The best kids tablets are a great way for kids to learn how computers work, as they boast their touch-screen user interfaces and often simpler operating systems. And if you buy a kids tablet, you get comprehensive parental controls to help you stop junior from browsing adult-oriented websites or making in-app purchases.
Some of the best tablets (opens in new tab) overall double as great kids tablets, thanks to their durability and strong parental controls. We tested a bunch to give you an idea of which are the best kids tablets to buy right now.
If you have a regular Fire Tablet, take a look at our step by step guide on how to add Google Play to your Fire Tablet (opens in new tab). If you want the tablet experience with a full laptop, check out our Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook review.
If you’re struggling to find the best kids tablet for a cheap price, take a look at our best cheap tablets deals and best laptop deals (opens in new tab) page, which covers everything. Check out our Apple iPad mini 6 review (2021) and Kindle Paperwhite (2021, 11th Gen) review.
Be sure to pick up a one of the best tablet cases for kids while you’re out tablet hunting. If you want something ridiculously durable, check out our best rugged tablets page.
What are the best kids tablets?
You seriously cannot go wrong with Amazon kids tablets. Amazon doesn’t blame you if you don’t trust your drop-prone child with a pricey, high-end tablet. That’s why it made the Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Edition, a variant of its all-new Amazon Fire HD 10. Like its Fire HD 8 Kids Edition and Fire 7 Kids Edition predecessors, this child-friendly version of Amazon’s latest tablet packs extensive parental controls. Plus, it comes with a complimentary two-year worry-free warranty for the accidental, inevitable damage that’s to come with the mundane mishaps of childhood.
Believe it or not, the Apple iPad could make a good kids tablet. For $329 ($299 if you’re a student), you get a speedy A10 Fusion chip, support for the Apple Pencil and access to immersive augmented-reality apps. Other highlights include more than 10 hours of battery life and a new iWork suite that makes the iPad a good productivity tool. But in an age of ultra-affordable Chromebooks and Windows machines, Apple’s refreshed tablet is more of a satisfying niche device than it is a PC for the masses.
If you just need a really cheap tablet, you can’t go wrong with the Amazon Fire 7. 2019’s version of the Fire 7 tablet, Amazon’s cheapest slate, comes with two slight upgrades. You now get twice as much internal storage (starting with 16GB rather than 8GB), and Alexa is now a simple shout away, so you can trigger the assistant from across the room. This tablet costs only $50, so even if it does get damaged, it’s not a huge loss.
The best kids tablets you can buy today
At the top of the best kids tablets chain is the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Edition. Not only does it offer a rubber bumper that’ll protect the tablet from drops and scratches, but it also comes with a two-year no-questions-asked warranty. The case is sturdy, with a rough texture and a slight give, which could help small hands grip the device better. The case can be taken off and put back on without too much trouble — an important consideration if you have a particularly destructive child.
On top of that, the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Edition offers long battery life, hitting 10 hours and 12 minutes. The sound on the Fire HD 8 is surprisingly good, albeit a bit soft, at least as long as there isn’t heavy bass involved. It also boasts a bright 8-inch, 1280 x 800 screen and relatively solid performance for the price.
See our full Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Edition review.
If you want to get your kid something a little bigger, we recommend getting the Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Edition. It lasted an epic 13 hours and 29 minutes on the Laptop Mag Battery Test and it comes packed with a ton of parental controls as well as a 2-year warranty, like its predecessor.
Its 10-inch screen is also super bright and offers decent color. It looked great while watching SpongeBob SquarePants aka the best kids show. The 2.0-megapixel rear camera and 720p selfie cameras in the Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Tablet are passable for video chats, but not much else. With FreeTime, parents have control over what their children can and cannot access. It comes preset with an easy-to-navigate selection of PG games and shows, and parents can toss in additional websites and content at their discretion.
See our full Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Edition review.
If you’re looking for a new affordable tablet that doesn’t necessarily have to be kids-focused, then look toward the Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020). The tablets most notable feature is its battery life. The Amazon tablet lasted a whopping 13 hours and 49 minutes on our battery test, which’ll be more than enough time to keep both you and your kids occupied throughout the day.
Alexa is the Fire HD 8’s shining star, especially when you command the digital assistant to turn on Show Mode, which transforms your tablet into a smart display. If you opt for the pricier Plus model, you can prop it on the included wireless charging dock to turn your tablet into an Echo Show-like device. If you plan on teaching your kids how to cook, one awesome use case for show mode is its amazing utility in the kitchen — ask Alexa for a taco recipe, for example, and a carousel of delicious recipes from different websites will appear. Alexa will also walk you through the instructions for the selected recipe step-by-step.
See our full Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020) review
With the iPad Air (2020), Apple brings its mid-range tablet closer to parity with the premium iPad Pro. No longer a larger version of the entry-level iPad, the iPad Air was redesigned with slimmer bezels and outfitted with the new A14 Bionic CPU. Now with a larger 10.9-inch panel and support for the Magic Keyboard, the Air borrows the best features of the iPad Pro while omitting niche extras to keep the cost down.
I can’t remember reviewing a product with so few shortcomings. The Air 4 has a sleek design, a good 10.9-inch display, long battery life and epic performance for the price. Yes, I wish it had Face ID and a headphone jack, but those are easily overcome with Touch ID and Bluetooth headphones. Perhaps the biggest problem with the Air has nothing to do with the tablet itself, but rather, that the best accessories are sold separately and at an exorbitant price. Despite that, the iPad Air is one of the best kids tablets.
See our full Apple iPad Air (2020) review.
FE stands for “Fan Edition” or, in more practical terms, the value pick in Samsung’s beloved Galaxy series. The brand debuted with the Galaxy S20 FE smartphone, and as intended, quickly became a fan-favorite for the performance and features it brought to the sub-flagship category. The Galaxy Tab S7 FE, Samsung’s latest Android tablet, attempts to emulate that success by taking some of the Tab S7’s best qualities and offering them at a lower price.
But the success of the Galaxy Tab S7 FE isn’t as guaranteed. Samsung doesn’t have the same foothold in tablets as it does with phones. This is iPad territory, and in this case, an area owned by the iPad Air. In some ways, the Tab S7 FE handles the challenge well, offering a larger (and better) screen than what you get from the iPad, longer battery life, and an included stylus in the S Pen.
But the downsides are glaring. Sluggish performance from an underpowered chip only highlights the drawbacks of running Android on a tablet. However, they don’t keep the Galaxy Tab S7 FE from being one of the best kids tablets for media streaming or basic productivity.
See our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE review.
When a tablet arrives with major upgrades to its processor, display and wireless connectivity, you expect it to feel like a new experience. That isn’t the case with the iPad Pro 2021. At least, not initially. Out of the box, the iPad Pro acts much like its predecessor. It’s lightning-fast, has a gorgeous 12.9-inch display, and is as feature-packed as ever — so where is the added spice?
Don’t worry, the iPad Pro 2021 is a product you’ll appreciate the more you use it. The new Liquid Retina XDR display with mini-LED technology may not blow you away initially, but playing HDR content showcases how much brighter and more vivid it can get compared to previous Retina panels. While the M1 brings huge performance gains, you probably won’t notice them until you’ve put this tablet to the test by running intensive apps or workflows. Then there is the addition of 5G, which is still several years away from reaching its true potential.
See our full iPad Pro 2021 (12.9-inch) review.
The perennial “best tablet on a budget” returns with a few upgrades. I’m talking, of course, about the entry-level Apple iPad. This latest ninth-generation model packs a faster A13 Bionic chip, an upgraded selfie camera, and a True Tone display, among other small changes.
These updates hardly moved the needle, so it’s a good thing the iPad was so far ahead of the competition going into this launch cycle. If it hadn’t been, the tablet’s deficiencies would’ve stood out. Some of those shortcomings include an ancient design, weak speakers, and a lack of support for the latest accessories and connectivity options.
What keeps the iPad atop its throne are the features people care about most in a budget tablet: a good display, excellent build quality and reliable performance. The iPad delivers on these fronts thanks to its A13 Bionic chip, precision-crafted aluminum frame and bright, vivid 10.2-inch display. Best of all, the $329 iPad costs the same as its predecessor, making it the obvious choice if you want a capable tablet for less than $400.
See our full Apple iPad 2021 review.
Editor’s Note: Amazon’s updated the Fire 7 Kids tablet with more storage, more speed, a better Alexa, less battery life and a new adjustable-stand case for hands-free content consumption.
Amazon’s Fire 7 Kids Edition bundles the company’s 7-inch budget tablet ($49 on its own) with a new protective bumper and a year’s subscription to Amazon’s FreeTime Unlimited for just $99 (16GB). FreeTime Unlimited gives you more than 10,000 books, videos, educational apps and games curated for children. Plus, a two-year guarantee promises a no-questions-asked replacement if your child destroys the tablet.
The parental controls on the Child and Teen profiles let you get very specific about what you want your children to have access to. Or, you can give broad permissions with the Fire’s Smart Filters. Like most Amazon products, the Fire 7 is equipped with Amazon’s digital assistant, Alexa. However, it will not work on any of the profiles if any of the parental controls are activated.
See our full Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition review.
If you’re in the market for a top-tier tablet, there are likely two factors at the top of your checklist: entertainment and the occasional on-the-go productivity. Lenovo’s latest flagship Android tablet, the Tab P11 Pro, has the hardware to excel at both.
With a total of four stereo speakers flanking its ultra-high-res OLED screen, the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro is a binge-watching machine. Plus, Lenovo has bundled a host of software tools that turn the tablet into a workstation as soon as you connect it to any keyboard. And it offers all that for several hundred dollars less than rivals, such as the 11-inch iPad Pro.
See our full Lenovo Tab P11 Pro review.
If you trust your kids not to wreck a tablet, it’s hard to say no to the low-priced $50 Amazon Fire tablet, and the 2019 one is new and improved with Alexa. This 7-inch slate offers Amazon’s solid parental controls, so you won’t need to worry about Junior navigating to sites they shouldn’t see. The 1.9 megapixel cameras in the front and rear of the Amazon Fire 7 are OK for a $50 gadget.
However, you’re not getting the rubber bumper, 2-year, no questions asked warranty or the year of FreeTime Unlimited books, videos, educational apps and games. On top of that, the Fire 7 has a relatively low-res display and still doesn’t feature Google apps. The Fire 7 also suffers from underwhelming performance is due to the slate’s no-name 1.3-GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of memory.
See our full Amazon Fire 7 (2019) review.
How to choose the best kids tablets for you
Choosing the best kids tablet for you all depends on how old your child is and how much you trust them handling expensive tech. If you want a full bonafide kids tablet, your best bet is going with the Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Edition. However, if you need something cheaper and are willing to ditch the extra protection, the Amazon Fire 7 is a solid choice for just $50.
If you need a tablet that both you and your child could use, then going with an Apple product isn’t a bad choice. The Apple iPad is the cheapest of the bunch and offers good battery life as well as support for augmented-reality apps. If you’re looking for a modest android tablet, you could always pick up the Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus, but keep in mind that it’s a little old now and running on an even older operating system.
How we test the best kids tablets
We put each tablet through extensive benchmark testing — both synthetic and real-world — before they end up in the hands of our reviewers. We evaluate each aspect of the tablet, including its performance, battery life, display and speakers.
In our benchmark testing, we use a Klein K10 colorimeter to detect the brightness and sRGB color gamut of the tablet’s display. For performance testing, we run the tablet through a gauntlet of benchmarks, including Geekbench 4.3 and 5.0 (when applicable).
Last but not least, our battery test consists of continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. Typically, tablets average around 9 to 10 hours of battery life. For kids tablets, we extensively test the parental controls as well as the interface that kids would be using every day.
These tests are complemented with extensive hands-on testing from our reviewers who critique everything from the tablet’s materials to the feel of its touchscreen display.
