We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more . Kids love screen time, but if you want your child to do a little less Pokémon chasing and a little more learning, there’s good news.Many of today’s apps for kids are combining technology and education to make learning more engaging, interactive, and fun. Whatever skills or subjects your child is interested in, there is a wide variety of educational apps available. Here, we’ve highlighted the seven best educational apps for kids—beloved by both parents and youngsters. Best Educational Apps for Kids Best Educational Apps for Kids Final Verdict Compare Apps FAQs Methodology Key Specs Why We Chose It Using engaging images and videos, Khan Academy offers learning opportunities for students of all ages across many subjects, including math, economics, and history. Pros & Cons Pros Totally free Offers a wide variety of subjects Suitable for foundational or supplemental learning Includes intro math classes for preschool and up Available in more than 36 languages Cons Self-paced design might not be right for everyone Lacks foreign language courses English/language arts offerings are weaker Overview Khan Academy is the gold standard for educational apps, particularly considering the wide range of courses it offers for students of all ages, and it’s free. Khan Academy’s YouTube videos are suitable for all grade levels and cover a range of subjects, including math, science and engineering, arts and humanities (including history and social studies), economics, AP courses, and test prep. The courses include quizzes to test comprehension. Khan Academy also has shifted toward developing materials in conjunction with Common Core. A junior version, Khan Academy Kids, targets young learners aged two to eight. It covers math, English language arts, logic, and socio-emotional learning with e-books, games, songs, and videos. Khan Academy is popular among students, parents, and educators because its videos are engaging and targeted at visual learners, using photos, maps, and other illustrations, and it also allows students to work at their own pace. Key Specs Why We Chose It Your toddler will love moving the shapes around in this app, and you’ll love that it’s teaching them spatial recognition and object awareness. Pros & Cons Pros Easy for little hands to use Gradually becomes more challenging Encourages problem-solving skills Available in over 20 languages Cons Doesn’t display or say the name of the shapes Some users reported glitchy or “unsolvable” levels Overview Busy Shapes is an app aligned with the Montessori method of self-directed, hands-on learning. As such, it’s perfect for young kids just starting to interact with technology. The app is designed to develop young children’s logic and reasoning skills by helping them explore how objects relate to each other and how they can be manipulated. Busy Shapes is simple to play, requires no instructions, and is all child-directed. Kids drag an object into a hole—they are challenged to match the shape of the object with the corresponding hole and eventually, another object and hole will appear in a new setting. The difficulty level increases over time, with multiple objects and holes of different shapes. The 7 Best Apps for Toddlers of 2024 Key Specs Why We Chose It ABCmouse.com has more than 10,000 activities available to play on its app or website. There are games for traditional subjects, like math, science, and language arts, as well as art activities, songs, and puzzles. Pros & Cons Pros Designed by educators and early learning experts One account can have up to three child profiles Includes school subjects, games, and puzzles Highly adaptable to different skill levels Ad-free website Free 30-day trial Cons More expensive than other options Only available in English and Spanish Only available for kids ages 2 to 8 Overview More than just an app, ABCmouse.com is a well-rounded curriculum for kids ages two through eight. However, it works best for younger kids who haven’t started kindergarten yet. It includes hundreds of interactive games, activities, and videos related to reading, math, science, and art. It’s also a multi-platform program that can be used on a computer or mobile device. Because it’s a full-fledged curriculum, ABCmouse.com is pricey and costs around $12.99 per month. However, if your child doesn’t attend preschool, the app is a great substitute to get them ready for elementary school. You can track your child's progress as they learn new skills and concepts. The only reservation some reviewers, such as Common Sense Media, have with ABCmouse.com, is that it rewards children’s progress with tickets, which can be used to purchase virtual items. While this feature is sure to be successful in keeping kids using the program, some would argue it encourages extrinsic motivation instead of intrinsic motivation. Skills Your Child Needs Before Starting Kindergarten Key Specs Why We Chose It Prodigy makes learning math fun by providing interactive games that align with school curriculum. Pros & Cons Pros Features math curriculum standards for grades 1–8 Play online or via app Can be used for practice or initial learning Cons Ads encourage membership and in-app purchases Fantasy theme might not be for everyone Overview Prodigy is one of the most popular math games on the market, largely because it’s set up like a video game. It’s a fantasy-themed web and app game that covers math topics for kids from first through eighth grade. Prodigy is designed to test kids’ knowledge rather than introduce them to math topics for the first time. Kids earn spells by answering questions correctly and get to do monster battles as they move through different fantasy worlds. The basic app is free, but a paid premium subscriptions offers more features. The Level Up plan costs $9.95 per month or $74.95 annually, and the Ultimate membership is $14.95 per month or $99.95 a year. Despite the fact that Prodigy is widely loved by kids, one drawback for parents is that there seems to be significant pressure within the game to make in-app purchases. Key Specs Why We Chose It Google’s interactive Arts and Culture app lets students explore art, history, geography, and cultures from all over the world by allowing them to tour museums, learn about international foods, and much more in the palm of their hands. Pros & Cons Pros Designed for project research or just for fun Transform your own photos into artwork Virtual tours of museums around the world Lots of information on art and culture Entertaining and educational for tweens and adults Cons Database isn’t very user-friendly Some content is restricted by location Overview A free mobile app has been developed to accompany the well-known Google Arts and Culture site, which offers a treasure trove of virtual travel and sightseeing. The app lets you search by keyword or category and read relevant editorials about the art collections. While Google Arts and Culture became famous for its selfie feature, which allows you to compare your face to great works of art, the site and app contain a wealth of information on museum collections, artists, theater and performing arts, historic figures, and events. Google Arts and Culture is an invaluable resource for kids ages 12 and older who are assigned research projects, as it provides in-depth articles, images, and videos. While the app truly can be enjoyed by people of many ages, the amount of information available can be overwhelming for younger kids who may not know how to use search terms efficiently. Key Specs Why We Chose It Quizlet makes it easy to prepare for tests by letting you create as many flashcard sets as you want on your phone or computer. It offers different testing methods, plus it has millions of sets available that students have already designed. Pros & Cons Pros Offers flashcards, games, and study guides Can be used by students or teachers Five study modes allow for personalized instruction Millions of flashcard sets available Cons Users say that editing flashcards can be difficult Interface can be hard to organize Overview Self-directed study is an important skill for high schoolers, and Quizlet is one of the most effective apps on the market for reviewing material a student will be tested on. Teachers and students can create study sets/flashcards on many topics—from the periodic table to U.S. presidents to vocabulary words and more. The Quizlet Learn feature provides different types of testing, such as true-and-false and multiple-choice questions. Quizlet is particularly useful for foreign language study, and its audio pronunciation is better than many other apps. Quizlet has more than 500 million archived study sets already created by users, so new users can search within those to see if there is a set that matches their needs. Note that the study sets aren’t fact-checked, so users need to be aware that they may contain errors. However, it’s a free resource, so users should weigh the benefits with the drawbacks. Key Specs Why We Chose It Ideal for beginners, Hopscotch is a great way for kids to explore the world of computer programming. Kids learn coding, problem-solving, as well as logical and mathematical skills while having fun creating projects. Pros & Cons Pros Kid-friendly programming Provides play-along video tutorials Can create games, stories, and art Values kids’ privacy Cons Not available on Android devices Not suitable for seasoned programmers Overview Hopscotch is a coding app designed for kids 9 to 11 years old. It’s built much like Scratch, one of the first programs developed to introduce kids to computer programming, but Hopscotch is made specifically for mobile devices (only iPads and iPhones), while Scratch is web-based. Kids can drag and drop commands and instructions into a script to create their own programs. They can customize their programs by choosing characters, save and share their creations with the Hopscotch community, and comment on and play others’ creations. It’s a great way for kids to be creative and start learning how computer programming works without worrying about difficult, technical coding language. It’s also a good starter coding app from which kids can move on to more complex programs like Scratch on a desktop or laptop. 8 Best Tablets for Kids of 2023 The best educational apps have features that support engaged learning and creatively connect the app content to a child's existing knowledge. Khan Academy is our choice for the best educational app because it’s free, easy to use, and works well for every age group. It provides informational videos and online exercises to help kids excel in a variety of subjects, including math, science, and language arts. Students can go at their own pace, which allows them to take their time learning about each topic. Educational apps can help with foundational or supplemental learning and may spark a kid's interest in certain topics. On the other hand, educational apps can result in too much overall screen time and may lead to distraction and over-stimulation. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screens for children younger than 18 months, and up to one hour of high-quality screen time for kids older than 2 years. Ideally, parents should engage with media alongside young children. Parental control apps can be used to monitor app usage, set limits on screen time, and block kids from using certain apps on their smartphones and tablets. Although there are some free parental control apps, most require buying a monthly or yearly subscription for approximately $5 to $10 per month. Research is mixed and limited when it comes to educational apps for kids. When selecting an educational app for your child, be mindful of the content quality and whether the app contains distracting advertisem*nts that take away from the educational content. There are many ways to help your child learn, including setting up a safe environment where they can play, engaging with your child often, and taking an interest in subjects or topics that they like. Making sure their basic needs are met and their emotions are responded to in an empathetic way can also encourage learning. We consulted dozens of editorial reviews by relevant publications—like parenting and tech magazines, as well as reviews by nonprofit organizations like Common Sense Media, the National Educational Association, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children. For this category, we aimed to provide app recommendations for children ages 2 through 18, and also highlight a few unique categories that have become important in the field of education recently, such as coding. In addition, we tested out some of the apps to become familiar with their features. Article Sources Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Oswald TK, Rumbold AR, Kedzior SGE, Moore VM. Psychological impacts of “screen time” and “green time” for children and adolescents: A systematic scoping review.PLoS One. 2020;15(9):e0237725. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0237725 Council on Communications and Media. Media and young minds. Pediatrics. 2016;138(5):e20162591. doi:10.1542/peds.2016-2591 Meyer M, Zosh JM, McLaren C, et al. How educational are 'educational' apps for young children? App store content analysis using the Four Pillars of Learning framework.J Child Media. 2021;15(4):526-548. doi:10.1080/17482798.2021.1882516 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Early brain development and health. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback?Best Educational Apps for Kids of 2024
Best Overall : Khan Academy
Best for Toddlers : Busy Shapes
Best for Preschoolers : ABCmouse.com
Best for Elementary School Kids : Prodigy
Best for Tweens : Google Arts and Culture
Best for Teens : Quizlet
Best for Teaching Kids Coding : Hopscotch
Final Verdict
Compare the Best Educational Apps for Kids
Company Price Ages/Grades Apple/Android Khan Academy Best Overall Free Ages 4 and up Both Busy Shapes Best for Toddlers $2.99 Ages 3-7 Both ABCmouse.com Best for Preschoolers $13 per month Ages 2-8 Both Prodigy Best for Elementary School Kids Free for basic; premium memberships start at $10 a month or $75 annually Grades 1-8 Both Google Arts and Culture Best for Tweens Free Ages 12 and up Both Quizlet Best for Teens Free for basic; the premium membership is $8 per month or $36 annually Ages 4 and up Both Hopscotch Best for Teaching Kids Coding $8 per month or $80 for annual subscription Ages 9-11 Apple Frequently Asked Questions
What Are Some Pros and Cons of Educational Apps for Kids?
How Can I Monitor Apps on My Kid’s iPad?
Do Apps Help Kids Learn?
How Can I Stimulate My Child to Learn?
Methodology
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-1178068262-ab368577a397420b8c31ce8cc8c081d5.jpg "Best Educational Apps for Kids of 2024 (8)")
:fill(white):max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Khan_Academy-f8d4d5d4663447dda122241fcb3d1f5d.jpg "Best Educational Apps for Kids of 2024 (1)")
:fill(white):max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/BusyShapes-309fb48fc2e0452f8d87e52a8d05d0a3.png "Best Educational Apps for Kids of 2024 (2)")
See Also
What Online Courses Are Most In Demand In 2023?14 Best Mobile Apps to Help You Improve Your Skills - ZesiumTop 10 Online Courses in India from the Best E-learning InstitutesTop 10 Highest Paying Jobs That You Don't Need a Degree For:fill(white):max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/ABC_Mouse-50132d52965147459a8e9847f20c8e69.jpg "Best Educational Apps for Kids of 2024 (3)")
:fill(white):max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/prodigy-e88c6529da814780901669801152cad9.png "Best Educational Apps for Kids of 2024 (4)")
:fill(white):max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Arts-Culture-Android-Apps-on-Google-Play-5771f9eb3df78cb62cf3ed99.png "Best Educational Apps for Kids of 2024 (5)")
:fill(white):max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Quizlet-326af0e0d95e4bb1bd422e6eb13e44ab.png "Best Educational Apps for Kids of 2024 (6)")
:fill(white):max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/hopscotch-d54eb6d3931a4837a75efbacafdff6d8.jpg "Best Educational Apps for Kids of 2024 (7)")
