The 6 Best Kid's Tablets
Updated by · How we research
Six kids' tablets compared by age range, case, warranty, parental controls and app store. The Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids leads for its two-year breakage replacement. When users buy our independently chosen editorial recommendations, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
The Fire HD 10 Kids and Kids Pro, the tablets most review sites still rank first, now show as unavailable, so many guides point at models you can't buy new. This list covers what's on sale for preschoolers through teens, from tablets in foam bumpers with breakage guarantees to a full-size tablet that needs its own case.
Editor's Notes
November 1, 2026, by Ezvid Wiki Admin:
The Fire HD 8 Kids leads now, since a two-year promise to replace it if it breaks still matters more than speed in a young child's hands, and its larger siblings, the Fire HD 10 Kids and Kids Pro, are no longer sold new. Nothing from the earlier list survives. The Apple iPad 10.2, Fire HD 10 Kids Edition, Vankyo MatrixPad, LeapFrog LeapPad Ultimate, Dragon Touch Y88X Pro, Samsung Galaxy Tab A, Lenovo Tab M10 Plus and LeapFrog Epic Academy Edition were 2019 and 2020 models that have been replaced or have vanished. The Kano Computer Kit Touch honor is gone too, since it's a build-it-yourself kit rather than a tablet.
The Apple iPad (A16) covers older kids and teens. The cheap Android side was the hard part: dozens of nearly identical 10-inch tablets, most with inflated memory claims. We kept only the Evermyth KB1009 and the Ulefone Tab A9 Pro Kids, which name a maker, publish a warranty and show no pattern of failures, and we passed on several bestsellers whose charging ports or batteries tend to die within a few months. Tom's Guide and Made for Mums published the test results we leaned on for the branded models.
December 12, 2020:
Tablets have come a long way in the past few years. While there are some tablets made explicitly for young children on this list, such as the Leapfrog LeapPad Ultimate, many models made with that intent are either produced by unreliable manufacturers or fall short of acceptable quality standards.
The upside is that manufacturers of tablets traditionally intended for adults have clued into the fact that parents often hand their tablets off to their children, and, as a result, a number of rugged tablet cases have come on the market that protect traditionally adult gadgets like the Apple iPad 10.2 from the inevitable drops and spills that can happen with kids around.
Manufacturers have also started including robust parental controls with their operating systems, such as the ones found on the Lenovo Tab M10 Plus and Samsung Galaxy Tab A, which is why you'll find them included on this list. The other reason is that our little ones don’t stay little for long. The Leapfrog Epic Academy Edition might appeal to a four-year-old, but probably won’t help a high school sophomore researching an English paper. Devices such as the Dragon Touch Y88X Pro and Vankyo MatrixPad, however, are powerful in their own right, making them useful even as your young one enters middle and high school. Tablet keyboards can make them even more helpful.
It’s important to note, however, that tablets may face limitations in terms of long-term academic utility. If you’re looking for something that can work as a tablet but packs a little more computing punch, a 2-in-1 laptop might be a more appropriate choice.
December 04, 2019:
There have been a few upgrades to popular models since the last iteration of this ranking, including to the lineups by Amazon and LeapFrog. The new Amazon Fire HD 10 and Amazon Fire 7 offer increases in battery life and overall performance, but the 7 only boasts 16GB of internal storage. Of course, this is expandable, but it is a step back from the older 8's 32GB.
Samsung also upgraded their kids tab from the E series to the Samsung Galaxy Tab A, which is more or less an adult tablet with kid-friendly software, and that offers some significant features like a 13-hour battery life and what is probably the best integration of the Android operating system on any children's model. That said, its rubberized silicone case is no match for Amazon's two-year guarantee against anything your kid might try to do to their device.
There are plenty of other models out there from strange companies that we frankly didn't think we could trust. The Dragon Touch model we'd previously included, for example, developed serious durability issues the longer it was used, and we didn't think it prudent to include similar, cheaply produced offerings that are liable to break down or run extremely slowly. This is a category where brand actually matters.
Special Honors
Google Family Link Google's free Family Link app lets a parent manage a child's Android tablet from their own phone: daily limits, a bedtime lock, app approvals and location. It works on most Android tablets with Google Play, including budget kids models, and costs nothing. families.google
Match The Tablet To The Child
Tom's Guide's overall pick is the iPad, for its app library and controls, with one caveat: it's aluminum and glass, so buy a case with it.
Age is the first filter. For children around 3 to 7, durability beats speed. Amazon's kids tablets ship inside a thick foam bumper with a stand and carry a two-year promise to replace the tablet if it breaks, which Tom's Guide calls the best protection on its list. Made for Mums picks the Fire HD 8 Kids as its best overall for the same reasons: a sturdy case, solid parental controls and a fair price.
From about 6 to 12, kids want real apps and a case that doesn't look babyish. Amazon's newer Kids Tablet 8 and Kids Tablet 11 use a slimmer hard case with a kickstand and let parents approve apps from Google Play, which older Fire tablets never offered.
Teens are better off with a regular tablet run under parental controls. Tom's Guide's overall pick is the iPad, for its app library and controls, with one caveat: it's aluminum and glass, so buy a case with it. A simple budget rule helps: spend only what you'd be willing to replace after a fall down the stairs.
Parental Controls And The Subscription Catch
Every tablet here can limit screen time and block purchases, but the tools differ. On an iPad, a parent sets up a child's Apple Account through Family Sharing and uses Screen Time to set downtime, app limits, content ratings and purchase approval (Apple Support). On Android tablets with Google Play, Google's free Family Link does the same from a parent's phone. Amazon's kids tablets use their own Parent Dashboard for time limits, bedtimes, learning goals and app approvals.
Watch the subscription. Amazon bundles its Kids+ library of ad-free books, games and videos for the first months, then it renews as a monthly fee unless you cancel it in the Parent Dashboard. Many no-name Android tablets push their own paid kids' apps too. The Ulefone Tab A9 Pro Kids is sold as needing no subscription.
No setting replaces house rules. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests a family media plan with screen-free zones like the dinner table and bedrooms, rather than one fixed number of hours.
What Cheap Android Specs Really Mean
Search for a kids tablet and you'll see dozens of 10-inch Android models with almost the same photos and boxes claiming 24GB or more of memory. Most of that figure is virtual memory borrowed from storage. One seller's own fine print lists 3GB of real memory plus 5GB of borrowed space. These tablets usually use entry-level chips and HD screens, which is fine for cartoons and simple games and slow for anything heavier.
Three things separate the better ones. First, a named maker with a published warranty of at least a year. Second, support for HD streaming: Netflix and Disney+ only play in high definition on Android tablets that carry Google's top level of copy protection, which some sellers claim and few prove. Third, a track record. Several bestsellers show the same pattern of chargers or batteries quitting after about two months, so we left them out.
Every tablet holds a lithium-ion battery, so use the charger that came with it and replace a swollen tablet right away. We found no recall of any tablet here in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's SaferProducts database. If a cheap tablet ships with a default kids-mode password, change it during setup.
How we researched this
We screened about 35 kids tablets in current search results, compared 14 closely, read the makers' spec sheets and warranty terms for the 7 finalists, weighed published tests from Tom's Guide, Made for Mums and Mother&Baby for the Amazon and Apple models, analyzed owner feedback for failure patterns, and checked every brand against the CPSC recall database.
Frequently asked questions
Which tablets are durable enough for kids?
Tablets built for kids, like the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids, come in thick foam cases and carry a two-year replace-if-broken promise. A regular tablet such as an iPad needs a sturdy case bought separately.
Which kids tablets have the best parental controls?
Apple's Screen Time, Google's Family Link and Amazon's Parent Dashboard all set time limits, block purchases and approve apps. Amazon's is the simplest for young children; Apple's is the most detailed.
Is an iPad or a Fire tablet better for a child?
For a young child, a Fire kids tablet is cheaper, tougher and comes with a guarantee. For an older kid or teen who needs school apps, an iPad does far more and lasts longer.
Do kids tablets play Netflix and YouTube?
Yes, through a parent profile or approved apps. Amazon's Fire HD 8 Kids gets apps from Amazon's own store, where some, like YouTube Kids, can be awkward to set up. Android tablets with Google Play and iPads get both apps directly.
What does 24GB RAM mean on a cheap kids tablet?
It's mostly virtual memory carved out of storage. The real memory is usually 3GB to 4GB, so don't expect the speed the number suggests.
How much screen time is OK for a child?
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests a family media plan with screen-free times and places rather than a single limit. Tablet controls can then enforce the plan.
