The App Store has roughly four thousand apps with "kids" and "learning" in the title. Most of them are fine. A few of them are genuinely good. A handful are the kind of thing you'd let your kid use every day without feeling like you're handing them a distraction machine wrapped in primary colors.
This is the short list — five apps that are actually worth the space on your child's iPad, covering different subjects and age ranges. One of them is ours. We've been honest about the rest.
1. Khan Academy Kids — Best Overall (Completely Free)
There are very few apps where "free" and "excellent" are both genuinely true, but Khan Academy Kids is one of them. No subscription, no ads, no in-app purchases — just a comprehensive early learning curriculum that covers reading, writing, math, and social-emotional skills from the same organization behind one of the most trusted names in education.
It was developed with learning experts from Stanford and has received the Parents' Choice Gold Award. The content is research-backed and adapts to each child's pace. The characters are charming without being annoying, which is harder to pull off than it sounds.
If you're only going to download one app from this list, this is the one. The fact that it costs nothing is almost suspicious.
Best for: Ages 2–8 | Price: Completely free
2. PBS KIDS Games — Best for Familiar Characters (Free)
If your child watches Daniel Tiger, Curious George, Wild Kratts, or any of the other PBS staples, they're already emotionally invested in these characters — which turns out to be a genuinely useful advantage in education. Kids learn better from things they're already engaged with, and the PBS characters have decades of trust built up.
The app has 280+ games covering math, reading, science, and problem-solving. The quality varies across the library — some games are excellent, some are more basic — but the breadth is impressive and there's no shortage of content. It's free and it was named Kidscreen's Best Games App in 2025.
Good for: using a familiar format to introduce new skills without the "this is learning" energy that makes some kids check out.
Best for: Ages 2–8 | Price: Free
3. Kids Dictionary — Best for Vocabulary (Free)
We make this one, so take that as you will. But vocabulary specifically is worth calling out as its own category of educational app — and it's underserved relative to math and reading.
Vocabulary size in early childhood is one of the strongest predictors of reading success later on. Kids who know more words read better; kids who read better learn more words. It's a cycle that's worth starting early, and a clean, focused dictionary app is a more useful vocabulary tool than a general reading app that touches on words as a side effect of stories.
Kids Dictionary is free to download, covers hundreds of words with images, audio pronunciation, and kid-friendly definitions, and has no ads. The extended dictionary (1,000+ words) requires a subscription. It pairs well with Khan Academy Kids or PBS — those apps handle the broad curriculum, this one goes deep on vocabulary specifically.
Best for: Ages 4–10 | Price: Free (extended dictionary available)
4. Lingokids – Play and Learn — Best for Comprehensive Coverage (Subscription)
Lingokids goes wide — literacy, math, science, social-emotional learning, life skills — and it does it with content from impressive partners: Disney, Oxford University Press, NASA, and Blippi, among others. It's trusted by 160 million families, which is a number that's hard to argue with.
The app is fully ad-free and works offline, which makes it genuinely travel-friendly. Up to four child profiles means siblings can each have their own progress tracked separately. The subscription is $14.99/month, which is real money — worth it if your child engages with it regularly, less so if it becomes background noise after a week.
The breadth is both its strength and potential weakness. It covers so much that it can feel slightly unfocused compared to apps that go deep on one subject. But if you're looking for one subscription to cover most bases for a young child, it's one of the stronger options.
Best for: Ages 2–8 | Price: Free to download; $14.99/month subscription
5. SplashLearn – Best for Math + ELA Together (Free with Premium Option)
SplashLearn covers math and English Language Arts from Pre-K through Grade 5, which makes it useful for a wider age range than most early childhood apps. The adaptive engine adjusts difficulty based on how the child is doing, so it's not just a static set of activities — it responds to what the child knows and what they're struggling with.
It's a solid homework complement for school-age kids. The gamification is present but not overwhelming. Parent progress reports are detailed enough to actually be useful rather than just vanity metrics. The free version has meaningful content; the premium subscription expands access significantly.
Best for: Ages 3–11 | Price: Free (premium subscription available)
The Honest Takeaway
The best combination for most families with young children is probably: Khan Academy Kids for broad early learning (it's free, use it), PBS KIDS Games for recognizable characters making learning feel like play, and Kids Dictionary for vocabulary specifically. That's three apps, two of which are completely free and one of which has a meaningful free tier.
For older kids who are in school and need math and ELA support, SplashLearn fills that gap well. And if you want everything under one roof and you're willing to pay a subscription, Lingokids covers a lot of ground.
None of these have mortgage ads. All of them are safe for kids. That's apparently the bar and also apparently harder to clear than it should be.
Kids Dictionary is free to download — vocabulary with pictures, audio, and no ads.
Download Kids Dictionary Free