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AN OVERVIEW OF BEST LEARNING APPS FOR KIDS Want one free app that works at any age? Download Khan Academy Kids. For reading, get Epic! For a first coding app, try codeSpark Academy. For news made for kids, go with News-O-Matic. To learn a language as a family, use Duolingo. Most paid apps include a free trial, so you can test before you buy, and you’ll find picks for every age below. |
Summer means more free time, and more screen time along with it. The good news: the right learning apps turn those hours into real learning that still feels like play.
Below are the apps parents actually recommend, sorted by age so you can skip straight to your kid’s stage. You’ll find picks for reading, math, coding, current events, and learning a new language. Several are free, and the paid ones come with a free trial so you can test before you commit.
Two things make screen time work no matter which apps you choose: a kid-safe setup with the right parental controls, and internet fast enough that nothing buffers mid-lesson. Lock those in, and your kids are set for a summer of learning.
Best learning apps for toddlers and preschoolers (ages 2 to 4)
Khan Academy Kids
Start here. It’s free, with no ads and no in-app purchases, and it covers reading, math, and social-emotional skills through games and stories that adjust to where your child is.
There’s also a timely reason to grab it now: Camp Khan Kids, a free virtual summer camp for ages 2 to 8, is running through the season, pairing quick app activities with hands-on projects you can do at home. It kicked off June 22, so you can jump in this week.
Teach Your Monster to Read
The pick for a child just starting to sound out letters. Kids create their own monster and take it on an adventure through games that teach letters, sounds, and first words, all designed in collaboration with reading academics.
It’s free to play on a computer, with a small charge for the mobile version, runs with no ads, and is best for ages 3 to 6.
Duolingo ABC
From the team behind Duolingo, this free, ad-free app is built for early reading in short bursts. Lessons last only a minute or two, which fits a toddler’s attention span, and they steadily build the letter sounds and first words that make learning to read easier down the road.
PBS KIDS Games
A free, ad-free collection of games starring the characters your kids already know, from Daniel Tiger to the Wild Kratts. Each game ties to an early math, reading, or science skill, and the familiar faces make it an easy yes. Works on phones and tablets.
Best learning apps for early elementary (ages 5 to 7)
Epic!
Want your kid reading more? This is the one. It’s a library of more than 40,000 books, audiobooks, and learning videos for ages 2 to 12, and the read-to-me option means early readers can dive in on their own. Kids pick what they actually want to read, which is half the battle. A subscription kicks in after a free trial, and there are no ads.
codeSpark Academy
A great on-ramp for a first-time coder. Designed for ages 5 to 10, it teaches coding basics through puzzles and games with no reading required, so pre-readers can play on their own.
Kids start by solving puzzles and work up to building their own games, which is what keeps them coming back.
BrainPOP Jr.
For the kid who asks “why” about everything. Short animated movies, quizzes, and games cover hundreds of topics across science, social studies, math, reading, and more, all built for grades K to 3.
Think of it as the upgrade to educational cartoons: same fun characters, but now your kid answers questions and applies what they watched.
ABCmouse
The all-in-one option if you’d rather follow a set path than pick apps one at a time. Built for ages 2 to 8, it offers thousands of activities across reading, math, art, and more, laid out as a step-by-step curriculum.
One thing to know: the subscription auto-renews, so set a reminder if you’re only there for the free trial.
National Geographic Kids
A free favorite for animal lovers. The site is packed with animal facts, photos, videos, and puzzle games, plus printable worksheets when you want an off-screen activity. Easy to dip into for ten minutes or settle in for an afternoon.
Best learning apps for older kids (ages 8 to 12)
BrainPOP
The older-kid edition of BrainPOP Jr., same idea built for bigger brains. It covers grades 3 through 8 with short animated movies that break down topics across science, social studies, math, English, and more, then a quiz to check what stuck. Reach for it when your kid hits a tricky school subject, or just let them follow a rabbit hole over the summer.
News-O-Matic
Raising a kid who wants to know what’s going on in the world? Start here. It publishes daily news written at several reading levels for ages 6 to 14, and it’s 100% ad-free. A child psychologist reviews every article to keep it age-appropriate, and kids can have stories read aloud or tap any word for a kid-friendly definition.
Adventure Academy
The pick for an older kid who’d rather explore than fill out worksheets. It’s an immersive virtual world for ages 8 to 13 with more than 4,000 activities across language arts, math, science, and social studies.
Kids build a character, take on quests, and earn rewards as they learn, so the schoolwork feels like the game. A subscription follows the trial.
Duolingo
Learning a language together is one of the best things a family can do over a long summer. Duolingo turns it into a game with short daily lessons, points, and streaks that keep kids and parents coming back.
It’s free with ads, with a paid tier to remove them, and the language list is wide enough that one parent’s kids ended up happily learning Scottish Gaelic.
Tynker
Got a kid obsessed with Minecraft? Point that energy at coding. Tynker uses drag-and-drop blocks to let kids ages 7 to 12 build their own games and apps, and it includes Minecraft modding where they design skins, items, and custom worlds.
As they get better, it moves them toward real languages like Python. A subscription unlocks the full set of courses.
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Great apps need internet that keeps up Every app on this list runs on your connection. Race Communications delivers 100% fiber internet built to handle a full house of learning, streaming, and gaming at the same time.
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Frequently asked questions
Khan Academy Kids is the top free pick for ages 2 to 8, with no ads and no in-app purchases. Other strong free options include Teach Your Monster to Read for phonics, Duolingo for languages, and National Geographic Kids for science and animals.
Khan Academy Kids works well for ages 2 to 8 and is completely free. For a child just learning their letters and sounds, Teach Your Monster to Read is a great choice and is free to play on a computer.
codeSpark Academy is a good starting point for ages 5 to 10 because it teaches coding through puzzles with no reading required. Older kids ages 7 to 12 can move up to Tynker, which includes Minecraft modding and builds toward real coding languages.
Most learning apps need a connection to stream videos, load new content, and save progress. A few, like Epic!, let you download books to read offline. With several people often online at once in summer, a reliable connection keeps lessons from buffering mid-activity.
There is no single right number, and quality matters more than quantity. Apps that ask kids to read, solve, or create make better use of screen time than passive watching, and doing a few activities together helps them count for even more.