The best story app for preschoolers (2026)
Full disclosure: we make one of these apps, so yes, we're biased. Here's what we'd actually pick for a three-, four- or five-year-old, including the ones that aren't ours, and what pediatricians say to look for.
| App | Best for | Price | What your preschooler does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Branchlings (ours) | a story they shape, about their own life | From $9.99/month; sample stories free to read, no free trial | Decides what happens at each fork, while you read |
| Khan Academy Kids | free learning, with books read aloud | Free, with no ads or subscriptions | Plays learning games and listens to books, with words highlighted |
| Epic | lots of real picture books, read aloud | $13.99/month or $84.99/year; 7-day free trial | Picks real picture books, read aloud by narrators |
| Yoto | listening by themselves, with no screen | Players $79.99–$149.99; cards mostly $7–$15; Yoto Club from $4.99/month | Slots in a card and listens, all by themselves |
What to look for, according to pediatricians
The American Academy of Pediatrics' 2026 advice says the content matters more than the minutes, and that lower-quality apps "tend to include dark design patterns (eg, frequent rewards for play), embedded distractions such as ads, or excessive interactive elements." (AAP policy statement)
So look for an app with no ads, nothing pushing your child to keep going, and a clear end, and use it with them when you can. Every app on this list has no ads. They differ in what your child spends the time doing.
1. Branchlings ours
- Best for
- a story they shape, about their own life
- Price
- From $9.99/month; sample stories free to read, no free trial
- What your preschooler does
- Decides what happens at each fork, while you read
This is ours. Your preschooler is the hero, a character they designed, with whoever they want along: a brother or sister, Grandma, the dog, an imaginary dragon. They pick the kind of story, from dinosaurs and pirates to the moments in their own life: starting daycare, a new baby, a big-kid bed, a first trip to the dentist.
For threes and fours, you read together: two choices at each fork (tap once to hear it, again to pick it) and little prompts for you to talk about. From five, there are three choices, and the words light up when the storyteller voice reads the story. Grown-ups can leave out words and topics, like the dark or spiders.
What it won't do: teach reading step by step, or come free. It's from $9.99 a month, with no free trial, on iPhone and iPad.
2. Khan Academy Kids
- Best for
- free learning, with books read aloud
- Price
- Free, with no ads or subscriptions
- What your preschooler does
- Plays learning games and listens to books, with words highlighted
Completely free, from the nonprofit Khan Academy, with no ads and no subscriptions. Your preschooler follows a learning path of games and lessons in early reading, math and social-emotional skills, with about 300 books read aloud in English or Spanish. A small randomized trial found pre-literacy gains in four- and five-year-olds.
The catch: it's a learning app first, so the stories aren't theirs, and most of it needs the internet.
3. Epic
- Best for
- lots of real picture books, read aloud
- Price
- $13.99/month or $84.99/year; 7-day free trial
- What your preschooler does
- Picks real picture books, read aloud by narrators
A library of 40,000+ published children's books, including thousands of Read-to-Me books with professional narration and words highlighted. Up to four children share a family plan, with a 7-day free trial.
The catch: it's $13.99 a month or $84.99 a year, and Common Sense Media notes that young children can switch profiles and reach books meant for older kids.
4. Yoto
- Best for
- listening by themselves, with no screen
- Price
- Players $79.99–$149.99; cards mostly $7–$15; Yoto Club from $4.99/month
- What your preschooler does
- Slots in a card and listens, all by themselves
A Yoto player has no screen, camera or microphone, and preschoolers can work it themselves: slot in a card and it plays a story or songs. You can record your own voice onto a Make Your Own card. Players are officially for ages 3 and up.
The catch: players cost $79.99–$149.99 and cards are mostly $7–$15 each. Yoto Club (from $4.99 a month) adds 300+ titles in the app.
Our pick
For a story your preschooler shapes, starring them, about the things happening in their life, Branchlings, read together. For free learning, Khan Academy Kids. For quiet time with no screen, Yoto.
And whatever you choose, sit with them when you can. At this age, the talking you do about the story matters as much as the story.
What we'd do today
- Pick one thing coming up in their life (a new sibling, starting school, a dentist visit) and find a story about it.
- Read our free sample story for ages 3–4 together and let them pick at each fork.
- Ask one question after any story: "What would you have done?"
Questions
- What's the best free story app for preschoolers?
- Khan Academy Kids is completely free, with no ads, and reads about 300 books aloud. PBS KIDS Games is free too, with characters like Daniel Tiger.
- How much screen time should a preschooler have?
- The AAP's 2026 advice doesn't set one number. If a family wants a limit, it suggests less than an hour a day for toddlers and preschoolers, and says what they watch, and doing it together, matter most.
- Can preschoolers use Branchlings by themselves?
- It's made to be read together at this age: a grown-up reads, and your child chooses. Making a new story needs a grown-up's account, and you can set a PIN so little hands can't buy credits or change settings.
- Is Branchlings free?
- Branchlings is 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, from $9.99 a month. See pricing.
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.
We checked prices and features for every app here in 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.