Best Math Apps for Kids in 2026: Honest Picks by Age
The best math apps for kids in 2026, sorted by age and by what your child needs to practise, with what each costs, what it does well and what it skips.
The best math apps for kids are the ones that fit what your child needs to practise right now. A five-year-old learning to count needs something very different from a nine-year-old who still stalls on 7 × 8, yet most "top 10" lists put them in one ranking. This guide sorts the well-known apps by age and by job, says how each one makes money, and points out what each leaves out.
Prices change often, so check the App Store or Google Play before you pay. We make one of the apps in this guide, so it has its own short section near the end where you can weigh it separately.
Quick answer: the best math app by age
| Age | Main need | Apps to try first | Cost model |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2–5 | Counting, shapes, early number sense | Khan Academy Kids, Moose Math | Free |
| 5–8 | Adding, taking away, number bonds | Khan Academy Kids, SplashLearn, DragonBox Numbers | Free, subscription, paid |
| 6–12 | Fast recall of + − × ÷ facts | XtraMath, Prodigy Math | Free, free with paid extras |
| 6–12 | Following a full curriculum | Zearn, Khan Academy, IXL | Free, free, subscription |
| 9+ | Algebra and geometry ideas | DragonBox Algebra, DragonBox Elements | Paid |
Grade labels in app stores are usually US grades. If you are in the UK, Malaysia or elsewhere, go by your child's age and current skills.
What to check before you download
- Match the app to the gap. Some apps teach concepts (why 3 + 4 is the same as 4 + 3). Others build fluency, so the answer comes without counting. A child who understands addition but is slow needs a fluency app, and a child who is lost needs a concept app or a person.
- Find out how it makes money. Free with no ads, freemium with upgrades shown to the child, subscription, or one-off purchase. Freemium is where kids see the most "buy this" prompts.
- Ask who controls the rewards. Most apps reward with coins, pets or outfits that live inside the app. That works for some children and wears off for others.
- Look for a parent view. You should be able to see which facts or topics your child gets wrong without sitting next to them.
- Check the session length. Short daily practice works better than long weekend sessions. Our guide on how long kids should practise math each day has times by age.
The apps, one by one
Khan Academy Kids (ages 2–8)
Free, from the non-profit Khan Academy, with no ads and no subscription. Math sits alongside reading, phonics and social-emotional activities, and friendly characters lead children along a learning path. It is the easiest recommendation for preschool and the first years of school. Once a child can add confidently, there is less here for them, because math is one strand among several.
Moose Math (ages 3–7)
Free, made by Duck Duck Moose, which is now part of Khan Academy. Children count, add, subtract, sort and spot shapes through small games set in a town. It is gentle and well made, and most children outgrow it within a year or two of starting school.
SplashLearn (pre-K to grade 5)
A large library of curriculum-aligned math games, plus reading. There is a limited free version; full home access needs a subscription. Parents get progress reports. It stops at grade 5, so older children will need something else.
Prodigy Math (grades 1–8)
A fantasy role-playing game where children answer math questions to win battles. The math questions are free, and a paid membership adds in-game extras. Children who love games often play happily for a long time. The catch is that the game can take up more of the session than the math, and the membership extras are visible to children, so expect to be asked for them.
DragonBox (about age 4 and up, depending on the app)
A series of puzzle games, now part of the Kahoot! family: Numbers and Big Numbers for younger children, Algebra 5+ and Algebra 12+, and Elements for geometry. Children solve puzzles that turn into proper math notation step by step, which makes ideas like equations feel less scary. It is paid, and each app has an end, so it suits learning a concept more than daily practice.
XtraMath (kindergarten to grade 8)
Free, from a non-profit. Short daily sessions drill addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts against a timer and track which facts are automatic. It is plain by design and very focused. The timer suits some children and stresses others.
Zearn, Khan Academy and IXL (full curriculum)
Zearn is free for families and runs in a web browser, with lessons and practice that follow a US school curriculum from kindergarten to grade 8. Khan Academy (the main site, for older children) is free and goes from arithmetic up to calculus, with short videos and practice. IXL is a subscription with a huge question bank by grade and detailed reports, though its scoring drops after wrong answers, which some children find discouraging. All three feel like school, which is a plus if you want structure and a minus if your child already resists homework.
What most app lists leave out
Which skill is actually stuck
Before you pick an app, ask your child a few quick questions out loud. If they get the answer but count on their fingers, they need fluency practice. If they guess or freeze, they need the idea explained again, by you, a teacher or a concept app like DragonBox.
Rewards outside the screen
In-app coins only matter to the child while the app is new. Some families do better when practice earns something real, like choosing dinner or ten extra minutes at the park. Our guide to rewards for math practice covers what tends to work and what backfires.
Siblings at different levels
Check whether the app allows separate profiles with separate difficulty. One shared login on a family iPad usually means the younger child gets work that is too hard or the older one gets bored.
Ads and purchase prompts
Look at the store listing for "In-App Purchases" and "Contains Ads", and try the app yourself for five minutes before handing it over.
A routine around it
An app works best as a short daily habit next to talking about numbers in everyday life: prices in the shop, sharing snacks, counting steps.
Where Lucky Math fits
We make Lucky Math, so read this section with that in mind. It is an iOS quiz app for practising number facts. Parents set the number of questions and the difficulty for each child, and a good score opens a reward chest that the parent fills with real rewards. Addition and subtraction are free. The one-time Plus upgrade adds multiplication and division, an Apple Watch app and family sharing. It does not teach concepts from scratch and has no fractions or geometry, so for those, pair it with Khan Academy Kids, DragonBox or help from you.
FAQ
What is the best free math app for kids?
For ages 2 to 8, Khan Academy Kids is free with no ads or subscriptions. For older children, Khan Academy and Zearn are free full courses, and XtraMath is a free way to practise number facts.
Do math apps actually help kids learn?
They help most with practice: building speed and confidence on facts a child already understands. They are weaker at explaining a new idea to a child who is confused, which is where a parent or teacher still matters.
At what age should kids start using math apps?
Most early math apps are designed for children from about age 3 to 5. Before then, counting toys, stairs and snacks with you does the same job without a screen.
How long should a child use a math app each day?
About 5 to 10 minutes for ages 5 to 7 and 10 to 20 minutes for ages 8 to 12 is plenty for most children, as long as they use it most days.