mSpy Vs Flexispy – Head To Head Comparison

mSpy or Flexispy? Flexispy or mSpy?

If you can’t seem to decide between these two spy apps that offer almost the same features then worry not as in this head-to-head comparison I will go over things that should actually affect your buying decision rather than a long list of features that might or might not work.

We will begin by defining the ideal spy app and then see how close mSpy and Flexispy come to achieving perfection. Toward the end, I will discuss some of the biggest drawbacks of the apps and see if there is even a clear winner or are both of them overshadowed by something better.

So strap in and let’s begin.

What Is An Ideal Spy App?

What is a spy app? If you answered anything along the lines of that it is an app that allows you to SPY on another device, then you’d be right. So the next question comes, “What makes a good spy app?”

To understand this question, let’s look at the human counterpart of a spy app… let’s look at a spy *cue James Bond music*

A spy app much like a spy…spies on a person, monitoring them and telling you all their secrets. And a good spy does that while not letting the person know that they are spied on. They do that reliably and they must be trustworthy.

Other than that they should be easy to deal with, which means you don’t need to go through countless hoops trying to get in touch with them. They should also not be so expensive that you must mortgage your house to pay their fees. Other than that, the more extra services they offer the better. Finally, if you decide to cancel their services for whatever reason, they should be courteous and help you in that process.

A good spy app should act like a good spy. It should be hidden, discreet, as silent as the grave, with the memory banks of an elephant, and as reliable as German automobiles. The spy app should work flawlessly whether the device you want to monitor is running Android 4.0, the latest iOS version, or the most recent Windows update.

Just like a spy, the app should be easy to communicate with, which means it should be easy to use. They should not be expensive either. In fact, the ideal spy app should not cost you more than $10/month for monitoring one device.

Last but not least, the ideal spy app much like an ideal spy should not, in any case, leak your sensitive information to anyone else. You can tolerate a lack of features, poor dashboard design, slow customer support, or an exorbitant price tag but there is no forgiveness for having your sensitive information leaked for the entire world to see.

So, now that we have an idea of what the ideal spy app should be, we’re going to pit two of the most famous spy apps in the market against each other. We’re going to judge them on their features, how well they function, their compatibility with various OS, and their price tags. We are also going to see how far they are from an “ideal” spy app.

Let’s start with our first entry…mSpy

Does mSpy Come Close To The Ideal Spy App?

mSpy started its life in 2014 and soon became a household name as its number of users exceeded 1 million. They advertise themselves as “The Best Phone Tracker For Parental Control”.

Well…they’re certainly confident.

Sparkle And His Weird Replies

They have some incredible features that work as they’re supposed to. Their customer service is known to put a smile on their customers’ faces as seen by their Trustpilot reviews. Users remark how they needed assistance in setting up the spy app and were aided clearly and quickly. Some even say that their subscription was extended so they could export their recorded data when they forgot to do so previously.

You can probably find more examples of how mSpy has incredible customer support and how people appreciate the mSpy free trial, but that isn’t available anymore. There are also plenty of 1-star reviews that say the customer service is the worst they have seen, there is an enormous wait for having tickets processed, and the features don’t work as advertised.

The truth of the matter is…I messaged them on their website at 5:53 pm saying “I have a question regarding your app”. I am still waiting on a reply…

Right, it’s 6:03 pm now and there’s still no reply. I’m going to give up on this and continue with the rest of the review.

*Update: The “live chat” is actually a chatbot called “Sparkle” and not a good one at that. Apparently, its responses were not loading. When it did start working properly, having a real conversation with it is…difficult. So better prepare yourself to jump and jive to get the information you want.

It’s Pretty Straightforward To Use

Moving on to the mSpy control panel and ease of use, I’d say they’re doing a pretty good job. The mSpy login dashboard is followed by the main page, which represents the daily activity in a simple-to-view graphical format. Along with that, you can see the most visited websites, most calling contacts, most messaging contacts, a brief location history, and the general status of the target device.

On the left, you have your general features in an easy-to-understand drop-down menu with various options and remote controlling options. One thing I do appreciate is that you don’t need to sign up for any “mSpy free trial” and can go through the demo without any hassle. One of the more notable features I found in the demo, was the ability to look at screen recordings and block Wi-Fi, websites, and applications.

Until now we know that mSpy is not particularly easy to reach for problems but it is easy to use and offers incredible features.

Compatibility With Devices and OSs

mSpy can be used on any device running Android 4 and above, however, with limited functionality if not rooted. Toward the iOS side of things, mSpy works with all versions without “Jailbreak” with some features missing.

One of the good things is that you don’t even need the device on hand if iCloud sync is activated. All you need are the credentials and mSpy will get the iCloud backup information. That said, if the monitored device has 2-factor/2-step verification then you’re going to need to have physical access to the device.

mSpy compatibility gets more complicated with iPhones with Jailbreak. It only supports iOS 11 – 14.8.1 and even in that range, it depends on the device. To make your life easier their website does offer a compatibility checker, which is a nice touch.

Lastly, installing mSpy on a target device is straightforward and upon installation, you can choose to make it run in “stealth mode”, which means it remains hidden while monitoring the device.

How Much Is It Going To Set You Back?

Starting from their “Premium” subscription plans. You have the following options:

• Pay $48.99/month for a 1 monthly subscription
• Pay $27.99/month for 3 months
• Pay $11.66/month for 12 months.

Upgrading from one plan to the next can be done by logging in to the mSpy Control Panel.

You can pay an extra $12.99 for a “Support Priority Line”, which might or might not be helpful when it comes to their support team tackling your problems. (Personally, I don’t think it would make any difference)

Also, if you are having trouble installing mSpy on a target device and searching forums asking “how to install mSpy on iPhone or Android”, you can pay an extra $53.99 to schedule an appointment with support managers who will help you through the process. (I mean, are they serious? 54 dollars just for installation?)

They also offer an “Ultimate Kit”. Here you’ll be paying $44.28/month for 6 months or $35/month for 12 months. The benefits of getting the Ultimate Kit are that you’ll don’t need to root or jailbreak the devices, you can record ambient sounds of the targeted device, a keylogger, you get unlimited snapshots with the screen recorder, hidden mode, and remote assistance. (I’m trying, I’m trying real hard to hold myself back from calling them out on their obvious money-grabbing tactics.)

So that was almost everything you need to know about mSpy. It’s now time for the challenger, Flexispy.

Is Flexispy Any Better?

I have to start by saying, Flexispy has one of the best dashboards I have ever seen. It allows you to view and manage multiple devices on one screen showing you the basic information about each without cluttering the space or making the text difficult to read. It is clear that designers made sure using the app will be a breeze.

Similar to mSpy, the left side has a drop-down menu that contains various monitoring and remote control options. The homepage contains the latest information about the targeted device(s) which includes the latest calls, SMS, keylogs, and location.

Remote monitoring is easy with Flexispy as they offer an app called “FlexiViewer”. That means you don’t need to find a device where you log in to their portal. The app offers features that allow you to monitor and control a target device from wherever you please. You can also categorize data into groups and prioritize them as you wish.

If we take a look at the extensive list of features they offer some noticeable things including automatic remote updates, listening on calls in real-time, hiding that the device has been rooted/Jailbreak, and IM app call recording.

There are countless more features but none of that matters if those don’t work. Let’s see what their paying customers have to say about them to get a better understanding.

What Flexispy’s Customer Reviews Have To Say

Going by their Trustpilot reviews, we can see that they have many happy customers who swear by this spying app. Many of them explain how they now have peace of mind knowing their loved ones are safe. There are also people who praise the customer support team and their swiftness in solving a problem.

That is all well and good but if you want to get the complete picture, a more critical look reveals that they are not without their flaws. Even some of the good reviews talk about how bad the customer support is saying that the support personnel doesn’t have a clue why some stuff works and some don’t. The greatest frustration users face is that the support team gives them a time of 24 hours for a reply and doesn’t get back to them until 3-4 days later.

One reviewer, who gave a 1-star rating and started to have a full-fledged back and forth with a Flexispy rep, also remarked how resorting to Trustpilot reviews and replies is not the way to conduct communication with a paying customer. (Not gonna lie, the entire conversation made me crack up)

They Have An Actual “Live Chat”

In these scenarios of uncertainty, let’s conduct our previous experiment. I’m going to ask the live chat a question and see how long it takes for them to respond. Wish me luck!

Well at least, I’m talking to a human at the other end. That said, they are taking their sweet time checking the compatibility of a device. It took more time than I’d liked but the conversation was rather fruitful. They even told me about the “NON-ROOTED” features I’d get with their Premium and Extreme packages.

Compared to mSpy, Flexispy definitely wins that one easily. And if these features work as advertised then Flexispy wins in that regard too as it allows you to activate social media recording for apps like Facebook, Hangout, LINE, Skype, Viber, and WhatsApp.

So summarizing up till now, Flexispy is easy to reach, their dashboard is beautifully designed, and they offer slightly more features than mSpy.

Compatibility With Android, iOS, And More

Flexispy allows you to monitor Android devices, iPhones, iPads, and computers. The requirements for computers seem reasonable enough as you can go up to Windows 11. For macOS, they are compatible with Mavericks to Big Sur. They don’t explicitly state which iOS or Android versions are compatible but you can easily check that on their website. (Tramadol)

But Wait…There Is More

Something interesting that they offer is Flexispy Express. This service allows you to buy a phone from them that comes pre-installed with their software. For example, an iPhone 12 64GB will cost you $2349, note that this price DOES NOT include the price for their service. (They were doing so well till now… why must they resort to these blatant greed-based tactics is beyond me!) Just for reference, an iPhone 12 64GB costs $629.

Similar to mSpy, they also offer a remote installation option, which will cost a bit extra ($39.99). They will schedule a call with the technician and they will root/Jailbreak the device for you and install Flexispy on the target device.

And Finally, Let’s Talk About The Price

So how much will Flexispy, with its incredible features and slick dashboard cost you? They have various plans but for sake of a clearer comparison, we will stick to the Android and iPhone prices.

You have three types of plans to choose from, Lite, Premium, and Extreme.

• The Lite version comes in at $29.95/month for 1 month with severely limited features.
• Premium offers more features that include IM logs and ranges from $79/month for 1 month to $179/month for 12 months.
• The Extreme version, which offers all the features, ranges from $119/month for 1 month to $419/month for 12 months.

And there you have Flexispy, slightly better features, slightly prettier, a better customer support experience, and a bit pricier.

Now that we have gone through both these spy apps, I’ll tell you which one I would prefer and why.

Which One Is Closer To The Ideal?

Neither Of Them!

As stated before, an ideal spy app must be hidden, compatible with your device, reliable, not leak your data, easy to use, and relatively cheap.

It would seem mSpy covers all these criteria but in reality, it fails at the most important one. mSpy has a history of being hacked, its data leaked for everyone to view, not once but twice. And when approached, they had nothing concrete to say. (much like their customer service bot)

Flexispy is no better however, their response included creating a “Hacker Reward Program”. (Talk about buying people off)

So in a world where spy apps are leaving your data exposed to the general public left and right while charging elevated prices and not really caring about your experience once you have purchased their services, is there any reliable option?

Well…Yes, Xnspy.

Xnspy offers almost all of the same features as the above, its dashboard may not be any Mona Lisa but it gets the job done. With prices ranging from $35.99/month for a 1-month subscription to $7.49/month for a 12-month subscription, it’s an incredible bargain that is hard to miss.

Need more convincing?

How about the feature to set automatic alerts on location, words, and contacts?

That means you don’t need to glue yourself to the screen to constantly monitor the device. You can set triggers and get notified whenever the device initiates the trigger. For example, you can set a geofencing radius of 100m around a location pin and choose whether to get an automated alert on your registered email when the device enters or exists the radius.

This and more features including call recording, ambient sound recording, remotely controlling the device, monitoring web browser history, and exporting data, to name a few, make Xnspy stand toe-to-toe with mSpy and Flexispy.

You can’t monitor Windows or Macs

Unfortunately, Xnspy can’t help you monitor Windows or Mac PCs. That said, it is compatible with a range of Android (4.x to 12), jailbroken iOS (6.x to 9.0.2), and non-jailbroken iOS (6.0 and above) devices.

Unlike the money-grabbing antics we have seen above, you can simply get in touch with the customer representatives and they will guide you through the installation process, free of charge. And yes, their “live chat” is actually a live chat. (Looking at you Sparkle)

It won’t go behind your back

As I said before, the greatest sin a spy app can commit is not safeguarding its users’ data. The options we have seen above sugar-coat their lack of security by offering additional features (that might or might not work), using a pretty dashboard, and offering a plethora of pricing plans and extra features that seem budget-friendly but aren’t.

Even though Xnspy might not be the most feature-rich app or the prettiest, it most definitely is the most cost-effective. And more importantly, it has not compromised its user’s data.

Is it perfect? No….but at least it keeps to itself and does not expose its customers.

Conclusion

mSpy and Flexispy are powerful apps that can help you monitor your loved ones with powerful features. However, their unbothered customer support, high prices, and security breaches make them a poor choice. Especially, when you have an option such as Xnspy.