Comparisons · Family · life360
Life360 vs Qustodio: Location or Parental Control? (2026)
They get compared a lot, but they don't really compete: one tells you where your family is, the other decides what your child can do with their phone. What each one does, what it costs in Spain as of October 14, 2026, and when each one makes sense (or both).
“Life360 or Qustodio?” comes up on every parents’ forum, and the short answer is that they are two different tools that sometimes overlap in one feature: location. Based on data from Spain and cited sources, here is what each one does.
Life360: a family location app
It works with Circles: a private group where everyone (adults and kids) sees each other on a real-time map, with place alerts, chat, low battery alerts, driving reports, crash detection and an SOS button, on iPhone and Android. In the European Union it has a Free plan (2 places with alerts, 2 days of history, and ads), Silver (€5.99/month, 7 days of history) and Gold (€9.99/month, 30 days and driver reports). Its emergency dispatch service is not available in Spain, and its current privacy policy states that it licenses precise location data to partners. It doesn't block apps, doesn't limit screen time and doesn't filter content: it is not a parental control.
Qustodio: a parental control app
It was founded in Barcelona and is part of the Qoria group. From their own account, an adult can set screen time limits, block apps, filter websites, get alerts about messages and searches and, on the Complete plan, see calls and SMS. It includes a family locator with alerts when arriving at or leaving saved places. It is supervision: the adult sees, and the child is seen (and knows it). On the Spanish App Store it costs €59.99/year (Premium Basic) or €99.99/year (Complete), with a free plan for one device. It supervises Android, iPhone, computers and tablets.
Head to head
- What it's for: Life360, knowing where the family is and getting notified; Qustodio, deciding what the child does with their phone.
- Location: both, with place alerts; Life360 adds history, chat, SOS and driving reports.
- Screen time, apps and content: Qustodio only.
- Symmetry: Life360 has a Circle admin, but everyone sees everyone; Qustodio is supervision from adult to child.
- Age: Life360 accepts children under 13 with parental consent; Qustodio is designed for children.
- Price: Life360, free with ads or €5.99/9.99 per month; Qustodio, €59.99 or €99.99 per year (free for one device).
- Data: Life360 states it licenses location data to partners; Qustodio declares data for marketing in its listing, says it doesn't sell children’s data, and is a European company subject to the GDPR.
Which one you need
- A child aged 8 to 13 with their first phone: a parental control (Qustodio, or Family Link if it's Android and you want it free). Location is already included.
- A family with teens and adults who want to see each other and send alerts: a family location app. Life360 is the biggest; Mi Estela does the same without ads and without licensing your location, and it doesn't offer driving reports on purpose.
- Both at once: it's common (parental control on the little one’s phone and a circle app for everyone else). They don't get in each other's way.
Sources
- Life360: privacy policy (Aug 26, 2026)
- Life360: second quarter 2026 results
- Spanish App Store: Qustodio listing (prices, Oct 14, 2026)
- Qustodio: the company
