Skip to content
Their First Words

Home › Best for › No subscription

Nothing renews

The best kids’ learning apps without a subscription (2026)

Most children’s apps have moved to subscriptions, and several that used to be a one-time purchase quietly stopped being one. Here are the ones that are still free or still yours for one payment, ranked plainly — with the admission that ours is not the cheapest of them.

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

The illustration on the “All done” phrase 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.

  • Free, with no catch: Khan Academy Kids and PBS KIDS Games — broad, ad-free, from a nonprofit and from public media.
  • One payment for first words and phrases in eight languages: Their First Words, $9.99 once, with 75 words and 35 phrases free forever.
  • The cheapest one-time apps on the list: Peekaboo Barn and Gus on the Go, $3.99 each.
  • The classic one-time preschool app: Endless Alphabet, $8.99, though it has not been updated since 2022.

The picks at a glance

Who each one is for.

AppBest forPriceWorks on
Khan Academy KidsKhan Academy KidsA whole preschool curriculum for nothingFree — no ads, no subscriptions, no in-app purchasesiPhone, iPad (iOS 13+), Android, Amazon Fire
PBS KIDS GamesPBS KIDS GamesFree games with the characters they already loveFree — no in-app purchasesiPhone, iPad, Android
Their First WordsTheir First WordsoursFirst words and phrases in eight languages, owned for $9.99$9.99 once for everything; no subscriptioniPhone, iPad, Android
Endless AlphabetEndless AlphabetThe classic one-time preschool app$8.99 once; Family Sharing on AppleiPhone, iPad, Mac; Android
Gus on the GoGus on the GoA language for $3.99, outright$3.99 once per language appiPhone, iPad, Mac (M1+); Android for some languages
Peekaboo BarnPeekaboo BarnA toddler’s first game, for $3.99$3.99 onceiPhone, iPad; Android

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.

  • Nothing renews. Either free with no purchases, or one payment that is the whole price.
  • What is free is said plainly, and free does not mean “free trial.”
  • Still maintained. A one-time app that nobody updates can stop working on a new phone.
  • No ads, and the same price on the day you need it as on the day you read this — we checked each one on the date at the end of this page.

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 6

Khan Academy Kids

Best for: A whole preschool curriculum for nothing

Price Free — no ads, no subscriptions, no in-app purchasesWorks on iPhone, iPad (iOS 13+), Android, Amazon FireAges 2–8, as the maker statesLanguages English, with a section of books translated into Spanish

Thousands of games, books and videos for ages 2 to 8 — reading, math, logic, feelings — free, with no ads, no subscription and no in-app purchases, from the nonprofit Khan Academy. If a subscription was the problem, this is the answer for most families with a three-year-old or older.

Worth knowing: English, needs an adult account to set up, and made for a child to play alone.

2 of 6

PBS KIDS Games

Best for: Free games with the characters they already love

Price Free — no in-app purchasesWorks on iPhone, iPad, AndroidAges 2–8, as the maker statesLanguages English, with 50+ games playable in Spanish

Hundreds of games with Daniel Tiger, Wild Kratts, Alma’s Way and more, free with no in-app purchases, for ages 2 to 8, with 50+ playable in Spanish. Download games to play offline.

Worth knowing: Entertainment-led, by design; a child plays it alone.

3 of 6

Their First Wordsours

Best for: First words and phrases in eight languages, owned for $9.99

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 payment opens 1,000+ words and 500+ phrases in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Korean and Russian, each said by a female and a male native voice, for up to four child profiles. Nothing renews, and there is no cancellation screen because there is nothing to cancel. 75 words and 35 phrases are free forever with no account, so you can decide after a month of use whether $9.99 is worth it. Apple Family Sharing is on.

Worth knowing: We make it. It is not the cheapest here, a purchase on iPhone does not carry to Android (each store sells it separately), and Google Play has no family sharing for in-app purchases, so a second Android phone on a different account pays again.

4 of 6

Endless Alphabet

Best for: The classic one-time preschool app

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 big English words acted out by monsters while the child drags letters into place. $8.99 once, no purchases inside, and Apple Family Sharing for up to six family members. Its maker also sells a subscription app now; this one stayed a purchase.

Worth knowing: English only, and its listing showed no update since August 2022 when we checked. It must be online the first time it runs.

5 of 6

Gus on the Go

Best for: A language for $3.99, outright

Price $3.99 once per language appWorks on iPhone, iPad, Mac (M1+); Android for some languagesAges Apple’s “Made for Ages 0–5” band; the maker gives no rangeLanguages One app per language — Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Korean and about a dozen more

One app per language — Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Korean and more — with about 90 words and ten activities, no ads, no purchases, no tracking, $3.99 each.

Worth knowing: Small, and uneven: the Spanish app saw a 2026 update, the Korean one none since 2018, when we checked.

6 of 6

Peekaboo Barn

Best for: A toddler’s first game, for $3.99

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, an animal pops out and says its name in eight-plus languages. $3.99 once, no ads, no purchases, offline, updated in 2025.

Worth knowing: One idea, perfectly suited to a one-year-old and outgrown by three.

In fairness

Where Their First Words falls short for this family.

  • It is not the cheapest one-time app here; Peekaboo Barn and Gus on the Go are $3.99.
  • One purchase per platform. The App Store and Google Play sell it separately, so an iPhone-and-Android household pays twice.
  • Google Play has no family sharing for in-app purchases; Apple Family Sharing works.
  • It does one thing. The free apps above cover reading, math and play; ours covers words and phrases.

What to do

This week.

  1. Open the subscriptions screen on your phone and cancel the children’s apps nobody opened last month. Cancelling stops the next renewal; it rarely refunds the current period.
  2. Install Khan Academy Kids or PBS KIDS Games and let a week decide whether you need anything paid at all.
  3. For first words, install our free set and give it a month before deciding on the $9.99.
  4. Before buying any “lifetime” plan, check what it covers: Pok Pok’s $89.99 and Otsimo’s $119.99 lifetime tiers are real one-time prices, but they are the same money as years of a cheaper app.
  5. Keep a note of what you paid for and on which store; one-time purchases restore on the same platform with the same store account.

Questions

What parents ask.

Why did so many kids’ apps become subscriptions?

Ongoing content costs ongoing money, and app stores make renewals easy. Some well-known one-time apps retired their purchase outright: the free and Pro versions of Articulation Station Classic left the App Store on December 3, 2024, replaced by the Little Bee Hive membership, by its maker’s own notice.1

Is a “lifetime” plan the same as a one-time purchase?

Usually yes — one payment, no renewal — but read what it covers. Lifetime tiers in subscription apps often cost as much as several years of the subscription, because the maker expects you to use it that long.

Does Their First Words have any in-app purchases besides the $9.99?

No. One unlock, called Pro — Lifetime Unlock on the App Store, is the whole price. There are no packs, no language add-ons, no consumables.

What about refunds?

Through Apple or Google, not the app’s maker, for any of these: they take the payment, so they handle refunds. If a Their First Words refund is granted the unlock is removed and the free set stays.

Head to head: Their First Words vs Khan Academy Kids.

What this is based on

Sources

  1. Little Bee Speech, Articulation Station Classic has been retired — the Classic versions left the App Store on December 3, 2024, replaced by the Little Bee Hive membership. little-bee-speech help center
  2. Apple App Store, Khan Academy Kids — free, no ads, ages 2–8, 5,000+ activities, offline downloads, privacy label. apps.apple.com
  3. Khan Academy Kids, official page — subjects, standards, teacher tools. khanacademy.org/kids
  4. Khan Academy Kids, Privacy policy — account requirement, what is collected, no advertising. khanacademy.org
  5. Khan Academy support — the app is English-only; Spanish books in the Library. support.khanacademy.org
  6. Apple App Store, PBS KIDS Games — free, no in-app purchases, ages 2–8, download games to play offline. apps.apple.com
  7. PBS KIDS, PBS KIDS Games app page. pbskids.org
  8. Apple App Store, Endless Alphabet — price, 100 words, first-run download, Family Sharing, last update shown as August 2022. apps.apple.com
  9. Apple App Store, Gus on the Go: Spanish — price, ~90 words, 10 activities, no ads or tracking, other language editions, last update. apps.apple.com
  10. Apple App Store, Gus on the Go: Korean — price and last update. apps.apple.com
  11. Apple App Store, Peekaboo Barn — price, languages, ad-free, offline, last update shown as June 2025. apps.apple.com
  12. Apple App Store, Pok Pok | Montessori Preschool App — subscription and lifetime prices, no ads, wordless play. apps.apple.com
  13. Apple App Store, Otsimo | Speech Therapy SLP — subscription and lifetime prices, trial, clinical wording, last update shown as May 2025. apps.apple.com
  14. 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