GoGuardian vs Securly: Which K-12 Web Filter Is Better? (2026)

If you're a K-12 IT director evaluating web filtering solutions in 2026, two names consistently dominate the conversation: GoGuardian and Securly. Both are well-established vendors with thousands of school district deployments across the country. But which one is actually the better fit for your district?

This comparison breaks down every major dimension — filtering architecture, pricing, platform support, classroom management, student safety monitoring, game blocking, reporting, and more. We'll be honest about where each platform excels and where it falls short, and we'll introduce a third option — KyberGate — that addresses some gaps neither of them fully cover.

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Company Background

GoGuardian

Founded in 2014, GoGuardian started as a Chromebook management and filtering tool and has grown into one of the largest K-12 edtech companies. They serve over 27 million students across 10,000+ schools. Their product suite includes GoGuardian Admin (web filtering), GoGuardian Teacher (classroom management), GoGuardian Beacon (student safety), and GoGuardian Fleet (device management).

GoGuardian's strongest market is Chromebook-dominant districts. Their Chrome extension approach was built for Google's ecosystem from day one.

Securly

Securly was founded in 2013 and has positioned itself as a comprehensive student safety platform. They serve over 20 million students and emphasize their AI-powered approach to both filtering and student wellness monitoring. Securly's product lineup includes Securly Filter, Securly Classroom, Securly Aware (student safety), and Securly Home (off-campus filtering).

Securly has expanded aggressively into the student wellness and mental health monitoring space, making safety monitoring a core selling point rather than an add-on.

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Filtering Architecture

This is where the fundamental technical differences begin — and they affect everything downstream.

GoGuardian's Approach

GoGuardian uses a browser extension on Chromebooks and an on-device agent on Windows, Mac, and iOS. The extension/agent intercepts web traffic locally on each device, applying filtering rules at the endpoint level.

Pros:

• Deep integration with Chrome browser on Chromebooks
• Can filter within browser tabs (not just at the network level)
• Works regardless of network — school, home, or public Wi-Fi

Cons:

• Browser extensions can sometimes be disabled by savvy students
• Agent-based approach on iPads causes battery drain of 10–20%
• Requires per-device software installation and updates
• Limited HTTPS inspection capabilities on iOS due to Apple's sandboxing

Securly's Approach

Securly primarily uses DNS-based filtering combined with an optional SmartPAC agent for more granular control. Their cloud DNS servers intercept domain lookups to block or allow sites at the network level.

Pros:

• DNS filtering is lightweight and easy to deploy
• Works across all device types at the network level
• SmartPAC adds per-device policies when needed

Cons:

• DNS-only filtering can't inspect HTTPS content or see full URLs
• Students can bypass DNS filtering by changing DNS settings or using VPNs
• SmartPAC agent still required for off-network filtering
• Limited ability to categorize or block content within allowed domains

The Architecture Gap Both Miss

Neither GoGuardian nor Securly uses a true cloud proxy architecture. This matters because a proxy approach — like the one KyberGate uses — can inspect full URLs (not just domains), perform real-time content analysis, and provide full SSL/TLS inspection without draining device batteries. If you're interested in understanding the technical differences, our DNS vs. proxy filtering comparison goes deep on the tradeoffs.

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Pricing Comparison

GoGuardian Pricing

GoGuardian does not publish pricing on their website. You need to contact sales for a quote. Based on publicly available school district contracts and RFP responses:

• GoGuardian Admin (web filtering only): $6–10/device/year
• GoGuardian Teacher (classroom management): $2–4/device/year
• GoGuardian Beacon (student safety): $2–4/device/year
• Full bundle (Admin + Teacher + Beacon): $12–18/device/year

Pricing varies significantly based on district size, contract length, and negotiation.

Securly Pricing

Securly also does not publish transparent pricing. Their model is quote-based:

• Securly Filter (web filtering): $5–8/device/year
• Securly Classroom: $2–3/device/year
• Securly Aware (student safety): $2–4/device/year
• Securly Home (off-campus): $1–2/device/year
• Full bundle: $10–16/device/year

Securly tends to be slightly cheaper than GoGuardian on base filtering but comparable on bundled pricing.

What a 3,000-Device District Actually Pays

| Solution | Filtering Only | Full Bundle | |----------|---------------|-------------| | GoGuardian | ~$24,000/yr | ~$45,000/yr | | Securly | ~$21,000/yr | ~$39,000/yr | | KyberGate Basic | $15,000/yr | — | | KyberGate Pro | — | $27,000/yr |

Over a typical 3-year E-Rate funding cycle, those differences add up to tens of thousands of dollars. KyberGate publishes all pricing transparently at kybergate.com/pricing — no sales calls required.

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Platform Support

Chromebooks

| Feature | GoGuardian | Securly | |---------|-----------|---------| | Filtering | 🟢 Excellent (native extension) | 🟢 Good (DNS + SmartPAC) | | Classroom tools | 🟢 Yes | 🟢 Yes | | Screen monitoring | 🟢 Yes | 🟢 Yes | | Game blocking | 🟡 Category-based | 🟡 Category-based |

Both platforms handle Chromebooks well. GoGuardian has a slight edge due to deeper Chrome OS integration. For a deeper look at Chromebook filtering options, see our best web filter for Chromebooks guide.

iPads

| Feature | GoGuardian | Securly | |---------|-----------|---------| | Filtering method | Agent app | DNS + certificate | | Battery impact | 🔴 10–20% drain | 🟡 Minimal (DNS-level) | | HTTPS inspection | 🟡 Limited | 🔴 Very limited | | MDM integration | 🟢 Good | 🟢 Good |

iPads are a weakness for both platforms. GoGuardian's agent drains battery, while Securly's DNS approach can't see encrypted traffic. KyberGate's proxy-based approach solves both problems — zero battery impact with full HTTPS inspection. For a comprehensive look, read our iPad web filtering comparison.

Windows and Mac

Both GoGuardian and Securly support Windows and Mac via on-device agents. Performance is comparable. For a detailed Windows comparison, see our best web filter for Windows guide.

BYOD

| Feature | GoGuardian | Securly | |---------|-----------|---------| | BYOD support | 🔴 Requires app install | 🟡 DNS-level on school network | | Off-network BYOD | 🔴 No | 🔴 No |

BYOD remains a challenge for both. Securly can filter BYOD devices on the school network via DNS, but neither provides comprehensive BYOD filtering. KyberGate's proxy approach works with any device that accepts PAC configuration, including BYOD.

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Classroom Management

GoGuardian Teacher

GoGuardian Teacher is widely considered one of the strongest classroom management tools in K-12:

• Live screen monitoring — view all student screens in real-time
• Tab management — close distracting tabs remotely
• Focus mode — lock students to specific websites
• Chat — send messages to individual students or the class
• Screen sharing — push your screen to student devices
• Scenes — pre-configured sets of allowed/blocked sites for different activities

GoGuardian Teacher has been available since 2017 and has a very mature feature set.

Securly Classroom

Securly Classroom offers similar features:

• Live screen monitoring — real-time student screen views
• Tab management — close off-task tabs
• Focus mode — restrict browsing to specific sites
• Push links — send URLs to student devices
• Lock screens — temporarily lock student devices

Securly Classroom is newer and slightly less feature-rich than GoGuardian Teacher, but it covers all the essential classroom management functions.

Verdict

GoGuardian has a clear lead in classroom management maturity and feature depth. Securly is catching up but not quite at parity. Both are significantly more developed than most competitors in this area.

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Student Safety Monitoring

This is where Securly has invested the most and where the competition gets interesting.

GoGuardian Beacon

Beacon monitors student browsing activity for signs of self-harm, violence, bullying, and other concerning behavior. It uses AI to analyze search queries, URLs visited, and browsing patterns.

• Real-time alerts to designated staff
• 24/7 monitoring — including off-campus
• Integration with GoGuardian Admin for context
• Alert severity levels for triage
• Quarterly trends reports

Beacon is a solid product, but it primarily monitors browsing behavior — what sites students visit and what they search for.

Securly Aware

Securly has made student wellness their flagship differentiator. Aware goes beyond browsing:

• Email scanning — monitors school email content
• Google Docs/Drive — scans documents and files for concerning content
• Social media monitoring — monitors posts on school accounts
• AI + human review — Securly employs a team of human reviewers
• Tip line — students can anonymously report concerns
• Wellness check-ins — optional pulse surveys for students

Securly Aware is more comprehensive than Beacon in terms of data sources monitored. The human review team is a significant differentiator.

How KyberPulse Compares

KyberPulse, included in KyberGate Pro, monitors Google Workspace content (Docs, Gmail, Drive) with NLP-powered analysis across 17 danger categories and 40+ teen slang terms. Unlike Beacon's browsing-only approach, KyberPulse catches concerning content inside student documents — similar to Securly Aware but at a fraction of the cost. Compare it directly with dedicated safety tools in our Bark vs. KyberPulse comparison.

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Game Blocking

Students bypassing web filters to play games during class is one of the most common complaints from teachers. Here's how each platform handles it.

GoGuardian

• Category-based blocking of known gaming domains
• Teacher can close gaming tabs via GoGuardian Teacher
• Custom blocklist support
• Weakness: Struggles with games hosted on Google Sites, GitHub Pages, and newly created mirror sites

Securly

• Category-based DNS blocking
• Custom domain blocklists
• Weakness: DNS-only approach means it can only block at the domain level — games embedded in allowed domains pass through

KyberGate

KyberGate's 8-layer game detection engine is purpose-built for this problem:

1. Domain intelligence — 120+ known gaming domains
2. Real-time content analysis — inspects page HTML/JS as it loads
3. Canvas fingerprinting — detects game rendering patterns
4. Zero-day AI categorization — analyzes unknown sites in real-time
5. Search pattern recognition — catches "unblocked games" searches
6. Viral spread detection — identifies traffic spikes to unknown URLs
7. Hosted game detection — catches games on Google Sites, GitHub Pages
8. Chrome Dino blocking — disables offline browser games

If game blocking is a top priority for your district, neither GoGuardian nor Securly matches KyberGate's depth. Read more about why category-based blocking isn't enough.

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CIPA Compliance

Both GoGuardian and Securly meet CIPA compliance requirements for E-Rate funding. They both provide:

• ✅ Content filtering with category-based blocking
• ✅ Visual monitoring capabilities
• ✅ Reporting and audit logs
• ✅ Policy enforcement by user/group/OU

However, the depth of compliance varies. GoGuardian's category-based approach and Securly's DNS-based filtering both have gaps that can technically expose districts to CIPA audit risk. A proxy-based approach with full SSL inspection provides the most thorough filtering for compliance purposes. Read our complete CIPA compliance checklist for detailed audit requirements.

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Reporting and Analytics

GoGuardian

• Activity reports by student, class, or OU
• Top sites visited
• Flagged activity alerts
• PDF/CSV export
• Weekly digest emails
• Basic usage trends

Securly

• Student activity timelines
• Category-based reports
• Alert history and trends
• Parent portal (Securly Home)
• Weekly/monthly summaries
• CSV export

KyberGate

• Real-time activity dashboard with hourly charts
• AI-categorized domain analysis
• Student risk scoring (0–100 behavioral score)
• Network health monitoring
• Incident timeline with full browsing history
• Weekly report cards
• PDF export and scheduled email digests

KyberGate's AI-powered risk scoring and real-time dashboards provide more actionable intelligence than either competitor's reporting tools.

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Deployment and Management

GoGuardian

• Chromebooks: Chrome extension via Google Admin console
• Other devices: Agent installation per device
• Management: Web-based admin console
• Google Workspace integration: Deep (built for Google ecosystem)
• MDM integration: Works with major MDMs

Securly

• All devices: DNS configuration + optional SmartPAC agent
• Management: Web-based admin console
• Google Workspace integration: Good
• MDM integration: Works with major MDMs
• Parent portal: Securly Home for at-home visibility

KyberGate

• All devices: Push one MDM profile — no per-device installation
• Management: Web-based admin console
• Google Workspace integration: Deep integration including Workspace content monitoring
• Clever integration: Automatic roster sync
• Deployment time: Under 30 minutes

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Head-to-Head Summary

| Category | GoGuardian | Securly | KyberGate | |----------|-----------|---------|-----------| | Filtering approach | Extension/Agent | DNS + Agent | Cloud Proxy | | Chromebook support | 🟢 Excellent | 🟢 Good | 🟢 Good | | iPad support | 🟡 Agent (battery drain) | 🟡 DNS (limited inspection) | 🟢 Proxy (zero drain) | | Game blocking | 🟡 Category-based | 🟡 DNS-based | 🟢 8-layer engine | | Classroom tools | 🟢 Excellent | 🟢 Good | 🟢 Good | | Student safety | 🟢 Beacon (browsing) | 🟢 Aware (comprehensive) | 🟢 KyberPulse (Workspace) | | Pricing transparency | 🔴 Contact sales | 🔴 Contact sales | 🟢 Published online | | Price per device | $6–18/device/yr | $5–16/device/yr | $5–9/device/yr | | CIPA compliance | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | | BYOD support | 🔴 Limited | 🟡 DNS on-network | 🟢 Any PAC-capable device | | SSL inspection | 🟡 Limited on iOS | 🔴 Minimal | 🟢 Full proxy-level | | Battery impact | 🔴 10–20% on iPads | 🟢 Minimal | 🟢 Zero |

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When to Choose GoGuardian

GoGuardian is the right choice if:

• ✅ You're a Chromebook-dominant district
• ✅ Classroom management is your top priority (GoGuardian Teacher is best-in-class)
• ✅ You want a vendor with a large user community and long track record
• ✅ You prefer the Chrome extension approach for deep browser integration
• ✅ Your budget supports $12–18/device/year bundled pricing

When to Choose Securly

Securly is the right choice if:

• ✅ Student wellness monitoring is your primary concern (Securly Aware is comprehensive)
• ✅ You want a parent portal for at-home visibility
• ✅ You prefer DNS-based filtering for lightweight deployment
• ✅ You need human-reviewed safety alerts (Securly's review team)
• ✅ You want an anonymous tip line for students

When to Choose KyberGate

KyberGate is the right choice if:

• ✅ You have iPads or a mixed device environment
• ✅ Budget matters — $5–9/device/year with transparent pricing
• ✅ Game blocking is a top priority (8-layer detection engine)
• ✅ You want full SSL inspection without battery drain
• ✅ You need Google Workspace content monitoring (KyberPulse)
• ✅ You want proxy-based architecture that students can't bypass
• ✅ You prefer no-agent deployment via MDM

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Try Before You Buy

The best advice we can give: test all three in your actual environment. Set up 10–20 test devices with each solution. Let your IT team, teachers, and building administrators evaluate them side by side.

• GoGuardian offers limited trials through their sales team
• Securly offers pilots — contact their sales team
• KyberGate offers a free 30-day pilot with full support, no credit card required

The right choice depends on your devices, your budget, your priorities, and your district's specific needs. We're confident in what KyberGate does well — and honest about where the others have strengths too.

Start your free KyberGate pilot →

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is GoGuardian or Securly better for Chromebooks?

GoGuardian has a slight edge on Chromebooks due to its native Chrome extension approach, which provides deeper browser integration. Securly works well via DNS but doesn't offer the same level of in-browser control. For alternatives, see our Chromebook web filter comparison.

Which is cheaper — GoGuardian or Securly?

Securly tends to be slightly cheaper on base filtering ($5–8/device vs. $6–10/device), but bundled pricing is comparable. KyberGate is the most affordable option at $5–9/device with all features included.

Can students bypass GoGuardian or Securly?

Both have bypass vulnerabilities. GoGuardian's Chrome extension can sometimes be circumvented through guest mode or extension manipulation. Securly's DNS filtering can be bypassed by changing DNS settings or using VPNs. A proxy-based solution like KyberGate is harder to bypass.

Which has better student safety monitoring?

Securly Aware is more comprehensive than GoGuardian Beacon for student safety, as it monitors email, documents, and social media — not just browsing behavior. KyberPulse offers similar Google Workspace monitoring at a lower price point.

Do GoGuardian and Securly work with iPads?

Both support iPads, but with limitations. GoGuardian's agent app drains battery by 10–20%. Securly's DNS approach is lightweight but can't inspect encrypted traffic. For the best iPad experience, consider a proxy-based solution.

Are GoGuardian and Securly CIPA compliant?

Yes, both GoGuardian and Securly meet CIPA compliance requirements and are eligible for E-Rate funding.

Can I use GoGuardian and Securly together?

Technically yes, but it's not recommended. Running two filtering solutions creates conflicts, increases costs, and complicates troubleshooting. Choose one primary solution.

Which is better for blocking games at school?

Neither GoGuardian nor Securly excels at game blocking compared to purpose-built solutions. Both use category-based blocking that misses games on Google Sites, mirror sites, and newly created proxy pages. KyberGate's 8-layer game detection engine is specifically designed for this problem.