Best First Phones for Kids (2026): Landlines, Watches, Phones

What should a kid's first phone be?

Match the device to the job, then move up a stage only when the job changes. A kid who mostly calls Grandma after school needs a landline. A kid who walks to a friend's house alone may need a watch.

• Stage 1, landline: stays at home, voice only, parent-approved contacts. Best for roughly ages 5 to 9.
• Stage 2, calling watch: goes with them, calls and short texts, location for you. Good for kids who are starting to be out without you.
• Stage 3, locked-down phone: calls, texts and GPS, with no open internet by default. For older kids, roughly 10 to 14, who need more than a watch can do.

Plenty of families skip a stage or stay at one for years. That's fine. Our step-by-step guide walks through the decision.

Best landline for most families: Tin Can

Tin Can is the easiest way to give a young kid their own phone line. It's a corded phone that plugs into a wall outlet and runs on your Wi-Fi, so there's no phone jack, no apps, no texting and no games. Parents approve every contact and can set quiet hours.

• Price: about $100. The free Can2Can plan calls other Tin Cans and 911. The Party Line plan adds regular phone numbers for $9.99/mo, with the first month free.
• Extras: speed dial, speakerphone and voicemail. 45-day returns.
• Why it's popular: Bloomberg called it "the hottest phone for kids right now" in April 2026. If your kid's friends have one, the free plan may be all you need.

Not for: kids who need to reach you while they're out of the house. It also needs Wi-Fi and power, and Tin Can itself advises keeping a backup way to reach emergency services during outages.

Best budget landline: Pinwheel Home

Pinwheel Home costs less up front than Tin Can and gives you more plan options. It's a voice-only Wi-Fi phone in two styles: Spark (about $68) and Classic, with a retro handset (about $79).

• Plans: the free Pinwheel Circle plan calls other Pinwheel phones and 911. Friends & Family ($6.99/mo) adds up to five outside numbers. Unlimited ($9.99/mo) calls any number.
• Parent controls: approve contacts, block spam and robocalls, set calling schedules.
• Growth path: on a paid plan, the phone number can later move to a Pinwheel mobile phone.

Not for: families whose kid's friends all use Tin Can, since free calls only work within each brand. See Tin Can vs Pinwheel for the full breakdown.

Best calling watch for younger kids: Gabb Watch 3e

The Gabb Watch 3e puts calls, texts and GPS on your kid's wrist with no browser and no social media. It's listed for ages 5 to 12 and holds up to 100 parent-approved contacts.

• Cost: about $210, plus $30 activation and a plan from $12.99 to $17.99/mo.
• Location: GPS updates about every 15 minutes, with Safe Zone alerts.
• SOS: the SOS button calls the designated parent. Gabb says it does not call 911.
• Battery: about 14 to 18 hours, so it charges every night.

Not for: parents who want live, minute-by-minute location. Look at the Garmin below.

Best watch for live location: Garmin Bounce 2

The Garmin Bounce 2 is the pick if real-time location and battery life matter most. It does two-way calls, texts and voice messages over LTE with up to 50 approved contacts, managed in the Garmin Jr. app.

• Cost: about $300, plus an LTE plan of $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr. Garmin runs the plan, so you don't add a line with your carrier.
• Hardware: 1.2" AMOLED touchscreen, built-in GPS, 5 ATM water rating, battery up to two days.
• Age: listed for 6 and up.

Not for: tight budgets. It costs more up front than the Gabb watch. Compare them in Gabb Watch vs Garmin Bounce 2.

Best phone with no internet: Gabb Phone 4

The Gabb Phone 4 is the best-known kids' phone with no internet. It looks like a smartphone but has no browser, no app store and no social media. Gabb lists it for ages 9 to 14.

• Cost: about $230, plus $30 activation, plans from $29.99 to $39.99/mo and a recovery fee of about $2/mo.
• What's on it: 16 preloaded kid-safe apps and a parent-approved app library.
• Safety: GPS about every 15 minutes with Safe Zones, and AI filtering on messages that alerts parents to concerning content.

Not for: kids who need specific apps outside Gabb's library. Bark or Troomi give you more room to unlock things later.

Best for unlocking features later: Bark Phone

Bark Phone is a smartphone that starts as talk and text only, with Bark's monitoring built in at the system level so kids can't delete it. You unlock more as your kid is ready.

• Cost: about $360 for the phone. The Starter plan is $29/mo for unlimited talk and text with no internet. Plans go up to $79/mo with data.
• Controls: parents approve contacts and app installs, set screen-time schedules, block apps and sites, and get location alerts.
• Monitoring: texts, email and apps are monitored, and the monitoring can't be removed.

Not for: families who don't want content monitoring, or who want the lowest first-year cost.

Best for adding features one at a time: Troomi Phone

Troomi runs a locked-down version of Android on a Samsung phone, and you add features plan by plan. It starts with talk and text, then you can add photos, group chat or a curated app store.

• Cost: the phone is $6.94/mo over 36 months. Plans are $24.95 to $34.95/mo, month to month, with no contract.
• Internet: no open internet by default. An optional browser allows only sites you approve.
• Contacts and apps: only approved contacts can call or text, and apps come only from Troomi's parent-approved store. No social media.
• Network: AT&T.

Not for: families who'd rather own the phone outright on day one. The device payments run for three years.

How much does a kid's first phone cost in the first year?

Between $68 and about $710, depending on the stage. Here's the math, using the lowest plan unless noted. Taxes, shipping and any fees not listed here are extra, so check the retailer for today's price.

• Pinwheel Home Spark, free plan: $68. With Friends & Family: $68 + (12 × $6.99 = $83.88) = about $152.
• Tin Can, free plan: $100. With Party Line: $100 + (11 paid months × $9.99 = $109.89) = about $210.
• Troomi Phone: (12 × $6.94 = $83.28) + (12 × $24.95 = $299.40) = about $383. The phone payments continue for two more years.
• Gabb Watch 3e: $209.99 + $30 + (12 × $12.99 = $155.88) = about $396.
• Garmin Bounce 2, annual plan: $299.99 + $99.99 = about $400. Paying monthly: about $420.
• Gabb Phone 4: $229.99 + $30 + (12 × $29.99 = $359.88) + (12 × about $2 = $24) = about $644.
• Bark Phone, Starter: $360 + (12 × $29 = $348) = about $708.

How do you know when to move up a stage?

Move up when your kid regularly needs to reach you from somewhere the current device can't. A landline stops being enough when they're often out without an adult. A watch stops being enough when they need to coordinate with several people, take photos for school, or use a specific app.

Write down what the device is for before you buy it, and revisit it every few months. Our family phone rules template makes that conversation easier. Browse every option in First Phones & Watches.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Tin Can: product page and plans
• The Star (Bloomberg): The hottest phone for kids right now is a US$100 landline
• Pinwheel: Kids Home Phone and plans
• TechCrunch: Pinwheel launches a retro-inspired landline phone for kids
• Gabb: Gabb Watch 3e
• Garmin: Bounce 2 kids smartwatch
• Engadget: Garmin's new smartwatch for kids costs more than the Apple Watch SE
• Gabb: Gabb Phone
• SafeWise: Gabb price increase 2026
• Bark: pricing and plans
• Troomi: kid-safe phones and plans