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Their First Words

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A picture book you say out loud

The best flashcard app for toddlers (2026)

Flashcards work for a toddler one way: as a picture book a grown-up narrates, not as a quiz. Here are the apps that fit that use, the one we make among them, and the honest case for paper.

By the parents who make Their First Words · October 2026 · 6 min read

The illustration on the dog card

We make Their First Words, so this is our own comparison — written by the two parents who build it, not by a reviewer. The facts about every other app were checked on October 2, 2026 against their store listings and websites, and the sources are listed at the end. Prices are US prices and change. Where another app is the better choice for your family, this page says so.

The short answer

If you only read this part.

  • For a parent who wants to do the talking, in up to eight languages: Their First Words — one picture, one word, two native voices, $9.99 once; 75 words and 35 phrases free.
  • For the biggest English deck at the lowest price: Baby Flash Cards for Toddlers — 900+ cards, $4.99 once for all categories; check its advertising flag first.
  • For the first game a one-year-old can play: Peekaboo Barn, $3.99 once, animal names in eight-plus languages.
  • For a three-year-old who likes letters: Endless Alphabet, $8.99 once, 100 big English words.
  • For no screen at all: Paper. Our free printables are the same 75 words and 35 phrases in eight languages.

The picks at a glance

Who each one is for.

AppBest forPriceWorks on
Their First WordsTheir First WordsoursA parent-led deck in eight languages, from first words to first phrases$9.99 once for everything; no subscriptioniPhone, iPad, Android
Baby Flash Cards for ToddlersBaby Flash Cards for ToddlersThe biggest English deck for the least moneyFree to download; $4.99 once for all categories, or $7.99 a month / $49.99 a year for a premium tieriPhone, iPad (iOS 15.6+); a 1.6 GB download
Peekaboo BarnPeekaboo BarnA one-year-old’s first tap$3.99 onceiPhone, iPad; Android
Endless AlphabetEndless AlphabetThree-to-five-year-olds who like big words and letters$8.99 once; Family Sharing on AppleiPhone, iPad, Mac; Android
Paper cards and board booksPaper cards and board booksNo screen, no battery, and a toddler who chewsA few dollars, or free: our printable cards are the 75 free words and 35 free phrases in eight languagesA table, a highchair, a lap

Prices are US store prices on the day they were checked (October 2, 2026); the store is the authority for today’s price.

How we chose

The yardstick, out loud.

  • One picture that carries the word on its own — no caption, no clutter, nothing to explain.
  • A voice to copy, then room for yours: the card should wait, not race on.1
  • No quiz. “What’s this?” puts a toddler on the spot; “Look, a dog!” invites them in.2
  • No ads, no rewards, no autoplay by default, and the price model said plainly.
  • Languages, if your home has more than one.

We rank by fit for the family in the title, not by who made the app. Their First Words is on this list because it belongs here for some of these families and not for others, and the page says which.

The picks

One at a time, honestly.

1 of 5

Their First Wordsours

Best for: A parent-led deck in eight languages, from first words to first phrases

Price $9.99 once for everything; no subscriptionWorks on iPhone, iPad, AndroidAges 0–5, in three parent-chosen stages (phrases are not split by stage)Languages English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Korean and Russian on every card (the app’s own screens are in English)

One illustration per word, 1,000+ words in 16 categories across three age stages, and 500+ phrases for when single words are no longer enough. Every card is spoken by a female and a male native voice in eight languages. Auto Play is off by default; the card waits for you. A Lock mode ignores stray taps when a toddler grabs the phone. Mark Learned is a bookmark for you, not a grade for them.

75 words (25 per stage) and 35 phrases are free with no account; $9.99 once opens the rest. Everything ships inside the app, so it works on a plane.

Worth knowing: We make it. The menus are English, it runs on iPhone, iPad and Android only, it is a 556 MB download, and it will not keep a child busy alone — that is the design, and it is the wrong app if you need it to.

2 of 5

Baby Flash Cards for Toddlers

Best for: The biggest English deck for the least money

Price Free to download; $4.99 once for all categories, or $7.99 a month / $49.99 a year for a premium tierWorks on iPhone, iPad (iOS 15.6+); a 1.6 GB downloadAges Apple’s “Made for Ages 0–5” band; the maker gives no rangeLanguages English

900+ cards in 36 categories with voiceovers, offline, with a hands-free autoplay mode. All categories unlock for $4.99 once; a monthly or yearly premium tier exists too. English only.

Worth knowing: Its description says ad-free, but the App Store’s information panel flagged “Contains Advertising” when we checked; try it before handing it over. It is a 1.6 GB download, and autoplay “for independent learning” is the opposite of the use we recommend.

3 of 5

Peekaboo Barn

Best for: A one-year-old’s first tap

Price $3.99 onceWorks on iPhone, iPad; AndroidAges Toddlers; Apple rates it 4+Languages Animal names in eight-plus languages, including Spanish, German, French, Mandarin, Hindi and Japanese

Tap the barn door, an animal pops out and says its name. It has been a toddler classic for years, it is $3.99 once with no ads or purchases, it works offline, and the animal names are narrated in eight-plus languages. It is the one app on this list a fourteen-month-old can operate.

Worth knowing: Animals only — it is a game, not a vocabulary. And at one it should be played together and briefly.3

4 of 5

Endless Alphabet

Best for: Three-to-five-year-olds who like big words and letters

Price $8.99 once; Family Sharing on AppleWorks on iPhone, iPad, Mac; AndroidAges Apple’s “Made for Ages 0–5” band; best known as a preschool appLanguages English

100 words — gargantuan, cooperate — acted out by monsters while the child drags letters into place. $8.99 once, Family Sharing on Apple, no purchases inside.

Worth knowing: English only, for preschoolers rather than toddlers, and its listing showed no update since August 2022 when we checked. It downloads all its words the first time you open it, so open it at home before a trip.

5 of 5

Paper cards and board books

Best for: No screen, no battery, and a toddler who chews

Price A few dollars, or free: our printable cards are the 75 free words and 35 free phrases in eight languagesWorks on A table, a highchair, a lapAges From birthLanguages Whatever you say out loud

A stack of cards by the highchair works exactly as well as any app for the thing that matters: you saying the word while your child looks. Any bookshop sells them. Ours are free to print — the 75 free words and 35 free phrases, four to a sheet, in all eight languages, from the printables page.

Worth knowing: No native voice to copy, which matters only if the language isn’t yours.

In fairness

Where Their First Words falls short for this family.

  • It will not entertain a child alone. If you want ten minutes of independent flashcard play, Baby Flash Cards’ autoplay does that; ours waits for you.
  • English menus. The cards speak eight languages; the parent screens do not.
  • A 556 MB download, because every clip ships inside the app.
  • Eight languages; Peekaboo Barn’s animals come in languages we lack, including Mandarin and Hindi.

What to do

This week.

  1. Pick ten words that happen in your house — milk, shoe, dog, all done — and keep them where they happen.
  2. Follow your child’s eyes and name that card. Skip the one you wanted to teach.1
  3. Say it yourself after the recording, looking at your child. The recording is a pronunciation check for you; the voice your child learns from is yours.4
  4. Stop before they do. Two minutes is a session.
  5. Read the flashcard guide for the five rules and the research behind each one.

Questions

What parents ask.

Do flashcards actually work for toddlers?

As a drill, no. As a picture book you narrate — naming what your child is already looking at — yes; that is one of the strongest predictors of vocabulary growth there is.1

How many cards at once?

Ten for a week beats a hundred in an afternoon. Toddlers learn a word by meeting it in the same place again and again.

App or paper?

Paper for the chewing months and for a screen-free home. An app earns its place when the word is in a language you don’t speak and you want a native voice to copy first.

What about Ms. Rachel?

Not flashcards, but the same idea on video: slow words, pauses, songs. Free on YouTube; for under-twos the guidance is to watch together and keep it short.3

What this is based on

Sources

  1. Tomasello, M. & Farrar, M. J. (1986). Joint attention and early language. Child Development, 57(6), 1454–1463. doi:10.2307/1130423
  2. American Academy of Pediatrics (2026). Helping kids thrive in a digital world: the AAP policy explained — infants under 18 months learn best from real-world interaction; watch and play alongside your child; favor conversation over designs that prolong engagement; video chat with family is relationship time. healthychildren.org
  3. American Academy of Pediatrics (2016). Media and Young Minds. Pediatrics, 138(5) — avoid screen media other than video chat under 18 months; from 18 to 24 months choose high-quality content and use it together with the child. publications.aap.org
  4. Kuhl, P. K., Tsao, F.-M. & Liu, H.-M. (2003). Foreign-language experience in infancy: effects of short-term exposure and social interaction on phonetic learning. PNAS, 100(15), 9096–9101. pnas.org
  5. Apple App Store, Baby Flash Cards for Toddlers — prices, card and category counts, autoplay, offline, the advertising flag, size, last update. apps.apple.com
  6. Apple App Store, Peekaboo Barn — price, languages, ad-free, offline, last update shown as June 2025. apps.apple.com
  7. Apple App Store, Endless Alphabet — price, 100 words, first-run download, Family Sharing, last update shown as August 2022. apps.apple.com
  8. Their First Words, FAQ — price, free set, languages, offline use, accounts. theirfirstwords.org/faq

Facts about other apps were checked on October 2, 2026 against the sources above. Store prices are US prices on that day; they change, and the store is the authority for today’s price.

More guides

Other families.

Simple Words, Special Moments

Start with one word.

75 words and 35 phrases are free, forever, with both voices. One $9.99 purchase opens the rest of the 1,000+ words and 500+ phrases, in all eight languages at once. No subscription, nothing renews.

Download on the App Store — Their First Words Get it on Google Play — Their First Words
No ads, ever Private by design Works offline No account needed Up to 4 children