Story app guides and comparisons
The best Epic alternatives for kids' reading (2026)
Full disclosure: we make one of the alternatives below, and it's a very different thing from Epic. Epic is a big, good library of real books. These are the options worth knowing when it isn't what your child needs, including when to stick with Epic.
| App | Best for | Price | What it does that Epic doesn't |
|---|---|---|---|
| Khan Academy Kids | a free reading and learning app, ages 2 to 8 | Free, with no ads or subscriptions | Completely free, with a step-by-step phonics path |
| Reading Eggs | a structured learn-to-read program with a big library | $9.99/month or $69.99/year in the App Store; with math, $13.99/month or $99.99/year | Lessons in phonics through comprehension, from age 2 to 13 |
| Learning Ally | children with dyslexia or other print disabilities | $135/year for a family; free through many schools; fee waivers available | 80,000+ human-narrated audiobooks, with the text highlighted as it's read |
| Yoto | audiobooks and stories with no screen at all | Players $79.99–$149.99; cards mostly $7–$15; Yoto Club from $4.99/month | A screen-free player your child works with cards |
| Branchlings (ours) | a child who'd rather be in the story than read about someone else | From $9.99/month; sample stories free to read, no free trial | Your child is the hero, and decides what happens |
Why people look for an Epic alternative
- The price. Epic's family plan is $13.99 a month or $84.99 a year, up from $11.99 and $79.99 in 2023.
- The free version is for school. Teachers and their students can use Epic free on weekdays from 7am to 4pm, with about half the library. Homeschoolers aren't eligible.
- It's a library, not a reading program. Epic has leveled books and quizzes, but it doesn't teach phonics step by step.
Before you pay for anything: your public library
Many public libraries lend children's ebooks and audiobooks free with a library card, often through the Libby app. It's worth checking before you subscribe to anything on this page, including ours.
When to stick with Epic
If your child loves to read and wants more books than you can buy, at the right level, in English or Spanish, on any device, Epic is very good at that. Nothing below has a library of published books as big.
1. Khan Academy Kids
- Best for
- a free reading and learning app, ages 2 to 8
- Price
- Free, with no ads or subscriptions
- What it does that Epic doesn't
- Completely free, with a step-by-step phonics path
From the nonprofit Khan Academy: about 300 books read aloud with words highlighted, plus lessons that teach letter sounds, then words, then sight words, alongside math and social-emotional skills. No ads, no subscriptions, nothing to buy.
The catch: a much smaller library, it stops at about age 8, and most of it needs the internet.
2. Reading Eggs
- Best for
- a structured learn-to-read program with a big library
- Price
- $9.99/month or $69.99/year in the App Store; with math, $13.99/month or $99.99/year
- What it does that Epic doesn't
- Lessons in phonics through comprehension, from age 2 to 13
Reading Eggs is a full learn-to-read program: lessons and games that build phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension, plus more than 4,000 leveled books, each with a quiz. One plan covers up to four children, and its website offers a 30-day free trial (a card is needed).
The catch: it's heavily gamified, it needs the internet, and older kids can find parts of it too young.
3. Learning Ally
- Best for
- children with dyslexia or other print disabilities
- Price
- $135/year for a family; free through many schools; fee waivers available
- What it does that Epic doesn't
- 80,000+ human-narrated audiobooks, with the text highlighted as it's read
Learning Ally is a nonprofit audiobook library for people who struggle with print, read by people, with the words highlighted as they go, including grade-level and textbook titles. A family membership is $135 a year, many schools provide it free, and fee waivers are available.
The catch: a qualified educator or evaluator has to confirm your child's reading difficulty (no IEP needed), and reviewers report a buggy app.
4. Yoto
- Best for
- audiobooks and stories with no screen at all
- Price
- Players $79.99–$149.99; cards mostly $7–$15; Yoto Club from $4.99/month
- What it does that Epic doesn't
- A screen-free player your child works with cards
Yoto is a little speaker your child runs themselves: slot in a card and it plays an audiobook, music or a podcast. No screen, no camera, no microphone. The free app has free audio, and you can record your own voice onto a Make Your Own card.
The catch: the player costs $79.99–$149.99 and cards are mostly $7–$15 each, so it adds up, and it's officially for ages 3 and up.
5. Branchlings ours
- Best for
- a child who'd rather be in the story than read about someone else
- Price
- From $9.99/month; sample stories free to read, no free trial
- What it does that Epic doesn't
- Your child is the hero, and decides what happens
This is ours, and it isn't a library. Branchlings writes a new story starring your child, at their reading level, and they choose what happens at every fork or add their own idea. Words light up as they're read, and there's a dyslexia-friendly font.
What it won't do: give you published books, track reading levels, or teach phonics. It's English only, iPhone and iPad, from $9.99 a month with no free trial, and the stories and pictures are made by AI.
How to choose
- Want free? Your public library, then Khan Academy Kids.
- Want them taught to read, step by step? Reading Eggs, or Khan Academy Kids for under-8s.
- Is reading itself the struggle? Learning Ally, and see our guide for kids with dyslexia.
- Want no screen? Yoto.
- Want them to want to read? Try one where they're the hero: Branchlings.
Questions
- Is there a free alternative to Epic?
- Khan Academy Kids is completely free, with about 300 books read aloud and a phonics path for ages 2 to 8. Many public libraries also lend children's ebooks and audiobooks free through the Libby app.
- What's better than Epic for learning to read?
- Epic is a library, so if you want reading taught step by step, a program like Reading Eggs, Khan Academy Kids or Teach Your Monster to Read is a better fit. Epic is great for practice once they're reading.
- Who owns Epic now?
- Epic was sold in 2025, in the US bankruptcy of its former owner BYJU'S, to TAL Education Group, an education company based in Beijing. Epic's privacy policy names Epic Kids Inc. in San Jose, California, and says it doesn't show targeted ads to children.
- Does Branchlings have published books like Epic?
- No. Branchlings writes new stories starring your child, with AI. If your child wants published books, Epic or your library is the better choice.
Try Branchlings
Your child dreams up the story and picks what happens at every fork, and Branchlings writes and paints it. Free to download, with in-app purchases. You can read the sample stories before you choose a plan. Painting your character and new stories come with a plan. Plans start at $9.99 a month, and there's no free trial. For iPhone and iPad in the US.
Pricing and features for every app on this list checked October 2026. Apps change fast, so double-check on each app's own site before you buy. Names of other apps are trademarks of their owners and are used here only to identify them; we're not connected with any of them.