If you've invested in an Amazon Fire tablet or a Kindle for a child, you’re sure to have noticed that the device comes with a free year-long trial subscription to Amazon Kids Plus.
It sounds like the ideal way to keep kids entertained on long journeys or use while you’re relaxing yourself, but if you need to know more about the specifics of the service, how it works, and what it offers, we’ve answered all the key questions below.
Essentially, Kids Plus is designed as a way to protect kids using these devices without needing constant supervision, tailoring the content available for them to specific child-friendly shows, movies, books and games. Your subscription will automatically renew after that year-long trial, though, so it’s worth knowing what’s included so you can decide whether you need to stay signed up or if you won’t make use of the extras.
What is Amazon Kids Plus?
In a nutshell, Amazon Kids Plus is a child-friendly library of apps, books and games that’s positioned as a way to deliver content for kids without parents needing to worry about spending more on individual purchases. The service works on a wide range of Amazon devices including Fire tablets, Kindles, Fire TV sticks, Echo devices, on Chromebooks, and other Android or iOS tablets or phones. It includes a safe web browser that is ideal for using the internet for research while blocking mature content and social media. It’s also possible to block access to the browser completely if you want to.
How does Amazon Kids Plus work?
So, how do you keep this under control? This kid-friendly entertainment hub is all controlled through the “Amazon Parent Dashboard”. This is where parents manage profiles (for up to four kids), and check on the books and videos that children can access. In addition to monitoring activity, it’s also where parents can set time limits, send over content from their own personal library, adjust age filter settings, or “pause” a device entirely. Made with kids aged 3-12 in mind, the content available through Kids Plus is sorted into three tiers: for children aged 3-6, aged 6-8 and 9-12, and it includes material from Disney, Lego and Warner Bros (more on that below).
What is available on Amazon Kids Plus?
For children, using Kids Plus is an ad-free experience that gives them access to thousands of books, audiobooks, educational apps, movies, shows and games. The profile that has been set up by a parent is what the child will use to log in on compatible devices. Kids in the youngest tier will find TV series like Paw Patrol, Thomas & Friends and Peppa Pig, while kids between 6-8 will be able to watch Shrek films and Lego shows, along with Disney games and Mr Men, Harry Potter and Guinness World Records books. Those browsing in the tier for those aged between 9 and 12 will find more Amazon Original shows including Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny and Just Add Magic, as well as Nickelodeon shows like Victorious and books such as Lemony Snickett’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, David Walliams’ Gangsta Granny and The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, all included within the monthly price.
It’s also worth noting that children can’t exit Kids Plus without a PIN set by their parents and managed through the Parent Dashboard. You’ll want to take note of what this PIN is after you’ve set it.
Is Amazon Kids Plus included with Prime?
Kids Plus isn’t included with Prime for free. However, being a Prime member will reduce the price of the subscription. You’ll find that it’s £4.99 a month rather than £6.99 a month (or £38 a year rather than £68 a year).
How much is Amazon Kids Plus?
Amazon Kids Plus costs £6.99 a month as standard, although Amazon Prime members can get it at a big reduction, for just £4.99 a month. Prefer to pay yearly? It’s £68 for non-Prime members or £38 for Prime members.
Can you use an Amazon kids tablet without a subscription?
Yes, it’s fully possible to use the kid's variant of the tablet as a normal tablet through any of the different profiles available on the device. The Kids Edition interface will only apply to user profiles that are set up as children’s accounts, so you can use the slate as a regular Fire tablet through any non-kids profile.
Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Pro
Amazon Echo Dot Kids (2022)
Amazon Kindle Kids (2022)
Simon Cocks is Good Housekeeping UK’s Technology Editor, overseeing tech shopping content and strategy for the title. He previously also worked across other titles including Esquire UK, Digital Spy, Men’s Health UK and Women’s Health UK.
Simon specialises in testing the latest smart gadgets, home entertainment gear, headphones, speakers, portable chargers, radios, e-book readers and smartphones. He's reviewed top tech products from brands including Google, Apple, Amazon, JBL and Bose.
A magazine journalism graduate from Kingston University in 2014, Simon also worked on the Discovery and Silkroad inflight magazines. He then gained experience writing about entertainment at SFX and Total Film. He also contributed reviews and interviews to TwitchFilm (later ScreenAnarchy), CultBox and Frame Rated.
He joined Good Housekeeping UK as the Editorial Assistant for Special Projects and was part of Good Housekeeping’s Consumer Affairs Team between 2014 and 2019. In this role, he conducted price comparison research, wrote detailed household and money-saving advice guides and edited thousands of in-depth reviews for the Good Housekeeping Institute.
He has focused on technology and gadgets since 2020, where he started by testing out power banks and instant cameras. He writes reviews, roundups, news articles and deals updates, and also covers top tech deals during sales like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
When not testing out the latest gizmos, you’ll find Simon either catching up with the newest releases at his local cinema or out shooting with his beloved compact camera.
You can follow Simon on Instagram, on Bluesky, on LinkedIn and on Threads.
