Comparisons with names and sources
Family location apps, honestly compared
Life360, Apple Find My, Google Family Link, WhatsApp, Glympse, GeoZilla, Find My Kids, iSharing, FamiSafe, Qustodio, AlertCops, and Family Locator. What each one does, what it costs in Spain, what happens with your data, and what they do better than us. All with dates and sources.
At a glance
✓ yes · ✕ no · ~ partly or with nuances. Each cell is explained in the individual app comparison.
| Criteria | Mi Estela | Life360 | Find My (Apple) | Google Family Link and Google Maps | WhatsApp (live location) | Glympse | GeoZilla | Find My Kids (Pingo) | iSharing | FamiSafe (Wondershare) | Qustodio | AlertCops | Find my Phone - Family Locator (formerly Family Locator by Sygic) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone and Android together | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ Apple only | ~ Maps yes; Family Link only supervises Android | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Arrival alerts | ✓ 3 free spots; more with Premium | ✓ 2 free places; more on paid plans | ✓ with the other person's approval | ✓ family places (Family Link) and up to 5 per person (Maps) | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ limited in free version | ✓ zones, paid after the trial | ✓ | ✓ geofences | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ safe zones |
| SOS | ✓ free forever; 112 one tap away | ✓ emergency dispatch not available in Spain | ✕ the iPhone SOS is a separate feature | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ from child to adult | ✓ with ambient audio | ✓ | ~ panic button on some plans; unconfirmed | ✓ to the police; records 10 s of audio | ✓ |
| Video calls | ✓ free | ✕ | ✕ FaceTime is separate | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Route history | ✓ 3 days free, 30 with Premium; each person turns it on | ✓ 2 days free, 7 Silver, 30 Gold | ✕ | ~ Maps Timeline, personal to each user | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ one day free; 2 weeks Premium | ✓ paid | ✓ up to 365 days | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ 7 days, paid |
| Symmetrical | ✓ | ~ the Circle has an administrator | ✓ | ✕ Family Link is supervision | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ✕ parent supervises the child | ~ | ✕ supervision | ✕ supervision | ✓ | ~ |
| No ads | ✓ never | ✕ ads on the free plan | ✓ | ✓ no ads in these features | ~ no ads in chats | ~ data used for third-party advertising | ~ advertising identifiers for third parties | ~ | ✕ ads on free plan | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ~ email for third-party advertising (listing) |
| Never sells or licenses your location | ✓ no sale or licensing, ever | ✕ licenses precise geolocation to partners (2026 policy) | ✓ | ~ Google policy | ~ Meta's policy | ~ per its App Store listing | ~ per its listing | ~ identifiers for tracking (App Store listing) | ~ third-party advertising (listing) | ~ identifiers for marketing (listing) | ~ marketing (listing); doesn't sell children's data | ✓ Ministry of the Interior | ~ tracking (listing) |
| Free plan | ✓ map, alerts, SOS, chat, calls, video calls | ✓ 2 places, 2 days, with ads | ✓ everything free | ✓ all free | ✓ | ✓ | ~ website doesn't describe it | ~ online location only after 7 days | ✓ generous, with ads | ✕ trial only | ✓ 1 device | ✓ everything free | ✓ limited |
| Paid price | ✓ €9.99/month or €99.99/year for the whole circle; 14-day free trial | ✓ Silver €5.99/mo, Gold €9.99/mo | ✓ free | ✓ free | ✓ free | ✓ Premium €9.99/month (business) | ✓ €13.99–20.99/month; €76.99/year | ✓ €39.99 or €54.99 per year | ✓ Silver €4.99, Gold €6.99/month | ✓ $59.99/year (web); €59.99–89.99/year (App Store) | ✓ €59.99 or €99.99/year | ✓ free | ✓ €8.99–9.99/week; €22.99/month |
Data from official websites, Spain's App Store listings, and press coverage, as of October 14, 2026. Prices change; if you spot an outdated one, drop us a line at hola@miestela.app.
One by one
Comparison
Mi Estela vs. Life360
The world's largest: 102 million monthly users. Circles, places, driving reports, and Tile. Free plan has ads, and location data is licensed to partners.
See the comparison →Comparison
Mi Estela vs. Find My (Apple)
Free and already on the iPhone. Ideal if everyone in the family has an iPhone; anyone with Android is left out. No history or chat.
See the comparison →Comparison
Mi Estela vs. Google Family Link and Google Maps
Family Link is free parental control for supervised accounts (under 14 in Spain). Google Maps shares location for free between Google accounts. Neither one is a family circle with SOS.
See the comparison →Comparison
Mi Estela vs. WhatsApp (live location)
Share your location in a chat for 15 minutes, 1 hour, or 8 hours. Free and encrypted. No saved places, no alerts, no history: it's for a little while, not for the family.
See the comparison →Comparison
Mi Estela vs. Glympse
The pioneer (2008) of temporary location sharing through a link that expires on its own. Free, and the recipient doesn't need an account. Today the company mostly serves businesses.
See the comparison →Comparison
Mi Estela vs. GeoZilla
Family locator built around circles and focused on driving and subscriptions: speed reports, crash detection, daily history. High weekly and monthly prices.
See the comparison →Comparison
Mi Estela vs. Find My Kids (Pingo)
Parental app for young children: the adult app plus Pingo on the child's phone (or a GPS watch). History, zones, child SOS, and "Ambient Sound" to listen to the child's microphone.
See the comparison →Comparison
Mi Estela vs. iSharing
General-purpose locator with a generous free plan (with ads), up to one year of history, a walkie-talkie, and an inactivity alert for seniors. Silver and Gold are paid plans.
See the comparison →Comparison
Mi Estela vs. FamiSafe (Wondershare)
Full parental control: screen time, app blocking, filters, explicit content detection and, on top of that, location and history. No permanent free plan.
See the comparison →Comparison
Mi Estela vs. Qustodio
Parental control born in Barcelona: screen time, apps, filters, AI-powered alerts, and a family locator with arrival alerts. Free plan for one device.
See the comparison →They complement each other
Mi Estela vs. AlertCops
The official, free app of the National Police and Civil Guard: alerts to the police room, SOS button, Guardian, Walk with Me, and location sharing with up to 5 contacts. It doesn't compete with Mi Estela. They complement each other.
See the comparison →Comparison
Mi Estela vs. Find my Phone - Family Locator (formerly Family Locator by Sygic)
Launched as “Family by Sygic” in 2013; today the same app is listed under another company. Location, 7-day history, zones, SOS and chat, with pricey weekly and monthly subscriptions.
See the comparison →How we compare
We look at the same things in every app: real-time map, iPhone-and-Android support, arrival alerts, SOS, chat and video calls, history, invisible mode, whether the app is symmetrical (everyone sees the same) or has a supervisor, ads, what their policy says about selling or licensing your location, what's in the free plan, how much it costs in Spain, whether it does driving reports or parental controls, minimum age, and who's behind it.
And one rule: we also share what each app does better than Mi Estela. Life360 detects crashes and has Tile; Apple's Find My is free and built in; Family Link truly controls a kid's phone; AlertCops is the police. If we only talked about ourselves, you wouldn't believe us.
Sources are linked in each comparison. When we couldn't confirm something, we say so.
Real screenshots
What it looks like inside
The screenshots are from the app in Spanish; the interface is in your language if your phone is set to it (see the note below).
We answer your questions
Frequently asked questions
What's the best family locator app?
It depends on what you're looking for. To supervise a young child's phone, a parental control app (Family Link, Qustodio, FamiSafe, Find My Kids). To see where your family is with driving reports, Life360 or GeoZilla. For the whole family—grandparents and teens included—to stay present without anyone watching over anyone, ad-free and without your data being sold, Mi Estela. On this page you'll find the sources so you can decide for yourself.
Which family location app is free?
Most have a free plan with limits: Life360 (2 places, 2 days, with ads), iSharing (generous, with ads), Apple's Find My and Google Maps (completely free, no circle alerts or SOS), WhatsApp (8 hours). Mi Estela gives you the essentials forever: map, alerts for 3 places, SOS, chat, calls, and video calls—no ads.
Do family location apps sell my data?
Some use location or identifiers for third-party advertising, and they say so on their App Store listing. Life360 licenses precise geolocation to partners according to its current policy. Mi Estela never sells or licenses location data to anyone, ever.
How old does a kid need to be to use a family location app?
Parental control apps let an adult supervise young children from their own phone. Circle apps like Mi Estela require your own account, and in Spain that means you need to be at least 14 (the age of digital consent).
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