Look we know, screentime isn’t the ideal learning tool for kids, but we don’t exactly live in a perfect world. Whether you’re looking for something to do on a rainy day, you simply want to have a cup of coffee in peace, or, like your kids, you’ve become emotionally invested in Bluey then we've rounded up the best free and paid streaming services for kids.
Best paid streaming services for kids
It’s unlikely that you’re going to pay for a streaming service that is specifically for your kids, but if you’re trying to decide which one to spend your money on, children's content may be a contributing factor. Below are our recommendations for the best paid streaming services for kids.
To learn more about parental controls associated with the platforms, click on the links in each section which will take you to our other, more in-depth guides.
Stan
| Inclusions | Details | |
|---|---|---|
|
Stan
|
|
Link not supplied
|
|
Stan
|
|
Link not supplied
|
|
Stan
|
|
Link not supplied
|
Often overlooked but as classic Aussie as a Vegemite sandwich, Stan is an excellent paid streaming service worth its weight in gold for the entire family.
Off the bat you’ll get a mixture of content from various ad-free free-to-air channels like Paw Patrol, Blaze and the Monster Machines, Dora and SpongeBob Squarepants (10 Play) as well as ABC iView's Peppa Pig, The Wiggles, and Sesame Street.
Other popular titles include original and newly animated Bob the Builder, Thomas the Tank Engine, Scooby Doo, Teletubbies, Curious George, and Fireman Sam and a bunch of forgotten film favourites like Epic, The Smurfs, and Robots.
Notable titles comes from various sources such as Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and legendary DreamWorks productions such as Madagascar, Boss Baby and the Shrek series. There are also Stan Exclusives like The Croods and Dragons The Nine Realms.
To see what Stan holds for grown ups, check out our editor’s picks for the best movies and TV shows available on the platform.
Disney Plus
|
Disney Plus
From
$9.99/mth
|
|
Disney Plus
From
$17.99/mth
or $179.99/yr
|
|
Disney Plus
From
$24.99/mth
or $249.99/yr
|
You can't write this list without including Disney Plus. Disney is the epitome of many people’s childhoods and, as is to be anticipated, has an extensive range to infinity and beyond children’s movies and TV shows.
Relive the magic with your kids by watching your favourite Disney films like, The Lion King series, all things Disney Princesses, The Muppets and the Winnie the Pooh collection, or maybe a Pixar classic such as the Cars trilogy, Toy Story and The Incredibles.
If your kids are a bit older and into action flicks, Disney Plus' Star Wars and Marvel sections have got them covered.
Otherwise, if you're the kind of parent who prefers to nurture with nature docos, National Geographic has a whole host of content that will entertain and educate the most curious of minds or simply soothe little ones with stunning imagery.
Subscriptions used to cost $11.99 per month or $119.99 annually but a recent price rise has seen standard plans increase to $15.99 and $159.99 respectively. Keep an eye on our Disney deals page to score a discount on your subscription.
In October, Hulu replaced Star in Australia bringing with it some acclaimed titles like All's Fair and Murdaugh: Death in the Family, but these are strictly for mums and dads.
Keep reading here to check out what other titles have been released recently on Disney Plus.
Netflix
Easily the most obvious streaming platform, Netflix carries its weight for the kiddies with its huge collection of kids-specific movies and TV shows. As is to be anticipated, Netflix has a range of original content, think Puffin Rock, The Sea Beast, Spell Bound, Trash Truck and K-Pop Demon Hunters, as well as popular titles like Ms Rachel, Blippi, Octonauts and Teen Titans Go!.
Netflix differs to other platforms in that it has a specific-kids streaming mode. It’s a simpler setup from other services, which excludes synopsis, release dates and the duration; all those things kids don’t really care about. This setting also automatically groups all the kid-friendly content into one place. This way won’t have to worry about your little one stumbling on to Big Mouth in animation.
Binge
|
Binge
Basic with AdsFree 7 Day Trial
From
$10/mth
or $79/yr
|
|
Binge
StandardFree 7 Day Trial
From
$19/mth
or $149/yr
|
|
Binge
PremiumFree 7 Day Trial
From
$22/mth
or $179/yr
|
Foxtel’s streaming iteration, Binge, is definitely aimed more towards adults than children, but there's still a decent range of child-friendly TV and movie content available.
Some of the latest films tend to hit Binge first, thanks to its Fox affiliation, such as the Sonic the Hedgehog film series and the How to Train Your Dragon saga. But you can still find the classics too like Postman Pat, Noddy, and Raaraa the Noisy Lion.
Like Disney Plus, you'll also get access to documentary content for older kids as well as live channels including Discovery and Animal Planet. For those looking for entertainment over education, the live Kids, DreamWorks and Universal TV channels are also available.
Similar to Netflix, you can select the Kids section but I’d be sure to supervise while browsing through this one. Most of the titles like Minions, Looney Tunes, and an array of Barbie films are clearly for kids but some questionable choices have slipped in. Take Adventure Time as an example, it’s an animated show but probably has a few too many adult themes for young children.
In terms of price, Binge sits in the middle of the pack from the ones we've recommended above in this guide. However, Binge often run deals and discounts if you want to save a few bucks on a subscription.
Best free streaming services for kids
Although paid streaming services have become increasingly popular over the past few years, you don’t need to fork out the big bucks to entertain your kids. Think about how many times you’ve spent money on a fancy toy, only to have them play with the box.
There's plenty of child-friendly content out there whether it be new like Bluey or as classic as Blinky Bill. Children don't love sitting still, and you probably wouldn’t want them staring at a screen for hours on end anyway, so it begs to reason that paying for a streaming service probably isn’t high on the priority list.
Kids care about what ever grabs their attention and that doesn’t have to cost you a pretty penny. Below are the best free streaming services for kids in Australia, and some of the quality viewing available on them.
ABC iView
Of all the free streaming services in Australia, ABC iView has some of the best kids content available at the moment. Some big names available to stream from ABC iView including international favourite Bluey, Peppa Pig, The Adventures of Paddington, Shaun the Sheep, Sesame Street, The Gruffalo and other Julia Donaldson short stories, Playschool, Giggle and Hoot, The Wiggles and Maddi + Triggs.
The service is entirely free, you don’t even need a login in order to watch everything it has on offer.
10 Play
Although the selection isn’t as wide as ABC iView, 10 Play offers on-demand content for young kids through to tweens, and maybe even teens if they’re not pretending to be too cool.
For the little kids, 10 Play streams Paw Patrol, Rubble & Crew, Dora, Gabby's Dollhouse, SpongeBob Squarepants, Blaze and the Monster Machines, Bubble Guppies and more.
For slightly older kids, Totally Wild, Monster High, The Fairly Odd Parents, The Patrick Star Show, iCarly and Victorious and Rock Island Mysteries are free to stream.
Millennial parents will also be reunited with their favourite nostalgic 90s shows like CatDog, Rocko's Modern Life, Rocket Power, Hey Arnold!, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Invader Zim, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Loud House are available on 10 Play.
Tubi
Tubi boasts the largest collection of premium on-demand content, with over 275,000 TV episodes and movies. It also has 300 exclusive original titles and falls under the Fox Corporation.
Be warned though, content on Tubi tends to change more frequently than that of other free streaming services, so if you spot something you're interested in, we recommend pressing play rather than stashing it in your Watchlist. But at the time of writing there is a wide selection of kids shows to choose from, including My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, Transformers, Mr Bean, and Littlest Pet Shop.
For parents search for classics from 'back in their day', Tubi is also home to some pre-remake cartoons and kids shows like original Clifford, Barney, Power Rangers, Garfield and Friends, The Magic School Bus, Inspector Gadget, Bugs Bunny, The Gumby Show, Barbar, Popeye and Friends, and select Pokémon and Yu-Go-Oh! series.
Read more about Tubi from our sister site Reviews.org.
While Tubi is an entirely free streaming platform, it does have ads. Most free-to-air platforms, even the likes of YouTube (which is different, but has a similar advertising format) make revenue from selling ad space. In this instance, Tubi is entirely ad-supported so you’ll see more here than you would on services such as 7Play for example.
According to Tubi’s support centre, ad breaks last one to two minutes long on average and happen every 15 minutes or so. This means you’ll encounter between four and eight minutes of ads per hour, which is still far fewer than you’d get on regular TV.
These are the most popular NBN plans with speeds of 50Mbps or higher:
|
#1
|
Dodo
FTTP, HFC
Editor's Pick
nbn500 Unlimited Plan
$62.99/mth
Min. cost $62.99
|
|
#2
|
Tangerine Telecom
FTTP, HFC
Speedy Max NBN 500/50
$59.90/mth
Min. cost $59.90
|
|
#3
|
amaysim
FTTP, HFC
NBN500
$50/mth
Min. cost $50
|
|
#4
|
Belong
FTTP, HFC
NBN Fast – Unlimited
$59/mth
Min. cost $59
|
|
#5
|
Superloop
FTTP, HFC
Family Max nbn500/50
$74/mth
Min. cost $74
|
|
#6
|
SpinTel
FTTP, HFC
Home Ultrafast 1000/100
$76/mth
Min. cost $76
|
|
#7
|
Exetel
FTTP, HFC
One Plan 500/50
$80/mth
Min. cost $80
|
|
#8
|
TPG
FTTP, HFC
nbn Home Fast Unlimited Plan
$74.99/mth
Min. cost $74.99
Link not supplied
|
|
#9
|
Kogan Internet
FTTP, HFC
Gold Plus Unlimited
$69.90/mth
Min. cost $69.90
|
|
#10
|
Flip
FTTP, HFC
Unlimited Fast Speed nbn500
$69/mth
Min. cost $69
|
Anula Wiwatowska
Offsite Editorial Lead | Instagram
Related Articles
Find a Better Pay TV Package
Compare options from Foxtel, Fetch TV, Netflix, Stan and more.
