Khan Academy Kids
Free, ad-free, and the usual first recommendation for a tablet app. The child plays independently across reading, math, logic and social-emotional content.
On the screen: The child
Kindy vs Khan Academy Kids →Early learning tools for ages 3 to 5 · Updated September 4, 2026
Early learning tools for 3 to 5 year olds, compared honestly
Parents preparing a child for kindergarten choose between five kinds of tool: free learning apps, paid learning apps, online curricula, printed or PDF homeschool programs, and play kit subscriptions. Kindy is a sixth kind, a parent-led curriculum that adapts to the child. This page explains each kind, gives the facts on the best-known products, and links to a fair one-to-one comparison with Kindy for each.
We built Kindy, so we have a view. We also spend our days talking to parents who have tried most of what is on this page, and the honest answer is that every tool here is the right choice for someone. The wrong choice is the one that does not match how your family actually spends its afternoons.
Every fact below was checked on September 4, 2026, against the product's own site or a dated review, and each comparison page links to its sources. If you sell one of these products and something is out of date, tell us and we will fix it.
The six kinds of tool, in one minute
- Free learning apps. The child plays on a tablet, the app is free and ad-free. Khan Academy Kids is the standard. Great value; the parent is mostly not involved.
- Paid learning apps. The child plays on a screen and the family pays a subscription. ABCmouse, HOMER, Lingokids, Reading Eggs and Hooked on Phonics. Big libraries, progress tracking, and more screen time.
- Online curricula. A full school-at-home program delivered through a browser, graded automatically. Time4Learning is the best known for preschool. Structured, and priced like a school.
- Printed and PDF curricula. A book or PDF the parent teaches from, in a fixed order. The Good and the Beautiful, Playing Preschool, Meadowlark Learning, Blossom and Root and The Peaceful Preschool. Screen-free and one-time purchases; the parent does all the pacing.
- Play kits. Physical toys shipped by age with a guide for the parent. Lovevery is the category. Beautiful materials, chosen by birthday rather than by what the child can do.
- Parent-led adaptive curriculum. The parent teaches, the app decides what to teach next based on how yesterday went. This is Kindy. Screen-free for the child, placed by ability, one 10 to 15 minute activity a day.
Free learning apps
If a child will be on a screen anyway, a free, ad-free app with a real curriculum behind it is hard to argue with. The trade is that the app does the teaching and the parent watches a dashboard.
Paid learning apps
These are the products most parents mean when they say 'a learning app'. The child plays, the app tracks, and the subscription renews. Prices, trials and cancellation terms differ more than the content does, so we list them exactly as published.
ABCmouse
Ages 2-8 · $14.99/month with a 30-day trial, or $45 first year then $59.99/year
The biggest brand in paid kids' learning apps. Thirteen thousand activities across reading, math, science, art and music, worked through by the child on a screen.
On the screen: The child
Kindy vs ABCmouse →HOMER
Ages 2-8 · About $9.99/month or $59.99/year after a 30-day trial; published prices vary, check the live checkout
A reading-first learning app for ages 2 to 8 from Begin, with a personalized pathway by age and interests. The child plays; the parent watches progress.
On the screen: Parent and child
Kindy vs HOMER →Hooked on Phonics
Ages Pre-K through 2nd grade (site lists ages 3-8; whats-included page notes 'most children start around age 3-4') · App plus kit plans $23.96 to $31.99/month; app only $7.99/month or $79.99/year
The 1987 reading brand, relaunched as an app plus monthly shipped workbooks. Forty-two phonics levels from pre-reader to second grade; the child uses the app, the parent runs the workbook.
On the screen: The child
Kindy vs Hooked on Phonics →Lingokids
Ages 2-8 · Free Basic tier (about 10 activities a day); Plus about $15/month or $72 to $90/year
A playful, English-immersive app for ages 2 to 8 with a free daily tier. Built with Oxford University Press for English learners; the child plays.
On the screen: The child
Kindy vs Lingokids →Reading Eggs
Ages 2-13 · $9.99/month or $69.99/year for reading; $13.99/month with Mathseeds; 30-day trial
A structured, placement-tested reading program for ages 2 to 13 from Australia, used in 16,000 schools. The child works on a screen; the parent gets detailed reports.
On the screen: The child
Kindy vs Reading Eggs →Online curricula
A browser-based school for homeschool families, with lessons, grading and reports. More structure than an app, more cost, and still the child on a screen.
Time4Learning
Ages PreK-12 (Preschool level: PreK 1 and PreK 2, typically 3-4 year olds per customer reviews on the preschool product page) · $39.95/month per student; about 30% off annual; sibling discounts
A full online homeschool curriculum, PreK to 12, with automated grading and reports. The child works in a browser for 30 to 60 minutes a day.
On the screen: The child
Kindy vs Time4Learning →Printed and PDF homeschool curricula
The parent teaches from a book. These are the closest cousins to Kindy: screen-free, parent-led, hands-on. The difference is that a book cannot know your child, so every family works through the same fixed order and decides for themselves what to skip or repeat.
Blossom and Root Early Years
Ages Vol. 1: 2-4; Vol. 2: 4-5 ("this decision should be based on your child's individual needs" per their own FAQ) · $22 (Volume 1) or $45 (Volume 2) as PDFs, one-time; $59 for both
A gentle, secular, nature-based PDF curriculum built around library books, art and the outdoors. $22 to $45 one-time; 30 to 60 minutes a day, parent-led and screen-free.
On the screen: Nobody
Kindy vs Blossom and Root Early Years →Meadowlark Learning Preschool Homeschool Curriculum
Ages 3-5 (product page notes some families report success with 2.5-year-olds and young kindergarteners) · $64.99 one-time, print with Play Pack or PDF; about $75 to $83 for both
The rising secular name: 90 scripted, open-and-go lessons with Simplify and Expand options, Science of Reading aligned, $64.99 one-time in print or PDF.
On the screen: Nobody
Kindy vs Meadowlark Learning Preschool Homeschool Curriculum →Playing Preschool
Ages 2.5 to 5 years old · $39.90 per year of curriculum as a PDF, one-time; $69.80 for both years
The mom-favourite from Busy Toddler: 190 days of play-based preschool in a one-time PDF, about 45 to 60 minutes a day, secular, parent-led and screen-free.
On the screen: Nobody
Kindy vs Playing Preschool →The Good and the Beautiful Preschool Course
Ages 3 and older (product page); FAQ/marketing elsewhere also states 2.5+ · $15 PDF or $17.99 print for the course book; $48.97 full print set, one-time
The best-known homeschool preschool course book: 90 scripted, colourful lessons, faith-based and non-denominational, from $15 one-time. Parent-led and screen-free.
On the screen: Nobody
Kindy vs The Good and the Beautiful Preschool Course →The Peaceful Preschool
Ages 3-5 · $49 PDF or $99 print bundle, one-time
A gentle letter-of-the-week program: 26 weeks of picture books, crafts, practical life and counting, faith-friendly, $49 PDF or $99 print. Parent-led and screen-free.
On the screen: Nobody
Kindy vs The Peaceful Preschool →Play kit subscriptions
Toys and materials shipped by age, with a parent guide. Lovely to unbox, and screen-free. Kits are chosen by birthday, not by ability, and the parent still decides what to do each day.
The Play Kits
Ages 0-5 (Play Kits are sold for birth through age 4; company site describes play essentials for ages 0-4/0-5 across the two shop domains) · $120 per Play Kit every 3 months for ages 1 to 4 (about $480/year); $80 per kit under age 1
The screen-free, Montessori-influenced play kit brand. Toys shipped by age every three months with a parent guide; $120 per kit for ages 1 to 4.
On the screen: Nobody
Kindy vs The Play Kits →Doing it yourself
Free printables, Pinterest boards, letter-of-the-week crafts. This is where most parents start, including on our own free letter pages. It costs nothing but time, and nothing keeps track.
Free printables and Pinterest
Ages Any; most free preschool printables target ages 3 to 5 · Free, plus paper, ink and your planning time
Where most families start, including on our own free letter pages. Free, unlimited, and nothing keeps track of what your child can do or what comes next.
On the screen: The parent only
Kindy vs Free printables and Pinterest →Where Kindy fits
Kindy is for the parent who wants to do the teaching and does not want to do the planning. You answer a free five-minute readiness check about what your child can already do. Kindy builds a curriculum from that, not from the child's birthday, and each day hands you one 10 to 15 minute activity with exactly what to do and say. One tap on how it went, and tomorrow adjusts.
It is not a screen for the child. It is not a fixed book. It is not a box of toys. It is the plan behind whatever you already have at home, for $9.99 a month, cancel anytime.
- Choose Kindy if you want to teach your child yourself in 10 to 15 minutes a day and want to know it is working
- Choose a free or paid app if you need something the child can do alone on a tablet
- Choose a printed curriculum if you love a book in hand and are happy to set the pace yourself
- Choose a play kit if beautiful physical materials matter most and budget is not the constraint
Questions parents ask
What is the best preschool learning app?
It depends on who is meant to use it. For a child playing alone on a tablet, Khan Academy Kids is free and ad-free and is the usual first recommendation; ABCmouse and HOMER offer bigger paid libraries. For a parent who wants to teach the child themselves, Kindy is built for that: the parent uses the app, the child never does.
Do preschoolers need an app or a curriculum at all?
No. Children learn from play and conversation with the adults around them. What a good tool adds is a sequence and a memory: knowing what comes next and what to revisit. That is why a fixed curriculum helps, and why one that adapts to the child helps more.
Is screen time bad for a 3 to 5 year old?
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests limiting screen use for ages 2 to 5 to about one hour a day of high-quality content, ideally watched together. Every app on this page counts toward that hour. Kindy, printed curricula and play kits do not, because the child is not on a screen.
How do I know if my child is ready for kindergarten?
Readiness is a picture, not a score: letters and numbers, but also listening to a two-step direction, managing the bathroom, separating from you, taking turns. Our free readiness check covers all of it in about five minutes and shows what is already strong and where a little attention helps.
How were these comparisons written?
Each product's facts were collected from its own website and dated third-party reviews on September 4, 2026, and every page lists its sources. We state where the other product is the better choice. We make Kindy, and we say so on every page.