Best Educational Apps for Elementary Students
Only the apps that fit "best educational apps for elementary students", used by real children for two weeks and scored on the public rubric.
Khan Academy - Free video lessons and mastery practice from kindergarten to calculus, with Khanmigo AI tutoring as an optional extra Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Free, nonprofit, no ads
- Teaches with video then checks with mastery practice — the gap IXL leaves
- Goes all the way to AP and SAT
Reading Eggs - Systematic phonics that took our 6-year-old from sounding out to reading short books in two weeks; includes Mathseeds Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Structured, sequential phonics with a placement test
- Library of 3,000+ e-books levelled to the child
- 30-day free trial is the longest here
IXL - Standards-aligned practice in every K–12 subject with the best progress reporting we saw — practice, not lessons Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Skills mapped to each US state's standards by grade
- Adaptive SmartScore; our 10-year-old moved up two grade levels in fractions
- Reports show exactly which standard needs work
Prodigy Math - A fantasy RPG where every spell is a maths question — the app our reluctant 10-year-old asked for every day Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- All curriculum content is free
- Questions adapt to grade and to the child's answers
- Highest engagement in our test — 14 of 14 days by choice
Education.com - 37,000 printable worksheets, lesson plans and games for Pre-K to 8th grade — the homeschooler's and teacher's library Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Largest printable library we found, searchable by standard
- Guided lessons and games alongside worksheets
- Free tier gives a few downloads a month
ABCya - 400+ browser games sorted by grade, free with ads or ad-free for a small subscription — the classroom-favourite time-filler Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Hundreds of games organised by grade and subject
- Free on the web
- Typing and logic games our 10-year-old kept returning to
More to consider
These 6 come from retailer catalogs. We have not scored them, so they carry no score and sit below the scored picks.
AI Apps for Students: Optimiza tu Aprendizaje
A Spanish-language course that teaches students to use AI applications to support their academic learning. View at Udemy →
Canva for college students
A project-based course teaching college students how to use Canva, an online graphic design program, for their studies. View at Coursera B2C Affiliate Program →
Basic Grammatical Rules for Beginners/Elementary students
A course covering basic grammar rules such as the verb 'be' and present and past simple forms for elementary students. View at Udemy →
Game Development Masterclass: Make Educational Apps & Games
A Unity game development course that shows how to make educational apps and games. View at Udemy →
Learn to build educational apps in XCode 6 with Swift and C
A course on building educational apps for iOS and OSX using Xcode 6, Swift and C. View at Udemy →
Build Educational AI Powered Apps with Prompts
A micro course for educators and students on building educational apps with prompts using PlayLab. View at Udemy →
What separates the top picks on this page?
Two apps sit at the top with a score of 8.7, and they get there in opposite ways. Khan Academy is free, nonprofit and ad-free, teaching with video then checking with mastery practice, and it runs from kindergarten to AP and SAT. Reading Eggs costs $12.99 a month, uses a placement test and structured phonics, and carries a library of 3,000+ e-books levelled to the child.
IXL scores 8.4 at $9.95. It is practice, not teaching, with skills mapped to each US state's standards by grade and an adaptive SmartScore. Prodigy Math scores 7.8 and is free with all curriculum content, with Premium at $9.95/mo; it is a fantasy RPG where every spell is a maths question. Education.com scores 7.6 at $15.99 and holds 37,000 printable worksheets for Pre-K to 8th grade. ABCya scores 6.8, free with ads or $6.99/mo ad-free, with 400+ browser games sorted by grade.
What should you check before buying?
The rubric weights learning 30, engagement 20, parent tools 15, safety & ads 15 and value 20, so a low price alone will not carry an app. Ask what your child actually needs first.
- Teaching or practice? IXL is practice questions, not teaching, so a child who does not understand needs help elsewhere. Khan Academy teaches with video, then checks.
- Ads and profiles. ABCya shows ads to children on the free tier and has no profiles, no progress and no parent reports. Khan Academy is free with no ads.
- Who runs the session? Education.com is a resource library more than an app a child uses alone. Reading Eggs reward games can take over a session if unmanaged.
- Subject fit. Khan Academy's reading and writing coverage is thinner than math. Prodigy Math is maths only, and maths per minute is lower than IXL.
- Cost over a year. Reading Eggs is $89.99 a year. Education.com's premium price is high for a family that only prints.
Khan Academy
For a family that wants free, ad-free teaching across grades, with a parent alongside younger kids.
Reading Eggs
For a 6-year-old learning to read, with a 30-day free trial, the longest here.
IXL
For a child who needs standards-aligned practice and a parent who wants reports showing exactly which standard needs work.
Prodigy Math
For a reluctant maths student — it held 14 of 14 days by choice in our test.
Education.com
For homeschoolers and teachers who print, with a free tier giving a few downloads a month.
ABCya
For quick browser games by grade, including typing and logic games.
Khan Academy suits families who want free, ad-free teaching across grades, while Reading Eggs suits a 6-year-old learning to read. IXL fits a child who needs standards-aligned practice with parent reports, and Prodigy Math fits a reluctant maths student. Education.com is for homeschoolers and teachers who print, and ABCya is for quick browser games by grade.
Related guides
Questions about best educational apps for elementary students
*Scores: Learning 30 · Engagement 20 · Parent tools 15 · Safety & ads 15 · Value 20; score = Σ ÷ 10. Prices shown were checked on the date beside each and may change. Affiliate links are added only after a score is locked and can never change it. How we rank.