For students going back to school, purchasing a new laptop, such as a Mac or Chromebook, or a tablet is just the start. These devices will automatically be useful for school due to their built-in offerings, like text editors and browsers. However, you'll need to download a few third-party apps to make the most of a computer, phone, or tablet for learning. We've rounded up some of the best education and learning apps that are available, for students as early in their education as preschool to experienced learners of all ages.

Preschool learning apps

Preschool is where learning starts for many kids. At this age, minds are ripe for learning, and as you hand over your child their first device, you'd want to consider any of these apps and services. These are all appropriately themed to children and don't necessarily require adult supervision. Your child will be able to enjoy these apps on their own, though you can feel free to jump in and help, too. The apps and services will teach the basics and simple skills like reading, math, and even daily routines.

Khan Academy Kids

Topping the list is Kahn Academy Kids. This is an educational app themed for kids who are between two and eight years of age. The app is free to use (with no ads!) and brings lots of fun activities for reading, writing, language, and math. There's even a focus on emotional skills. Lessons in Kahn Academy Kids are developed by learning experts at Stanford University. The app has an adaptive learning path and can change based on each of the activities, books, and videos that kids read and complete. The app works on iPads, iPhones, Android tablets, and Android phones.

My PlayHome

The next app we're suggesting for preschoolers is one that's quite popular. It costs $4, but My PlayHome has been featured in the New York Times and was dubbed as one best apps to keep children happy. The app is just like what the name suggests. It's basically a dollhouse where children can use everything and anything, like closets, TV, showers, stoves, and more. It's a large and interactive space for exploring. Essentially, this is an app that will encourage preschoolers to use their imagination and creativity skills. You'll find this app on iPhones, iPads, Android phones, and Android tablets.

Homeschooling apps

Homeschooling is gaining popularity, and so are apps and services that make teaching your child easier. You can also use these apps to compliment your child's in-school learning, if they're enrolled in a school already. Although many of these apps and services come at a cost, they'll help facilitate your child's learning, especially at an early age.

ABCmouse

While ABCmouse costs $13 a month, or $45 a year, this service offers plenty of value for parents looking to teach kids who are aged two to eight. You can access it on the web or as a dedicated app. ABCmouse offers over 7,000 educational activities, covering various subjects that typical schools would usually go over. You get things themed towards math, science, art, or even reading skills. There's a 30-day free trial available, too. There are over 10,000 activities to try online, with 10 levels, and over 850 lessons. Activities tend to be progressive, and kids can learn at their own pace. In reading, you can access more than 450 books. Math includes learning numbers and basic problem-solving, with science and social studies covering the basics of body and health, plants, maps, and more.

Adventure Academy

Adventure Academy is from the same company behind ABCmouse, but this service is for older kids, who are ages 8-13. The service offers opportunities to learn reading, math, science, and other skills. It has over 4,000 activities for those subjects and offers progress tracking as well. In the Language Arts section, your child can gain skills in comprehension, writing, and spelling. In math, a child can practice math skills like multiplication and geometry. In science, you can pick and choose which areas of science are of interest to your child. Your child can even play with friends, create their own characters, and decorate their learning places. The price is the same as ABCmouse, which is $13 a month, or $45 a year.

Reading Eggs and Math Seeds

Reading Eggs and Math Seeds are two tools designed for at-home learning and teaching of reading and math skills. Reading Eggs is for kids aged 2-13, and features interactive and engaging stories that can assist in learning and exploring. The service can teach phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and reading comprehension, and even has a fluency scale. Reading Eggs is $10 a month, or $70 a year. As for Math Seeds, it's similar to Reading Eggs, in that it offers interactive mathematics lessons and games. Things like numbers, shapes, measurements, telling time, money, are all covered. The price here is the same as Reading Eggs. Apps are available, or you can use the service on the web.

Wolfram Alpha

Are you stuck on a complicated math problem, or stuck in your research when looking for something for a project? Well, though you might be tempted to go to ChatGPT, we suggest using Wolfram Alpha instead. This is an educational app and engine that can give you the answers you need, either as an app or online. Wolfram Alpha has a large database and knowledge base, and is great at problem-solving.

Apps for students in high school, college, and beyond

There are plenty of versatile apps that can be used by students in high school, college, or beyond. Students can learn to use these apps as early as middle or high school, and they might continue to be useful even post-graduation. These cover note-taking tools, writing and math helpers, and more.

Microsoft OneNote

Topping the list is Microsoft OneNote. This is a free-to-use note-taking app available across Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and the web. With it, you can sync and save the notes that you take down across your devices. You can also create lists, insert photos, and even draw with digital ink in your notebooks, just like you would in a real one. The app offers plenty of cool pens, highlighters, and more. It's a combination of a text editor, note-taking app, planner — all in one app from Microsoft.

Quizlet

Quizlet is an essential study app for anyone that's trying to learn something new quickly. It's primarily a digital flash card app that lets you create study sets for your given topic. However, you can do more than just use flashcards with Quizlet. The app offers multiple learning modes, practice tests, and more. Plus, there's a vast library of existing learning sets available on Quizlet already. Need to learn vocabulary from a textbook? Chances are, there's a study set in Quizlet for it. There's a free tier, but additional features are behind a subscription.

Grammarly & Grammarly Plagiarism Checker (Premium)

Grammarly is a great tool for any learner to consider. It's the writer's best friend, as when added to a browser, you can check what you're typing for spelling and other grammatical errors. Text is highlighted and underlined where mistakes are made. Most of Grammarly is free, and you can find it on Windows as a desktop app, or on iOS, Android, as a keyboard. Grammarly also has a plagiarism checker, too, which comes with Grammarly Premium, to avoid getting caught copying and pasting. Plus, Grammarly is starting to roll out new AI-equipped features to improve your writing.

Duolingo

Learning multiple languages can be a valuable asset to any learner, and that's where Duolingo comes into play. It can be used by people of all ages, from young students to adults. Thanks to Duolingo, you can get lessons in Spanish, English, German, French, and other languages. Duolingo is free, and very effective. You can pick and choose languages as you go, and pick the intensity of activities and lessons.

Photomath

Having trouble teaching or learning math at home? That's what Photomath is for. It's a free app on iOS and Android, and it's designed to help you come up with a solution to those tricky math problems. Point your camera at the math problem, and get a solution — it's that simple. A premium option is available, which is more in-depth and AI-powered animated tutorials, and some more contextual information about solutions. The app is popular, with over 300 million downloads, so why not try to give it a spin, too?

There are so many more!

We did our best to mention some quality apps that are great for students of all ages. Again, we just hit the highlights, though, so there are lots of other apps you might want to consider. For early learners, you might want to consider apps and eBooks from the folks at Sesame Street. Homeschoolers might also want to consider Kidcoach App, which has questions and answers needed to dive deeper into certain topics usually discussed in schools.

And for everyone else? There are plenty of apps to consider using, like Google Workspace for managing documents and files, or even something like Headspace, which is designed to help you meditate and improve your productivity. You might also want to check out a service like Quetext or Duplichecker to check for plagiarism.