Fully free, free core or free for schools
"Free" means three different things in this list. The official pages put each app in one of these groups:
| Kind | Apps | What the official page says |
|---|---|---|
| Fully free | Khan Academy Kids, Duolingo ABC, PBS KIDS Games, ScratchJr, CodeAI | Khan Academy Kids is 100% free, with no ads or subscriptions; Duolingo ABC has no ads or in-app purchases; CodeAI says student courses, tools and activities are free |
| Open source | GCompris, Tux Paint | GCompris is released under the GNU Affero General Public License; Tux Paint is free of cost and free of advertisements under the GNU GPL |
| Free core, paid extras | Starfall, ANTON, Prodigy | Starfall's free Learn-to-Read program is funded by memberships from $35 a year; ANTON's core content is always free with extras for an annual fee; Prodigy's in-game questions are free and memberships add goals and practice sheets |
| Free for schools only | Epic | Epic School is free for educators with books on weekdays from 7am to 4pm; families get a free trial |
Ages in the table are only those the official pages state. Khan Academy Kids names ages two to eight, PBS KIDS Games ages 2-8, GCompris 2 to 10, Tux Paint 3 to 12, ScratchJr 5-7 and Prodigy Math grades 1-8.
Ads, offline use and data
The "No ads" filter only marks apps whose own page says so: Khan Academy Kids, Duolingo ABC, Starfall (100% ad free), ANTON (cost-free and ad-free learning), Tux Paint and CodeAI, which calls its platform ad-free. The PBS KIDS privacy policy mentions underwriting messages and says children's personal information is not used for marketing or online advertising. For the other apps the pages we checked say nothing about ads either way.
Offline use, as stated on the official pages:
- Khan Academy Kids: books and games can be downloaded for learning on the go.
- Duolingo ABC: the listing says you can play and learn offline.
- PBS KIDS Games: games can be downloaded to play offline.
- GCompris does not require an Internet connection and says it collects no data.
- ANTON lists offline learning among the features of the annual fee, so it is not part of the free plan.
Classroom and teacher accounts
Several apps have a free option for teachers, with different limits:
| App | Free for teachers | Paid for schools |
|---|---|---|
| Prodigy | Teachers get full access for free | Optional parent memberships |
| Epic | Epic School: about 20,000 books, weekdays 7am to 4pm | Epic School Plus: 24/7 access and offline books, price on request |
| ANTON | Teachers can assign tasks in class or as homework | School/District License with analytics and rostering |
| GCompris | GCompris-teachers companion app for custom datasets and pupil results | None |
| Khan Academy Kids | Free app | Khan Academy Kids for Schools with a teacher dashboard, $5 per student |
| Starfall | Free Learn-to-Read program | Educator memberships from $70 a year |
To call on students in turn, the random name picker draws names from a class list, and the countdown timer counts down the days to a date such as the last day of a unit and shares it as a link.
Practice on paper and in the browser
A few of our free tools and printables work next to an app, without an account:
- The flashcard maker makes cards to flip and shuffle on screen, or prints them.
- The times tables guide has the 12 by 12 chart and the pattern behind each table.
- The printable reward chart and kids daily routine chart are PDFs you fill in before printing.
For older learners, our lists of free ways to learn to code, free math tools, free language learning apps and free ebooks are checked the same way.
Frequently asked questions
Which learning apps for kids are free with no ads?
Khan Academy Kids says it is 100% free with no ads or subscriptions, and Duolingo ABC says it has no ads or in-app purchases. Tux Paint is free of cost and free of advertisements. Starfall and ANTON say they are ad-free, with a paid membership or annual fee for extras.
Which kids learning apps work offline?
Khan Academy Kids lets you download books and games, Duolingo ABC says you can play and learn offline, and PBS KIDS Games can download games to play without a connection. GCompris does not require an Internet connection. ANTON's offline learning is part of its paid annual fee.
Is Epic free?
Epic School is free for educators and gives students and teachers about 20,000 books on weekdays from 7am to 4pm. Epic School Plus, with 24/7 access and offline books, is priced on request. For families, the Epic homepage offers a free trial and does not state a price.
What is free on Starfall?
Starfall says its Learn-to-Read program is free for every child, funded by members, and that the site has no advertising. A home membership costs $35 a year with over 700 activities, games and books, and an educator membership starts at $70 a year. Members get activities from Pre-K through 5th grade.
Are there open source learning apps for kids?
Yes. GCompris, with more than 100 activities for ages 2 to 10, is released under the GNU Affero General Public License and runs on Windows, Android, Linux and Raspberry Pi. Tux Paint, a drawing program for ages 3 to 12, is open source under the GNU General Public License.