Music and bedtime stories do wonders for soothing irritable kids and can be the difference between a peaceful night’s sleep and all-night tossing and turning. The bestspeakersfor kids are soft yet durable, with user-friendly controls that anyone can use. They stream music fromappslikeSpotifyviaBluetooth, with many having fun NFC-based token systems for children to create their own playlists and build collections.
Toniebox Audio Player Starter Set
Yoto Player (3rd Gen)
Amazon Echo Dot Kids (5th Gen)
Jooki Music Player for Kids
Storypod Interactive Audio Learning System
LeapFrog Let’s Record Music Player
Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids
Planet Buddies Kids Bluetooth Speaker
We specialize in testing serious hardware like the latestSamsungandSonysmartphones, and it’s always fun checking out niche products like kids' speakers to see what they offer. Our list includes the best options for every budget and age group, so nobody’s left out. You don’t need to worry about privacy because many brands provide an auditory experience withoutscreens,microphones, orcameras.
Best speakers for kids: Our top picks
Soft feel, soothing sound
The Toniebox is soft and sturdy for kids, with a fun token-based system to play music and stories and a lengthy seven-hour battery life for the longest trips.
The Toniebox is a giant cuddly cube for ages three and up with a soft finish in bright colors like light blue, pink, and red. Controlling the volume is simple with massive controls, and kids can play songs and stories via the Tonie token system. Tonies are cute characters based on popular franchises likeSpiderman,Paw Patrol, andPeppa Pigthat play content when placed on top of the Toniebox, and they add an element of fun (and cost) to the playing experience.
What is a Toniebox, how to set it up, and can you add content to Tonies?
Tonieboxes and Tonies are popular kids toys in 2023, ranking on Amazon’s best toy lists. Here’s how to set up and use these storytelling devices.
Most parents will buy the Toniebox to give their kids a break from overstimulating screens and help them relax with cute toys, calming music, and stories. It’s easy to charge with a simplewirelessbase and provides up to seven hours of battery life when you’re on the go. There’s no worrying aboutWi-Fiafter the initial setup; parents always control what their kids can access via the handy app.
Thisspeakermakes it easy to put kids to bed because it includes 53 minutes of the most popular nursery rhymes, and you’re able to program your voice or other sounds on the included creative Tonie. The Toniebox doesn’t come cheap, and buying tokens significantly increases the investment, but it’s still the best speaker because of its all-around kid-friendly design and available content.
Got it all
The Yoto PLayer gives kids a break from screens with a huge library of books and music easily accessible via the NFT-based card system.
The Yoto Player is a simple yet fun speaker with a basic pixel display and nomicrophonesorcamerasto worry about. It’s a multifunction audio tool for kids in a simple box design with large user-friendly knobs and a card-based system to play content. Yoto has a massive card library with podcasts and stories from Roald Dalhl andSesame Street,and kids can enjoy building a collection. The Yoto also has a subscription-free, kid-friendly radio station, and you’re able to store music on 32GB of internal memory.
The Yoto Player is a premium option because of its extra features, like a roomthermometerand nightlight, that can come in handy in emergencies. It can even play white noise to help kids sleep and has analarm clockto get them up again in the morning. The lengthy 24-hourbatterylife and offline content-playing abilities make it one of the best options for flights and road trips, and it recharges fast viaUSB-C.
In this case, you get what you pay for, and the Yoto Player is worth its high price tag because of its durability, extra features, and unparalleled content collection. The cards may be easy to lose, but it won’t matter if you’ve inserted them into the player already and the information is already downloaded from the cloud.
Smart and stylish
Amazon’s Echo Dot 5 for Kids includes a one-year subscription to the Kids+ service with exclusive content and can access most popular streaming services via Alexa voice assistant.
TheAmazon Echo Dot 5 Kidsis the best option if you need a smart speaker withAlexaaccess, and it comes in kid-friendly dragon and owl designs. It includes a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+ with games, routines, books, and more to educate and entertain the little ones. There’s also access toSpotify,Apple Music, and other popularstreaming services, so you’ll never run out of new content.
One of the best things about the Kids Dot 5 is that it’s stylish yet easy to use with voice activation, and kids can getAlexato use the voices of popular Disney characters like Mickey and Olaf to interact with them. There are physical buttons on the top, including a physical mute button for privacy, and setting time limits and filtering content is a breeze with the Amazon Parental Dashboard.
Amazon’sEcho Dot5 for Kids makes it easy for kids to access popular streaming services and includes one year of exclusive content. It offers incredible value for parents wanting a capable smart speaker and comes in attractive designs to appeal to younger listeners who probably won’t care about the lack of a 3.5mm jack or the cost of the Amazon Kids+ subscription after the first year.
Tough speaker for long trips
The Jooki music player for kids has a stylish and tough exterior with fun tokens and 5GB of internal memory to store Spotify playlists and other content.
Jooki’s music player is designed with kids in mind, with a tough blue exterior capable of handling everyday bumps and drops. The large knobs are easy to use, with slots above them to fit the programmable NFC tokens that can store Spotify playlists or various soundtracks. Tokens are available in various bright colors to appeal to children, and some have cute figurines shaped like whales, ghosts, and other cute animals.
This music player is lightweight and compact for easy carry and has an eight-hour lifespan to last most trips. It’s alsoWi-Fi-capable for streaming music and stories and includes 5GB of internal memory, so you can still enjoy your content offline in nature reserves and campsites where there might not be a signal.
The Jooki music player is durable for hard use and has a fun token system and internal memory for kids to enjoy custom playlists and Spotify content. It’s ideal for long journeys because of the eight-hourbatterylife and offline mode, but it can be complicated to set up, and the small tokens are easy to lose.
Years of fun for kids
The Storypod has a vast range of content that’s easy to play with the NFT-based Craftie tokens, offering up to 120 minutes of playtime for music and books.
Anyone looking for fantastic educational content in a sturdy package can check out the Storypod, which is available in yellow, purple, orange, and other exciting colors. Most parents will love the screen-free design and that there are no privacy concerns due to the lack of acameraor microphone.
Playing content is as easy as placing NFT-based tokens called Crafties on the top, and kids can skip tracks and adjust the volume with well-marked buttons. The collectible Crafties add another level of fun to the playing experience and take the form of soft, cute animals like Sammy Songbird and Melodie Moose or licensed characters likeThe Very Hungry Caterpillar. There’s also a convenient timer to limit kids' use and a handy nightlight to help them get to bed.
The Storypod is an excellentspeakerto get kids away from addictive screens with its huge range of books, songs, and lullabies. It doesn’t come cheap, but it’s tough construction and the sheer variety of content can make it well worth it.
Tunes for tots
The Leapfrog Let’s Record Music is ideal for younger listeners because of its rainbow-colored buttons, huge variety of built-in content, and Bluetooth speaker capability.
Younger kids might be better off with Leapfrog’s Let’s Record Music player because of its colorful design and built-in sounds. Its light blue frame is attractive and functional, with a thick carry handle and numbered rainbow-colored keys that activate various sounds. The white body has vents for the speaker, with a huge dial to choose between the 40 built-in sounds like nursery rhymes, classical music, and lullabies.
There’s no limit to what you’re able to play, and the Let’s Record Music player doubles as aBluetooth speakerfor streaming content fromtabletsandsmartphones. Kids can also have fun making voice recordings of up to ten voice recordings with a three-minute limit on each. You’ll never need to worry about charging it because it runs on AA batteries, and there’s a handy 3.5mm audio port to connectheadphoneswhen you want a quieter experience.
Leapfrog’s Let’s Record Music player is fantastic for younger kids because of its fun design and wide variety of built-in content. It’s also fantastically priced, so you won’t worry much when your child eventually grows out of it.
Show and tell
The Echo Show 5 for Kids has an eye-catching space theme and offers exclusive educational content with a one-year subscription to the Amazon Kids+ service.
Amazon’s Echo Show 5for Kids is the best option if you want an all-purpose speaker with a display to stream movies. Under the hood is a MediaTek MT 8169 B that delivers smooth performance on the perfectly sized 5.5-inchtouchscreenthat can fit on most bedsides. Sound quality is decent for watching shows or listening to music, and there’s a built-in microphone andcamerafor making video calls to family and friends.
Amazon Echo Show 5 review: Honey, I shrunk the screen
The Echo Show experience is getting better all the time and this is a great entry point. Sure, there are some compromises, but it’s value for money.
The kids' variant of the Amazon Echo 5 differs from the standard one with an eye-catching space theme and intuitive parental controls via the Amazon Parent Dashboard. It also comes with a one-year subscription to the exclusive children’s content on Amazon Kids+ and has a Hey Disney feature that allows kids to use characters fromStar Wars, Pixar, and other franchises asAlexa’svoice.
The Amazon Echo 5 is the opposite of its screenless rivals, with impressive smart abilities and a 5.5-inchdisplayfor kids to enjoy shows and other content. It’s not the best for privacy because of the built-in camera and microphone, but it won’t bother buyers looking for an all-in-one kids’speaker.
Affordable kids audio
The budget-friendly Planet Buddies Speaker comes in two cute designs with four hours of battery life for people looking for a basic Bluetooth speaker to play songs and nursery rhymes.
Speakersfor kids don’t need to be pricey, and affordable options like the Planet Buddies Bluetooth Speaker are ideal for buyers wanting to test the waters to see what they can do. It gets the design right with the compact, soft-touch Olive Owl and Pepper Penguin characters that not only look adorable but pair wirelessly to deliverstereo soundfor parties, sleepovers, and other occasions.
Parents will appreciate the user-friendly design that connects to theirAppleorAndroiddevices viaBluetoothto play whatever they like fromstreaming serviceslike Apple Music and Tidal. The four-hour playtime and 60-hour standby time make it useful for the road, and it includes a microphone to make calls to friends and loved ones.
This kids' speaker might not have the bells and whistles as our top picks, but it’s hard to complain, considering it costs less than half the price. It’s still a viable option if you’re not looking for NFC tokens, smart connectivity, and other advanced features and just need a reliablespeakerthat gets the job done.
The bottom line: Which is the best speaker for kids?
The Toniebox Audio Starter Set is the best speaker for kids because it’s soft yet durable and offers up to seven hours of battery life. Yoto’s Player is the best premium option because it includes extra features like white noise sounds and a night light. Anyone looking for the best value can try the Echo Dot 5 for Kids because it’s Alexa-compatible and offers exclusive kids' content.
How did we choose the best speakers for kids?
Our team usually testsheadphones,speakers, and other audio equipment to experience new technology and find the best to recommend to buyers. For this list, we looked at the best kids' speakers and rated them by their features, child-friendliness, and value while trying to keep a variety to appeal to everyone.
Our top picks act as conventional Bluetooth speakers and include fun token systems, internal memory, and other practical features in easy-to-use designs that most kids can operate. Even budget-friendly options come in cute designs and support most devices.
It’s harder to judge kid-friendliness, and we looked at things like bright and durable designs, included cute toys, and other factors when making our list. We feel there’s a great balance of models with fun toy NFT tokens and more conventional models with built-in nursery rhymes and lullabies.
We always look at value when discussing products because the reality is that everyone has a budget they’d like to stick to. Our top picks justify their hefty price tags with solid build quality and long battery life, while the more affordable options deliver more than expected with straightforward operation and offline modes.
Which is the best voice-activated speaker for kids?
Amazon’s Echo Dot 5 is the best voice-activated speaker for kids.
Are smart speakers good for kids?
Smart speakers like the Amazon Echo Dot 5 are great for helping kids relax with soothing music and can also assist them with homework and projects thanks to Alexa voice integration.
What are the best speakers for younger kids?
The Yoto Player, Toniebox, and Leapfrog’s Let’s Record Music Player are the best speakers for younger kids.
