Where we stand. We make Taco Rain, a catching game for kids on the App Store and Google Play. It's free with one banner ad and nothing to buy. ABCmouse is a learning program for ages 2 to 8, and Taco Rain is one arcade game, so they compete only for screen time. We take no referral fee from Age of Learning, Apple or Google.
Partly. ABCmouse Basic is free, with no trial and no card: up to 10 activities a day for one child. Premium is $14.99 a month, or a yearly plan that costs $79.99 on ABCmouse.com and $69.99 through the App Store or Google Play. An optional Assessment Center is a second subscription on top.
Basic against Premium
| Basic | Premium | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, no trial | $14.99 a month; $79.99 a year on the web, $69.99 in the app stores |
| Activities | Up to 10 a day, refreshed every 24 hours | 13,000+, no cap |
| Learning Path | One grade level, reading and math | Personalized, Pre-K through 2nd grade |
| Children | One profile | Up to three |
| Play worlds (Pet Town, Aquarium and more) | Yes; activities inside count toward the 10 | Yes, no cap |
| Offline videos, replaying favorites | Not listed | Yes |
| Ads | None | None |
The yearly plan costs less in the app stores
Many apps charge more in the stores, where Apple and Google take a cut. ABCmouse's own pricing page goes the other way: the yearly plan is $79.99 on ABCmouse.com and $69.99 through the App Store or Google Play. Paying monthly, a year costs $179.88, so either yearly plan saves at least $99.89 (derived). The same page warns that app-store renewals “may” be $69.99 after the first year and asks you to check the renewal price during signup. The yearly plan has no free trial; the 30-day trial belongs to the monthly plan on the web.
What Apple lists
| Item name | Prices listed |
|---|---|
| ABCmouse 2 and ABCmouse 2.0 (eight items) | $14.99 four times, $59.99 three times, $45.00 once |
| ABCmouse 2 Assessments Monthly | $3.99 |
| ABCmouse 2 Assessments Annual | $39.99 |
The names carry no billing period. $14.99 matches the monthly plan, but Apple's list has no $69.99 item, and the $59.99 and $45.00 prices appear on no ABCmouse page we read; they may be offers. Apple shows at most ten items, and there is no promoted purchase above the App Privacy panel. Google Play shows an “In-app purchases” badge and no items-and-offers section.
The second subscription
The Assessment Center is an add-on for Premium members, sold as a separate subscription: $3.99 a month alongside the monthly plan or $39.99 a year alongside the yearly one. It can be added at signup or later, from the app or the website. A parent who cancels Premium should check for it on its own line in the account.
Free in the library, and for Classic subscribers
ABCmouse Classic, the older program, is free inside over 4,500 public libraries in the US and Canada, but only on the library's own connection; from home the same address shows a page saying so. Families who still pay for Classic get the new ABCmouse's Premium included: log in with the Classic email and password. That link runs one way. Canceling Classic removes access to both, and there is nothing to cancel in the new app.
The privacy price
Apple's App Privacy panel has no “used to track you” section and no data linked to the user; it lists contact info, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics as not linked. Google Play's data safety summary says audio, app info and performance, and device or other IDs may be shared with third parties. The store description says ABCmouse is ad-free and holds the kidSAFE+ COPPA seal.
Other preschool apps, and how they price
| App | Free part | Paid part |
|---|---|---|
| Khan Academy Kids | Everything | None for families |
| ABCmouse | 10 activities a day, one child | $14.99 a month or $69.99 to $79.99 a year |
| Pok Pok | A 7-day trial | Ten Apple prices, $6.99 to $89.99 |
The details are in is Khan Academy Kids free and is Pok Pok free.
What ABCmouse does better
- It is a whole curriculum. Reading, math, science, social studies, art and music on a step-by-step path from Pre-K to 2nd grade. Taco Rain teaches nothing.
- Its free version has no ads. Taco Rain shows one banner outside gameplay.
- It works offline once installed and runs on Fire and Samsung tablets and the web as well as phones.
- ABCmouse Support — Subscription Pricing Options for ABCmouse
- ABCmouse Support — ABCmouse Basic, what's included
- ABCmouse Support — Purchasing the Assessment Center for ABCmouse
- ABCmouse Support — ABCmouse Classic Free In-Library Program Overview
- ABCmouse Support — ABCmouse Classic Subscription Pricing and Subject Access
- ABCmouse Support — How to Cancel ABCmouse If It's Connected to an ABCmouse Classic Account
- ABCmouse — home page
- App Store — ABCmouse: Kids Learning Games, the In-App Purchases row and the App Privacy panel
- Google Play — ABCmouse: Kids Learning Games
- App Store — Taco Rain, ours