The best truly-free apps for ages 2–5

"Free" usually isn't. Most free kids' apps pay for themselves with ads, in-app purchases, or your child's data. These are the ones we've reviewed that don't — free to download, no ads, no in-app purchases — ranked by our overall score.

Free to downloadNo ads shown to kidsNo in-app purchases

Drawn from all 18 apps we've scored · same rubric, honest numbers · verified from live App Store & Google Play data.

The picks — ranked

1
Khan Academy Kids
A rare, no-catch “hand it over.”
9.9/10
No adsNo purchasesShares nothing
Read the full review →
2
PBS Kids Games
Public-media wholesome, and it shows.
9.4/10
No adsNo purchasesShares nothing
Read the full review →
3
Starfall Learn to Read
An old-school phonics workhorse.
9.3/10
No adsNo purchasesShares nothing
Read the full review →
4
Learn to Read - Duolingo ABC
Free and ad-free to use — but it shares data.
8.6/10
No adsNo purchasesShares data
The one catch: it shares data with third parties — the reason it lands here rather than higher. Still genuinely free and ad-free.
Read the full review →

Side by side

App	Overall	Safety	Ads	Purchases	Shares data	Price
Khan Academy Kids	9.9	10	None	None	No	Free
PBS Kids Games	9.4	9	None	None	No	Free
Starfall Learn to Read	9.3	9	None	None	No	Free
Learn to Read - Duolingo ABC	8.6	6	None	None	Yes	Free

How we picked

No opinions — just the data. We start from every app we've scored and keep only the ones the store data shows are free to download, with no ads and no in-app purchases — then rank them by overall score. Every number is pulled from live App Store and Google Play data and verified by a real parent before it publishes. Reviews are informational — not a guarantee of safety.