Best Kids’ Phone 2025: Child-Friendly Handsets Put to The Test
If you're looking for a phone for your child, you'll want something cheap and robust, and we’ve tried out all the best contenders
Choosing the best phone for your child isn’t as straightforward as you might expect. Here at Expert Reviews, we test all the latest smartphones to hit the market, and a handset needs to meet specific criteria in order for us to classify it as kid friendly.
Our team reviewed more than 50 phones last year alone and, for each review, we take note of all the relevant factors that might make a handset appropriate for children. So, if you’ve decided that it’s time for your kid to have their first phone, you’ve come to the right place.
Below, we’ve gathered a short list of the best handsets for your little ones, along with a run-through of our vigorous testing methodology, so you can understand how and why we’ve made our selections. Towards the bottom of the page, we’ve supplied a useful buying guide to help make your decision even easier.
Best Kids’ phone : At a glance
| Best kids’ phone under $100 | Nokia C21 Plus (~$90) | Check price at Amazon |
| Best camera phone for older kids | Google Pixel 7a (~$339) | Check price at Amazon |
| Best iPhone for older kids | iPhone SE 3 (2022) (Renewed) (~$169) | Check price at Amazon |
How we test kids’ phones
While we don’t have any children on our payroll, we do have a list of requirements to determine a phone’s suitability for kids. First of all, we consider value for money – nobody wants to be dropping hundreds on their child’s first phone, particularly when it’s so likely to be lost or broken – so we look at what the handsets offer for the price.
From there, we’ll run our usual tests, starting with downloading the Geekbench and GFXBench apps, which assess the CPU and GPU, respectively. These apps deliver a set of scores that we can then use to compare the processing power to the similarly priced competition. For the display, we use a colorimeter and DisplayCal software to judge how well a screen reproduces colors, as well as contrast and brightness.
The final two categories are likely to be the most important ones to your kids – the battery life and the cameras. To test the battery, we set the brightness to 170cd/m² to maintain consistency across all of the tested devices, engage flight mode, and run our looping video. When the phone dies, we record the timestamp to see how long it lasted. Finally, we put all camera lenses to the test in a variety of settings, including indoor and outdoor shots, landscapes, and low light conditions, as well as seeing how the stabilization holds up to rapidly panning video.
READ NEXT: Best Cheap Phone
The best kids’ phones you can buy in 2025
1. Nokia C21 Plus: Best kids’ phone under $100
Price when reviewed: $90| Check price at Amazon
- Great for… sleek design and solid performance
- Not so great for… battery life and slow charging
If you want to keep your costs under $100, one of the best options out there is the Nokia C21 Plus. Unlike some other budget handsets, the C21 Plus incorporates a sleek design that looks more expensive than it is, with slim borders around the screen and wavy ridges on the back panel. The performance is the fastest you can get for this price and the cameras are reasonable enough. The battery life is on the shorter side, but this is a solid and capable budget smartphone.
Key specs – Processor: Octa-core 1.6GHz Unisoc SC9863A; Display: 6.52in, 1,600 x 720; Storage: 32GB; Camera: 13MP, 2MP (depth); Operating system: Android 11.0
2. Apple iPhone 11 (Renewed): The cheapest full-size Apple smartphone
Price when reviewed: $223| Check price at Amazon
- Great for… compact design and quick performance
- Not so great for… big display notch and no telephoto camera
Let’s face it, your kid probably wants an iPhone. Rather than fork out four figures for the latest model, we recommend picking up a renewed iPhone 11 on Amazon – this is still a great Apple smartphone and it costs peanuts in comparison. Sure, it’s not the cheapest option on this list, but if you’re willing to spend a little more for the sake of the coveted Apple logo on the back, you’ll be rewarded with an excellent screen, great battery life, and a superb camera.
Key specs – Processor: Hexa-core 2.65GHz Apple A13 Bionic; Display: 6.1in, 1,792 x 828; Storage: 64GB, 128GB, 256GB; Camera: 12MP, 12MP (ultrawide); Operating system: iOS 16
3. Google Pixel 7a: Best camera phone for older kids
Price when reviewed: $339 | Check price at Amazon
- Great for… class-leading cameras and crisp UI
- Not so great for… display not the smoothest and not exactly cheap
You’ll have to pay a bit more for this one, but the Google Pixel 7a is the first and, arguably, the last place to look if your children are a little older and want to take some serious photographs. As well as cameras capable of taking flagship-quality photos, the Pixel 7a features Google’s handy Magic Eraser feature in the app, which digitally removes unwanted objects from the backgrounds of your snapshots. On top of all that, you’ve got excellent performance, a gorgeous color-accurate display, and an impressive battery life that competes with plenty of more expensive phones.
Key specs – Processor: Octa-core 2.85GHz Google Tensor G2; Display: 6.1in, 2,400 x 1,080; Storage: 128GB; Camera: 64MP, 13MP (ultrawide); Operating system: Android 13
4. Motorola Moto G13: Best for unbeatable value
Price when reviewed: $140 | Check price at Amazon
- Great for… stylish design and great battery life
- Not so great for… low-res display and so-so camera
The biggest draw of the Motorola Moto G13 is that it doesn’t look like a phone whose price rarely crosses into triple digits. The flat edges and sleek back both look and feel premium, and the 6.5in display hits a decent maximum brightness and refreshes at a smooth 90Hz. Performance is above-average for this price range, and the battery life is particularly impressive, lasting for nearly 20 hours in our tests. If you’re looking to get the most value for money, the Moto G13 can’t be beaten.
Key specs – Processor: Octa-core 2GHz Mediatek Helio G85; Display: 6.5in, 1,600 x 720; Storage: 128GB; Camera: 50MP, 2MP (macro), 2MP (depth); Operating system: Android 13
5. iPhone SE 3 (2022) (Renewed): Best iPhone for older kids
Price when reviewed: $169 | Check price at Amazon
- Great for… excellent performance and decent camera
- Not so great for… small display and poor battery life
While the renewed iPhone 11 above should be good enough for younger children, older kids may prefer something a little newer, which brings us to the iPhone SE 3 (2022). Don’t let the old-school design fool you, beneath that classic exterior, the SE 3 runs on the same flagship A15 Bionic processor used in the more expensive iPhone 13 series, pumping out performance that’s pretty much unrivalled at this price point. There’s only one camera on the back, but it’s a decent unit, capable of producing detailed images with a great balance of color and exposure.
Key specs – Processor: Hexa-core 3.22GHz Apple A15 Bionic; Display: 4.7in 1,334 x 750; Storage: 64GB, 128GB, 256GB; Camera: 12MP; Operating system: iOS 15.4
It doesn’t really matter how old you are, it’s pretty easy to pile up a huge bill without realizing. We’ve found that the simplest way to keep track of costs is with a pay-as-you-go tariff, instead of a contract phone.
However, if you’re keen to get your teenager on a contract, then make sure you pick one that lets you cap the amount of data they use. Look for phones with contracts from respected carriers, such as AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon, and hopefully, you won’t get the shock of a massive bill from your teenager’s Snapchat antics.
You don’t need an expensive phone
Disregard what your child is telling you and instead listen to a team of experts who test dozens of phones a year – you don’t need to spend hundreds of pounds on the latest smartphone. Most cheap phones these days will do the job quite well, and there are some excellent phone picks that you might not have considered. You’d be surprised at what you can get in the lower end of the spectrum, and your bank account would appreciate it too.
What are your child’s phone requirements?
Of course, much of your buying decision depends on what your child will be using the phone for. Are they hoping to get snap-happy and make their first leap onto social media, or is it only to be used as a phone for emergency purposes when walking to/from school? Whatever the requirement, we’ve added the very best in our list above.
