Gabb vs Pinwheel vs Troomi vs Bark Phone: which kid phone fits?

When we shopped for our son Ben’s first phone, we looked hard at kid phones. In the end they didn’t meet our requirements, and we went with an iPhone. It covered every way we wanted him to communicate, and its built-in security features were strong enough on their own. (More on that at the end.)

But kid phones are the right call for plenty of families. Here’s how the four big ones compare, with prices checked October 17, 2026.

The quick answer

• Most locked down: Gabb Phone 4. No browser, no app store, no social media.
• Best balance: Pinwheel. No contract, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and the most flexible app approvals.
• Most room to grow: Bark Phone. It can open up gradually, and when your kid is ready, it unlocks into a regular Samsung phone.
• Lowest monthly price: Troomi. But the cheapest plan has no group or picture texting.

Side by side

	Gabb Phone 4	Pinwheel	Troomi	Bark Phone
Phone	$249.99	Slim 6, $199	$6.94/mo × 36	$15/mo × 24
Cheapest plan with texting	$29.99/mo (2-year contract)	$29.99/mo or $284.99/yr	$24.95/mo (no group or picture texts)	$29/mo
Contract	2 years, $150 early exit fee	None, 30-day money-back	None, month to month	None. Pay off the phone if you cancel
Apps	Built-in only	1,000+ vetted apps; Google Play optional	Curated store (top plan)	None on Starter; Play Store with approval on higher plans
Web browser	None	Off by default	Filtered, on top plan	Filtered, on higher plans
Parents see texts	Yes, with harmful messages flagged	Yes, plus AI summaries	Yes, plus AI alerts	Yes, AI scans texts, photos and videos
Network	Gabb’s own	Pinwheel Wireless, or your own carrier	AT&T	T-Mobile

What the first year actually costs

One kid, cheapest plan that includes group and picture texting, before tax:

Phone	Year one	Notes
Troomi (Dream plan)	$442.68	Plus an activation fee; $166.56 still owed on the phone
Pinwheel (paid annually)	$483.99	$558.88 if you pay monthly
Bark Phone (Starter)	$528	No activation fee; $180 still owed on the phone
Gabb Phone 4 (2-year)	$609.87	Plus any activation fees; you’re locked in for year two

Pinwheel has one more way to save: keep your current carrier and pay just $174.99 a year for Pinwheel’s software, plus the phone.

The catch with all four: texting iPhone friends

Every one of these is an Android phone. If your kid’s friends have iPhones, their texts will show up as green bubbles, and your kid won’t be in iMessage group chats. Gabb also notes that an Android user can’t leave an iPhone group text once they’re in it.

For a lot of 12- and 13-year-olds, the group chat is the social life. If your kid’s friends are mostly on iPhone, expect complaints.

Gabb Phone 4: for the youngest, or the most cautious

Gabb is the strictest of the four. There’s no browser, no app store and no social media. Your kid gets calls, texts (including group and picture messages on the Standard plan), a camera, maps and Gabb’s own music app. Parents approve contacts, get alerts when the phone enters or leaves set places, and can see text and call logs, with harmful messages flagged.

The trade-off: the cheapest plan for new customers needs a 2-year contract, with a $150 fee to leave early. To grow, you upgrade to the Gabb Phone 4 Pro (for ages 13–18), which adds 100+ parent-approved apps.

Get it if: your kid is 9–12, or you want a phone that simply can’t do much.

Pinwheel: the most flexible

Pinwheel’s phones are regular Android phones (the Slim 6 is a Motorola) running Pinwheel’s controls. Contacts are on a safelist, picture texting can be turned on per contact, and you choose from 1,000+ vetted apps, or allow Google Play while social media stays blocked. There’s no browser unless you add one. Parents get GPS arrival and departure alerts and AI summaries of recent conversations.

Why it stands out: no contract, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and you can use your own carrier.

Get it if: you want real control now and the flexibility to loosen it gradually.

Troomi: cheapest monthly, check the plan

Troomi uses a Samsung Galaxy A17 on AT&T, with no contract. Its “SafeText” AI flags concerning texts and images, and parents manage contacts, schedules and location from a web portal. The top plan adds a curated app store, a filtered browser, and apps like Google Classroom and Spotify.

The catch: the cheapest plan ($24.95) has no group or picture texting, and the phone is paid over 3 years.

Get it if: price matters most and your kid mainly needs calls and one-on-one texts.

Bark Phone: the most room to grow

The Bark Phone is a Samsung Galaxy A16 on T-Mobile, with Bark’s monitoring built in. Bark scans texts, photos and videos and alerts you to risks. The Starter plan blocks all apps. Higher plans ($39–79 a month) open up the Play Store with your approval and filtered browsing. When your kid is ready, Bark can unlock it into a regular Samsung phone.

The trade-off: you pay off the phone over 2 years, and service isn’t refundable.

Get it if: you want monitoring from day one and a phone that can grow into a normal one. On our Bark verdict, we explain why Bark’s monitoring is much stronger on Android than on an iPhone.

Why we chose an iPhone instead

We compared these phones and still went with an iPhone for Ben. Our reasons:

• Communication: it covered every way we wanted him to stay in touch, including iMessage with family and friends.
• Security built in: Screen Time lets us approve apps, control who he can contact, filter content and set a bedtime cutoff, all for free. We use Life360’s free plan for location.
• No new carrier or contract: it fits into the family plan and Family Sharing we already have.

A kid phone makes more sense if your kid is younger, if you want controls that are harder to work around, or if your family isn’t on iPhone. For setting up a regular phone safely, see Before you get your kid a first phone.