8 Best Phones for Kids of 2026

Pinwheel takes ordinary Android phones and wraps them in a parent system that starts strict and opens up in steps. Out of the box there is no social media, no web browser and no adult apps, and only numbers on the safelist can call or text. Parents can read texts remotely, set schedules that make the phone behave like a basic phone during school or at night, and add apps from a library of over 1,000 pre-vetted titles with safety ratings. When a child is ready, the Google Play Store can be switched on with social media and adult apps still blocked. The Genesis 4 costs $119 and the Slim 6 $199, which keeps the up-front cost low, and Pinwheel says it is the only kids' phone that lets you pick any cellular carrier. The trade-offs are the separate Caregiver Portal fee of $17.99 a month and the Genesis 4's lack of Verizon support.

The Bark Phone is a regular Samsung Galaxy A16 with Bark's parental controls built in and locked down, so a child cannot delete them. Its main strength is monitoring: Bark scans texts, social media and online content and sends parents alerts about potential issues, which no other phone here matches. Parents approve every contact, can stop texts from being deleted, set screen time schedules, approve or deny each app and set daily limits per app or category. A driving lock pauses the phone when it detects the child is in a moving vehicle. The Starter plan at $29 a month allows talk, text and GPS with no games, browsers or social media, and Advanced plans from $39 a month add apps and browsers under your rules. The plan also includes Bark Premium for every device in the family. Cost is the catch: the phone is $360 for devices bought from November 3, 2026, and data plans run to $79 a month.

Gabb Phone 4 is built for parents who want no internet at all. It runs Gabb's own operating system with no web browser, no app store and no social media, and comes with 16 preloaded apps plus a curated library of optional ones. Gabb Messenger uses AI content filtering and alerts parents when texts or images are flagged, and app-to-app video calls are sampled at intervals and designed to cut off when nudity is detected. Parents see location and safe zones in the MyGabb app, with GPS updating about every 15 minutes. Hardware is reasonable for the price: a 6.1-inch screen, 32 GB of storage, a 13 MP main camera, a fingerprint sensor and USB-C. The phone was $229.99 on sale when we checked, and plans run $12.99 to $17.99 a month plus a $30 activation fee. Note that contacts are child-managed unless a parent switches on parent-managed mode.

Troomi sells a Samsung Galaxy A17 5G set up for kids, paired with three plans that add features in steps. The $24.95 Do plan covers calls, basic texting, safelisted contacts, GPS and remote text monitoring. Dream at $29.95 adds group texts and picture and video messages, and Discover at $34.95 adds the full Troomi App Store, the Troomi Smart Browser with parent-approved sites and ad-free YouTube under parent control, and optional mobile data. On every plan, AI monitoring blurs explicit texts and images and flags conversations involving bullying, predators, self-harm or drugs. Social media stays blocked at every level. The phone itself is paid at $6.94 a month for 36 months, so there is little to pay up front, but the monthly total on Do is about $32. Service runs on AT&T only, so check coverage where your child spends time.

The Pixel 10a is a regular smartphone, so it suits teens who need full app access more than younger kids. What makes it a sensible family choice is Google's free Family Link app. Parents can set daily screen time limits, downtime and school time, give each app its own time limit or unlimited time for educational apps, and block apps outright. Family Link also requires approval for new apps in Google Play, restricts sites in Chrome, manages SafeSearch and YouTube settings, and shares location with alerts when a child arrives at or leaves a place. Google promises 7 years of new features and security updates, and the phone has 30+ hours of battery. The price was $549 on sale when we checked, which is far more than a Gabb or Pinwheel. Family Link is not tamper-proof in the way Bark or Gabb are, and children over the applicable age can take over their own account.

An iPhone makes most sense for a teen in a family that already uses Apple devices, because Screen Time is free and managed from a parent's own iPhone. With Family Sharing and a Child Account set up, parents can allow or block specific apps and websites, require approval for purchases and downloads through Ask to Buy, and approve new websites through Ask to Browse, which is on by default for children under 13. Allowed Contacts lets parents decide who a child can reach in Messages, FaceTime and Phone, and a message from someone new stays hidden until a parent approves. Time allowances and downtime cover when the phone can be used. Apple lists at least 5 years of OS and security updates for the iPhone 17e. The price is the problem: $699 for 256 GB is far more than a purpose-built kids' phone, and the controls rely on correct setup rather than a locked-down device.

The Galaxy A17 5G is the lowest-cost route to a full smartphone with free parental controls. Samsung sells it from $249.99 in the US, with a 5000 mAh battery, 4 GB of RAM and, per Samsung, 6 years of security and software updates for A Series devices. Samsung also markets A Series parental controls and durability for kids and teens. In practice, most families will manage it with Google Family Link, which adds daily limits, downtime and school time, per-app limits, Google Play approvals, Chrome site restrictions and location alerts at no cost and on any carrier. It is the same phone Troomi uses for its kids' service, so the hardware is proven for this age group. What you give up against Troomi, Bark or Pinwheel is the locked-down setup and any monitoring of texts, so it fits parents who are comfortable configuring controls and checking them now and then.

The Light Phone III is not a kids' phone, but Light says parents and schools have bought it as a first phone, and it takes a different approach to limits: instead of controls, it simply leaves things out. It will never have social media, internet browsing, email, news or ads. What it has is calls, texts, a camera with a two-step shutter, a matte black and white OLED screen and optional tools such as directions, music, podcasts, a calendar, notes and a hotspot. Hardware includes 5G, GPS, fingerprint ID and a battery designed to be replaced. There is no parent dashboard, no contact approval and no location sharing for parents, so it suits older teens who agree to a simple phone more than younger kids. It is also expensive at $899 unlocked, sold on pre-order when we checked, or from $59 a month on a two-year Light Service contract.