learning outcomes
- Simulations can lag or freeze depending on operating system and connection speed
- Cannot fully replace hands-on physical lab experience and data collection
- Students report preference for tactile physical lab experience over virtual simulations
Securly
- Pricing stacks by module and only Filter has rates that surface publicly, so the quoted total for Filter plus Aware plus On-Call is routinely several times the number a district budgeted from the filtering line alone.
- The safety scanning generates false positives at volume, including song lyrics, creative writing and health-class assignments, and each one consumes counsellor or administrator time that the vendor does not pay for.
- Alerting on student writing is a surveillance decision with real community consequences, and districts that deploy it without an explicit board policy and parent notification have faced local objections after the fact.
- Coverage is strongest on managed Chromebooks; personal devices, non-Chrome browsers and encrypted apps outside the agent leave gaps that the compliance story quietly depends on nobody testing.
- Per-student pricing is charged on enrolment rather than on devices, so a district that issues devices to only some year groups still pays for every student on the roll.
Pricing, plan by plan
Labster
On request- Student Access$49/month
- Course simulations
- Mobile access
- Progress tracking
- Institution$undefined/month
- All simulations
- LMS integration
- Analytics
- Enterprise$undefined/month
- Custom content
- API access
- Priority support
Securly
On request- Filter$undefined/year
- Web filtering on and off network
- Tiered per-student rates that fall as enrolment rises
- Published in some purchasing co-operative catalogues, not on the vendor site
- Aware$undefined/year
- Automated scanning of email, documents and search for safety risk
- Quoted per student, no public rate
- On-Call$undefined/year
- 24/7 human review and escalation of serious alerts
- Quoted per student, priced on top of Aware
- Classroom, MDM and Pass$undefined/year
- Sold as separate per-student modules
- Quoted
Which should you pick?
Choose Securly if
- You need filter.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, Windows.
- You also want aware.
Questions people ask
- Is Labster or Securly better?
- Neither clearly leads. Labster starts at On request and Securly at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Labster or Securly?
- Labster starts at On request and Securly at On request.
- Does Labster or Securly run on more platforms?
- Labster runs on Web. Securly runs on Web, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, Windows.
- What is Labster best used for?
- Labster is most often used for virtual labs, pre-lab preparation, supplemental learning, remote education. Of those, virtual labs and pre-lab preparation are not what Securly is typically brought in for.
- What can Labster do that Securly cannot?
- Labster covers Virtual simulations, 3D environments, Theory pages, Quizzes. Securly covers Filter, Aware, On-Call, Classroom.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Labster: What STEM subjects does Labster cover?
Labster provides interactive 3D simulations across biology, chemistry, physics, and other STEM subjects, designed for university, college, and high school students.
Securly: Does Securly publish pricing?
Not on its own site. Tiered per-student rates for Filter appear in some US purchasing co-operative catalogues, falling as enrolment rises, but Aware, On-Call, Classroom, MDM and Pass are quoted.
Labster: How many students has Labster served?
Labster has served over 6 million students and thousands of institutions globally with its virtual lab simulations.
Securly: What is the difference between Aware and On-Call?
Aware is the automated detection that produces alerts. On-Call is the staffed service that reads the serious ones out of hours and phones your escalation contacts. Buying Aware alone leaves the triage with your own staff.
Securly: Does it filter on home internet?
Yes, filtering follows the managed device rather than the network, which is the point for take-home Chromebook programmes.
Securly: Is student data used for anything else?
Securly signs the US Student Privacy Pledge and district data processing agreements; check the specific DPA rather than the marketing page, since scanning scope and retention are negotiated terms.
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