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Español en casa

The best Spanish app for toddlers (2026)

Spanish at home and Spanish as a second language are different jobs, and a one-year-old and a four-year-old need different apps. Here are the five we would hand a friend, with what each costs and where ours falls short.

By the parents who make Their First Words · October 2026 · 7 min read

The illustration on the “More, please” 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.

  • Spanish and English on the same card, from the first year: Their First Words — native voices in both, $9.99 once; 75 words and 35 phrases free.
  • Songs, books and games in either language, ages 1–5: Canticos, $6.99 a month or $57.99 a year.
  • Spanish taught in Spanish through games, roughly ages 3–8: Studycat, $14.99 a month or $59.99 a year.
  • The $3.99 try-it: Gus on the Go: Spanish, about 90 words, no ads or purchases.
  • Video immersion from toddlers up: Little Pim Spanish, $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year — or free through some libraries.

The picks at a glance

Who each one is for.

AppBest forPriceWorks on
Their First WordsTheir First WordsoursA Spanish–English home, from the first year, with the parent doing the talking$9.99 once for everything; no subscriptioniPhone, iPad, Android
Canticos Bilingual PreschoolCanticos Bilingual PreschoolSongs, books and games in English or Spanish, ages 1–5Subscription: $6.99 a month or $57.99 a year (other plans listed at $39.99 and $45.99); 7-day free trialiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision; an Android version is listed by the maker
Studycat (Learn Spanish)Studycat (Learn Spanish)Spanish as a second language, roughly ages 3–8, through gamesSubscription: $14.99 a month or $59.99 a year; 7-day free trialiPhone, iPad (iOS 13+), Android
Gus on the GoGus on the GoTrying Spanish for $3.99 once$3.99 once per language appiPhone, iPad, Mac (M1+); Android for some languages
Little PimLittle PimShort immersion videos, from toddlers up, togetherSubscription: $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year; free trialiPhone and iPad (iOS 15+), web, and other devices the maker lists

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.

  • Native Spanish voices, and both languages if English is the other one at home.
  • Right for the age: parent-held for the under-threes, child-led games for preschoolers.1
  • Keeps the home language strong. Head Start’s guidance is that the home language is the foundation for English, not a rival to it.2
  • Honest pricing, and what is free.
  • No ads, works offline, nothing designed to keep a child on it.

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 Spanish–English home, from the first year, with the parent doing the talking

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)

Every word and phrase is on the same card in Spanish and English (and six more languages), spoken by a woman and a man who are native speakers. Leche at breakfast, milk at daycare — same picture, one tap. The Spanish is a neutral Latin American Spanish. The 500+ phrases carry the everyday ones a toddler reaches for: Más, por favor, Ya terminé, ¡Mira lo que hice!, Dame la mano. You hear the native voice, then you say it to your child.4

75 words and 35 phrases are free in Spanish with no account; $9.99 once opens everything; it all works offline. The same cards are free to print, and the Spanish page lets you hear them first.

Worth knowing: We make it. It is a prop for a parent, not a game: no songs, no stories, nothing a child does alone. The app’s own menus are in English, and there is one Spanish variety.

2 of 5

Canticos Bilingual Preschool

Best for: Songs, books and games in English or Spanish, ages 1–5

Price Subscription: $6.99 a month or $57.99 a year (other plans listed at $39.99 and $45.99); 7-day free trialWorks on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision; an Android version is listed by the makerAges 1–5, as the maker statesLanguages English and Spanish

The Canticos characters sing, read and play in English or Spanish — one language at a time, your choice — for ages 1 to 5. Downloaded games play without Wi-Fi, there are no ads, and the subscription is $6.99 a month or $57.99 a year after a seven-day trial. For a family that wants the nursery rhymes and stories of a bilingual childhood, this is the warmest option on the list.

Worth knowing: A subscription, and English and Spanish only. The child mostly plays; a parent can sing along.

3 of 5

Studycat (Learn Spanish)

Best for: Spanish as a second language, roughly ages 3–8, through games

Price Subscription: $14.99 a month or $59.99 a year; 7-day free trialWorks on iPhone, iPad (iOS 13+), AndroidAges Apple’s “Made for Ages 6–8” band; the maker markets it for ages 3–8Languages Spanish (this app); the app’s screens in 33 languages

Immersion: the activities use only Spanish, no English, so a child absorbs the language through play. Ad-free, works offline, with native-speaker voices, for $14.99 a month or $59.99 a year after a seven-day trial. Sister apps teach English, French, German and Chinese the same way.

Worth knowing: Apple places it in the 6–8 age band and the maker markets it from three; it is not for toddlers, and it is child-led.

4 of 5

Gus on the Go

Best for: Trying Spanish for $3.99 once

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

About 90 Spanish words and ten activities with Gus the owl, no ads, no purchases inside, no tracking, and a 2026 update when we checked. If you want to find out whether your three-year-old takes to the idea before spending more, this is the cheapest experiment on the page.

Worth knowing: Small, and child-led. Ninety words is a start, not a vocabulary.

5 of 5

Little Pim

Best for: Short immersion videos, from toddlers up, together

Price Subscription: $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year; free trialWorks on iPhone and iPad (iOS 15+), web, and other devices the maker listsAges Babies, toddlers and pre-K — “under the age of 6,” as the maker puts itLanguages 12: Spanish, French, English, Mandarin, Italian, German, Japanese, Arabic, Hebrew, Russian, Korean, Portuguese

Five-minute videos with a cartoon panda, narrated by native Spanish speakers, built around 360 foundational words and phrases, with printable parent guides. $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year — and some US public libraries offer it free through Mango Languages.

Worth knowing: It is video. For the under-eighteen-months the guidance is no screens but video chat; from then, watch together and repeat the words afterwards.1

In fairness

Where Their First Words falls short for this family.

  • No songs, stories or games. If your picture of a bilingual childhood is Los pollitos dicen at bedtime, Canticos has that and we don’t.
  • One Spanish. Ours is a neutral Latin American Spanish; a family that wants Castilian hears a different accent from Abuela’s.
  • The parent menus are in English, so a Spanish-only grandparent needs you to set it up.
  • It is for the first five years. For a six-year-old who wants a course, Studycat or Dinolingo is the honest answer.

What to do

This week.

  1. Pick ten mealtime words — leche, pan, agua, más — and say them in Spanish at every meal this week, in your own voice.
  2. Print the free Spanish cards and stick four of them where the thing is: by the fridge, by the shoes, by the door.
  3. Follow the two-language card routine — a concrete English–Spanish meal, with free cards and recordings.
  4. If you want songs, start the Canticos trial and sing with the child rather than handing over the phone.
  5. Keep speaking Spanish at home even once daycare is in English; it is the foundation, not the competition.2

Questions

What parents ask.

Will Spanish at home delay my child’s English?

No. ASHA’s position is that more than one language does not cause delay, and Head Start’s guidance is that a strong home language builds the foundation for English.2, 3 Count words in both languages together.

Which Spanish do the apps use?

Ours is a neutral Latin American Spanish, one female and one male native voice. Canticos and Studycat use native speakers too; check their samples for the accent you want.

Does Khan Academy Kids have Spanish?

A section of books translated into Spanish; the games and the app itself are English.

What is the best free Spanish app for a toddler?

Our free set — 75 words and 35 phrases in Spanish, no account — plus PBS KIDS Games, which has 50+ games playable in Spanish for ages 2–8, free with no purchases.

Head to head: Their First Words vs Little Pim.

What this is based on

Sources

  1. 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
  2. Head Start (Office of Head Start, ECLKC), Home language support — supporting the home language builds the foundation for learning English and for all later learning. headstart.gov
  3. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Learning more than one language — using more than one language does not confuse children or cause delays; a true disorder shows up in all the languages a child uses. asha.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, Canticos Bilingual Preschool — ages, prices, trial, English-or-Spanish content, offline games, no ads. apps.apple.com
  6. Apple App Store, Learn Spanish – Studycat — prices, trial, immersion method, offline, no ads, privacy label. apps.apple.com
  7. 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
  8. Apple App Store, Gus on the Go: Korean — price and last update. apps.apple.com
  9. Little Pim, home page — the twelve languages, the method, 360 words and phrases per language, prices, ad-free. littlepim.com
  10. Apple App Store, Little Pim Video — subscription prices, age band, privacy label, last update. apps.apple.com
  11. Mango Languages support, Little Pim — library access. support.mangolanguages.com
  12. Apple App Store, PBS KIDS Games — free, no in-app purchases, ages 2–8, download games to play offline. apps.apple.com
  13. PBS KIDS, PBS KIDS Games app page. pbskids.org
  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