The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Tablet for Your Kids in 2025

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Navigating the world of technology for your children can feel overwhelming, but finding the right tablet doesn't have to be. We've rigorously tested and evaluated numerous options to bring you the definitive guide to the best tablets for kids in 2025. Whether you're looking for a device for a toddler, a grade-schooler, or a teenager, we've got you covered with our top recommendations.

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Our Top Picks at a Glance:

• Top Pick: Apple iPad (9th Generation) - The best overall tablet for kids, offering a fantastic balance of user-friendliness, performance, a vast selection of kid-appropriate apps, and a reasonable price.
• Runner-Up: Apple iPad (10th Generation) - A worthy upgrade, especially for older kids and adults, with enhanced features like a better FaceTime camera and faster processing.
• Budget Pick: Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids - An affordable and durable option perfect for younger children (ages 3-7), ideal for video watching and basic educational apps.
• Alternative Budget Pick for Older Kids: Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro - Similar to the standard Kids version but designed for older kids (ages 6-12), offering access to a digital store for purchasing apps and games.

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Everything We Recommend:

Our recommendations cater to various age groups and needs. Here’s a comprehensive list of the tablets we believe stand out:

• Apple iPad (9th Generation): Our top pick for its all-around excellence. It’s a capable device that handles schoolwork, games, and creative activities with ease. You can find the 64 GB version at Best Buy for around $200 and at Walmart for approximately $275.
• Apple iPad (10th Generation): While slightly pricier, this newer model offers improvements that older children and adults will appreciate. Keep an eye on retailers like Apple, Best Buy, and Amazon for the latest pricing.
• Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids: The go-to budget option for younger kids. It’s slow but inexpensive and excellent for video consumption. You can purchase it from Amazon and Best Buy for around $85.
• Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro: This version offers the same hardware as the standard Kids model but provides older children with access to a digital store. It's available on Amazon for around $85 and sometimes cheaper at Best Buy for around $65.

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What to Consider When Buying a Tablet for Your Child:

Choosing the right tablet for your child involves several key considerations:

• Durability: Kids can be tough on their devices, so a robust build or the availability of sturdy cases is crucial.
• App Selection: Ensure the tablet offers access to a wide range of age-appropriate and educational apps, as well as games and video streaming services your child enjoys.
• Parental Controls: Look for tablets with strong parental control features that allow you to manage screen time, filter content, and monitor your child's activity.
• Storage: Consider how much storage your child will need for apps, games, and downloaded videos.
• Performance: The tablet should be responsive enough to run the apps and games your child wants to use without lagging.
• Price: Determine your budget and find a tablet that offers the best value for your needs.

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How We Picked the Best Tablets for Kids:

Our recommendations are based on extensive testing and research. We spent countless hours evaluating iPads and Android tablets. To ensure our picks truly met the needs of families, we also surveyed parents on our staff. They shared their priorities, which included durability, a wide selection of apps (especially for education, video streaming, gaming, and reading), robust parental controls, sufficient storage, and good performance. The consensus was that parents wanted a tablet to last at least three years and ideally cost around $300 or less. Cameras were deemed less important, and most parents indicated their kids would primarily use the tablet at home. We also specifically tested the parental control features of various tablets to ensure they were effective and user-friendly.

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Should Kids Use a Tablet?

Tablets offer more than just entertainment for kids. They can be powerful educational tools, engaging toys, and portable gaming devices. Whether it's keeping them occupied during long journeys, utilizing school-provided educational apps, practicing essential skills like math and reading, or fostering their creativity through art and music applications, tablets offer a versatile platform. While some parents have concerns about screen time, many experts agree that it’s not inherently negative when carefully managed and supervised, especially for older children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics provides guidelines on screen time, recommending limited or no screen time for very young children and emphasizing the importance of parental involvement for toddlers. For preschoolers, they suggest limiting screen time to about an hour per day. Organizations like Common Sense Media encourage parents to focus on the quality and age-appropriateness of content, ensuring a positive experience and balancing screen time with other crucial activities like sleep, family time, and outdoor play. Compared to smartphones, tablets generally offer a larger screen, making them easier for kids to use and for parents to monitor. Additionally, the Wi-Fi-only nature of most recommended models simplifies the management of their online activities.

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The Best Tablet for Your Kid Might Be Your Old One

Before rushing out to buy a brand-new tablet, consider if you already have one lying around that isn't getting much use. In many cases, an older tablet can be perfectly adequate for your child's needs. Even better, if you're considering upgrading your own tablet, passing down your old one creates a win-win situation.

iPads, in particular, make excellent hand-me-downs. Apple continues to support iPads as old as the 7th generation (released in 2019) with regular software updates. This means they'll still be compatible with the latest apps and games and should perform well enough for most tasks. While you might not want to purchase a very old iPad if you don't already own one, any iPad capable of running the current version of iPadOS should be sufficiently fast for most kids' activities. You can also find a wide variety of childproof cases to enhance their durability.

Amazon Fire tablets, however, might not be the best candidates for hand-me-downs, especially if they're a couple of years old. While Amazon does provide software updates for a few years, their hardware is generally less powerful than that of iPads. By the time a Fire tablet is ready to be passed down, it might struggle with newer games. Given the relatively low cost of new Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids tablets, it often makes more sense to buy a fresh one with a new warranty. Older smartphones with larger screens can also serve as a decent alternative to a tablet, capable of running many of the same apps and games over Wi-Fi.

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What About Buying Used or Refurbished Tablets?

Purchasing a used tablet can be a way to save money, but it requires caution. Buying from individual sellers on platforms like Amazon or eBay can be risky, with limited recourse if issues arise. However, reputable resellers like Gazelle offer inspected used iPads with return policies, providing a safer option. These companies can also be useful if you're looking to sell your old devices.

For most people, buying a new iPad is the most straightforward option. However, purchasing a refurbished iPad directly from Apple can offer savings and comes with a full one-year warranty. When considering older iPads or iPhones, remember that storage space is not expandable. While 64 GB is generally sufficient for most kids who primarily use apps and streaming, those planning to download a lot of videos or large games might consider the 256 GB option, although it significantly increases the price. Luckily, most children won't need more than 64 GB of storage.

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How We Picked and Tested Tablets for Kids

Our approach to recommending the best tablets for kids involved a thorough process of testing and gathering insights. While we generally advise against specialized "kids' tablets" due to their often underpowered nature and limited app selections, we recognize that children have different needs than adults when it comes to tablets.

We leveraged our extensive experience testing iPads and Android tablets. To tailor our recommendations specifically for this guide, we surveyed eight parents on our staff. This helped us understand the key features and priorities for parents when choosing a tablet for their children. We then revisited the models we had previously tested for our broader iPad and Android tablet guides, focusing on those that met the criteria identified by our parent survey. The most important factors highlighted by parents included durability (either through the tablet's build or the availability of protective cases), a wide range of apps (especially for education, video, games, and reading), robust parental controls, ample storage, and sufficient performance for games. Most parents wanted the tablet to last at least three years and cost around $300 or less. Features like cameras were considered less critical, and the primary use case was at home. We dedicated additional testing time to evaluate the parental control features across various tablets, ensuring they were effective and user-friendly

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The Best Tablet for Your Kid: 9th-Generation Apple iPad

The 9th-generation Apple iPad remains our top pick for the best tablet for kids, sharing many of the reasons why it was previously our top overall tablet recommendation. It provides the most affordable entry point into Apple's extensive ecosystem of educational, video, gaming, and reading apps. The iPad is fast, responsive, and features a sharp, bright display suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.

While Apple has discontinued the 9th-generation iPad as of May 2024, it’s still available through retailers like Best Buy (around $200 for the 64 GB version) and Walmart (around $275 for the 64 GB version). We anticipate that it will remain a viable option for several years to come, with continued software support. While the newer 10th-generation iPad offers enhancements like a faster processor and an improved FaceTime camera, younger children are unlikely to notice or benefit significantly from these upgrades, making the extra cost potentially unnecessary for a kids' tablet.

The primary drawbacks of the iPad for kids include the lack of support for multiple user accounts and the somewhat complex nature of its parental controls, despite their power. A durable case is also essential to protect its aluminum and glass construction. However, the vast array of available iPad accessories provides plenty of protective options.

The true strength of the iPad lies in the App Store. For younger children, there's a wealth of age-appropriate games from developers like Toca Boca and educational apps from sources like PBS Kids. Older kids can enjoy a wide variety of ebooks, apps that support the Apple Pencil for drawing, and creative tools like Apple's own iMovie and GarageBand. The 9th-generation iPad also supports the 1st-generation Apple Pencil, which can be a fantastic tool for artistic children. The iOS App Store boasts tens of thousands of games, many of which are exclusive to or debut on the platform. Of course, popular video streaming apps like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and YouTube Kids all run flawlessly on the iPad. Apple also offers its own streaming service, Apple TV+, and the option to purchase downloadable video content.

Apple's parental controls are comprehensive, offering granular control over what your child can access and for how long. The Screen Time feature allows you to set time limits for overall usage and specific apps. Parents on our staff particularly appreciated the ability to disable the Home button to prevent younger children from accidentally closing apps or games. However, navigating the Screen Time settings and managing content restrictions for features like Game Center, Siri, and Safari can be less intuitive compared to Amazon's parental controls. The iPad is powered by Apple's A13 Bionic chip, which, despite its age, still offers significantly faster performance than the processors found in budget tablets like the Amazon Fire HD 8. This ensures smooth multitasking, the ability to play demanding games, and longevity as apps and iPadOS become more resource-intensive. The 9th-generation iPad features a 10.2-inch Retina LCD display that is sharp and bright. While it lacks the advanced display technologies of more expensive tablets, it's perfectly adequate for a child's needs. The 10th-generation iPad offers a slightly larger and higher-resolution screen, but the price increase makes the 9th-generation model a more sensible choice for most kids. One potential downside for smaller children is the size of the iPad, which can be challenging for little hands to hold comfortably.

For those concerned about size, the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids is a smaller and lighter alternative. Apple does offer the iPad mini, which has similar features in a more compact form factor, but it comes at a much higher price point (around $500) and includes features that aren't essential for kids. For storage, the 64 GB base model should suffice for most children who primarily use apps and streaming services. If you anticipate needing more space for downloaded videos and large games, a 256 GB option is available for an additional cost, but we generally don't recommend this upgrade for kids due to its price. Remember that the internal storage of an iPad cannot be upgraded after purchase.

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Cheap, Durable, and Good for Video: Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids and Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro

The Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids and Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro offer a more budget-friendly alternative to the iPad. While they don't match the performance or versatility of even an older iPad, they are significantly cheaper and well-suited for children who primarily watch videos and don't require a vast library of apps. The standard Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids is geared towards children aged 3 to 7, while the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro is designed for kids aged 6 to 12.

Both tablets come with a colorful, bulky protective case, a two-year "worry-free guarantee" that covers accidental damage, robust parental controls, and a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+ (or six months for some promotions), which provides access to a curated library of kid-friendly books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, and games for children aged 3 to 12. You can purchase the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids from Amazon and Best Buy for around $85. The Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro is available on Amazon for around $85 and sometimes cheaper at Best Buy for around $65.

While the Fire tablets only offer 32 GB or 64 GB of internal storage, you can easily expand this using inexpensive microSD cards, a feature not available on iPads. Their smaller 8-inch screen might be more comfortable for smaller hands to hold, and Amazon's Fire OS supports multiple user accounts, making it easy for multiple children (or kids and adults) to share the device with their own settings and restrictions. However, the screen resolution and brightness are lower compared to the iPad, which might make it less comfortable to use in bright lighting. The ARM Cortex-A76 processor is also less powerful than the A13 Bionic chip in the Apple iPad 9, resulting in a noticeable difference in responsiveness, especially when playing more demanding games like Minecraft.

The Fire HD 8 Kids excels as a video-streaming device. In addition to Amazon's extensive video library, you can access apps like Netflix and Hulu, as well as kid-specific apps from Disney, Nickelodeon, and PBS Kids. The Pro version allows older kids to purchase and download additional games, apps, and books with parental permission. However, there are some limitations. If you use Apple devices, you won't be able to access your Apple media library on Fire tablets, and the absence of Google apps means no easy access to YouTube Kids. While the selection of educational apps and simple games is decent, it's not as extensive as what's available on the iPad. The Kids+ subscription offers access to many apps, but it requires a paid subscription after the initial period (around $50 per year for Amazon Prime members and $80 for non-members). This can be a good value if your child frequently explores new content, but it might not be worthwhile if they primarily use the tablet for watching videos.

One area where the Fire HD 8 Kids surpasses Apple's tablets is in parental controls. Amazon's Fire OS offers a completely separate user interface for child accounts that removes ads and focuses on Amazon-vetted content based on the child's age and gender. Apps within a child's account do not send location data, the Alexa voice assistant is disabled, and age-based content filters are automatically enabled. You can even use time restrictions as rewards, such as allowing game time only after a certain amount of reading or educational app usage. Amazon also offers larger Fire tablets, the Fire HD 10 Kids and Fire HD 10 Kids Pro, both featuring 10.1-inch 1080p screens and longer battery life, but we haven't yet completed our testing of these models.

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Other Tablets Worth Considering

The 10th-generation iPad, released in 2022, presents an updated design with thinner bezels, gesture navigation, and vibrant color options. It's powered by a newer Apple A14 processor, offering improved performance. While initially much more expensive than the 9th-generation model, its price has since come down to around $350 and up. The 10th-generation iPad is our current pick for the best overall tablet, and it's an excellent choice for kids, especially older ones, if the cost difference compared to the 9th-generation model isn't a major concern.

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The Competition

Apple still sells the 8th-generation iPad (a previous pick in this guide) through its refurbished store. While refurbished devices might be slightly less reliable than new ones, Apple's store includes a one-year warranty. However, the 8th-generation model is nearing the end of its software update support and offers a slight downgrade in performance and camera quality compared to the 9th generation.

The 6th-generation iPad mini is similar in size to the Fire HD 8 Kids but features a more refined design, internal components, and display. Historically a more budget-oriented option, the current iPad mini is even more expensive than the 9th- or 10th-generation iPads, costing around $500. It boasts an 8.3-inch display, an A15 processor, 64 GB of storage, and support for the improved 2nd-generation Apple Pencil. However, the significant price premium doesn't offer features that would noticeably benefit most kids.

Apple's iPad Pro tablets are significantly faster and feature superior screens and cameras compared to the 9th-generation iPad, but these are features that most children wouldn't notice or need. The iPad Pro models are also at least twice as expensive as the base model iPad, far exceeding the budget of most parents looking for a child's tablet. While excellent for demanding adults, they are overkill for children.

Amazon continues to offer the Fire 7 Kids Edition, which includes the same childproof case, two-year warranty, and Kids+ subscription as the Fire HD 8. However, while slightly cheaper, the Fire 7 is slower and has a noticeably less colorful, lower-resolution screen.

While numerous Android tablets are available, we generally don't recommend them over an iPad or a Fire tablet for kids. Although they can run many of the same games and video streaming apps as the Fire HD 8 Kids and offer easy access to YouTube, Google's Family Link parental controls, and other Google services, they typically aren't available in kid-specific editions with similar perks. To get a truly good Android tablet, you'll likely need to spend at least as much as an iPad, which offers better performance and a larger app library.

We haven't specifically tested educational tablets like LeapFrog's series. These devices are designed to be durable and feature curated app catalogs for kids. However, they can cost as much as our Fire HD pick but often come with inferior screens and slower processors. More importantly, their app selection is limited compared to Apple and Amazon, primarily focusing on educational apps for younger children (age 7 and under). While many of these apps are advertised as "educator approved," if your child outgrows them or finds them boring, you won't have the vast variety of popular games, video streaming apps, or educational apps for older kids that Apple and Amazon offer, potentially limiting the tablet's long-term usefulness.

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Sources

Our recommendations are based on hundreds of hours of hands-on testing of various tablets, combined with insights gathered from surveys conducted with parents on our staff.

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Final Thoughts

Ultimately, the best tablet for your child often comes down to your specific needs and budget. If you're looking for the best overall experience with a vast app selection and strong performance, the 9th-generation Apple iPad remains our top pick, especially while it's still available. For a more budget-friendly option that's great for younger kids and video watching, the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids is an excellent choice. Consider passing down an older tablet if you have one, and weigh the pros and cons of buying used or refurbished devices. By carefully considering your child's age, usage habits, and your own priorities, you can find the perfect tablet to enhance their learning and entertainment.

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Key Takeaways

• The Apple iPad (9th Generation) is the best overall tablet for kids due to its balance of features and price.
• Consider the Apple iPad (10th Generation) for older kids and adults who might appreciate its upgrades.
• The Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids is a great budget-friendly option for younger children focused on video and basic apps.
• The Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro offers the same hardware but with access to a digital store for older kids.
• Your old tablet might be perfectly suitable for your child's needs.
• When choosing a tablet, prioritize durability, app selection, parental controls, storage, and performance.
• Apple's App Store offers a wider and more diverse selection of apps compared to Amazon's app store.
• Amazon Fire tablets excel in parental controls and come with a protective case and accidental damage warranty.
• Be cautious when buying used tablets from unreliable sources.
• Educational tablets from brands like LeapFrog may have limited app selections compared to Apple and Amazon.