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Top 9 free learning websites for preschool and kindergarten (2026)

Checked October 2026For Homeschool and parents, TeachersGrades Ages 2 to 6, preschool and kindergartenKind Free websitesNo affiliate links, no paid placement. How we chose

Quick answer

Khan Academy Kids is the best free learning option for preschool and kindergarten: it is a free app for ages 2 to 8 with no ads and no subscriptions. This list is for parents, homeschool families and early-years teachers who want real learning for small children without paying. We skipped sites that are only a free trial before a subscription, and we say where a paid tier holds things back.

Top 9 free learning websites for preschool and kindergarten (2026): comparison
#NameBest forPrice
1Khan Academy KidsBest all-round free app for a preschooler or kindergartnerFree
2PBS KIDSBest for familiar characters and screen time you can trustFree
3StarfallBest for a child learning letters and first readingFree plan, paid upgrades
4Teach Your Monster to ReadBest for a game-based first step into phonicsFree
5Sesame StreetBest for preschoolers who love the charactersFree
6PBS LearningMediaBest for teachers planning early-years themesFree
7SplashLearnBest for counting and phonics games assigned by a teacherFree plan, paid upgrades
8ReadWorksBest for decodable readers a teacher or parent can printFree
9ZearnBest for a parent or teacher who wants a full kindergarten math courseFree plan, paid upgrades

1. Khan Academy Kids

Khan Academy

  • Best all-round free app for a preschooler or kindergartner
  • Free

A free learning app from the Khan Academy nonprofit for ages 2 to 8, PreK through 2nd grade, covering early literacy, reading, writing, math, social-emotional skills and logic. The page says there are no ads and no subscriptions, and it runs on iOS, Android, Amazon devices and Chromebooks. Teachers can set up a free class and students sign in with a class code, with no email address.

Watch for It is an app, not a website, so each child needs a phone, tablet or Chromebook; schools wanting web-based teacher and district tools buy the separate Khan Academy Kids for Schools.

Visit Khan Academy Kids ↗

2. PBS KIDS

PBS KIDS

  • Best for familiar characters and screen time you can trust
  • Free

Games and videos from PBS KIDS shows for children ages 2 to 8, with a Grown-Ups section and apps. PBS describes the PBS KIDS Games app as a free download, and the site lets children play games and watch video picks such as Odd Squad and Super Why's Comic Book Adventures.

Watch for Pitched at ages 2 to 8; the pages we read do not describe ads or accounts, and PBS KIDS carries funder acknowledgements on its apps and websites.

Visit PBS KIDS ↗  Facts read on the maker’s page.

3. Starfall

Starfall Education Foundation

  • Best for a child learning letters and first reading
  • Free plan, paid upgrades

A nonprofit's ad-free reading site for Pre-K through grade 5. Its Learn-to-Read program walks children through four steps: ABCs, phonics, the move from learning to read to reading to learn, and fluent reading with fiction and nonfiction books. The site says it is ad-free and does not collect personal information from children.

The free part: The Learn-to-Read program (four steps from ABCs to fluent reading) is free for every child; membership adds all Pre-K to 5th grade activities, math and extra subjects.

Home membership is $35 a year; Teacher's membership is $70 a year for one teacher and their students (as of 2026-10-27)

Watch for Math and the wider Pre-K to 5th grade catalog sit behind a paid membership; only the Learn-to-Read program is free for everyone.

Visit Starfall ↗

4. Teach Your Monster to Read

Teach Your Monster

  • Best for a game-based first step into phonics
  • Free

Free games from a charity-backed team, built with academic experts, for early phonics and reading. Children play through Teach Your Monster to Read, and the same site offers a reading-for-fun game and a number skills game. Teachers can open a Teachers' Area with free printables and tutorials.

Watch for The site has a page of DPA (data privacy agreement) advice for US teachers, so check whether your district needs one before class use.

Visit Teach Your Monster to Read ↗

5. Sesame Street

Sesame Workshop

  • Best for preschoolers who love the characters
  • Free

Sesame Workshop's site offers hundreds of free Sesame Street games with Elmo, Cookie Monster, Abby and friends, aimed at early learning skills, plus videos and printables.

Watch for The page is pitched at preschool, so kindergartners who are reading may outgrow it quickly.

Visit Sesame Street ↗

6. PBS LearningMedia

PBS

  • Best for teachers planning early-years themes
  • Free

A free library of videos, games and lesson plans for PreK through 12. Its early learning section offers PBS KIDS-branded videos, games, printables and hands-on activities for PreK to grade 2, which suit a parent or teacher planning a theme week. A free account adds playlists and saving.

Watch for Written for the adult who plans the lesson; saving and playlists need a free account, and it is not a game site children use alone.

Visit PBS LearningMedia ↗  Facts read on the maker’s page.

7. SplashLearn

SplashLearn

  • Best for counting and phonics games assigned by a teacher
  • Free plan, paid upgrades

A math and English program for preschool (ages 2 to 5) through grade 5. For teachers and schools it lists 8,000+ games, activities and worksheets as free, including alphabet, counting, phonics and sight word topics.

The free part: Teachers and schools get the library of 8,000+ math and English games, activities and worksheets free.

Watch for The free offer is described for teachers and schools; the parent page we read showed no family pricing, so check what a home account includes.

Visit SplashLearn ↗  Facts read on the maker’s page.

8. ReadWorks

ReadWorks

  • Best for decodable readers a teacher or parent can print
  • Free

A nonprofit library of more than 6,000 K-12 reading passages that includes decodable readers for grades K to 2, question sets and daily Article-A-Day sets. All of it is free for teachers and students, and passages can be printed.

Watch for It is built for an adult to assign and print; the free account is for educators and the sign-up page says it is not intended for students.

Visit ReadWorks ↗  Facts read on the maker’s page.

9. Zearn

Zearn

  • Best for a parent or teacher who wants a full kindergarten math course
  • Free plan, paid upgrades

Zearn offers a Kindergarten math program inside its K-8 platform: digital lessons with onscreen teachers, visual models and digital manipulatives, plus paper-and-pencil work. Teachers and families can create free accounts and start right away.

The free part: Always-free teacher and individual-classroom accounts cover one teacher and up to 35 students, with the full Zearn Math platform and instructional materials.

School Accounts are paid; pricing is by quote on the maker's site

Watch for It is built around a structured course, so it needs more adult set-up than a play site, and the free account covers one classroom of up to 35 students.

Visit Zearn ↗  Facts read on the maker’s page.

Also good

  • ScratchJr: A free early coding app for ages 5 to 7, according to the Scratch Foundation's tools page; not rated here because it is an app rather than a site.
  • Storyline Online: Actors read children's picture books aloud on video, with activity guides for each book.
  • Funbrain: Games, books and videos sorted by grade, with its own Pre-K and Kindergarten playground.
  • ABCya: Learning games for PreK to grade 6; it shows an ad-free upgrade link, so expect ads on the free site.

How we chose

We weighed these, most important first. The order is our judgement against them, not a score or a vote, and a different teacher could reasonably order it differently.

  1. Free without paying. The main thing a parent or teacher wants must work at no cost, with the free part stated plainly.
  2. Right for ages 2 to 6. Content pitched at preschool and kindergarten children, with little or no reading needed to get started.
  3. Ads and child privacy. Sites that say they run no ads or take care with children's data rank higher.
  4. Easy for a first-time adult user. A parent should be able to hand a child the screen within minutes.
  5. Learning, not just play. Early reading, number sense and social skills, taught on purpose.

We took no money, free products or affiliate commissions for any place on this list, and no link here carries a tracking code. Every fact was read on the maker’s own page on October 27, 2026; prices carry that date because they change. See how we choose and the ad-free promise.

Questions

What is the best free learning website for preschoolers?
Khan Academy Kids for a structured, ad-free app (ages 2 to 8), or PBS KIDS for games and videos with characters children already know.
Is Starfall really free?
Starfall's Learn-to-Read program is free for every child. Membership adds the rest of the Pre-K to 5th grade activities and math; a home membership is $35 a year and a teacher's membership is $70 a year (as of 2026-10-27).
Are there ads on these sites?
Starfall says it is 100% ad-free and Khan Academy Kids says it has no ads. For the others, check the site; ABCya, which we did not rank, shows an ad-free upgrade link.
Do preschoolers need an account?
Not always. Khan Academy Kids teachers set up a free class and children sign in with a class code. For the others, a parent or teacher account is the usual route; see each site.

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Last checked October 27, 2026. Something out of date or missing? Tell us and we will fix it; makers can send corrections, never money.