Norton Family vs. Net Nanny 2024: Well-Rounded Protection or No Frills?

Overall, Norton Family is a better parental control app than Net Nanny. You'll get extra features like geo-fencing, plus the ability to bundle your services with top-of-the-line antivirus software.

Net Nanny does have one thing over Norton, however: it's available on Macbooks. So if you're an Apply family, than Net Nanny will likely be your choice out of the two.

This deep-dive comparison article will help you figure out which is the best parental control app for you.

Norton Family vs. Net Nanny review at a glance

Norton Family provides more tools and monitoring than Net Nanny. Families could also choose to buy a Norton antivirus package that comes with Norton Family for comprehensive security coverage.

Net Nanny doesn't offer any protection from cyberthreats like malware or viruses. It focuses exclusively on parental controls and offers all the essential features you need to protect your child online.

• Norton Family: Best for overall security
• Net Nanny: Best for just Apple families

Norton Family vs. Net Nanny compared

	Our Pick
Star rating	4.4 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	3.6 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.
Price	$49.99/mo	$3.33-$7.50/mo (billed annually)
Free trial	Yes — 30 days
Number of protected devices	15 children	1 - 20 devices
Web filtering
Conversation monitoring
Screen time management
Location tracking
Activity reports
Remote lock
Supported devices	Windows, Android, and iOS	Windows, macOS, iOS
Learn more	Get Norton Family Read Norton Family Review	Get Net Nanny Read Net Nanny Review

Norton Family pros and cons

Norton Family surprised us during our testing, proving itself as a well-rounded parental control app and not just a half-baked antivirus add-on. We were able to easily set it up on our phone and monitor, block, and limit all sorts of device use.

We were particularly impressed with its location tracking — including geo-fencing capabilities that can give notifications when the device leaves a specified area — as well as the web monitoring and filtering.

The major downside we found was that you can't set screen time limits per app, which we thought was a loss. It's also not available on macOS devices and some of the monitoring features are less powerful on iOS devices.

Net Nanny pros and cons

Net Nanny is an interesting parental control product that offers a lot of what parents are looking for. The website and app are both outdated and clunky, but if that's not a dealbreaker for you, then you could find a gem hiding underneath.

The biggest unique factor it has going for it was the ability to force safe search on all social media apps, not just Google. So if you set a warning for drugs, you'd be alerted for it if they searched for it on Instagram.

Net Nanny doesn't have any geo-fencing or conversation monitoring features, however, which is one of its biggest downsides. If those options are what's important to you, than Net Nanny likely isn't the app for you.

Which parental control app is the better value?

Overall, Norton is a better value than Net Nanny because of its higher device limit, free trial, money-back-guarantee, and ability to bundle with its antivirus services.

	Our Pick
Price range	$49.99/mo	$3.33-$7.50/mo (billed annually)
Best value plan	Norton Family for $4.16/mo (billed annually)	20 Devices Family Protection Pass for $7.50/mo (billed annually)
Free trial	Yes — 30 days
Money-back guarantee	Yes — 60 days
Learn more	Get Norton Family Read Norton Family Review	Get Net Nanny Read Net Nanny Review

Norton Family plans

Norton Family provides parents with the ability to monitor and control their child's online experience. There is only one annual subscription offered if you’re only interested in parental control.

However, if you would like to bundle parental control with security tools like antivirus software, then you should consider Norton's other plans. Norton 360 Deluxe and Norton 360 with LifeLock Select provide other features to help you and your family stay safe online.

• Norton Family: For $4.16/mo (billed annually), Norton Family includes web filtering, location tracking features, time monitoring, and supervision features across web searches, apps, videos, and more. It also includes instant lock and reporting features. Norton backs all of its products with 24/7 customer support.
  
• Norton 360 Select: For $99.99/yr (first year only), you'll get all of the above plus an antivirus, 250 GB of cloud storage, a password manager, VPN, credit monitoring, and ID theft protection.
  
• Norton 360 Advantage: For $199.99/yr (first year only), you'll get the above PLUS more extensive ID theft protection, like up to $100,000 in stolen funds reimbursement, bank alerts, and identity lock.
  
• Norton 360 Ultimate Plus: The ultimate digital protection starts at $299.99/yr (first year only) and offers everything above, plus home title monitoring, investment alerts, and up to $1,000,000 in stolen funds reimbursement.
  

If you opt for just Norton Family, then you can take advantage of a 30-day free trial before purchasing. However, you’ll need to enter payment information to get the free trial. The Norton 360 plans provide a 60-day money-back guarantee.

Net Nanny plans

Net Nanny provides three different plans that cover a varying number of devices and operating systems. The same features are available across plans.

• 1 Desktop: For $3.33/mo (billed annually), you'll get coverage for 1 PC or Mac and there's no option to cover an iOS device. This plan includes all of the Net Nanny features like screen time management and web filtering.
• 5 Devices Family Protection Pass: At $4.58/mo (billed annually), this plan covers up to five devices. Unlike the 1 Desktop plan, it includes iOS devices.
• 20 Devices Family Protection Pass: At $7.50/mo (billed annually), this plan covers up to 20 devices, which is substantial coverage for families. It covers PC, Mac, and iOS devices and provides the best overall value.

There’s no free trial currently available for Net Nanny. 

Which app has the better monitoring and alerts?

When focusing on specifically parental control monitoring features, Norton Family has the slight edge over Net Nanny because of its geo-fencing feature. Other than that, they're pretty evenly matched.

Feature	Our Pick
Website filtering
App filtering
Social media monitoring
Text message monitoring
Email monitoring
Internet search monitoring
Screen time limits
Remote lock
Cyberbullying and online predator alerts
Location tracking
Geo-fencing
Activity reports
Learn more	Get Norton Family Read Norton Family Review	Get Net Nanny Read Net Nanny Review

Norton Family shines because it covers far more categories for website filtering than Net Nanny. It also provides more significant location-tracking tools like geo-fencing. This tool alerts parents when a child's phone has gone outside a designated safe zone.

But Norton Family's app filtering only works on Android and Windows. If you need it on iOS, you're out of luck. It's also important to note that Norton Family only notifies you what apps are downloaded and not the content of the apps. On the other hand, Net Nanny only works on iOS, but it can review and monitor specific apps' content.

There are essential features that both Norton Family and Net Nanny lack. For example, the ability to monitor text messages and emails. When it comes to social media filtering, only Net Nanny offers it but we had a difficult time getting it to work. We understand wanting kids to stay safe on social media, so these services might be disappointing in that regard.

If you have older children, monitoring texts, emails, and social media may be important features to you. In that case, neither Net Nanny nor Norton Family are good choices.

Which parental control app has the better support and compatibility?

Though neither Norton Family and Net Nanny cover all devices, Norton does have better support — which gives it the edge in this category. 

	Our Pick
Windows
macOS
Android
iOS
Other devices
24/7 customer support
Customer support options	Guides, phone, live chat, forum	Guides, live chat, email
Learn more	Get Norton Family Read Norton Family Review	Get Net Nanny Read Net Nanny Review

Neither Norton Family nor Net Nanny works across all operating systems and devices. You may find that some features are missing on other platforms too.

Norton Family doesn't work on macOS. On top of that, we noticed some monitoring features were missing on the iOS version. Overall, Norton Family might not be a great option if your family heavily uses Macs or iPhones.

Net Nanny can handle macOS and iOS. It's also compatible with Windows. The main problem comes with Android. It currently doesn't offer support for Android, Fire Kindle, or Chromebooks. Net Nanny is planning on releasing versions to support these devices in 2024. In the meantime, Net Nanny isn't a great option if you want to monitor your child's Android phone .

Net Nanny also doesn't have robust customer support compared to Norton Family. Net Nanny has a live chat, but it's only available Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST. If you have a problem on the weekend, then you're on your own. Meanwhile, Norton Family has 24/7 support available.

FAQs

Norton Family vs. Net Nanny: Which is better?

Norton Family won every category in our list. It provided more monitoring features that actually functioned when we tested them. It's also more affordable overall considering you can add unlimited devices. Another plus is that you can bundle it with antivirus software to further keep your devices secure. However, it doesn't work on macOS and the iOS version lacks monitoring features.

Net Nanny may be a better option if your family uses Apple products. While more expensive, it does offer several tools to protect and monitor your child's online activity.

	Our Pick
Value
Features
Compatibility & customer support
Learn more	Get Norton Family Read Norton Family Review	Get Net Nanny Read Net Nanny Review

Top alternatives

Norton Family and Net Nanny may not be your perfect match. Luckily, there are a few other options to consider for the best parental control app for you. Here are a few other alternatives to evaluate: