Preschooler apps combine engaging content with educational value, helping children ages 4-7 develop essential skills while having fun. Finding quality apps that are age-appropriate, educational, and engaging can be challenging for parents. This article highlights excellent apps across different categories that support early childhood development and school readiness. We’ve included a mix of free and paid options to suit different family needs.
Language and Literacy Apps
Khan Academy Kids
Price: Completely free with no ads or subscriptions
Platforms: App Store, Google Play, Amazon
Ages: 3+ years
Standout Feature: Adaptive learning technology that adjusts to each child’s pace and level
Why It’s Great: With over 5,000 lessons and educational games for children aged 2-8, Khan Academy Kids offers a comprehensive curriculum covering math, reading, and social-emotional development. The app regularly adds seasonal content, with the April 2025 update featuring new Earth Day materials including “Insects Up Close” books, colorful videos, and nature-inspired activities.
Parent Quote: “The activities are fun and engaging — and seemingly endless. One minute she’s having a story read to her, the next she’s tracing letters, the next she’s practicing sounds. And we’ve barely even scraped the surface on the math side of things!” -Kate
Duolingo ABC
Price: Free
Platforms: App Store, Google Play
Ages: 3+ years
Standout Feature: Interactive literacy activities for phonics, sight words, and handwriting skills
Why It’s Great: Designed for children aged 3-7, Duolingo ABC helps children learn to read and write in English through bite-sized, engaging lessons. With over 700 hands-on activities, it provides a structured approach to early literacy through multi-sensory activities, including tracing and drag-and-drop prompts.
Parent Quote: “Interactive and fun app, most importantly, it’s free and ad-free! I absolutely love it. Definitely recommended!”
Endless Alphabet
Price: Requires a one-time purchase of S$12.98
Platforms: App Store, Google Play
Ages: 4+ years
Standout Feature: Interactive letter puzzles with playful monster animations that teach pronunciation and vocabulary
Why It’s Great: This app combines adorable monster animations with word puzzles that make learning letters and sounds engaging. Each word features a mini-animation explaining its meaning in a fun way, helping children understand new vocabulary.
Parent Quote: “Endless Alphabet is awesome! My son started sounding out words with guidance at about 32 months thanks to this app.”
Epic!
Price: 30-day free trial; S$9.99/month or S$99.99/year
Platforms: App Store, Google Play, Web Browser
Ages: 4+ years
Standout Feature: Digital library with over 40,000 books, audiobooks, and educational videos
Why It’s Great: Epic! offers a vast selection of reading materials across various subjects and reading levels. The app provides personalized book recommendations based on a child’s interests and reading abilities. The read-to-me functionality supports emerging readers, while interactive quizzes reinforce comprehension.
Parent Quote: “Epic! has transformed our reading routine at home. My kids love exploring new books every day, and I love that they are learning while having fun!”
Lingokids
Price: Free plan with limited access; Premium plan from S$14.99/month or S$89.99/year
Platforms: App Store, Google Play
Ages: 4+ years
Standout Feature: Playlearning™ approach with over 1,200 activities, games, songs, and videos
Why It’s Great: Lingokids combines play and learning seamlessly, teaching literacy, math, and social-emotional skills through interactive activities. The app adapts to each child’s learning pace and offers a safe, ad-free environment for exploration.
Parent Quote: “Lingokids has been a lifesaver! My child loves the interactive games and songs, and I love that he’s learning while having fun. It’s like having a teacher in my pocket!”
Starfall ABCs
Price: Free (basic version)
Platforms: App Store, Google Play
Ages: 4+ years
Standout Feature: Phonics-based learning through interactive levels
Why It’s Great: Starfall ABCs provides a simple yet effective approach to teaching alphabet recognition and letter sounds. The app progresses through levels that build early reading skills in a structured sequence.
Math and Problem-Solving Apps
Moose Math by Duck Duck Moose
Price: Free
Platforms: App Store, Google Play
Ages: 4+ years
Standout Feature: Five engaging math activities in a build-your-own-city framework
Why It’s Great: This award-winning app introduces foundational math concepts to children aged 3-7 through interactive games like Moose Juice (counting, addition, subtraction), Paint Pet (matching by counting dots), and Pet Bingo (solving math problems). Children earn rewards during activities to build and decorate their own virtual city.
Parent Quote: “My kids love building their city while learning math—it’s a win-win!”
Math Kids: Math Games For Kids
Price: Free to download (one time fee of $39.98, monthly/yearly subscription plan available)
Platforms: App Store, Google Play
Ages: 4+ years
Standout Feature: Interactive exercises like counting objects and solving simple puzzles
Why It’s Great: This app focuses on counting, addition, subtraction, and number recognition through activities specifically designed for young children. The easy-to-use interface allows children to navigate independently.
Parent Quote: “A simple yet effective app for teaching early math concepts.”
KooBits
Price: Free plan with limited access; Premium plan from S$9.99/month or S$119.88/year
Platforms: App Store, Google Play, Web Browser
Ages: 4+ years
Standout Feature: Gamified math learning aligned with Singapore’s MOE curriculum
Why It’s Great: KooBits uses a gamified approach to make math exciting for kids through daily challenges, leaderboards, and rewards. The app adapts to each child’s learning pace and provides targeted exercises based on their strengths and areas for improvement.
Parent Quote: “KooBits has transformed the way my child approaches math. He used to find it boring, but now he looks forward to solving the daily challenges. His confidence has improved so much!”
Busy Shapes
Price: Free version includes limited content (10 levels); full version available as one-time purchase S$3.98
Platforms: App Store, Google Play
Ages: 4+ years
Standout Feature: Montessori-inspired shape matching with progressive difficulty
Why It’s Great: Inspired by Montessori principles, Busy Shapes helps children develop spatial reasoning, problem-solving skills, and fine motor coordination. Children drag and drop shapes into matching holes, with levels that increase in complexity to introduce new challenges.
Parent Quote: “Watching my child learn shapes through this app is amazing—it’s simple yet effective!”
Creative and Educational Play Apps
PBS Kids Games
Price: Free
Platforms: App Store, Google Play
Ages: 4+ years
Standout Feature: 250+ educational games featuring beloved PBS characters like Daniel Tiger, Wild Kratts, and more
Why It’s Great: This app offers a safe, ad-free environment where children can learn basic concepts through games featuring familiar PBS characters. Recent updates have introduced exciting new content, including games from “Skillsville” (March 2025) – an animated series that helps kids develop future career skills – and “City Island” (December 2024).
Parent Quote: “My child loves playing with Elmo while learning numbers!”
Toca Boca World
Price: Free with in-app purchases for additional gameplay and items
Platforms: App Store, Google Play
Ages: 4+ years
Standout Feature: Character creation tools, home designer, and multiple exploration locations
Why It’s Great: Toca Boca World encourages creative exploration and imaginative play without time limits or scoring. Children can design characters, customize spaces, and engage in open-ended roleplay scenarios. Weekly gifts and regular updates keep the content fresh and engaging.
ScratchJr
Price: Free
Platforms: App Store, Google Play, Amazon Appstore, Desktop
Ages: 4+ years
Standout Feature: Drag-and-drop coding interface designed for young learners
Why It’s Great: Developed by MIT Media Lab, ScratchJr introduces children aged 5-7 to the basics of programming through a simple interface where they can create interactive stories, animations, and games. With no reading required, it’s accessible to young learners and focuses on fostering creativity and logical thinking.
Parent Quote: “ScratchJr has been amazing for my child! It’s so simple to use, yet it teaches important skills like sequencing and problem-solving. I love watching her create her own little animations!”
CodeSpark Academy
Price: 7-day free trial; S$14.99/month or S$119.99/year
Platforms: App Store, Google Play, Amazon Appstore, Web Browser
Ages: 6-8 years
Standout Feature: Word-free coding with daily challenges and creative mode
Why It’s Great: CodeSpark Academy uses a visual, drag-and-drop interface to teach children aged 5-10 the fundamentals of coding through interactive games and puzzles. The “Create” mode allows kids to design their own games and animations, fostering creativity alongside computational thinking.
Parent Quote: “CodeSpark Academy has been amazing for my daughter! She loves creating her own games and solving puzzles, and I love that she’s learning valuable skills like logic and problem-solving without even realizing it!”
Language Learning Apps
NLB Mobile (National Library Board Singapore)
Price: Free
Platforms: App Store, Google Play
Ages: 4+ years
Standout Feature: Access to a wide variety of children’s books, including animated and narrated titles via Tumblebooks extension
Why It’s Great: This app offers Singapore parents access to a huge library of free books for children, fostering early reading habits without any cost. The January 2025 update introduced two exciting features: a personalized “Discover feed” that provides bite-sized content including video and audio clips, articles, and images; and “Saved Lists” that allow parents to create multiple book collections to share with family and friends.
Parent Quote: “The read-along feature is perfect for introducing my child to books, and the new Discover feed keeps things fresh with daily content!”
LingoAce
Price: Free trial available; Premium plans starting at S$20-S$30 per class
Platforms: App Store, Google Play, Web Browser
Ages: 4+ years
Standout Feature: Live interactive Chinese language classes with native-speaking teachers
Why It’s Great: LingoAce offers personalized Chinese language instruction aligned with Singapore’s MOE syllabus. Through live one-on-one or small group classes, children learn vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure in an engaging, interactive environment that incorporates games and animations.
Parent Quote: “LingoAce has been a game-changer for my child’s Chinese learning journey. The teachers are patient and engaging, and my child looks forward to every class. I’ve seen noticeable improvement in her speaking and writing skills!”
Video Content
YouTube Kids
Price: Free
Platforms: App Store, Google Play, smart TVs (LG, Samsung, Sony)
Ages: 3+ years
Standout Feature: Age-categorized content modes (Preschool for ages 4 and under, Younger for ages 5-8, Older for ages 9+)
Why It’s Great: YouTube Kids provides a safer video-watching experience with robust parental controls including content filtering, time limits, and watch history review. Parents can create custom playlists of appropriate videos for unsupervised viewing.
What Makes These Apps Great for Preschoolers (Ages 4-7)
The apps recommended above share important features that make them ideal for this age group:
Age-appropriate content: Designed specifically for preschool and early elementary developmental stages
Curriculum alignment: Many apps follow educational standards relevant to this age group
Increasing difficulty levels: Content that grows with your child’s abilities
Engaging but not overstimulating: Designed to hold attention without causing sensory overload
Balance of guidance and independence: Supportive enough for young users but encouraging independent exploration
Focus on foundational skills: Emphasis on early literacy, numeracy, and critical thinking
Making the Most of App Time
To maximize the benefits of these apps:
Set clear boundaries: Establish consistent limits on screen time
Be involved: Ask questions about what your child is learning
Apply learning offline: Connect digital concepts to real-world activities
Create a balanced routine: Mix digital learning with physical play and social interaction
Review content regularly: Check that apps continue to be appropriate as your child develops
These preschooler apps offer valuable learning opportunities while keeping children engaged and entertained. By choosing thoughtfully designed apps and guiding your child’s digital experience, you can support their development during these crucial early learning years.
Looking for apps for younger children? Check out our article on Toddler Friendly Apps for recommendations suitable for children ages 2-4.
