All you can read or watch: A guide to subscription streaming services for kids

You’ve probably seen the horror stories about kids charging thousands of dollars’ worth of iTunes purchases to their parents’ credit cards — so kids’ streaming services with a set monthly subscription price for all-you-can-consume content may offer moms and dads some peace of mind. And in recent months, a bunch of these services — offering unlimited access to ebooks, videos and other types of entertainment for kids — have launched.

I took a look at subscription services for kids in two categories — ebooks and video — and compared them by the number of titles offered, cost, age range, platform and titles and brands available.

A few things to note: Most of the ebook offerings focus on picture books and are aimed at younger children. And if you sign up for one of these services, you’ll almost definitely need a tablet (only Sesame Street makes its books available for web reading for now). Bookboard and Amazon both offer some chapter books for older children, but if your kid is over 12, you should probably check out the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library or the new service Oyster instead.

On the video side, so far big companies — YouTube, Amazon and Netflix — dominate the space, though you should stay tuned for startups to get involved as well. Amazon and Netflix, in particular, are battling each other for your kids’ eyeballs, especially when it comes to popular shows like Dora the Explorer. So watch for both companies to continue bulking up their kids’ content offerings.

Finally, we mentioned Amazon’s Kindle FreeTime Unlimited in both the ebook and video sections because it is the only service to offer both kinds of content (along with games and apps, which we didn’t include in this roundup).

400	$8.99/month, or $29.99 for 6 months	1 to 12	iPad, with previews on the web	Open Road, Charlesbridge, Peachtree; series include Berenstain Bears and Boxcar Children
1,011 ebooks (and other types of content; see below)	Prime members: $2.99 / child or $6.99 / family / month. Non-Prime: $4.99 / child or $9.99 / family / month	Amazon says 3 to 8, but there are a bunch of books aimed at older kids as well	Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD	Houghton Mifflin, Sesame Workshop, Open Road
170	$3.99/month or $39.99/year	2 and up (preschool)	iPad and Web	Sesame Workshop
300 ebooks, 50 video field trips	$9.99/month, or $29.99 for 6 months	3 to 9	iPad	National Geographic Kids, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Charlesbridge, Holiday House

341 movies and TV shows	Prime members: $2.99 / child or $6.99 / family / month. Non-Prime: $4.99 / child or $9.99 / family / month	3 to 8	Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD	Disney, Nickelodeon, Sesame Street, PBS Kids
N/A	$7.99/month for Netflix streaming	All, since Netflix also offers content for adults	Many, including web, iOS, Android, Xbox, Wii, Apple TV, many connected TVs and DVD players	Dreamworks, Disney, Scholastic, PBS, Hasbro,
14 channels aimed at kids and families	$1.99 to $3.99/month, depending on the channel	BabyFirst PLUS channel for babies and toddlers; other channels for preschoolers and older kids	Web, iOS, Android, Apple TV, many connected TVs and DVD players	Jim Henson, Sesame Street, National Geographic Kids

Have you subscribed to any of these services to your kids, or do you have others to recommend? Let us know in the comments.

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