The best educational apps for kids, compared by age, subject and price
Start with Khan Academy Kids: it's free, has no ads and covers reading, math and more for ages 2 to 8. For learning to read, add Duolingo ABC (free) or Reading Eggs (paid, up to 13). For math practice in grades 1 to 8, Prodigy. For engineering and how things work, Tumbly, which we make.
Quick picks
- Best free all-rounder, 2–8Khan Academy Kids
- Best free for learning to readDuolingo ABC
- Best paid reading program, 2–13Reading Eggs
- Best for math, grades 1–8Prodigy Math
- Best for math and reading, PreK–5SplashLearn
- Best for kids who love booksEpic
- Best free games with TV friendsPBS KIDS Games
- Best full course, PreK–2nd gradeABCmouse
- Best calm, open-ended playPok Pok
- Best for engineering and real places, 3–12Tumbly (ours)
The comparison table
| App | Ages | What it teaches | Price | Ads and purchases | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khan Academy Kids | 2–8 | Reading, phonics, math, stories | Free, no subscriptions | No ads | iOS, Android, Amazon, Chromebook |
| PBS KIDS Games | 2–8 | 280+ games across subjects, with PBS characters | Free | No in-app purchases; PBS's policy mentions sponsor messages | iOS, Android, web |
| Duolingo ABC | Preschool–2nd grade | Reading: phonics, sight words, handwriting | Free | No ads, no in-app purchases | iOS, Android |
| ABCmouse | 2–8 | Reading, math and more, PreK–2nd grade | Free daily activities; $14.99/mo or $79.99/yr | Ad-free; subscription | iOS, Android |
| Reading Eggs | 2–13 | Reading; math with Mathseeds | $13.99/mo or $99.99/yr (reading and math, up to 4 kids) | Subscription; ads not stated | Web, iOS, Android |
| SplashLearn | 2–11 | Math and reading, PreK–5 | Free trial; App Store plans $7.99–$11.99/mo, $69.99–$89.99/yr | Ad-free; subscription | Web, iOS, Android |
| Epic | 12 and under | Reading for fun: 40,000+ books, audiobooks, videos | $13.99/mo or $84.99/yr; 7-day trial | Subscription; ads not stated | iOS, Android |
| Prodigy Math | Grades 1–8 | Math (English in a second game) | Free to play; memberships $58.95–$118.95/yr | Optional membership | Web, iOS, Android |
| Pok Pok | 2–8 | Open-ended play: building, drawing, music, pretend | 7-day trial; App Store $6.99–$12.99/mo or $45.99–$79.99/yr | No ads or purchases inside play | iOS, Android, Fire |
| Tumbly ours | 3–12 | Engineering, real places, inventors, nature. Not reading or math | Free plan; Family $7.99/mo or $59.99/yr | No ads; purchases need a grown-up | Web; iOS in US, CA, AU, NZ; Android in US |
Pick by age
Ages 2 to 4. Khan Academy Kids and PBS KIDS Games are free and made for this age. Pok Pok suits a child who wants to tinker and play without levels to beat. If you want a structured start on letters, Reading Eggs Junior begins at 2.
Ages 5 to 7. These are the learning-to-read years. Duolingo ABC (free) or Reading Eggs (paid) do that job best. Khan Academy Kids still fits through 2nd grade. For math, SplashLearn covers PreK to grade 5, and Prodigy Math starts in 1st grade.
Ages 8 to 12. Many kids' apps stop at 8, so the list gets short. Prodigy Math runs to 8th grade, Reading Eggspress to 13, Epic to 12, and Tumbly to 12 for engineering, real places and inventors.
Pick by subject
- Learning to read: Duolingo ABC, Reading Eggs, Khan Academy Kids. Add Epic once your child reads on their own.
- Math: Prodigy Math (grades 1–8), SplashLearn (PreK–5), Khan Academy Kids (2–8), or Mathseeds inside the Reading Eggs bundle.
- A bit of everything in one app: Khan Academy Kids (free), PBS KIDS Games (free), ABCmouse (paid).
- Science, engineering and how things work: the subject many "best apps" lists skip. PBS KIDS Games has games from science shows like Wild Kratts. Tumbly is built around engineering: bridges and roads you pass, builds from your own bricks, and true books about inventors.
The ten apps, one by one
Khan Academy Kids
Made by Khan Academy, a nonprofit, and "100% free - forever" with no ads and no subscriptions. Kids get reading, phonics, math and storybooks with Kodi the Bear and friends, from PreK through 2nd grade. It runs on iOS, Android, Amazon devices and Chromebooks.
The catch: it ends at 2nd grade, so older kids will outgrow it.
PBS KIDS Games
More than 280 free, curriculum-based games for ages 2 to 8, starring characters kids know from PBS, like Daniel Tiger and the Wild Kratts. No in-app purchases on the App Store, and the games also play on pbskids.org.
The catch: it's a library of separate games, not a step-by-step course. PBS's privacy policy mentions sponsor ("underwriting") messages.
Duolingo ABC
A free learn-to-read app from Duolingo with more than 700 short lessons in phonics, sight words, vocabulary and handwriting, from preschool to 2nd grade. No ads, no in-app purchases, and it works offline.
The catch: reading only. Pair it with a math app.
ABCmouse
A big early-learning course for ages 2 to 8: reading, math and more, with 13,000+ activities when you subscribe and a free daily set when you don't. It's $14.99 a month or $79.99 a year on ABCmouse.com, with a 30-day free trial on monthly web plans. ABCmouse says it's 100% ad-free and holds the kidSAFE+ COPPA Seal, and it works offline.
The catch: price. Annual plans have no trial, and app-store renewals can differ from the website's ($69.99 a year after the first year).
Reading Eggs
A reading program in stages: Reading Eggs Junior (2–4), Reading Eggs (3–7), Fast Phonics (5–10) and Reading Eggspress (7–13), plus Mathseeds for math (3–9). The reading-and-math plan is $13.99 a month or $99.99 a year for up to four children, and the first 30 days of a monthly plan are free. Works on computers, tablets and phones.
The catch: the highest monthly price here for reading, and we found no statement about ads on its pages.
SplashLearn
Math and reading games from preschool to grade 5 (ages 2 to 11), with worksheets for printing. SplashLearn says it's ad-free and COPPA and GDPR compliant. You start with a free trial; App Store plans run $7.99 to $11.99 a month or $69.99 to $89.99 a year.
The catch: there's no public pricing page, so you see your price in the app.
Epic
A digital library of 40,000+ books, audiobooks and learning videos for kids 12 and under, with downloads for offline reading. Epic Family is $13.99 a month or $84.99 a year after a 7-day free trial. Teachers can use Epic free during the school day.
The catch: it's a library, not lessons, so it helps most once your child can read.
Prodigy Math
A fantasy game where kids answer math questions to win battles, for grades 1 to 8. Prodigy says its math and English content is free. Memberships add pets, gear and extra games: $58.95, $88.95 or $118.95 a year per child on Prodigy's site. It plays in a browser and on phones and tablets. Prodigy takes part in the iKeepSafe Safe Harbor privacy program.
The catch: the extras sit behind a membership, and App Store prices are higher than the website's.
Pok Pok
A quiet, Montessori-inspired playroom of digital toys: blocks, drawing, music, a marble machine, a town to explore. No language, no winning or losing, and the maker says kids will never see an ad or in-app purchase inside the play. It works offline. A 7-day free trial leads to a monthly or yearly plan ($6.99 to $12.99 a month or $45.99 to $79.99 a year on the App Store).
The catch: it builds curiosity and early STEM play, not reading or math lessons.
Tumbly (made by us)
Four engineering games for kids 3 to 12 on one home screen. Tumbly Drive tells true stories about the places you drive past (US roads). Tumbly Blocks designs a step-by-step build from the bricks on your table. Tumbly Inventors has true picture books about inventors and engineers, read aloud at three reading levels. Tumbly Phone sends kids outside to spot bugs, birds and plants. No ads.
The Free plan includes every ready-made story, build and book, plus 20 new builds a day and 1 new book a month. Tumbly Family is $7.99 a month or $59.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial, and raises the limits to 10 new books a month, 50 questions a day and 100 finds a day. It runs in any browser; the iPhone and iPad app is sold in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Where it loses: it doesn't teach reading or math. The Android app is US only (elsewhere Android phones use the web app), it's new with no App Store ratings, and Drive's stories cover US roads only.
What "free" means on this list
- Free, no subscription: Khan Academy Kids, Duolingo ABC and PBS KIDS Games.
- Free to start, pay for more: ABCmouse (a free daily set), Prodigy Math (the game is free; a membership adds extras) and Tumbly (a free plan with daily and monthly limits; Family raises them).
- Free trial, then a subscription: Reading Eggs (30 days on a monthly plan), ABCmouse (30 days on a monthly web plan), Epic (7 days), Pok Pok (7 days), SplashLearn (a trial in the app) and Tumbly Family (7 days).
Most plans renew on their own, so note the day a trial ends.
Ads, purchases and your child's data
Every app here is made for kids, but they handle ads and data differently. Here is what each maker says on its own pages:
- Khan Academy Kids: no ads, and it doesn't sell personal information or let third parties track children across other apps or websites.
- Duolingo ABC: no ads or in-app purchases.
- ABCmouse: 100% ad-free, with the kidSAFE+ COPPA Seal.
- SplashLearn: ad-free, COPPA and GDPR compliant.
- Pok Pok: COPPA compliant, with no ads.
- Prodigy: part of the iKeepSafe Safe Harbor program.
- PBS KIDS: won't use children's personal information for marketing or online advertising; its policy mentions sponsor messages.
- Tumbly: no ads. Its Children's Privacy Notice (COPPA) says nothing works and nothing is collected from a child before a parent signs in.
- Reading Eggs and Epic: we found no statement about ads on the pages we read. Check their privacy policies.
Before you hand over the tablet, look for three things: a grown-up gate in front of purchases and links, a children's privacy notice, and no chat with strangers.
How to choose in five minutes
- Name the gap. Reading, math, or curiosity about the world? One app per gap beats five that overlap.
- Check the age range. Many apps stop at 8. If your child is older, look at Prodigy Math, Reading Eggspress, Epic or Tumbly.
- Start free. Khan Academy Kids, Duolingo ABC and PBS KIDS Games cost nothing, so try them before a paid plan.
- Check your devices. Some apps have no web version, and Tumbly's iPhone app is only sold in four countries (its web app works anywhere).
- Play it yourself for ten minutes. You'll soon see whether it teaches or just entertains.
Questions parents ask
What is the best educational app for kids?
No single app is best at everything. For most kids 2 to 8, Khan Academy Kids is the strongest free start: reading, math and more with no ads and no subscriptions. Then add one app for the gap: Duolingo ABC or Reading Eggs for reading, Prodigy Math or SplashLearn for math, Epic for books, Tumbly for engineering.
Is Khan Academy Kids really free?
Yes. Khan Academy, a nonprofit, says the app is 100% free forever, with no ads and no subscriptions. Its only paid product is a version that schools and districts buy.
Which educational apps are totally free?
Khan Academy Kids, Duolingo ABC and PBS KIDS Games cost nothing and have no subscriptions. Khan Academy Kids and Duolingo ABC also say they have no ads. ABCmouse, Prodigy Math and Tumbly have free tiers with a paid upgrade.
What app can help my child learn to read?
Duolingo ABC is free and covers phonics, sight words and handwriting from preschool to 2nd grade. Reading Eggs is paid, runs from age 2 to 13 and gives the first 30 days of a monthly plan free. Khan Academy Kids also teaches early reading for free. Once a child reads on their own, Epic is a big library to practice with.
What is the number one learning app for kids?
There is no official number one. The names most lists start with are Khan Academy Kids, PBS KIDS Games, ABCmouse and Duolingo ABC. The right one depends on your child's age and what they need help with, so use the age and subject sections on this page.
Which AI app is good for kids?
Look for an app where a parent turns the AI features on and can switch each one off, with no ads and no chat with strangers. Tumbly, which we make, uses AI to make new builds, books and stories and to answer spoken questions, only after a grown-up agrees, and kids can only message their own family.
Are there educational apps for kids with no ads?
Yes. Khan Academy Kids, Duolingo ABC, ABCmouse, SplashLearn, Pok Pok and Tumbly all say on their own pages that they have no ads. Free is not always ad-free, so check the listing before you download.
Does Tumbly teach reading or math?
No. Tumbly is for engineering and how the world works: bridges and roads, brick builds, inventors and nature. For reading pick Duolingo ABC, Reading Eggs or Khan Academy Kids; for math pick Prodigy Math or SplashLearn.
About this page
besteducationalappsforkids.com is published by Winding AI, Inc., the company that makes Tumbly. We wrote it to answer one question honestly, so Tumbly appears only where it fits, and the page says plainly where other apps are better or cheaper.
How we compared: on November 7, 2026, we read each maker's pricing and product pages and its US App Store listing, and wrote down ages, subjects, prices, ads and platforms as the maker states them. We don't give star ratings or scores. No app paid to be listed, and there are no affiliate links. Prices change, so check the maker's site before you buy.
Spotted something out of date? Email support@winding.ai and we'll fix it.