The Best Tablets for Kids in 2025

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Tablets are great because they allow kids to read books, watch shows, and play games. But not every tablet offers strong parental controls or kid-friendly apps and services. PCMag's analysts have been reviewing tablets since the very first iPad came out in 2010 and kid-friendly devices as long as . Therefore, you can trust that our picks reflect the best of what's available. Our current Editors' Choice winners are the 10th-Gen Apple iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ because of their excellent value, respectable performance, and top-notch software; your child won't have any complaints about using them. But the other slates on this list are also worth considering depending on what your kid needs, so be sure to explore all our in-depth reviews. We also include some buying advice toward the bottom to help you with your search.

The Best Tablets for School

The best tablet for school is a base model iPad. The iPad's dominant role in the tablet landscape means most schools support them, many teachers have them, and tech support is easy. Other tablets might not be able to run the third-party apps that schools demand or allow you to fill out basic web forms. The worst offenders here are Amazon's Fire tablets, which are inexpensive and popular but don't work well for productivity.

If an iPad won't do for your school, pick something with Chrome OS. For those, check out our list of the best Chromebooks for kids.

What Specs Do You Need in a Tablet for Kids?

Don't assume a tablet for a kid should be junk. Sufficient hardware specs can help you find a tablet that works well enough to avoid frustrating meltdowns. Let's start with screen size and resolution. An 8-inch, 1,280-by-800-pixel display is good for reading comics and watching videos, so use that as your baseline.

Pay close attention to storage specs, too. We recommend 64GB of built-in storage (or more) rather than 32GB. This amount of storage enables you to install more apps and take more pictures and videos. A microSD card slot can't hurt, either, especially if you want to download movies for your kids to watch on long trips. Some games, like Genshin Impact, take up more than 32GB by themselves.

Look for 4GB of RAM or more. This amount of RAM helps apps launch and run more smoothly, particularly if there's anything else running in the background. Amazon’s Fire tablets get a pass here because they still provide a stutter-free experience despite their 3GB of RAM.

Battery life is another factor to remember—you don't want the tablet to die in the middle of a long car ride. Carrying a backup battery can help.

The Best iPad for Kids

iPads have the best tablet apps, grow with your kid, and can double as a pseudo-laptop for schoolwork. Apple's operating system, iPadOS, has the Screen Time feature that lets you monitor usage, set time limits, block apps, filter content, and prevent purchases—which you should use to keep your kids from spending money without your permission. iPadOS does not, however, support multiple user profiles to separate what adults and kids see when they use the tablet.

The iPad also has, by far, the best ecosystem of accessories for productive and creative kids, including cases, keyboards, and the Apple Pencil stylus. It's versatile and extendable.

And, as you probably already know, iPads let kids use iMessage and FaceTime to talk with friends or relatives who have Apple devices without you having to get them a phone.

The Best Fire Tablet for Kids

Amazon's inexpensive Fire tablet lineup has been one of the best family options for years. The Kids Edition has a rubber case, a no-questions-asked two-year guarantee, a simplified interface, and Kids+, which is basically a giant bucket of age-appropriate content.

A Parent Dashboard lets you track what your children are doing and restrict their screen time. You can also put multiple user profiles on the tablets. The Kids Pro model packs a slimmer case and more age-appropriate content.

The Best Android Tablet for Kids

If you primarily use Google services and Android apps, an Android tablet can get you what you need for a little less money than an iPad, and it's not locked to Amazon services like a Fire tablet.

Regarding parental controls, Google Family Link lets you control what apps your kid can access, set daily limits, and block explicit content in Chrome, Search, and YouTube. Your best bets come from Lenovo, Samsung, and TCL.

Why You Should Avoid Toy Tablets

Some tablets, like those made by Fuhu, Kurio, and Leapfrog, were highly restricted tablets that came with kid-friendly software and, by default, didn't offer access to the open internet. By and large, though, these tablets haven't been updated for years (two of these companies no longer exist) and are running old, insecure versions of Android that we don't recommend. They also won't grow with your kids as they age, leaving you to purchase a more advanced tablet from this list eventually, anyway.

While you're shopping for your kid, check out our lab-tested picks for the best kids' phones and the best kids' laptops. For a broader selection of tablets for older kids and adults, look at the best tablets we've tested overall.

Sascha Segan contributed to this report.