6 min · read

Parental controls for Windows 10 and 11 compared

Many parents already have their child's phone under control. The computer in the next room is a different story: it often stays on until late at night with no limit at all. Google Family Link has no Windows version, so the PC needs its own tool. We compared five options for Windows 10 and 11, using only what each company says on its own website.

Five options at a glance

Gardion. Child's devices: Windows 10 and 11, Android. Time on the PC: daily limit, schedule, a separate limit for one game. Websites: filter in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Opera. Price: Free for one PC; Family $25 a year; Premium $35 a year; 14 days free, no card needed.

Microsoft Family Safety. Child's devices: Windows 10 and 11, Xbox, Android. Time on the PC: device and app limits, a schedule for each day of the week. Websites: filter in Edge only; other browsers are blocked. Price: free; the child needs a Microsoft account.

Kaspersky Safe Kids. Child's devices: Windows 7 to 11, Android, iPhone, Mac. Time on the PC: free daily limit; weekly schedule and app limits in the paid version. Websites: Edge, Chrome, Firefox. Price: free and paid versions; price depends on the region.

Norton Family. Child's devices: Windows, Android, iOS (not Windows in S mode). Time on the PC: time limits and schedules. Websites: web and YouTube supervision. Price: $49.99 a year in the US.

Qustodio. Child's devices: Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Android, iOS, Kindle. Time on the PC: daily limits and routines; game and app limits in Complete. Websites: web filtering. Price: Basic and Complete plans; the price depends on your region.

We checked features and prices on each company's site on October 6, 2026. If a company doesn't state something, the summary doesn't either.

Microsoft Family Safety in Windows 10 and 11

The Microsoft family group is built into Windows 10 and 11 and costs nothing. Your child needs their own Microsoft account set up as a standard user, and you add that account to your family at account.microsoft.com/family. Then you can set a limit for the whole computer, set limits for specific apps and games with a schedule for each day of the week, block an app, and see an activity report of what your child opened and for how long.

Websites are the harder part. Microsoft's web filter works only in Edge, so Family Safety blocks Chrome, Firefox and other common browsers to keep the filter from being bypassed. Activity reports cover only Edge and Bing searches. Microsoft also removed location sharing from Family Safety on November 29, 2024.

For a younger child who uses their own account and browses in Edge, that is often enough. Our step-by-step guide to the Microsoft family group walks through the setup.

Kaspersky Safe Kids on a PC

Kaspersky Safe Kids has an app for the child's computer, with versions for Windows 7 to 11, Android, iPhone and Mac. One license covers all the children in a family.

On Windows, the free version sets a daily time limit, blocks apps and websites one by one or by category, and turns on safe search. The weekly schedule, limits for specific apps, and reports on time and websites come with the paid version. According to Kaspersky's help center, the web filter works in Edge, Chrome and Firefox, and on Windows parents can also see their child's YouTube search history.

Norton Family and Qustodio

Both apps come from established security companies and run on Windows. Norton Family supports Windows, Android and iOS but not Windows 10 in S mode, and costs $49.99 a year in the US. Qustodio covers Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Android, iOS and Kindle. Its Basic plan has daily time limits, routines and web filtering, and limits for specific games and apps come with Complete. Qustodio shows prices in your local currency, so check the plans on its site.

Gardion: one dashboard for the PC and the phone

Gardion runs on Windows 10 and 11 and on Android, and you set the rules for both from one dashboard on your own phone. For the computer, you can set a daily limit, a schedule for each day of the week and a bedtime, plus a separate limit for one game or for all games at once. When time runs out, Gardion locks Windows. The web filter works in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Opera.

Gardion also guards against workarounds. It blocks well-known VPN apps and checks the time against a server, so turning the clock back doesn't buy extra minutes, and you get an alert. Removing Gardion takes the parent PIN or a recovery code. Every half hour by default (you can change the interval), Gardion pauses play for a short warm-up so your child gets up from the chair.

Gardion can look after the computer, too. The "Check the computer" button shows whether the drives are healthy, how much of its original capacity the laptop battery keeps, and what takes up disk space. With Premium, the same card empties the Recycle Bin, clears temp files and old downloads, and turns off startup apps you don't need. From your phone, you can pause the internet in the browsers, request a screenshot, restart or shut down the computer, and show a message on the screen.

The Free plan covers one computer with one daily limit. Family costs $25 a year, about $2 a month, and Premium costs $35 a year. For the first 14 days every feature is available, no card needed.

How to choose

If your child is eight or nine, browses in Edge and isn't looking for workarounds yet, the Microsoft family group is enough: it's free and already part of Windows.

Your teenager uses Chrome and knows about VPNs and Task Manager, so you need an app that watches for workarounds and filters websites in Chrome and other browsers, such as Gardion.

Your child has an Android phone and a computer. One app for both devices and one dashboard for you is easier: Gardion or Kaspersky Safe Kids. If Findmykids is already on the phone, our Findmykids alternative guide covers switching in one evening.

We make Gardion, so the summary includes only what each company says about its own product. The choice is yours.

If Microsoft's limits suddenly stop working, see why Microsoft Family Safety isn't working.

One step for any app

If your child is an administrator on the computer, they can remove or turn off any parental control app, including the built-in one. That is how Windows works. So start by giving your child a standard account and keeping the administrator account for yourself. Our guide to a standard account for kids in Windows follows Microsoft's steps.

How to install Gardion on a computer

1. Sign up at gardion.io, no card needed.

2. In Gardion Family, tap "Add device" and choose Windows. You get a link and a code.

3. Open the link on your child's computer, run the installer and enter the code.

4. Set a limit and a schedule from your phone. The rules reach the computer within a minute.

If Windows shows a SmartScreen warning, our installation guide explains what to do. Everything else Gardion does on a PC is on the Windows page.

In short

Does it work the same on a laptop?

Yes. For all of these apps, a Windows 10 or 11 laptop is just a computer. The difference is that a child can carry a laptop to their room, so a limit and a schedule matter more there than on a shared family PC.

Can I limit just one game?

Yes. In Gardion you can give a limit to one game, such as Roblox or Minecraft, and homework or drawing doesn't use up that time. Microsoft also has app and game limits, and Kaspersky Safe Kids includes them in the paid version.

My child opened Task Manager and closed the app. What now?

First, check your child's account: it should be a standard one, and only you should have administrator rights. Gardion also has a Strict protection setting that keeps your child out of Task Manager and Registry Editor.

Set limits in 3 minutes

Limits, schedule and anti-bypass protection on Windows and Android. 14 days of full access, no card needed.

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