Coding has fast become one of the most interesting and desirable skills for the future.
And now, it is much easier than ever to get kids to learn to program with the availability of good child-friendly coding apps.
In this article, we have put together a list of the best coding apps for kids.
The featured programming apps are very simple to use and will have your young fellows learning to code even before they know how to read.
These new coding games for children make coding very imaginative and fun.
It is important to note that coding is not only about technical skills but knowing how to code introduces young minds to creative thinking and building logic.
Through the use of riddles, puzzles, coding games, and challenges, these child-friendly coding apps teach simple skills like patience, problem-solving, persistence, and creativity.
Why Should Your Kids Learn to Code?
Coding has always played a pivotal role in our lives since the very first line of code was written. Today, even when we are not paying attention, codes run to make our lives easier.
Everything from the simple mobile apps we use on our smartphones, to all of the programs that we use at the office or even the ATM down your street are products of code.
All of these things use code to shape the way we carry out our day-to-day activities. There is nothing new about the idea that young people need to learn to code.
In fact, since the inception of tech giants like Google, Amazon, and the likes of Facebook, coding has been pivotal to the creation of a wide variety of coding education programs as well as nonprofits.
Why coding is important
That part is quite easy – You have leverage once you are marketable. You find it easier to take more risks and also bounce back in the event that things do not go as expected.
Before now, people would assume that it was better to wait until your child had to choose a degree program before encouraging them to consider coding, but things have changed. Nothing holds us back from starting right away, and we should.
Coding or programming are skills that are quite useful in professional circumstances and even in every aspect of a young child’s future.
Below are 24 coding apps for kids between 3 to 15 and above that you will love to try.
Best coding apps for kids between 3-15+
1. Coding Safari
- Platform: only iOS
- Ages: 2 years old and older
- Cost: Charge-Free (in-app purchases)
You’ll love coding safari as it is a unique coding app that you can download to teach children from the age of two and older the fundamentals of coding!
Primarily with a focus on pre-coding skills such as problem-solving, computational, and decomposition thinking, coding safari is both engaging and highly educational.
You could consider this game for the littles coders in your life!
2. Kodable
- Platform: only iOS
- Ages: from 6 years and older
- Cost: Basic version is Free, but Kodable Pro costs $6.99 a month
In this app, the Fuzz family is noticed to have crash-landed on Smeeborg and has to explore the numerous mazes of their newfound planet.
To help this stranded family get through each maze and gather coins, children have to make use of programming logic to drag and drop the right commands.
Kodable helps to introduce students to the basics of computer programming via the step-by-step instruction games, loops, and if/then statements.
What really makes Kodable Pro different from the basic version is the added resources, guidance, and lessons for parents that are helping their children learn.
3. Playosmo
- Platform: only iOS & Amazon fire
- Ages: from 5-10 years old
- Cost: only $78
Osmo is an entirely unique game for kids. Here, instead of the drag-and-drop blocks on a device screen, children use physical blocks that are connected to the computer via the Osmo tablet.
There are a total of two coding apps and a wide range of extra games for the console which are more pocket-friendly in packages and sets.
There is coding Awbie also, where kids make use of code blocks to guide a cute monster through challenges.
Also available is Coding Jam where kids make use of code blocks to make catchy jams with samples and beats.
4. Algorithm City
- Platform: Available only Android
- Ages: from age 5 and older
- Cost: Free
Algorithm City is a coding game with 3D style graphics; players can select an animal to represent their character.
It is designed to teach the basic coding concepts, that are just perfect for young children to grasp.
Kids will be able to learn command sequencing, as well as functions and loops, and lots more.
The goal of this online game is to guide your chosen character by gathering golds and solving levels.
5. Lego Boost
Lego Boost is a mobile app that allows children to build various Lego models and go further to program them with code.
Here, students can easily program the models to make cool sounds and even move with the use of the enabled drag and drop code.
This specific set helps to teach kids to build a total of 5 different lego models in the form of a cat, a robot, a guitar, a lego-building machine, and a mouse on a car.
This set is a very expensive one, but it is quite versatile and built with a system that every kid is already familiar with – Lego building blocks.
6. Coding For Kids: Learn To Code
Code for Kids is an app specially designed for young kids and focuses on loops, simple sequences, functions, arrays, debugging, and coordinates.
The game is an animated one and comes in a 2d layout with catchy colors and simple games that are focused on helping kids build individual skills.
7. Tynker
- Platform: available on iPad & Android tablet
- Ages: between 6-10 years of age
- Cost: between $1.99 to $95.99
With the Tynker app, you have a platform that is much more extensive than a bulk of the other programs we have featured on this list.
It is mostly used in elementary school curriculums. With the Tynker app, students are allowed to create their own animations and mobile apps through drag and drop puzzles and then expand to teach children Javascript, Python, and Swift.
8. Nancy Drew: Codes & Clues – Mystery Coding Game
Nancy Drew: Codes & Clues is a simple narrative-based mobile game that involves searching for clues and other ‘evidence’ in an attempt to solve a mystery.
You will be able to do this by dragging visual code blocks in an attempt to move your bot around.
Here, there are girlfriends that set out to solve a mystery with super cool costumes and a very interesting story.
This one is designed to be more appealing for girls, and is a lot of fun!
9. Code Karts
- Platform: Available on iOS and Android
- Ages: between 3-5 years old
- Cost: Free, but comes with a $1.99 upgrade
Code Kart is a game primarily about cars racing around a unique custom-made track.
Users make do with the drag and drop option to build tracks with color matching in the game’s first 10 levels.
When you use the $1.99 upgrade, you will be able to open 60 more levels that are designed to build upon each other.
10. Think and Learn: Code-a-Pillar
- Platform: Available on iOS and Android
- Ages: From 3-6 years old
- Cost: available for free ( Toy is optional)
Think and Learn is designed around a beautiful brightly colored caterpillar that is so smart that it teaches very young kids sequencing through the drag and drop style.
The app works great whether or not you use the accompanying Fisher-Price caterpillar toy.
However, the toy adds a more experimental and interactive form of play.
11. Lightbot
Lightbot is one of the few coding games for kids that appear to be more challenging. Don’t be fooled by the cute animated robot; the upper levels can be even more challenging for adults.
While the Lightbot game starts with beginning levels, it remains the perfect app for students who are whizzing through other programs.
12. Daisy the Dinosaur
- Platform: Available on iPad
- Ages: between 5-7 years old
- Cost: Free
All you have to do here is to make the cute Daisy the dinosaur do some moves, jump, and dance with the featured drag and drop commands.
Here, Daisy, the Dinosaur teaches you basic coding concepts such as sequencing and conditionals in a fun little challenge.
13. Box Island
- Platform: available on iOS & Android
- Ages: between the ages of 5-10 years old
- Cost: between $2.99 – $7.99
Box Island feels so much like a video game than a bunch of the other ones featured here. The graphics and animation featured in Box Island are seriously impressive.
This features drag-and-drop gameplay that teaches your kids basic coding logic and problem-solving skills through narrative gameplay.
14. Scratch JR
- Platform: available on iPad & Android tablet
- Ages: between 5-7 years old
- Cost: Free
Scratch Jr is a virtual open world where children can design their own drawings and make use of the drag-and-drop code to make games and animations.
The Scratch Jr app focuses on helping kids build coding skills while making use of students’ natural creativity.
Here, characters can be programmed to jump, move, dance, and sing. Children even have the option to record their own voices for the animation.
15. Spritebox
- Platform: available on iOS & Android
- Ages: between 5-7 years old
- Cost: from $2.99 to $3.99
Spritebox is more of an advanced coding game designed in a 2D Super Mario kind of game that gradually teaches children actual code.
Here, the Kids have to switch from drag-and-drop pictures to the use of syntax over many levels, and there are challenges that range from relatively basic to very advanced.
Unlike a large percentage of the apps featured on this list, Spritebox follows an interesting narrative adventure that keeps children both interested and engaged.
16. Go for Dash & Dot robots
- Platform: available on iOS and Android
- Ages: between 6-12 years old
- Cost: Free ( you can check the app for the price of Dash)
There are so many coding robots for children here. Dash and Dot remain one of the best coding apps for children because they are very versatile with options that support command with sounds and timers.
The Dash bot helps to make tech it easy for kids to access tech knowledge and provides expander packs that will help Dash grow with your kid’s skill level. Dash is a voice-activated app, and it navigates objects.
The Dash app helps to build confident digital competencies in children with their 5 Free Programming STEM mobile Apps.
17. Cargo-Bot
- Platform: Available on iOS and Android
- Ages: for 10 years and older
- Cost: Free
Cargo-Bot is an easy puzzle game where a kid can use a robotic arm to transport colored boxes into set designs.
This is a very visual game and does not involve writing any code. Students who use this app will learn to sequence by selecting the preset actions of the robotic arm and arranging them in the right order.
18. Run Marco
- Platform: iOS
- Ages: between 6-12 years old
- Cost: Free
In Run Marco, students make use of the drag and drop code blocks as a tool to control their character.
The game makes use of simple commands such as “move one step forward” and “repeat” to assist students on their journey to learning how to sequence a set of actions.
When you press play, you will see your assigned character follow the steps! Kids will have to learn the best way to modify their code in order to beat the task at hand.
For a more advanced twist, kids have the option to design their own level in this game.
19. Hopscotch-Programming for kids
- Platform: available on iOS
- Ages: from 8- 17 years old
- Cost: only $7.99 per month
Hopscotch happens to be one of the most famous coding apps for kids because it makes use of both artistic and STEM skills.
It is a very versatile app with numerous options to help you create stories using designs, characters, and illustrations.
This app is an ideal one for creative students. The Hopscotch app rewards kids for learning the basic logic of coding without paying attention to the boring bits.
It makes use of a drag-and-drop interface that is both engaging and visually stimulating.
20. Mimo
With this coding app for teens, rather than teaching Swift directly, users of the app as taught teaches via building an iOS app.
Also, unlike the other applications we have featured in this list, Mimo is particularly designed with the end to result in mind and teaches basic programming, CSS, HTML, JavaScript, Swift, and so much more with the aid of experiential lessons.
21. SoloLearn
SoloLearn is a mobile app that is best suited for older students. It features a long list of programming languages such as C, C++, CSS, JavaScript, and Python.
The courses are designed to start off with the basic foundations of each programming language and gradually build as you go further through the levels.
The unique feature that makes SoloLearn different from others is the available code challenges against actual opponents that lets you test your skills in comparison to real-life people.
22. Swift Playgrounds
- Platform: Available on iPad
- Ages: kids from 10-13 years and older
- Cost: Free
Swift Playgrounds is one of Apple’s collections of mobile coding games, and it is designed to teach Swift, which is a programming language specially used to build apps.
Here, the main game requires players to guide an adorable character through different challenges in a beautiful 3D world.
The game is designed to integrate with other apps, and can even control bots that are not for apple and robots like Lego, and even Dash and Sphero.
23. Programming Hub
Programming Hub is a good choice for students who are older or more advanced and are looking to progress beyond their basic skills.
This mobile app offers a total of 20 languages for learners to choose from in simple mini-lessons as well as challenges that make coding more approachable and simple to learn.
24. Grasshopper
- Platform: available on iOS and Android
- Ages: for 15 years and older
- Cost: Free
Grasshopper is a mobile app created by the giant Google, and it teaches JavaScript via mini-games.
Grasshopper features one course for those who are new to coding and another for more those who are more advanced coders.
For the newbies, the app will take you on a journey through a set of slides that explain the basics of coding.
After each of the viewing sessions, there’s always a short quiz to review what you have learned. Once you are able to make it past the quizzes, you will move to the coding puzzles.
The puzzles explain a range of coding terms such as loops, variables, strings, arrays, conditionals, functions, operators, and objects.
After each learning section, there is a short quiz to ensure that you understand what you have learned before you progress to the next level.
So, guys, these are some of the best coding apps for kids that you may find useful. It is never too early to get your kids equipped with the requisite knowledge to thrive in the modern workplace.
Who knows, you just might be grooming a genius with these apps that are either free or come at affordable prices.
