19 best apps for preschoolers (2026)

Our top pick: a full early learning path with reading, math and feelings, with no ads and no in-app purchases. It adapts to your child.

Hundreds of games with familiar PBS characters, each tied to a skill. Free, no ads, and many games work offline on trips. Our pick for car rides.

Free episodes of research-backed shows like Daniel Tiger, Wild Kratts and Sesame Street, with no ads to kids. There is a live stream, too, if your child wants to watch along with the broadcast.

Videos, games and storybooks from Sesame Street in one app, from the team that wrote the book on kids' TV research. There are no ads aimed at kids.

Short, playful lessons on letters, sounds and early reading from Duolingo. Free and without ads. Lessons take only a few minutes, so it fits a short screen-time window before or after school.

A calm, Montessori-inspired digital playroom with no levels, scores or ads. Kids explore, build and pretend at their own pace. New toys are added to the playroom regularly.

Watch for: The subscription auto-renews after the free trial.

Open-ended pretend play worlds with gentle characters. Great for creativity and storytelling rather than academics. There is no reading needed and no scores or timers, so toddlers can play freely.

Montessori-style lessons for letters, numbers, shapes, colors and music, with a parent dashboard to see progress. It adapts to each child's level, and lessons are short enough for small attention spans.

Cute monsters make letters and words fun. Endless Alphabet is the classic first word app, and Endless Reader covers sight words. No scores or timers.

A structured phonics and early reading program with research behind it, plus math and social skills. Short daily lessons fit a toddler's attention span and adapt to what your child already knows.

Physics and logic puzzles where kids roll characters through mazes and figure out what floats, melts or bounces. Puzzles get harder slowly, so kids keep trying instead of giving up.

Licensed play apps like LEGO DUPLO and Peppa Pig, plus interactive storybooks, from an Irish studio. Most apps are a one-time purchase or part of a subscription with many brands in one place.

Watch for: Some apps push upgrades and add-on packs.

Phonics games built with reading experts. Free on the web; the app costs a small fee on some devices. Built with a UK children's charity.

Simple phonics songs and stories, a classic for pre-K and kindergarten. Much of it is free in the browser. No ads to kids on the free part.

First coding with picture blocks, from MIT and Tufts. Best for five-year-olds and up, with a parent nearby. Kids make simple stories and games with no reading needed to get started.

Over a thousand games across letters, math, art and social skills. The maker says it has no ads and no in-app purchases. Parental controls set time limits.

Watch for: Easy to forget the trial ends.

Songs and games teaching English and early skills, popular worldwide. The free tier is limited. Good for families learning English together, with short games that suit a few minutes a day.

Watch for: Frequent prompts to upgrade to a paid plan.

Beautiful explorable science apps about the human body, plants, weather and simple machines. Each app is a one-time purchase with no ads, and they work well for curious kids who love to poke around.

A filtered version of YouTube for kids under 13. Use 'approved content only' mode so you pick every channel. Set it up with a parent profile first.

Watch for: Filtered, not curated. Odd and AI-made videos still slip in; turn off search and autoplay.