Best Streaming Service for Kids

You’re probably trying to find the best streaming service for your kids with their favorite channels, superb parental controls, and a bonus of being a streaming service you will enjoy, yourself.

So which streaming service has Disney and Nickelodeon, but also has a feature to block anything over G-rated movies from your little ones?

We are here to help you find that streaming service you can unconsciously click on and hand over to your children while you’re shopping, working, or talking with a friend.

Your children’s entertainment for an hour or more is at your fingertips.

^{*Data effective 1/14/2021.}

These are the factors we looked at to determine the best streaming services for kids:

• Channels
• Parental controls
• Price

Netflix: Editor’s Choice

Netflix lets you control what your kids watch with lots of restriction options all parents will love, which is why it’s our Editor’s Choice

What we like

• Excellent parental control settings
• Netflix Kids

Create a child-proof four-digit PIN

Netflix has lots of great ways you can control what your children can watch or can’t watch. You won’t have to worry about their little eyes seeing anything inappropriate if you happen to leave them alone in the living room for an hour or two.

Netflix’s parental controls are the real deal.

In the Settings of your Netflix account under Parental Controls, you can create a PIN to restrict the following:

The Restrict by Maturity Level option lets you choose if you want to require a PIN for content that is for Little Kids (6 and Under), Older Kids (12 and Under) and above, Teens (14 and Under) and above, or Adults (15+).

• You can also restrict specific titles, regardless of maturity rating. A PIN will be needed to view those particular movies or series.

Netflix’s parental controls are the best because they have features that no other streaming service has.

Netflix kids profile

You can create an individual profile and set restrictions with a PIN, as mentioned above, or you can easily create a kid’s profile. By selecting the Kid? option, your child will automatically have access to only TV shows and movies for kids 12 and under.

The content is the same kids/family content you would see on the original Netflix homepage, but categorized in sections such as Popular, Animated, Girl Power, Funny, etc.

Netflix summary

• Good: Netflix has the best parental controls by creating a PIN to restrict whichever maturity level of your choice and the option to create a kids profile.
• Full review: Check out our full review of Netflix.

Sling TV: Most kids TV channels

Sling is one of the only live TV streaming services that have Disney and Nickelodeon channels

What we like

• Disney, Nick Jr., and more
• Great parental controls

Lots of channels for kids

Do your kids love to watch Puppy Dog Pals or Big City Greens? Or maybe Paw Patrol or Blue Clues & You?

Sling TV offers the following kids channels:

• BabyTV
• Boomerang
• Cartoon Network
• Disney Channel
• Disney Junior
• Disney XD
• Nick Jr.
• NickToons
• TeenNick

But depending on where you live, these channels may not be available. So check out the channel lineup to find out what is available in your area.

Parental controls on point

Sling’s Settings conveniently has a Parental Controls tab. When you Enable the controls, you’ll be asked to create a PIN, just like Netflix.

Unlike Netflix, you can’t create profiles for kids. But you’ll have to enter the PIN if you want to watch a restricted movie, like The Hangover.

Sling lets you lock or unlock each rating. And as long as your kids don’t know the PIN, they will only have access to channels with unlocked ratings.

Sling TV summary

• Good: Sling TV has the most kids channels, so they’re guaranteed to find something they like.
• Bad: Unfortunately, all of the kids channels may not be available in your area.
• Full review: Check out our full review of Sling TV.

Hulu: Best for families

Hulu and Hulu + Live TV have something for everyone in the family to watch

What we like

• Wide variety of content
• Create a kids profile

A variety of TV channels and on-demand content

If you’re interested in Hulu, the on-demand service, your child will have lots to choose from.

They’ll have movies (such as Horton Hears a Who or Madagascar 2), educational series (such as Sesame Street and Doc McStuffins), and classic cartoons (such as Rugrats and The Power Puff Girls).

With Hulu + Live TV, your kids will have access to the following channels:

• Boomerang
• Cartoon Network
• Disney Channel
• Disney Junior
• Disney XD
• Universal Kids.

The downside to Hulu + Live TV is the price. It’s already one of the priciest in the industry, and if you would like 200 hours of DVR storage instead of 50, you’ll have to tack on another $10 to your monthly bill.

But it can be worth it for families. If you want channels and on-demand content for everyone in the house, Hulu Live can be a cheaper option than cable TV.

A kids profile option

Similar to Netflix, you can create a kids profile. A kids profile will allow your children to only view content appropriate for kids up to the age of 12.

First of all, to create this filtered profile, you’ll have to jump on Hulu on your computer.

Click on Add Profile, and you’ll be able to toggle on the Kids feature to allow only kid-friendly content and channels.

Hulu summary

• Good: Hulu has channels and on-demand content for everyone in the family, as well as the option to create a kids profile.
• Bad: Hulu is reasonably priced, but Hulu + Live TV is a little on the pricey side. But it might be worth it for families.
• Full review: Check out our full review of Hulu + Live TV.

Disney+: Most kid-friendly

There’s no question that Disney+ will have the least amount of explicit content

What we like

• Mostly all kid-friendly content
• Solid bundling price
• Kids profile option

Just great, kid-friendly Disney content

With Disney+, you’ll worry a little less about what your child might stumble upon.

Your child will have an endless amount of old and new Disney movies and series to watch, so you could say they will be entertained for hours.

Disney+ has Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars content. So this streaming service will be perfect if you have a princess-loving daughter and a son who absolutely loves BB-8.

Bundle Disney+ with Hulu and ESPN+

Disney+ now gives you the option to bundle it with ESPN+ and Hulu Live for about $61 (which is $6 cheaper if you were to subscribe individually).

If you bundle with Hulu instead of Hulu Live, the monthly cost will be just $12.99. That’s a pretty good deal! I personally jumped on this deal. It’s not a bad price for thousands of hours of content.

Make a kids profile

We put this last for two reasons: the Disney+ parental controls are a little weak, but luckily there isn’t too much content on Disney+ that you wouldn’t want your children to see.

Disney+’s parental controls can prevent all PG and PG-13 titles from being watched, but a curious child can venture off into another profile that doesn’t have that restriction. No PIN is required in Disney+ to watch higher-rated shows, such as The Simpsons.

Again, Disney+ doesn’t have as strong of parental controls, but fortunately, there are far fewer high-rated shows they could be exposed to.

Disney+ summary

• Good: Disney+ has mostly kid-friendly content, and you can bundle with Hulu and ESPN+. The bundle will give everyone in the family something to watch.
• Bad: You may not be able to prevent your child from watching The Simpsons if they get curious.
• Full review: Check out our full review of Disney+.

Amazon Prime Video: Best value

Prime Video gives you three perks for the family

What we like

• Best value of the bunch
• Strong parental controls

Lots of perks with Amazon Prime

For the price of one take-out meal, you get three things with Amazon Prime Video:

• On-demand content for the family
• Rent and buy new release and old movies
• Prime shipping

Prime Video gives kids Original Kids Series, Educational TV, Educational Movies, and PBS Kids TV shows. This streaming service is also perfect for kids who love Spongebob Squarepants, Arthur, and Kung Fu Panda.

Perfect for everyone in the family, you can rent old and new movies for $3.99 each or buy them for about $5–$20. So sit down and relax in the living room with your loved ones and watch Detective Pikachu or Rio.

With your Prime Video account, you get free expedited Prime shipping. We don’t know one person who doesn’t like lightning-speed shipping. So order whatever you’d like on Amazon and enjoy next-day or two-day shipping.

Great parental control options

Prime Video is another streaming service that requires a child-proof PIN. We like the PINs.

In your Settings, select Parental Controls, then Viewing Restrictions. Here you can choose an age restriction and devices you want to apply them to. The parental controls will also block purchases unless the PIN is entered.

And lastly, there is a Kids option in Settings that you can easily tap without needing parental controls. It’s nice to unconsciously and quickly hand over your smartphone to your little one when they need a distraction.

Prime Video summary

• Good: Prime Video gives you on-demand content, the option to rent and buy movies, quick Prime shipping, and reliable parental controls.
• Full review: Check out our full review of Amazon Prime Video.

Recommended devices for kids

Before we get to the recap of the best streaming services for kids, how about we touch on the best streaming devices for kids?

Kids might drop our new iPhone or our new Android tablet, so it might be best for kids to have their own devices to watch cartoons and play games on.

Recap: Which is the best streaming service for kids?

We sorted through more than a dozen streaming services to highlight some of the best. We considered parental controls, children’s programming, and on-demand content to determine which streaming service deserves your attention for your children. Overall, we can say this about each:

• Netflix: Netflix has the best parental controls by giving you four restriction age choices, the ability to restrict specific titles, the option to create a PIN, and a convenient “kids profile” selection.
• Sling TV: Sling is one of the only live TV streaming services that has both Disney and Nickelodeon channels, among others.
• Hulu: Perfect for families, Hulu and Hulu + Live TV has on-demand content and channels for everyone to enjoy.
• Disney+: You won’t have to worry too much about your children accidentally watching explicit content since 90% of the content is kid-friendly, Disney movies and series.
• Amazon Prime Video: Prime Video is the best value with the benefits of on-demand content for you and the kids, rent or buy movies, and Prime shipping.

What do you think?

Which streaming service do you think is the best for kids? Tell us what you think in the comments.