What educational apps for kids really cost

The same kids' learning app often has two prices. On November 10, 2026, we read 13 apps on the maker's site and in the App Store, and six of the eight we compared disagreed. Family plans run about $6 to $26 a month or $35 to $162 a year. Khan Academy Kids, Duolingo ABC and PBS KIDS Games are free.

Prices are in US dollars before tax, from each maker's own page or its US App Store listing. We didn't buy any plan, so an offer at checkout can change the number. We make Tumbly.

Why the same app can have two prices

Of the eight apps we could read in both places, only BrainPOP and Epic came out about the same. Lingokids says on its own blog that the exact price depends on where you subscribe, and that app store prices are usually a little higher.

Usually the website wins. IXL's all-subjects plan is $19.95 a month on its site and shows as $23.95 in the App Store, and a year of Prodigy Core costs about $16 more through Apple, at $74.99 against $58.95. Starfall's $35 yearly membership covers the website and the app, about half of what twelve months of its $5.99 App Store plan would come to. Reading Eggs matches at $13.99 a month, but its website is selling the first year for $74.99 against $99.99 in the App Store.

Two apps go the other way. The App Store shows ABCmouse plans at $45 and $59.99 where its website asks $79.99 a year, though ABCmouse warns that app-store signups may renew at $69.99. Lingokids' standard year on its site, $161.88, is exactly twelve months at $13.49, while the App Store shows yearly plans from $71.99 to $89.99. The site only gets near that during an offer, like the $71.88 a year on its promo page.

The detail we'd act on is in ABCmouse's own pricing article. It lists ABCmouse Classic at $45 a year and says that if you sign up for Classic first, you get Premium Access to the new app at no additional cost for as long as Classic stays active. We haven't tested that at checkout, so read the total before you confirm.

What each paid plan costs

How far each free plan goes

Three of these apps have no paid plan for families. Khan Academy Kids says it's always 100% free, with no ads and no subscriptions. Duolingo ABC says it has no ads or in-app purchases, and PBS KIDS Games lists none in the App Store.

Six others have a free tier you can keep using. IXL gives 10 questions a day. ABCmouse Basic gives up to 10 activities a day for one child, and Lingokids Basic gives 10 a day with no card needed. Prodigy gives the most away, by our reading, since its math and English content are free and a membership adds science and game extras. Starfall's Learn-to-Read program is free for every child, and BrainPOP opens selected movies and activities.

Epic and Reading Eggs give you a trial and then a bill, and we found no lasting free home plan at SplashLearn either. Epic's free School version is for educators and students during the school day, and SplashLearn's help page describes free home access for a child whose teacher has linked them to a class.

Our own app, Tumbly, makes engineering games for kids 3 to 12, not a reading or math course, so it won't replace the apps above. Its Free plan is a try that doesn't reset: every ready-made build, plus the first 3 new builds, 20 stories, 3 books and 3 workbooks per family. Tumbly Family is $7.99 a month or $59.99 a year, and the 7-day trial comes only with the yearly plan. Family opens every story and book and gives 10 new builds and 20 workbooks a month, and it's sold only on tumbly.ai, so there's no second price in a store. Some made-to-order brick PDFs on Tumbly's holiday and birthday pages cost $4.99. Starfall, ABCmouse Classic and Prodigy Core all cost less per year, and Khan Academy Kids, Duolingo ABC and PBS KIDS Games cost nothing.

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What a second child or a full year changes

A low price for one child can stop being low at two. ABCmouse covers up to 3 children on one plan, Reading Eggs, Epic and Lingokids up to 4, and BrainPOP's family plans have 2 profiles. IXL charges $40 a year for each added child, so two kids on its all-subjects plan come to $199. Prodigy takes 25% off when you buy for more than one child, which would put two Core memberships near $88 instead of $117.90.

A yearly plan beats paying monthly once you've paid for six months at ABCmouse, Prodigy Core and Starfall, seven at Epic, and eight at IXL's one-subject plan, Tumbly Family and Reading Eggs (six while its sale runs). We'd pay monthly until your child has come back on their own for a few weeks, then switch.

Before you press Subscribe

Khan Academy Kids covers reading and math through 2nd grade for nothing, so try it before you spend a dollar. If you want to pay, we'd look at Starfall, whose $35 was the cheapest year we read and whose memberships help fund a nonprofit's free reading program. For one stubborn subject, IXL's $79 plan or Prodigy's free game makes more sense than a bundle your child won't finish.

Then open the maker's website before you buy inside an app, because that's usually cheaper. And put the trial's end date in your phone the day you start, since most trials turn into a paid plan on their own.