Best Geofencing Apps: Review, Pricing, Guide [2023]

Geofencing apps create a virtual boundary around a specific location, where you can see when a person enters or leaves the zone. And it makes sense to have a geofencing app if you have kids, care for the elderly with dementia, or want to monitor employees for safety and ethical reasons. But how to choose one? The HeyLocate team tried some, and we are ready to share the results.

Why is geofencing important?

According to the NamUs database, 600,000 people go missing annually in the US. 32% of missing persons are children under 18, and 42% are children under 21. With a geofencing app, you can keep tabs on a target without them checking in. The risk of getting lost is even higher in people with dementia since 1 in 6 adults with Alzheimer’s and related dementia go missing every year.

Here are only some benefits of using geofencing apps:

• improved location tracking: geofencing can help to improve the accuracy of location tracking, especially in areas with poor GPS reception;
• enhanced safety: geofencing can be used to send alerts or notifications when someone enters or leaves a designated area.
  For example, you can create safe zones such as home, school, or a friend’s place, and you will receive alerts when a kid leaves a safe zone or when your parent or granny with dementia leaves hospital (because it happens).
  Moreover, you can set up dangerous zones and receive alerts when your loved one enters these zones.
• increased productivity: geofencing can be used to track employee activity and ensure they are working in the designated areas.

Table of Reviewed Apps for Geofence

Let’s take a look at the main features of geofencing apps from our review.

What Is Geofencing?

Geofencing is the setting of a virtual boundary around a geographical location such as a home, building, store, or place as large as a ZIP code. Geofencing monitors mobile devices as they enter or leave the geofence area.

How does Geofencing Work?

Geofencing uses communication technologies such as RFID (radio frequency identification), GPS, Wi-Fi, or cellular data to trigger an alert when an RFID tag or target device enters or leaves the invisible fence. You will need a geofencing app or a service with geofencing software to set up geofencing.

Top Geofencing Apps Review

Here is a detailed review of geofencing apps available on the app market.

mSpy

mSpy was launched in 2010 by a London-based company. It offers many features, and geofencing is among the most reliable. mSpy has a 3.9/5 star rating on the App Store.

Size & Compatibility:

131.5 Mb; iOS 7 – 14.8.1 with jailbreaking, Android 4+.

User Experience:

mSpy does not need jailbreaking on Android devices. However, you need a jailbroken iOS device to access geofencing. During my experimenting with it, I installed mSpy on an Android device.

This app’s Android geofencing feature is on point, since I could set up multiple geofences on a map of allowed or restricted areas. It allowed setting up boundaries of up to 6.21 miles.

mSpy sent instant alerts according to the settings. I had set to be notified when my child left some locations and when they entered certain boundaries.

After installing the app, I could set the geofence remotely, so I did not need to access the target device to set a new geofence. My experience showed that mSpy was also useful for viewing the live location of my child’s device at all times.

Try mSpy

Spyic

Spyic is an efficient monitoring app to help keep children safe from online dangers. A Ukrainian company owns it. It has a 3.4/5 star rating on TrustPilot, indicating that most users are satisfied with Spyic’s service.

Size & Compatibility:

less than 2 Mb; iOS 8+, Android 4+.

User Experience:

I did not need to root the device, I wanted to install Spyic. The app is small, less than 2MB, and configuring it took about 5 minutes. Geofencing works fast and easily by choosing Geofence from the menu. It gave me options to set multiple geofences and customize notifications.

Moreover, my testing showed that Spyic recorded the number of times the target device entered or left the location. It also provided a timestamp, letting me know exactly when something occurred.

Its geofence alerts were in real-time. Thus, I could track my child’s whereabouts. The timestamp also allowed time tracking whenever I needed it. Lastly, Spyic has other monitoring features, such as location tracking and location history.

Try Spyic.com

FlexiSpy

FlexiSpy tracking and monitoring app tracks both online and offline. Being a pioneer in the phone monitoring industry, FlexiSpy was developed in 2006 by Flexispy ltd.

Size & Compatibility:

up to 70 Mb; iOS and Android 7+ and newer, Nokia, Blueberry, PCs, Macs, and iPads.

User Experience:

FlexiSpy is one of the most reliable parents geofencing apps I’ve used. However, I needed to jailbreak my device to access its advanced features. I sought help from FlexiSpy customer support and got the help I needed in a few minutes. I asked about the remote installation; unfortunately, FlexiSpy requires access to the target device.

Once the app was installed, I only needed to access its features on an online dashboard. As such, I could set up a geofence and choose which alerts I wanted. During my experimenting with FlexiSpy, its geofencing feature proved handy for my adventurous teenager, since it helped me set a virtual boundary around specific locations. It provided instant alerts when the device left the set zones.

FlexiSpy is also a reliable location-tracking app. I used it to see the live location of the tracked mobile phone. Lastly, I liked environment recording since it could take photos of the surroundings allowing me to see who my child was hanging out with.

Try FlexiSPY

Cocospy

Cocospy geofencing app is a phone monitoring software by Ersten Group based in the United Kingdom. It has a 3.2-star rating on Trustpilot thanks to its myriad of features and extremely user-friendly dashboard.

Size & Compatibility:

2 Mb; Android 4+, iOS 7+.

User Experience:

After signing up, I installed Cocospy on the target device by scanning a QR code. When I tested the app, it did not require any credentials on Android, but you will need to jailbreak an iPhone to use Geofence.

Cocospy geofencing technology works like any other monitoring app. I clicked the Geofence alerts option, which opened a map. Here, I could create virtual zones with Cocospy’s Geofence marker. It involved marking watched or forbidden spots on the map and receiving notifications when the zones were breached.

Cocospy location services include tracking real-time locations and seeing past location history. It can also record surroundings, which proves important when you have an adventurous kid.

Try Cocospy

XNSPY

XNSPY is an advanced phone monitoring software. Its parent company is headquartered in Abbeville, Alabama, United States. The app has a 4.16 stars rating on Site Jabber, an independent review site.

Size & Compatibility:

10 Mb; Android 4+, iOS 6+.

User Experience:

During my testing, I used XNSPY as a geofence app on my child’s smartphone. Installing the app was fast since XNSPY provided a clear set of instructions. I also allowed a few permissions. The app was obscured on the target device, so they couldn’t know it was installed on their phone.

Its Geofence feature (Places) has two main attributes. One, I could define places, and second, I could watch locations. It allowed me to define any number of locations by picking an address or a spot on the map. I then created the desired location’s diameter. In addition, XNSPY allowed me to get notifications when my child left or entered a zone. I felt in control of my child’s whereabouts, which is crucial for their security.

I was pleased that XNSPY can flag locations, and its Android geofence does not require rooting or jailbreaking the device. Besides, during my review, I could set automatic alerts for suspicious locations. It’s one of the most reliable geofencing apps for parents and employers.

Try XNSPY

Eyezy

Eyezy monitoring software was created by Fortunex Ltd, a Cyprus-based company. The GPS location tracking app has a 4.4 stars rating on Google Play Store and 3.9 stars on the App Store.

Size & Compatibility:

50.44 Mb; Android 4+, iOS 7+.

User Experience:

Installing Eyezy is quick with the step-by-step instructions on the Eyezy website. It allows remote monitoring on iPhones using the user’s iCloud credentials but requires a jailbreak to use all it features.

I synced data with the smartphone over Wi-Fi and could then start using geofencing. The best thing is after installing the app; I didn’t need to access the phone to set geofence zones.

I used the Pinpoint feature to create geofence zones. The app has options for setting unlimited restricted or allowed zones. It allowed me to choose when to receive notifications for when my child entered, left, or any case they are in a geofence zone.

I appreciate other Eyezy location services like live location tracking, location history, and Wi-Fi networks. Hence, I knew where my child was even though they didn’t check in with me.

Try EyeZy

Free Apps for Geofence

Safety is not where you should save money, but let’s see on some free apps with geofencing feature.

Find My Kids

Find My Kids is a location tracker app by Geo Track Technologies LLC. It has a 4.5-star rating on Google Play Store and 4.8 stars on the App store.

Size & Compatibility:

129 Mb; Android 4+, iOS 13+.

User Experience:

Find My Kids works alongside the Pingo by Find My Kids app. The former is the parent app you use to set geolocations on the child’s device. After accepting a few permissions, I downloaded both apps and the Find My Kids app opened Google Maps, where I set the home location. I also chose several other locations, like school, supermarket, and aunt’s place.

The Find My Kids app monitored my kid’s phone and gave me alerts when they left a location and when they were about to arrive. I found this feature helpful since I didn’t need to micro-manage his movements by calling him. All I had was to check the app to determine his location.

EgiGeoZone Geofence

EgiGeoZone Geofence is a geofencing app by Egmontr. It has 10k+ downloads on Google Play Store with a 3.7-star rating. Unfortunately, it is not available on the App store.

Size & Compatibility:

6.8 Mb; Android 4+.

User Experience:

EgiGeoZone is a tiny app, only 6.8Mbs. I installed it on my kid’s device and set a geolocation to see how well it functions. Unfortunately, I could not set boundaries remotely. I had to use the monitored device to create virtual zones.

In addition, I could not monitor the set locations online on a different device. Thus, I had to ask my son for their smartphone to see the locations they had visited and whether or not they kept to the geolocation zones.

The nice feature is seeing notifications when the phone enters or leaves a zone. As such, I could see when my son left school and the places he visited after school. It’s a user-friendly option when you want to monitor zones without interfering.

Try Get EgiGeoZone for Android

Geozilla

Geozilla is another free geofencing app by Geozilla Inc. It has a high approval rating, scoring 4.3 stars from 413k reviews on Google Play Store. It’s also available in Apple Store and has a 4.5-star rating there.

Size & Compatibility:

166 Mb; Android 4+, iOS 13+.

User Experience:

Geozilla works by installing the app on the parent device and adding family members to your circle. I did this, and the app allowed me to set multiple geolocations that I could use to monitor the people in my circle. I could see the live location of the tracked device and get alerts when the device checked in or out of a zone.

With the location-sharing feature, I could use Geozilla as a GPS tracker to monitor driving habits of my son. Geozilla was accurate in helping me see the location the device entered and any specific locations I had created on the app.

Conclusion

These geofencing apps are our top choices owing to their seamless operation and accuracy. I found the mSpy app to be the most useful, since I could set any number of geofence zones. The app also operates in stealth mode, meaning I could track the location without the target knowing.

I also liked using Spyic helpful since it shows timestamps. This feature let me know when my child was at a particular location if I missed the notifications. If you’re going for a free app, be aware of the inaccuracy that comes with such apps.

And lastly, FlexiSpy is very comprehensive in its reports and even allows environment recording to know what is going on around your kid, especially when you get geofencing alerts.