Kids are growing up with phones and tablets in their hands and are becoming masters at playing with a wide variety of apps. If you want to help make their time staring at a screen a little more educational, then coding apps are a great choice.
Coding and programming are ever-growing fields of employment. They’re also accessible for kids and even young children can start their coding journey.
Learning how to code may not only start them on a career path, but can also teach them a variety of skills they can apply to other aspects of their life, such as math, reading, logical thinking, and problem-solving.
By learning to code, kids can create their own games and become more active in the field of technology. Coding apps that are aimed at kids aim to make coding fun while also teaching all of the fundamental skills that an absolute beginner needs.
If you don’t know what the best coding apps for kids are, then this is the article for you.
codeSpark Academy is one of the most popular coding apps for kids for a good reason. The curriculum of the app is backed by research from educational institutes such as MIT and Princeton and is very well-constructed.
The app has 12 lessons that kids can take at their own pace and these are backed by hundreds of different puzzles and games that help to reinforce the lessons.
The classes are word-free so kids of all ages can understand and will teach kids how to create basic commands and design simple games. The code can then be practiced in both games and through a digital workbook that can be printed and used offline.
New skills and games are added to the app every week and it will teach kids how to make their own simple games. A subscription to the app is required after the trial and each subscription allows for up to three children to use the app.
Parents get progress reports so they can monitor progress as kids work through the app.
Available for: Android, iOS
Price: Free seven-day trial. Billed at $90 per year or $15 per month.
Tynker is a little more advanced than codeSpark as it goes beyond the basics and leads kids through more advanced programming languages such as JavaScript and Python. However, this doesn’t mean that the app is difficult.
The app has over 300 lessons spread across six different certification levels and they start from the beginner level. The lessons are all guided and have block-based coding challenges to make things easier for kids to understand.
There are many puzzles for kids to solve to help them use their new skills. These often take the form of a buggy code that kids need to use problem-solving skills to correct. Kids can enjoy interactive lessons, mini-games, projects, and puzzles as they progress through the course.
With over 2000 different activities for kids to complete, it will take them a long time to progress through everyone Tynker has to offer. There are also two accompanying apps called Tynker Junior and Mod Creator that can help to support this app.
You can choose from individual or family memberships, with family memberships supporting three kids.
Available for: Android, iOS
Price: Tynker offers individual and family plans. Family plans are $73.50 per quarter, $210 per year, or $472.50 for a year.
This is a great free coding app that kids are sure to love. It’s only available for iOS, however, and is best when used on an iPad. It’s aimed at younger kids and can be used by kids as young as four, although it is largely aimed at kids between the ages of six to eight years old.
As the name of the app suggests, the app introduces Daisy the Dinosaur, and Daisy is used to help kids learn the basics of coding. It has a drop-and-drag interface so it is very easy for kids to use.
Kids are asked to complete challenges to make Daisy perform several actions such as walking and dancing. Although it doesn’t use these terms, Daisy the Dinosaur teaches kids the basics of coding concepts such as events, loops, sequencing, and objects.
This is a great free app to introduce young kids to the basics of coding. Once they have grasped the concepts in Daisy the Dinosaur, kids can then progress to the sister app, Hopscotch.
This is the sister app to Daisy the Dinosaur and is a great complement to that app. However, it is not necessary to complete Daisy the Dinosaur first! Hopscotch is aimed at an older age range than Daisy and is recommended for kids aged nine to eleven years old.
Hopscotch allows kids to learn more about coding and helps them to turn their own drawings into animations and games that they can then share with their friends.
Kids can learn coding through a series of video tutorials and play along with these tutorials. The app takes a blocking approach to coding so kids just need to drag and drop blocks in place to make their characters act.
Kids can also play hundreds of games on the app that have been made by other kids. There are also some more well-known elements and games in the app, such as Crossy Road.
Available for: iOS
Price: Free seven-day trial. Billed at $79.99 per year or $9.99 per month.
Mimo is aimed at older kids as its interface and lessons may be a little too dry and difficult for younger kids. It’s aimed at teenagers and adults so if your child has grown out of the other apps we’ve introduced on this list, Mimo might be for them.
The app has a large number of bite-sized exercises that use real code to teach users what they need to know. You can experiment in the code playground with your own code to see how it works and can make your own projects as well.
The app has a game aspect to it as well as you’re encouraged to return every day and keep your streak going!
There are many coding languages available to learn in this app. You’ll be able to learn languages such as HTML, JavaScript, and Python, as well as many others.
Available for: Android, iOS
Price: Free seven-day trial. Billed at $79.99 per year or $9.99 per month
This app covers a large range of different materials. It starts with the absolute basics of coding but slowly builds up to Python and more complicated coding languages.
The app has been used by many elementary schools throughout the United States and has been rigorously designed and tested by experienced teachers and students.
The lessons are all interactive and introduce skills such as problem-solving, resilience, creativity, and collaboration. This is all done through the introduction of the Fuzz family, nine cute characters that help kids through the lessons and games.
In all, there are over 70 lessons available and they link to several educational periods such as K-5 and K-12.
Kodable’s plans allow four different profiles to be created, making it a good choice for larger families.
Available for: iOS
Price: Free seven-day trial. Billed at $79.99 per year or $9.99 per month. There is also a lifetime option at $149.99
Our final choice of coding app for kids is Code Land. This is aimed at kids aged from 4 to 10 years old and introduces the basic concepts behind coding through a variety of games.
Many of the games can be completed without any reading required, making them accessible for all.
Your kid will learn pattern recognition, problem-solving, loops, functions, and logical thinking through the games in this app.
Available for: Android, iOS
Price: Free seven-day trial. Billed at $41.99 per year or $6.99 per month.
Final Thoughts
In this article, we listed seven amazing coding apps for kids that will help to improve their coding skills(see also: 6 Amazing Coding Toys For Kids To Improve Their Skills). There are so many different coding apps for kids available for both iOS and Android and their different styles will appeal to different children.
We recommend letting your kid try a few apps to see which they prefer. Although many apps require subscriptions or in-app purchases, they usually offer decent free trials as well so take advantage of these before you commit any money.
There are also some free apps that you can choose as well.
We hope that your kid enjoys the coding app we’ve listed in this article and is soon making their own games!
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