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Spotify Kids App: Is It Actually Worth It? A Parent's Honest Review
A real parent's look at Spotify Kids—what it offers, how it differs from regular Spotify, the content library quality, price, and whether it's worth the money for families.
If your household uses Spotify, or you’re considering switching to it, Spotify Kids is worth understanding. It’s not a standalone product—it’s a feature of the Spotify Premium Family plan—but it offers a genuinely useful, well-designed streaming experience for children that parents can feel comfortable about.
Key Takeaways
- Spotify Kids is included with Spotify Premium Family ($16.99/month), which covers 6 accounts—making the kids app “free” if the family plan already makes financial sense.
- The app provides a completely separate interface from the main Spotify app, designed for ages 3–12 with large touchable interface elements and curated content.
- Content is divided into three tiers: “Younger Kids” (ages 3–6), “Older Kids” (ages 7–9), and “Older Kids” (10–12), with content filtering adjustable by parents.
- No ads, no explicit content, no social features, no discovery of adult content.
- Library includes music, audiobooks (including popular children’s audiobook series), and children’s podcasts.
What Spotify Kids Actually Contains
Music: A substantial curated library of children’s music—nursery rhymes, Disney soundtracks, children’s artists (Laurie Berkner, Kidz Bop, etc.), classical music playlists for kids, and mood-based playlists (“Focus,” “Bedtime,” etc.). Popular pop songs appear in appropriate versions where available.
Audiobooks: Spotify Kids includes access to a growing library of children’s audiobooks. Popular series like Paddington Bear, Roald Dahl, and others are represented. The audiobook selection is not as comprehensive as Audible or Libro.fm but has expanded significantly since launch.
Podcasts: Children’s podcasts including Wow in the World (science), Story Pirates (kid-created stories), Circle Round (folktales), Brains On! (science), and others.
What Spotify Kids Doesn’t Have
- No adult music (no access to parents’ listening history or main Spotify library)
- No explicit content (even searching won’t surface it)
- No social features (no followers, no listening activity sharing)
- No access to podcasts that aren’t explicitly curated for children
- No voice assistant integration in the same way as regular Spotify
- No offline listening without Premium Family subscription maintenance
Comparing Music Options for Kids
| Service | Monthly Cost | Kid-Specific App | Offline | Audiobooks | Ads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spotify Kids (w/ Family) | $16.99/6 users | Yes | Yes | Growing library | No |
| Amazon Music Kids | Included w/ Prime | Yes | Yes | Audible stories | No |
| Apple Music | $17.99/6 users | No | Yes | No | No |
| YouTube Kids (free) | Free | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Pandora (free) | Free | No | No | No | Yes |
Age Appropriateness and Content Controls
The content filtering works at three levels:
Younger Kids (3–6): Music and stories specifically selected for early childhood. No scary content, complex themes, or anything beyond gentle entertainment. This tier is most conservative.
Older Kids (7–9): Expanded content including more contemporary children’s pop, adventure stories, and educational content.
Older Kids (10–12): Broader selection that begins to include some age-appropriate pop and music that spans child-to-tween content. Parents can adjust from any tier at any time.
A parent controls which tier their child accesses through the Spotify app settings. The child cannot change their own tier.
The Real Question: Is It Worth It?
The answer depends almost entirely on whether Spotify Premium Family already makes sense for your household:
It’s worth it if: You already use Spotify and would pay for individual Spotify Premium ($11.99/month) for yourself. The Family plan at $16.99 covers 6 accounts—your individual account, your child’s Kids account, and room for additional family members. Adding Spotify Kids costs you $5/month beyond a single subscription, which is excellent value.
It’s less compelling if: You don’t already use Spotify and are considering it only for the Kids app. You’d pay $16.99/month primarily for children’s streaming, when YouTube Kids is free and covers music (with ads).
The best use case: Households that want a clean, ad-free, curated streaming environment for children where music, audiobooks, and podcasts are all in one place with parental control over content tier.
What to Watch For Over 3 Months
- Does your child gravitate toward particular content types? Use this to guide playlist and audiobook selections.
- Is the content tier appropriately matched to your child? If a 5-year-old is consistently bored, the “Younger Kids” tier may be worth reassessing.
- Is the audiobook selection meeting your needs? If your child is a heavy audiobook consumer, a dedicated service (Audible, Libby for library audiobooks) may supplement or replace Spotify Kids.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Spotify Kids work without a Premium subscription?
No. Spotify Kids requires an active Spotify Premium Family plan. It cannot be used with a free Spotify account or an individual Premium account.
Can my child switch to the regular Spotify app from within Spotify Kids?
No. Spotify Kids is a separate app, and children cannot access the main Spotify library from within it. Your child would need your login credentials to use the main Spotify app.
What age is Spotify Kids designed for?
Spotify Kids is officially designed for ages 3–12. The content tiers span this age range. For children 12+, the regular Spotify app with parental monitoring is typically more appropriate.
Is Spotify Kids better than YouTube Kids for music?
For music quality and curation, Spotify Kids wins—the interface is cleaner, there are no ads, and the music library is better organized. YouTube Kids has a much wider video library. If your child primarily wants music and audiobooks, Spotify Kids is better. If they want a mix of music videos, cartoons, and educational videos, YouTube Kids provides more variety.
Sources
- Spotify. (2024). Spotify Kids: How it works. Spotify Newsroom.
- Common Sense Media. (2024). Spotify Kids app review. Common Sense Media.
- Zuk, J., Benjamin, C., Kenyon, A., & Gaab, N. (2014). Behavioral and neural correlates of executive functioning in musicians and non-musicians. PLOS ONE, 9(6), e99868.
- Hallam, S. (2010). The power of music: Its impact on the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people. International Journal of Music Education, 28(3), 269–289.
- American Academy of Pediatrics. (2021). Music and children’s cognitive development. AAP Policy Statement.
- National Association for Music Education. (2024). Benefits of music education research. NAfME.
Ricky Flores is the founder of HiWave Makers and an electrical engineer with 15+ years of experience building consumer technology at Apple, Samsung, and Texas Instruments. He writes about how kids learn to build, think, and create in a tech-saturated world. Read more at hiwavemakers.com.
