Best Preschool Apps / 2020 Update

We Reviewed Dozens Of The Best Preschool Apps So You Don’t Have To. Here Are Our Top Picks.

The preschool years are a time for building foundations and for exploring the world. Kids need loads of different kinds of experiences with real world information, activities, letters, numbers, and many other things. They also need to build their readiness skills in preparation for formal learning when they get to elementary school.

Apps for preschoolers can open up a world of possibilities and fun for young children who are really starting to get interested in the world and are learning at a very fast pace. Here are some fun and educational apps for preschoolers that we rated and loved.

Top Apps for Preschool

The best educational apps for preschoolers is probably our most requested category of apps. That’s why we work hard to make sure we’ve got nothing but the best apps chosen for preschoolers. Here are some fun and educational apps for 3 to 4 year old children that are around preschool age.

At this age kids are really accelerating their learning. They are sponges and all information is quickly processed. The right apps for preschoolers can open up a world of possibilities and fun (not to mention really accelerating their rate of learning). Here are some fun and educational apps for preschoolers that we rated and loved.

Rather than mindless video-game playing we chose apps that we think can truly use new technology as a tool to teach kids under five. Our app reviews for preschoolers will guide you toward the best apps out there. We cover all the basics that preschoolers should be focused on, things like learning their ABCs, 123s, shapes, colors, sounds, animals and much more.

While free preschool apps are great, we also included paid apps we thought were worth paying for. So here we have compiled a list of our favorite iPhone/iPad/Android apps for preschoolers.

Other App Categories: App by Grade, Apps by Age, Apps by Topic

Top Apps for Preschool

Grandma’s Preschool

iOS App Store

Grandma’s Preschool is a great virtual learning app with lots of fun, interactive learning games and activities for children to explore. There are games, challenges, and puzzles to solve. Plus, kids can watch real children at school in high-quality narrated videos from around the world.

The app costs $3.99. It features 11 games and 13 videos.

Read A Review

Read A Review.

Monkey Preschool Explorers

iOS App Store / Google Play Store

Lead the way by learning the fundamentals of early education: numbers, upper and lower case letters, colors, shapes and more. Kids can play matching games and build their working memory skills. The app features over 100 thought-provoking puzzles. Plus, it has monkeys! It’s hard to resist zipping monkeys around the screen in Rovers where they can jump ramps and drag race.

The app costs $2.99. It has a great rating on both App Stores, so it’s definitely worth a look.

Read Review.

AlphaTots Alphabet

iOS App Store / Google Play Store

Fun tool for helping children learn the alphabet. Filled with creative and clever interactive activities, the app reinforces letters. There are 26 fun puzzles and mini-games. An interactive alphabet will help the kids learn to recite their ABCs, and an alphabet sing-along song will help them remember what they are learning.

The app costs $2.99, and includes both capital and lower case versions of every letter.

Read Review.

PeekABoo Barn

iOS App Store

Younger preschoolers and even toddlers will love tapping on the barn’s doors and windows to reveal animated animals. They can learn about cause and effect and animals and their sounds. One unique feature of this app is that you can change languages to any of 10 different choices from around the world, and you can record your own responses.

The app costs $1.99. There is also a sister app for older children called PeekaBoo Barn Farm Day that your child might enjoy.

Beck and Bo

iOS App Store / Google Play Store

Beck and Bo is a fun educational app that is sure to engage your little kids in a creative way, while helping them build their vocabulary. Kids can build on 12 thematic scenes to create activities in this app by dragging and dropping characters, animals, and objects. Each will help them build functional vocabulary.

The app costs $2.99. It will foster pretend play as well as language.

Read Review

Read Review.

Endless Reader

iOS App Store / Google Play Store

This app introduces “sight words”, the most commonly used words in school, library, and children’s books. Kids need to recognize these words by sight in order to achieve reading fluency. There are 6 words included in this free sample version, and 10 additional word packs available for $5.99 each. There are word puzzles and sentence puzzles.

The app is free to download and offers in-app purchases. It’s crucial for children to learn to recognize these words, so this app will really help them begin to read.

Read Review.

ABC’s: Alphabet Learning Game

iOS App Store / Google Play Store

Toddlers and tots will love learning about reading and writing with the ABC’s: Alphabet Learning Game. It’s designed to introduce your little ones to the wonderful world words. A helpful parrot named VocabuLarry will be their guide through animated and engaging activities.

The app is free to download and use. It’s a colorful introduction to the alphabet and first words.

Eli Explorer

iOS App Store

Here’s fun in 10 languages! This app includes 100 first words and phrases in each of 10 languages. Kids can explore in their primary language, then expand to learn a bit about the others. There are hidden animations and interactions to discover so kids will stay engaged as they search.

The app costs $1.99. It has a high rating from other users, so check it out!

Bubble Puppy: Play & Learn

iOS App Store / Google Play Store

Send your child swimming into a fin-tastic play date with Bubble Puppy! Kids can dress him up in fun outfits, feed him all kinds of treats and groom him. This game features 6 curriculum levels for each game, so you can customize exactly which skill level is right for your child. There are five different games, covering everything from readiness skills to social-emotional skills.

The app costs $3.99 on the App Store and $2.99 on Google Play. Thousands of people have been enjoying Bubble Puppy. Why not your child?

Dr. Panda & Toto’s Treehouse

iOS App Store / Google Play Store

“I live in a big treehouse all by myself, and I need you to help me make food, wash up, and of course play together! We can play basketball or go on the tire swing.” There are basketball games and bubble games. Toto the Turtle’s Treehouse has lots to explore. Toto is much like a real friend, in that he will let your child know exactly how he feels.

The app costs $3.99. It’s a great way for kids to learn and play in a safe digital environment.

Daniel Tiger’s Day & Night

iOS App Store / Google Play Store

Learn about morning and bedtime routines with PBS KIDS’ Daniel Tiger. Help Daniel get ready for school in the morning and for bed at night through imaginative play. This app includes 8 games related to day and nighttime routines. There are sing-along songs, and even a musical timer to help keep children’s routines on track.

The app costs $2.99. Parents will love inviting Daniel Tiger into their lives because he sets such a positive and uplifting example.

Alphabet Zoo

iOS App Store

This app helps children begin to associate primary sounds with each letter, which is an important foundational skill for learning to read. Learning the alphabet is so much more than simply reciting the ABCs! Help your child lay the groundwork for successful reading in kindergarten and first grade with this fun app.

The app costs ninety-nine cents. It includes in-app purchase options for assessment and/or a trucks theme for ninety-nine cents each.

My Very Hungry Caterpillar

iOS App Store / Google Play Store

Eric Carle’s beloved caterpillar comes to life in this fun app. Children will delight as the caterpillar crawls across the screen and will have a great time playing games with him and exploring his world. Play and play and play, discovering new games and animations. And each time kids play, the caterpillar grows larger and larger until finally, one day, it becomes a beautiful butterfly. The butterfly lays an egg and the whole adventure begins again.

This app costs $5.99 on the App Store. It’s free on Google Play with in-app purchases of $4.99 per item.

AniMatch: Animal Matching Game

iOS App Store / Google Play Store

This animal matching game is perfect for preschoolers. The buttons are big and the animals make great sounds. They even do a little jiggle when successfully matched. Your child will be delighted. The game has a single player and two-player modes. There are 31 animals all together, but only ten are used in each game, so kids will discover new animals when they play.

The app costs just ninety-nine cents. It’s a great remake of a classic game.

Jumpstart Preschool Magic of Learning

iOS App Store

15 games teach 10 basic preschool skills in this versatile app. There are letters to learn, colors and shapes to match, and much, much more. Jumpstart has decades of experience with development of learning systems for kids of all ages, and they’ve got a winner here.

The app costs $1.99 and will help your kids learn important skills before they hit the doors of kindergarten.