Family plans, compared

The four family plans parents live with

Four big tech companies each offer “family” account systems. Most households use two or three simultaneously (because their devices run different operating systems).

Apple Family Sharing

• Covers: Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, HomePod).
• Child account created by the parent — Settings › Family › Add Member › Create an Account for a Child. Apple says the age at which this is required varies by state, country or region.
• Screen Time — the organizer manages a child’s Downtime, App Limits and Always Allowed from Settings › Screen Time › the child’s name.
• Ask to Buy — the organizer approves App Store purchases, in-app purchases and downloads. It is not a catch-all: Apple states that content acquired via redemption codes is not subject to Ask to Buy, and that redownloads and app updates generate no request at all.
• Apple Cash Family — an Apple Cash account the organizer sets up for an under-18. In Wallet you can see their balance, review activity and limit who they transact with to Everyone, Contacts Only or Family Members Only. US only.
• Shared: Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud+ storage, purchases, calendars, reminders.
• Cost: Apple describes it as giving five family members access to your subscriptions for free; the subscriptions themselves are paid separately.

Google Family Link + Google One

• Covers: Android, Chromebook, Google services (YouTube, Play Store, Search).
• Supervised Google Account — you create one for a child under 13 (or the applicable age in your country). Above that age the child creates their own account and you add supervision to it, so this is not a controls-stop-at-13 system.
• Family Link — screen time, app approvals, location, content filters. Purchases are handled by Purchase & download approvals, which Google says applies only to purchases made through Google Play’s billing system. There is no spending limit.
• Google One — Basic (100 GB), Google AI Plus (2 TB) and Google AI Pro (5 TB), each of which Google says you can share with up to 5 others.
• Shared: YouTube Premium, YouTube Music, Google One, some Play Pass content.
• Cost: Family Link free; Google One has paid tiers.

Microsoft Family Safety

• Covers: Windows PCs, Xbox, Microsoft 365 apps.
• Child accounts added to your family group at account.microsoft.com/family.
• Family Safety — screen time across Windows and Xbox, app and game limits, content filters, activity reports, location (via mobile app).
• Spending — Microsoft’s “spending limits” work by adding money to the child’s Microsoft account, which Microsoft says “cannot be overdrawn”. There is also a Require approval for every purchase toggle for credit cards. Neither stops spending from an existing balance or a gift card.
• Shared: Microsoft 365 Family and OneDrive storage. Note that Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family was a preview that Microsoft ended on 15 August 2023 — there is no shared Game Pass plan to add.
• Cost: Family Safety free; Microsoft 365 Family is paid.

Amazon Family (formerly Amazon Household)

• Covers: Amazon shopping, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Alexa. Amazon states that “Amazon Household is becoming Amazon Family”, so you will see both names.
• Who fits: one other adult, up to four teens and up to four children, all living at your primary residential address.
• Child profiles — up to four, with parental controls; you choose what content each child sees.
• Amazon Kids+ — a paid subscription of ad-free games, videos, books, podcasts, music, apps and Alexa skills that Amazon describes as being for ages 3–12.
• Shared: Prime benefits (adults must share the same address and agree to share payment methods for verification), and digital content such as eBooks, apps and games through Family Library.
• Cost: Prime and Amazon Kids+ are paid subscriptions.

How to pick the primary

Your “primary” family plan is usually whichever matches the first device the kid gets. If it’s an iPhone: Apple. If it’s Android or Chromebook: Google. If it’s a gaming PC or Xbox: Microsoft. Most households run two or three in parallel — that’s normal.

Cross-ecosystem headaches

• iPhone + Chromebook + Xbox? You’ll touch all three plans. Stay organized — keep settings documented in your password manager.
• Single-purchase items (a Roblox game) are tied to the ecosystem where purchased. Don’t re-buy.
• Family plan changes (marriage, divorce) require care — you can’t just swap the family manager without unwinding. Apple in particular says you can only join one Family Sharing group at a time, and can only switch to a different one once per year.