There’s an app for that.
Preschoolers aren’t always the easiest to deal with. You can’t leave them alone, and they’re not always able to entertain themselves. You’re eager to have some time off, but you also don’t want to let them watch TV or be on the tablet all day long.
You know it’s essential for them to develop their imagination and fine motor skills. After all, they need a lot of practice if they want to write. So what do you do?
Well, there are many apps that will keep your preschooler entertained and help her fine tune her skills at the same time. Here are 7 of our favorites!
Best Apps For Preschoolers Free
Gaming, learning, and puzzle apps for toddlers help keep tiny tots engaged. And as toddlers are curious and seek to know more about their surroundings, interactive and educational apps can help improve their various skills while entertaining them.
While it is natural for caring parents to be wary of their toddlers’ excessive screen time, introducing little ones to educational apps while regulating their screen time can be beneficial. Read on to know about the most engaging apps for your toddler.
20 Best Free Toddler Apps
While some learning apps can help your toddler learn new things, there are many others that feature fun games and puzzles. Here are some apps that are a must-have if you have a toddler at home.
- Starfall ABCs
Download: iOS / Android
One of the first things your toddler learns is the alphabet. Starfall ABC is a popular app that offers reading, math, phonics songs, movies, books, and a lot more that enables toddlers to learn.
- Peek-A-Zoo
Download: iOS
Peek-a-Zoo is a wonderful app to teach your toddler about animals, the sounds they make, how they look, etc. This app has a fun game-like interface that allows children to identify an animal by its sounds, actions, etc.
- Fish School
Download: iOS/ Android
Young children love animals, and fish swimming in the water is intriguing to their budding minds. Fish School app is a popular learning app for toddlers where colorful fish of different shapes, in different numbers and letters, swim in the water for toddlers to identify. This app is cool for toddlers, who will soon be attending preschool.
- Baby Games
Download: iOS/Android
This is a fun learning app for toddlers and preschoolers as it teaches them about virtual balloon popping, musical instruments, and their sounds, etc. It features several mini games that are good for toddlers to learn about new things in the world.
- Shapes!
Download: iOS
Toddlers who are around two to three years old can identify various shapes. The Shapes! game is ideal for them as it encourages them to learn and identify shapes and colors, different sizes, and a lot more.
Toddler Game Apps
It is normal for toddlers and young children to get distracted easily. Here are some game apps that are fun and educational:
- PBS Kids Games
Download: iOS/Android
PBS Kids and its characters such as Tiger, Arthur, and others are quite popular with children. When these characters come together in the form of a game app, toddlers may have oodles of fun while learning plenty of new stuff too. With constant updates available in the app, new games are added regularly.
- ABC Mouse
Download: iOS/ Android
ABC Mouse app offers stories, games, and videos to teach your toddler how to read. It also introduces them to Math, Science, and art. This app is free to download and use for the first 30 days. Love the app? You can sign up for unlimited activities and games for a monthly subscription of $10/month subsequently.
- Piano Kids
Download: Android
Children love music. It is a good idea to introduce them to musical instruments when they are a toddler. A fun way to do so is to download the Piano Kids app. The app allows your toddler to play various instruments and recognize the kind of sound they produce.
There are four modes that allow your toddler to learn sounds and music and improve creativity, motor skills, sensory skills, memory, and concentration.
- ABC Spelling- Spell & Phonics
Download: iOS/Android
Another popular app from ABC for toddlers is the ABC Spelling – Spell & Phonics. This app offers multiple spelling games for toddlers with various game modes. While the app is free, it does offer in-app purchases for advanced features and more games.
- Colors And Shapes – Kids Learn Colors And Shapes
Download: iOS
Colors and Shapes – Kids Learn Colors and Shapes is a fun game app that allows toddlers to learn about object matching, colors, and more. The app has simple interactions on screen-touch and many additional features to make it enjoyable for your toddler.
- KidloLand
Download: iOS/Android
KidloLand is an award-winning game app popular for toddlers. The app features games, learning activities, and stories that keep toddlers busy. An attractive feature of this app is that you can download games for your toddler to play offline as well.
- ABC Kids – Tracing And Phonetics
Download: iOS/ Android
Toddlers actively learn to speak and perform various activities than they were in their infancy. As your toddler grows older, teaching them phonetics, alphabets, sounds, etc., becomes important as they reach preschool age.
ABC Kids Tracing and Phonetics is a fun game app for toddlers as it allows them to trace letters and learn how to pronounce them.
- Kids Balloon Pop Game
Download: Android
Kids and balloons are a fun combination. They are instantly attracted to these flying items, and some also love bursting them. The Kids Balloon Pop Game app is apt for toddlers and offers ad-free virtual popping opportunities for the toddler.
You can adjust the size and speed of the balloon based on your toddler’s speed. This app has fun features and teaches your child alphabet, numbers, and colors.
- Toddler Preschool Activities
Download: Android
The Toddler Preschool Activities app is a great option for parents looking for a game app with educational content for their toddler.
This app offers over 70 games and activities for toddlers and preschoolers up to the age of five years. From shapes, colors, animals, numbers, and alphabet, the app offers extensive learning in a game format, making it very engaging and interesting for your toddler.
The app is free to download, but the free version offers limited activities and games. Thus, you could opt for in-app purchases.
- Kiddopia: Preschool Education & ABC Games For Kids
Download: iOS/ Android
The best way to teach anything to a toddler is to mix fun with learning. One app that is great for this purpose is Kiddopia. This is a dynamic app that offers lots of subjects to learn – math to language and social skills! This award-winning game app also helps boost your toddler’s creativity.
The app is available for free, but this version has a limited amount of content. If your toddler enjoys the game, you can purchase lifetime complete access with the in-app purchase option.
Toddler Puzzle Apps
- Puzzle Kids – Animal Shapes And Jigsaw Puzzles
Download: Android
If you are looking for an exclusive app that has puzzles, Puzzle Kids is a great choice. The app offers a variety of drag and drop puzzles that are designed for toddlers. From matching shapes to guessing an object, these puzzles build your child’s problem-solving skills and cognition and improve logical reasoning. The app is free and has no in-app purchases.
- Super Puzzles Kids Jigsaw Game
Download: iOS
Super Puzzle Kids Jigsaw is a fun puzzle game for your toddler. The app allows you to choose the number of pieces you wish to have in your puzzle with its many settings. The app indicates when a puzzle piece is in the wrong place and produces a ‘snap’ sound when your toddler places a piece in its correct spot.
You can get around 18 puzzles for free when you download the app. If you wish to download more, the app allows in-app purchase options to help you.
- Hidden Pictures Puzzle Town
Download: iOS
This is a popular puzzle app for toddlers with over 50 puzzles that are divided into various categories. The puzzles help toddlers learn math, problem-solving, sounds, shapes, and more.
While the app is free to download, it offers a 30-day free trial period. If your toddler loves the app, you can purchase a $2.99 monthly subscription to access new and updated puzzles each month!
- Pango One Road
Download: iOS/ Android
Here’s a great puzzle for your toddler, where they are prompted to use their problem-solving skills to build a path to cross tiny islands while avoiding mole holes. The app offers over 70 challenges, and the difficulty level increases with each puzzle that your toddler solves.
- Baby Shak Jigsaw Puzzle Fun
Download: Android
This puzzle app offers a wide range of colorful and fun puzzles for your toddler. You can choose the complexity level based on your toddler’s skill. You can also choose puzzles from 4 to 16 pieces. The app is free to download but the free version may contain ads.
Keeping your toddler engaged and entertained might seem daunting. Fret not! Download these apps on Android and Apple app stores to let your child learn while having lots of fun. It is important to pick the right ones based on your toddler’s age, learning, and interest levels. Are you ready to try a few?
Key Pointers
Starfall ABCs is a free toddler learning app to help your little one learn basic math, phonics, and other topics.
Fish school is a learning app with colorful fish of different shapes, numbers, and letters swimming in water for a toddler to identify them.
Piano kids is a music learning app for toddlers that help them learn various musical instruments and their sounds.
best free apps for 4 year olds
It can be challenging to keep kids appropriately occupied sometimes, especially when school is out. Today’s kids are spending a good chunk of their days on tablets, phones and other electronic devices and finding apps that provide kid-friendly, developmental content in bite-sizes pieces can be difficult. Using screen time to help supplement their education can be beneficial and fun, especially since many educational apps include games to make learning more exciting.
Our experts work together with our consumer panel to test the best children’s apps out there based on ease of use, engagement, price point and tech pitfalls. We’ve reviewed dozens of apps to bring you our favorites. These are the best of the best for engaging, entertaining and educational content to help support and aid gaps while keeping your kids entertained, whether they’re in pre-school or high school. Grab your charger (or portable battery) and download the best apps for kids in 2022:
Our top picks
Best Overall Educational App for Kids: ABCmouse.com
Best Educational App for All Ages: Khan Academy
Best Educational App for Reading: Epic!
Best Educational App for Kids in Preschool: Nick Jr.
Best Educational App for Kids in Elementary School: Quick Math Jr.
Best Educational App for Kids in High School: Duolingo
Best Educational App for Kids Learning the Alphabet: Starfall ABCs
Best Educational App for Multiple Kids: Homer Learn & Grow
Best Educational Video App for Kids: Brainpop Jr. Movie of the Week
Best Educational App for Coding Kids: Swift Playgrounds
Best Educational App for Learning Piano: Simply Piano
Best Overall App for Kids: ABCmouse.com
best apps for kids abcmousecom
ABC MOUSE
This pick is an overwhelming favorite among all of our testers. ABCmouse.com is available both as an app and a website. It uses fun storyline-based videos, quizzes, and activities — there’s even a virtual map outlining your child’s learning path to keep kids and toddlers engaged. Our parent testers said they loved ABCmouse.com even before we started testing the best apps for kids!
• Ages: 2-8
• Cost: One-month free trial, then $10/month subscription
• Get it for: iOS, Android, or on the Amazon App Store
RELATED: The Best Toddler Apps That Teach Letters, Colors, Shapes, and Numbers
Best for All Ages: Khan Academy
best apps for kids
KHAN ACADEMY
Teachers, parents, and kids are all a fan of the Khan Academy app that features thousands of free resources on everything from early math to art history. From preschool to high school, children of all ages can enjoy and learn on this non-profit’s platform. All of its programming is entirely free, so you don’t have to worry about subscription fees. Parents of our testers say that the videos helped each kid learn at their own pace. For those with kids under 4, check out their child-friendly counterpart, Khan Academy Kids on iOS or Android, which features a lot of the great elements of the older app at an age appropriate level.
• Ages: 4+
• Cost: Free
• Get it for: iOS or Android
Best Reading App for Kids: Epic!
Best Apps for Kids- Epic!
EPIC!
Epic! is an app for kids with an e-book library that contains over 35,000 children’s books (and it includes a read-to-me feature for little ones who are still learning to read). One of our parent testers says it’s “a great app to have when the kids want screen time, but you don’t!” This app is a perfect way to take reading wherever your device goes, and it’s great for families with kids of various ages.
• Ages: 2-12
• Cost: one-month free trial, then $8/month
• Get it for: iOS or Android
Best App for Kids in Preschool: Nick Jr.
Best Apps for Kids- Nick Jr.
NICK JR.
Nick Jr.’s app offers parents the chance to let their kids enjoy their favorite shows on the go — no TV required! The app has videos from all of Nick Jr.’s shows and a collection of games (both educational and not-so educational) based on Nick Jr. shows that feature your kids’ favorite characters.
To unlock some parts of the app, you’ll need to enter your cable provider’s information. Even without it, your kid will still be able to use the features they’ll be most excited about: full episodes and lots of games!
• Ages: 2-7
• Cost: free, some content requires cable provider information
• Get it for: iOS, Android, or on the Amazon App Store
Best App for Kids in Elementary School: Quick Math Jr.
Best Apps for Kids- Quick Math Jr.
QUICK MATH
Kids know that math can be boring, but this app transforms numbers into something more creative and interactive. Quick Math Jr. is an app for kids with 12 different math games that feature fundamental math skills and concepts. It has unique graphics and buildable characters to keep kids engaged, and all answers are handwritten or drawn on the screen so kids can also practice handwriting.
• Ages: 4-8
• Cost: Free
• Get it for: iOS
Best App for Kids in High School: Duolingo
Best Apps for Kids- Duolingo
DUOLINGO
The Duolingo Owl (the app’s mascot and icon) has been popping up as a meme all over social media in recent months, so chances are your high schooler knows what Duolingo is. Encourage them to take it one step further and download the app so they can learn a different language.
They can practice through audio, word identification, and oral exercises for over 30 languages — it’s a great way for your child to keep their language-learning skills sharp over the summer. P.S.: Parents can use this app, too!
• Ages: 10+
• Cost: Free, optional ad-free Duolingo Plus is $6.99/month
• Get it for: iOS or Android
Best App for Kids Learning the Alphabet: Starfall ABCs
Best Apps for Kids- Starfall ABCs
STARFALL ABC
This app gives kids a fun, animated introduction to learning letters, vowels, and words. It also includes the sign language alphabet. If you upgrade to the paid version of Starfall ABCs, you’ll get some extra perks like lessons on math and social skills — but the free version is still pretty impressive!
• Ages: 2-5
• Cost: Free, option to upgrade for $35/year
• Get it for: iOS or Android
Best App for Multiple Kids: Homer Learn & Grow
best app for multiple kids homer learn grow
HOMER
Homer Learn & Grow is great for families with lots of littles, since you can add up to four kid profiles on your account and not have to worry about messing up your customization. Testers love how personalized the learning experience is — while onboarding, you’ll fill out a series of questions about your child’s task performance skills. They also enjoy the cool features like the “record your voice” option in phonics. Kids get to learn thoughtfully about numbers, letters and social skills. Note, the free trial can be difficult to cancel if you’re not interested in paying for the subscription.
• Ages: 2-8
• Cost: $7.99/month
• Get it for: iOS or Android
Best Video App for Kids: Brainpop Jr. Movie of the Week
Best Apps for Kids- Brainpop Jr. Movie of the Week
BRAIN POP JR.
For 20 years, Brainpop has been providing kids all over the world with in-depth, yet easy to understand educational videos on everything ranging from Mozart to food allergies. Brainpop Jr. Movie of the Week is an app that gives younger kids access to these videos, plus short quizzes on them.
You’ll need a subscription to access to the full library of videos, but the free version still gets you the movie of the week, plus more free videos on internet safety, bullying and other subjects. Brainpop also has a version for older kids too!
• Ages: 6-9
• Cost: Free, optional subscription is $6.99/month
• Get it for: iOS, Android, or on the Amazon App Store
Best Kids’ App for Coding: Swift Playgrounds
best apps for kids swift playgrounds
SWIFT PLAYGROUND
Swift Playgrounds is an app for older kids (and adults!) that was created by Apple to introduce people to the coding language that app developers across the globe use. In the app, you can learn the basics of coding language through puzzles, targeted lessons and dynamic visuals. The app is gorgeous to look at and fun to play, but it works best on iPads.
• Ages: 9+
• Cost: Free
• Get it for: iOS
Best App for Learning Piano: Simply Piano
best learning apps simply piano
SIMPLY PIANO
Whether you’re a novice pianist or someone who wants to brush up on lost skills, Simply Piano is a fun, interactive way to learn the piano. All of our testers found that the app helped them learn piano and found it to be a motivating, enjoyable way to learn to play. One tester lauded the program saying she “loved its accessibility and simplistic nature of the lessons.” Another noted her appreciation for the highly guided program, providing the discipline and accountability she needed.
• Ages: 4+
• Cost: Free week trial, $120/year
• Get it for: iOS or Android
How we test educational apps
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The technology and parenting experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute know very well just how dizzying it can be to figure out which kids’ apps are worth downloading and buying (and which are safe and truly kid-friendly) — which is why we tested to find the best ones on the market.
We consulted our consumer panel made up of real parents and their children to whittle down the field to the apps that are age-appropriate, easy to use, informative and fun. Our experts evaluate each app to see how easy it is for children to use independently, how engaging the content is, whether or not it’s worth its price, how long and effectively it can keep children interested, any tech pitfalls and whether it aids children’s development in the ways it indicates.
What to look for in the best educational apps for your kids
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✔️ Safety: It’s important to protect your personal information and avoid getting scammed.Consider how much information the is app requesting from you and if the app requests additional verification when you log in. Aside from personal safety, is the app even safe to download? Check out the number of times the app has been downloaded, the rating, reviews and look over the permissions list as well as the app description before hitting download. We evaluated each of the apps we’ve recommended for safety to help alleviate concerns for you, your family and your devices.
✔️ Features: Consider what you are hoping to get out of this app: Are you just looking for something that will play fun videos or do you want your little one to be able to engage in educational learning games? Some apps offer personalized learning plans that let you check your progress as you move forward, while others are just for one-off entertainment. Depending on what subject you’re hoping for your child to master and how your child learns best, keep an eye out for the extra features of each app to ensure that they’re the right fit for your family.
✔️ Ease of use: One of the best parts about learning apps is the ability for your child to navigate them on their own. Not only will this help them develop their independence and strengthen their problem-solving skills, but will give you a much needed break while they’re entertained. Make sure the app is intuitive enough for them to handle on their own.
✔️ Age: Make sure your picks are age appropriate for your little one. They are sure to be frustrated and upset if you accidentally put them in 7th grade math while they’re only 8! To get the most benefit out of each app experience, make sure that they’re not learning at too low or too high of a level.
✔️ Price: Many of our favorite picks are free, but a few of the more specialized apps feature paid upgrades or monthly subscriptions with access to all of their unlimited games and videos. Consider how much you’re willing to shell out on apps on a regular basis — if your kids are learning and entertained, it may be worth the splurge!
✔️ Engagement: Keeping your child entertained and engaged is one of the most important aspects of a good app. If your kid isn’t excited to hop on and spend time learning new things, watching videos or playing the app’s games, then it doesn’t matter how helpful the app is if they can’t even be bothered to log in.
Why trust Good Housekeeping?
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The Good Housekeeping Institute provides expert reviews and advice on everything a parent and their kids needs, including educational apps. The testing for this article was overseen by Rachel Rothman, the GH Institute’s Chief Technologist & Director of Engineering. For more than 15 years, Rachel has put her training in mechanical engineering and applied mathematics to work by researching, testing and writing about parenting products. Plus, as a mom to three kids under 5, she has plenty of first-hand experience.
In her role as Parenting & Pets Reviews Analyst, Jamie Spain brings years of experience to the Institute, having reviewed products for Good Housekeeping, as well as BuzzFeed; she has also covered parenting at People.
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