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The best single app for most children ages 2–8 is Khan Academy Kids. For a specific need, choose Duolingo ABC for early reading, PBS KIDS Video for curated entertainment, ScratchJr for first coding, Scratch for older children’s creative coding, Minecraft Education for project-based learning, Libby for free ebooks and audiobooks, and YouTube Kids only when a child specifically needs access to video.
There is no universally best kids’ app. The right choice depends on the child’s age and reading level, whether they can use it independently, your device, library or school access, cost, and how much control the app gives adults. The recommendations below prioritize clearly defined age ranges, low-commercial or ad-free experiences, creation and reading over passive scrolling, and practical parental controls.
Best kids’ apps at a glance
| App | Best for | Age or level | Cost and availability | Important caveat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khan Academy Kids | Best all-around early learning | 2–8; Pre-K–2 | Free, with no ads or subscription; iOS, Android, and Amazon Appstore | An adult must create the account. Review its privacy practices. |
| PBS KIDS Video | Best curated video for younger children | Preschool and early elementary | Free and ad-free; iOS, Android, and Amazon Fire devices | It is still a video app, so set a timer and expect the catalog to change. |
| Duolingo ABC | Best early reading and phonics | Beginning readers | Free; iOS and Android | Choose it by reading ability rather than a fixed age. |
| ScratchJr | Best first coding app | 5–7 | Free; iPad, Android tablets, and Chromebooks | Designed for tablets, not phones. Android compatibility varies by version and screen size. |
| Scratch | Best creative coding platform for older children | Primarily 8–16 | Free and browser-based | It includes a public online community, so sharing and profile settings matter. |
| Minecraft Education | Best project-based learning and collaborative building | Elementary through secondary school | Free trial; licensing listed at $5.04 per user per year for schools and $36 per user per year for commercial organizations | It is a separate product from standard Minecraft and requires a compatible account or license. |
| Libby | Best free reading and audiobooks | Children through adults, depending on catalog content | Free with a participating library card; iOS, Android, Fire tablets, and web | Titles vary by library and popular items may have holds. |
| YouTube Kids | Best when a child specifically needs video access | Preschool: 4 and under; Younger: 5–8; Older: 9–12 | Free | Filtering is not perfect. Use Approved Content Only, blocking, profiles, and the timer. |
Best apps by age and developmental stage
Ages 2–4: Khan Academy Kids
Khan Academy Kids is the strongest default for preschool learning. It combines early literacy, language, math, creative activities, and social-emotional learning in a structured path intended for children ages 2–8. Children can follow recommended activities or browse books, videos, and exercises when they are ready to explore more independently.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchIt is free, does not display advertising, and does not require a subscription. That makes it an unusually practical first installation for a family that wants learning activities without a recurring cost or commercial feed. It is available through the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Amazon Appstore. Details are listed on Khan Academy’s official Kids page.
#1 Best Overall
- SAVE UP TO $70 — Bundle includes a full-featured tablet (not a toy) for kids ages 3-7, a 1-year Amazon Kids+ subscription, and a kid-proof case, versus items purchased separately.
- 2 YEAR WORRY-FREE GUARANTEE INCLUDED — If it breaks, return it and we’ll replace it for free for 2 years.
- AMAZON KIDS+ INCLUDED - Includes 1 year of Amazon Kids+, an award-winning digital subscription offering thousands of ad-free books, interactive games, videos, and apps. Kids can explore content from trusted brands like Disney, Nickelodeon, and PBS Kids including educational STEM activities, language learning, and entertainment they love - all in one place. After 1 year, your subscription will automatically renew every month starting at $7.99/month plus applicable tax. You may cancel any time by visiting the Amazon Kids Parent Dashboard or contacting Customer Service.
- NO-HASSLE PARENT CONTROLS — Easy-to-use Parent Dashboard allows you to filter content based on child's age, set educational goals and time limits, and grant access to additional content like Netflix and Disney+.
- UP to 10-HOUR BATTERY — Means the tablet is always ready when you need it.
Important setup detail: a parent or teacher must download the app and create the account. Free does not mean anonymous or data-free. Khan Academy describes collecting limited account, device, and usage information in its Kids privacy policy. The organization recommends using a nickname rather than entering a child’s full real name unless it is necessary.
Best use: let the child complete a short selection of activities independently, then use the books or exercises as a starting point for an offline activity with an adult. It works best as a complement to conversation, play, and shared reading rather than as a replacement for them.
Ages 3–7: PBS KIDS Video
PBS KIDS Video is the best choice for curated educational entertainment. It is free, ad-free, does not require a subscription or sign-in, and is available on iOS, Android, and Amazon Fire devices. PBS says its content is screened for safety and age appropriateness, which makes it a more controlled starting point than general YouTube.
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The limitation is that it remains a video app. A curated catalog can still encourage passive viewing if there is no stopping point. Use its built-in timer or the device’s screen-time controls, especially for a child who tends to continue watching automatically.
Availability also changes. Programs and episodes may differ by location, and streaming rights can cause titles to appear or disappear. PBS KIDS branding does not mean that every show or episode will remain available indefinitely.
Ages 4–8 and beginning readers: Duolingo ABC
Duolingo ABC is the most focused choice for early literacy. It teaches phonics, letter formation, sight words, vocabulary, and reading comprehension through short lessons. It is free on iOS and Android.
Unlike apps with a simple preschool-to-elementary age label, Duolingo ABC’s official site does not state one universal age cutoff. Select it according to the child’s reading ability: a child who is learning letter sounds and beginning to decode is a better match than an older child who is already reading fluently.
Use it for brief, regular practice alongside shared reading. The app can provide repetition and feedback, while an adult can explain unfamiliar words, ask comprehension questions, and connect the lesson to a real book.
Be careful with performance claims. Duolingo’s site reports a study in which children who used the app for nine weeks improved literacy scores by 28%. That is an app-reported result from one study, not a guarantee that every child will improve by that amount. Treat it as evidence to consider, not as a promised outcome. The app should supplement—not replace—books, instruction, and assessment when a child is struggling to read.
Ages 5–7: ScratchJr
ScratchJr is the best first coding app for young children. Instead of typing syntax, children snap together graphical programming blocks to make characters move, speak, change scenes, and respond to actions. It is designed for ages 5–7 and is particularly effective for making small interactive stories and games.
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Start with one manageable project. For example, ask the child to make a character move to a second character, say something, and change the background. That teaches sequencing, events, and debugging without requiring the child to understand the whole interface at once.
ScratchJr is intended for tablets rather than phones. The project’s official FAQ specifies iPads running iOS 9.3 or later and Android tablets at least 7 inches running Android 5.0 or later; it recommends iOS 11 or later and Android 7 or later. Older installations may still work, but unsupported versions may no longer receive updates. On Android, check the tablet’s screen size and operating-system version before planning around the app.
Ages 8–16: Scratch
Scratch is the best free transition to larger creative coding projects. It is designed especially for ages 8–16, although people of all ages use it to create interactive stories, games, animations, and simulations. Because it runs in a web browser, it is more flexible than a tablet-only beginner app and supports projects that can grow in complexity.
Rank #2
- SAVE UP TO $70: Get a full-feature tablet (not a toy) made for big kids ages 6–12, 6-month subscription Amazon Kids+ and a slim Kid-Friendly Case, versus items purchased separately.
- 2 YEAR WORRY-FREE GUARANTEE INCLUDED: If it breaks, return it and we’ll replace it for free for 2 years.
- AMAZON KIDS+ INCLUDED - Includes 6-months of Amazon Kids+, a digital subscription that provides unlimited access to ad-free, age-appropriate books, videos, apps and games that kids love to play, create and learn. After 6-months, your subscription will automatically renew every month starting at just $7.99/month plus applicable tax. You may cancel any time by visiting the Amazon Kids Parent Dashboard or contacting Customer Service.
- EASY-TO-USE PARENTAL CONTROLS - Remotely review child activity to learn more about what your child is enjoying, approve (or deny) purchase and download requests, manage content, and more.
- FAST WITH LONG LASTING BATTERY - Features all-day up to 13-hour battery life, powerful hexa-core processor, with up to 4 GB RAM (2X more than 2022 release), 64 GB of internal storage for content, and up to 1 TB of expandable storage (sold separately) for even more. It’s great for downloading games, videos, books, and music for their on-the-go educational entertainment.
The major distinction is that Scratch is both a coding tool and an online community. Children can publish projects, maintain profiles, and interact with other users. Before a child shares work, review the account, profile, commenting, and project-sharing settings. An educational purpose does not make an online community private by default.
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For younger users, keep the first projects local or share them only with family until the child understands what personal information should never appear in a username, project, comment, or image. For older children, use public sharing as an opportunity to teach digital citizenship: do not reveal a full name, school, location, contact details, or identifying schedule.
Ages 8 and up: Minecraft Education
Minecraft Education is the strongest choice for children who learn by building, experimenting, and collaborating. It adds lesson plans, coding activities, classroom settings, immersive worlds, and education-specific tools to the block-building environment. Microsoft’s licensing information currently lists more than 600 lessons, with official content commonly organized for age bands such as 8–10, 11–13, and 14–18.
It is available on Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Chromebook, and Android devices. A school may already provide access through a Microsoft education license, so check with the school before paying for a family license. Microsoft also lists a free trial, school pricing of $5.04 per user per year, and commercial-organization pricing of $36 per user per year on its licensing page. Pricing and eligibility can depend on the type of organization and license.
Minecraft Education is not the standard Minecraft app with an education mode switched on. It is a separate product with separate licensing and learning tools. It also has no in-game purchases, advertisements, or product placements, according to Microsoft’s family information.
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Multiplayer is normally most manageable when organized through a school, camp, club, or another controlled environment. Families should confirm that the child has a compatible Microsoft account or license before buying a device or assuming that a school lesson will work at home.
Ages 6 and up: Libby
Libby is the best genuinely free reading and audiobook app when a child has access to a participating public library. It provides ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines on iOS, Android, Fire tablets, and the web. Loans can be downloaded for offline use, making it useful for travel or devices that are not always connected.
Libby is free, but it is not an unlimited commercial catalog. A participating library card is required, catalogs differ between libraries, and popular books may have holds because libraries license a limited number of simultaneous copies. A child may therefore find that a particular title is unavailable immediately even though it appears in a search.
To make the catalog more child-oriented, use:
Menu > Content Controls > Audience > Libby for KidsThis filters results by audience category. It is useful, but it does not replace a parent’s judgment and does not guarantee that every result is suitable for every child.
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YouTube Kids versus regular YouTube
YouTube Kids is preferable to regular YouTube when a child specifically needs access to online video, but it is not automatically safe. It is a separate app with three age-based settings:
- Preschool: ages 4 and under
- Younger: ages 5–8
- Older: ages 9–12
Parents can create separate profiles, block videos and channels, review watch history, set a timer, and manually approve content through Approved Content Only. For a young child, Approved Content Only is the strongest starting point because the parent selects what is available instead of relying entirely on automated recommendations.
Google states that its filtering is not perfect. Do not describe YouTube Kids as completely safe or leave it running as an unsupervised replacement for a curated app. Check the history periodically, block unsuitable recommendations, and set a clear viewing limit.
Older children may instead use a supervised YouTube account. Google offers settings such as Explore, Explore More, and Most of YouTube. These provide more flexibility than YouTube Kids but expose a child to substantially more content. Choose the least open setting that matches the child’s maturity and actual need.
Rank #3
- SAVE UP TO $70 — Bundle includes a full-featured tablet (not a toy) for kids ages 3-7, includes 6 months of Amazon Kids+ subscription, and a kid-proof case, versus items purchased separately.
- 2 YEAR WORRY-FREE GUARANTEE INCLUDED - If the tablet breaks, return it and we’ll replace it for free. Screen made with strengthened aluminosilicate glass and every Fire Kids tablet comes with a sturdy Kid-Proof Case designed to protect against drops and bumps.
- AMAZON KIDS+ INCLUDED - Includes 1 year of Amazon Kids+, an award-winning digital subscription offering thousands of ad-free books, interactive games, videos, and apps. Kids can explore content from trusted brands like Disney, Nickelodeon, and PBS Kids including educational STEM activities, language learning, and entertainment they love - all in one place. After 1 year, your subscription will automatically renew every month starting at $7.99/month plus applicable tax. You may cancel any time by visiting the Amazon Kids Parent Dashboard or contacting Customer Service.
- EASY-TO-USE PARENTAL CONTROLS - Remotely review child activity to learn more about what your child is enjoying, set time limits, or prioritize books and learning apps before entertainment.
- FAST AND RESPONSIVE WITH LONG BATTERY LIFE - Features 8" HD display, 4 GB RAM (2X more than 2022 release), 64GB storage, up to 1 TB of expandable storage, plus a powerful hexa-core processor. All-day battery life—up to 13 hours of enjoying books, games, shows, and listening to music.
Parental controls to enable before installing apps
App-level settings are useful, but device controls prevent accidental purchases, restrict downloads, and limit time across multiple apps. Configure them before handing the device to a child.
iPhone and iPad
For a child in Apple Family Sharing, turn on purchase approval here:
Settings > Family > [child] > Ask To Buy > Turn on Ask to BuyIn the United States, Apple says the family organizer can enable Ask to Buy for family members under 18, and it is on by default for children under 13. Availability and defaults can vary by region and account configuration.
To restrict app age ratings, use:
Settings > Screen Time > [child’s name] > Content & Privacy Restrictions > App Store, Media, Web, & Games > AppsApple’s current choices include Don’t Allow, 4+, and 9+, among other ratings. A store rating is only one filter: it does not tell you whether an app is developmentally appropriate, ad-free, or suitable for independent use.
Apple’s parental-controls guide provides the current labels and settings.
Android and Chromebook
For a supervised child account, use Google Family Link:
Family Link > select child > Controls > Google PlayFrom there, parents can set maturity filters for apps and games and manage purchase approvals. To require approval for downloads and purchases, use:
Family Link > select child > Controls > Google Play > Purchases & download approvals > Require approval forGoogle provides these choices: All content, Paid content only, In-app purchases only, and Never. For a child’s first device, All content is the safest default if you want to inspect every download.
To set a limit for one app:
Family Link > select child > Screen time > Time limits > App limits > [app] > Set limitGoogle notes that blocking an app may take about five minutes or require the device to reconnect to the internet. System apps cannot receive ordinary app limits. Apps marked as Unlimited time may remain available after the daily limit, depending on the device and setting. The Google Play parental-controls information covers the current behavior.
Privacy and safety checklist for any kids’ app
- Check the developmental fit, not just the store rating. A 4+ or Everyone label is not proof that the app matches a child’s reading level, attention span, emotional maturity, or ability to use it independently.
- Separate no ads from no data collection. An app can avoid advertising while still collecting account, device, analytics, or usage information. Khan Academy Kids is one example: it does not display advertising but describes collecting account and usage information in its privacy policy.
- Look for user-generated content. Scratch, YouTube, and many games combine child-oriented features with online communities or changing content. Check profiles, comments, messaging, sharing, and recommendation settings before allowing independent use.
- Do not treat COPPA as a quality seal. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act guidance concerns certain collection of personal information from children under 13. It does not certify that an app is educational, accurate, emotionally appropriate, free of manipulative design, or safe for unsupervised use.
- Review permissions and privacy information after major updates. Features, data practices, age criteria, and availability can change after installation. Google specifically advises parents to review current app information because developers can change apps; see its Google Play guidance.
- Use the least open setting that works. For video, start with PBS KIDS Video or YouTube Kids with Approved Content Only. For coding, keep Scratch projects private until the child understands public sharing. For reading, turn on Libby for Kids and still review selections.
- Check account ownership and recovery. If an adult must create the account, use an adult-controlled email address and a nickname where appropriate. Make sure you can recover the account without giving the child access to payment details or other family accounts.
Which app should you install?
- You want one free learning app for a preschool or early-elementary child: Start with Khan Academy Kids.
- Your child needs help learning letter sounds and beginning reading: Choose Duolingo ABC, matched to reading level, and pair it with shared books.
- You want educational shows without a general video feed: Choose PBS KIDS Video and set a viewing timer.
- Your 5- to 7-year-old wants to make games or stories: Choose ScratchJr on a compatible tablet.
- Your older child wants to make animations, games, or interactive stories: Choose Scratch, but review its community and sharing settings first.
- Your child learns through building and collaborative projects: Check whether your school provides Minecraft Education before buying access.
- You want free books or audiobooks: Install Libby if your public library participates, then enable Libby for Kids.
- Your child specifically needs YouTube: Use YouTube Kids, select the appropriate age profile, and begin with Approved Content Only rather than assuming filtering is perfect.
What makes these better than installing many kids’ apps?
A small, purposeful collection is easier to supervise than a tablet full of games and video feeds. These choices cover different activities: structured practice through Khan Academy Kids and Duolingo ABC, curated viewing through PBS KIDS Video, creation through ScratchJr and Scratch, collaborative projects through Minecraft Education, and sustained reading through Libby.
Choose one app that matches the child’s immediate goal, configure its privacy and time settings, and observe whether the child can use it without becoming frustrated or stuck in passive consumption. Add another app only when it serves a different purpose. The best setup is not the one with the most downloads; it is the one the child can use safely, meaningfully, and with an adult still able to understand what the app does.
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Is YouTube Kids completely safe for children?
No. YouTube Kids has age profiles, blocking, watch-history review, timers, and an Approved Content Only mode, but Google says automated filtering is not perfect. Treat it as a more controlled video option, not as a substitute for supervision.
Is Minecraft Education the same as regular Minecraft?
No. Minecraft Education is a separate product with education-specific lessons, coding activities, classroom tools, and licensing. Check whether a school already provides access and whether the child has a compatible Microsoft education account or license.
Can a child use a school library card with Libby?
Not necessarily. Libby requires a participating library card, and K–12 school collections generally use Sora instead. Ask the school librarian which service the school provides.
The Bottom Line
Best overall: Khan Academy Kids for ages 2–8. Best reading: Duolingo ABC. Best curated video: PBS KIDS Video. Best first coding: ScratchJr. Best older-child coding: Scratch. Best project learning: Minecraft Education. Best free reading and audiobooks: Libby. If video access is necessary, use YouTube Kids with Approved Content Only enabled and keep the device’s purchase and screen-time controls active.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
