Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

ABC Kids vs Khan Academy Kids

ABC Kids 4.5★ · Free to download 65
Winner Khan Academy Kids
Khan Academy Kids 4.8★ · Free to download 85

Khan Academy Kids is the stronger choice overall, offering a broader range of educational content and higher user satisfaction, despite some criticisms regarding its age-appropriateness and occasional technical issues.

Full reviews: ABC Kids · Khan Academy Kids

Khan Academy Kids generally outperforms ABC Kids, with a higher lifetime rating and more extensive educational content that keeps children engaged. While ABC Kids is praised for its free, ad-free letter tracing and phonics, it faces significant criticism for incorrect phonics instruction and limited functionality. Khan Academy Kids, also free and ad-free, offers a wider curriculum but is sometimes seen as too easy for older children and has occasional bugs.

Head to head

Features and Educational Content edge: Khan Academy KidsR3R6R11R18
ABC Kids ABC Kids is primarily focused on letter tracing and phonics, with users appreciating its effectiveness for learning letter formation and recognition R11R32. It includes games and animal associations . However, a significant drawback is its teaching of incorrect letter sounds and the use of letter names instead of phonics, which can hinder reading development R3R6R18R22. Some users also wish for more subjects .
Khan Academy Kids Khan Academy Kids offers a much broader range of educational content, including math, reading, and stories, keeping children engaged for hours . Users praise its comprehensive nature and interactive activities . It's noted for its books and coloring options . However, some users find the content too simple or babyish for older children, with the highest grade level being 2nd or 3rd grade .
Ease of Use and User Experience tieR6R7R9R11
ABC Kids ABC Kids is generally considered easy for young children to navigate independently R35R11. Its tracing feature is effective and picks up finger movements with ease R11. However, some users find it hard to figure out how to find specific games R7, and settings may need to be reset each time R6. There are also complaints about the app not allowing natural letter formation R9.
Khan Academy Kids Khan Academy Kids is described as user-friendly and easy for children to use . However, some users report frustration with the app's navigation, especially regarding finding learning materials or issues with gifts/rewards . There are also requests for a child lock to prevent accidental exits and complaints about instructions restarting if the screen is touched .
Reliability and Performance tieR12R84R107R113
ABC Kids ABC Kids has reports of features not working and the app freezing R12.
Khan Academy Kids Khan Academy Kids experiences occasional crashing during activities R84 and some users report bugs making it unusable or difficult to log in R107R113.
Price and Value tieR17R28R30R35
ABC Kids ABC Kids is highly valued for being completely free, with no ads, locked content, or paywalls R17R28R30R35. This is a major selling point for many parents R30R35.
Khan Academy Kids Khan Academy Kids is also praised extensively for being completely free, with no ads or subscriptions . Users consider this an incredible value for the amount of educational content provided .
Support and Inclusivity edge: ABC KidsR5R35R60R72
ABC Kids There is no specific feedback on customer support for ABC Kids. The app is noted for its mission to provide appropriate and educational content for little kids R5R35R60.
Khan Academy Kids Khan Academy Kids has some inclusivity issues, with one user noting a lack of English captions or ASL for deaf children . There's also a complaint about the app only having an American accent without an option to change it . Some users expressed concern over specific content, such as an activity involving putting a pink bow on a man . There are also reports of email issues preventing login R72.
Pick ABC Kids if

You are looking for a simple, completely free, and ad-free app specifically for letter tracing and recognition, and you are comfortable with its phonics approach or plan to supplement it R11R30R35.

Pick Khan Academy Kids if

You need a comprehensive, free, and ad-free educational app covering a wider range of subjects like math, reading, and stories, and your child is in preschool to early elementary grades .

Evidence note: Both apps are free, so there is no free-vs-paid asymmetry. Khan Academy Kids has a significantly higher number of ratings and a higher lifetime rating, suggesting broader appeal and satisfaction, though both apps have a mix of positive and negative recent reviews.

Frequently asked

Which app is better for learning phonics?
Neither app is consistently praised for accurate phonics instruction; ABC Kids is criticized for teaching incorrect letter sounds and using letter names instead of phonic sounds R3R6R18R22, while Khan Academy Kids' phonics content is not specifically highlighted as a strength in reviews and is sometimes considered too basic .
Are these apps truly free?
Yes, both ABC Kids and Khan Academy Kids are genuinely free to download and use, with no ads, locked content, or in-app purchases mentioned in user reviews (R17, R28, R30, R35, for ABC Kids; , , , , , for Khan Academy Kids).
What age range are these apps suitable for?
ABC Kids is generally suitable for toddlers and preschoolers, with users mentioning children from 1 to 7 years old benefiting from it R11R15R32R34. Khan Academy Kids is designed for preschool through early elementary, with content up to 2nd or 3rd grade, though some older children find it too easy .

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R3] ABC Kids 3/5 · US Wrong letter sounds: If you’re trying to teach your toddler basic letter sounds first, then this app is frustrating because the words they pick will be words such as unicorn, owl, ant or sheep which do not align with what sound those letters make.
  2. [R6] ABC Kids 3/5 · GB Good ideas but needs work: Great ideas but it’s a shame the letters have names rather than sounds. Also I keep changing the settings but they never work and have to reset each time I play the game
  3. [R11] ABC Kids 5/5 · US Nice: Wonderful tracing app . My son is 7 but has a developmental delay so he’s at at one year old level and he’s able to follow this with ease . It picks up on finger movements with ease and the letters are large
  4. [R18] ABC Kids 1/5 · US Incorrect Sounds: While this app may seem good on the surface, it teaches incorrect sounds. For example, “A is for ant”. This does not teach the correct sounds for short a. The sounds also have a schwa on the end. For example, “B says bu”. These errors may seem small, but based on research through the Science of Reading and from an early childhood educator’s perspective, these things can cause
  5. [R7] ABC Kids 1/5 · US Too hard to figure out: Having trouble finding the games my child wants
  6. [R9] ABC Kids 3/5 · GB Not recommended for letter formation: The app doesn’t allow the child to form the letter in the natural way that they’re taught in school. It doesn’t allow you to keep your finger on the screen to backtrack over part of a letter as in the formation of d, b, a, for example. For this reason I wouldn’t recommend it for formation practise (pencil and paper is better!) but it might help with recognisin
  7. [R12] ABC Kids 1/5 · US Some features don’t work. App just freezes.: Disappointed in this app.
  8. [R84] Khan Academy Kids 3/5 · GB Great but keeps crashing: The app crashes when we try to launch several activities.
  9. [R107] Khan Academy Kids 1/5 · GB Buggy as heck: Opened the app, went to first kindergarten lesson then test. Can’t drag animals after just a few taps in the wrong place. Can’t remove animals from the boxes either. Unusable.
  10. [R113] Khan Academy Kids 1/5 · GB Baby app: Won’t play and has issues.. Deleting
  11. [R17] ABC Kids 5/5 · US Free: Love it
  12. [R28] ABC Kids 5/5 · US 100% recommend: It’s free, very fun and educational. My son loves it.
  13. [R30] ABC Kids 5/5 · US Love It!: It’s great that there are NO ads and NO costs at all. It’s very kind of the people who developed the games to provide them for free to help children. Thank you!
  14. [R35] ABC Kids 5/5 · US Great mission and truly FREE: Finally an app for kids without a bunch of locked content, ads, or paywalls. I wish I found this app sooner! My 2 year old toddler loves it and didn’t need any help from me to navigate the games.
  15. [R5] ABC Kids 5/5 · US Amazing!: So great to have something appropriate for little kids - educational, not over stimulating, and what a great mission.
  16. [R60] ABC Kids 5/5 · US Exactly what I was looking for: Exactly what I was looking for! I love that it helps children write in order and has cute breaks with games
  17. [R72] Khan Academy Kids 3/5 · GB It’s ok 👌: My sons and daughters are very frustrated how the app works and AM MORE FRUSTRATED BECAUSE MY EMAIL 📧 IS NOT WORKING! 😡😡😡😡😤😤😤😫😫😩🥺🥺🥺😢😢😭😭😭😭 and my son was crying 😭 on time it because he was so frustrated
  18. [R22] ABC Kids 1/5 · GB Not phonics: I was searching for a suitable app for an SEN child in my class. 1. The letters are in capital format not lower case. 2. The initial voice uses the letter name not the phonic sound. Not worth downloading
  19. [R15] ABC Kids 5/5 · US Awesome!!!!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰: My little sister loves this app but my one year younger brother plays it just a trace lowercase letters !!!!!!
  20. [R32] ABC Kids 5/5 · US Wonderful app: My two year-old have been paying this for over six months now. She loves it. And she already knows how to write the first part of the alphabet.
  21. [R34] ABC Kids 5/5 · US Great app: My daughter is 5 and she is obsessed with this app! It keeps her entertained and my son is 2 and getting the hang of it too!

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store