17 Best Educational Streaming Services

One of the best things about the new streaming age is that many services, to stand out, specialize in a single thing. There are streamers dedicated solely to classics, reality shows, live TV, and horror films. In this list, we're rounding up the best of the educational streamers. 

Some of them will be kids-focused, like Noggin and Hopster, but most of the services in this list offer quality lessons on topics like history, geography, race, and culture. Unsurprisingly, many also lean on documentary and non-fiction styles of reporting.

Discovery+ is a streaming service from the famous mass media company that has an ad-supported plan for $4.99 a month and an ad-free plan for $6.99. This includes content from Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet, Food Network, HGTV, ID, A&E, History, Lifetime, OWN, Travel, Science Network, and The Dodo. But beware, you cannot stream these channels live with a Discovery+, you can only watch their TV shows in playback.

Price: $4.99/month

Free Trial: 7 days

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, iOS, Roku, Samsung TV, Xbox

Amazon Kids+ is a streaming service for kids 3 to 12. it features animation content from Disney, Nickelodeon, Sesame Street and Cartoon Network, but also access to educational apps, games, and e-books. It costs $4.99/month if you already have Amazon Prime or $7.99/month if you don't. 

Price: $4.99/month

Free Trial: 30 days

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Fire tablets, iOS

VICE TV is a channel available to certain cable or streaming subscriptions. While it has yet to launch a dedicated subscription of its own, VICE TV is downloadable as an app on media players such as Roku and Apple TV and offers free episodes of its renowned documentaries via YouTube and its online site. VICE TV is a great add-on if you already have an ongoing subscription and don't want to pay extra to see relevant, cutting-edge documentaries from around the world.

Price: free for channels available

Device availability: Android, Apple TV, iOS, Roku, Sling TV

True Story is an online streaming service that focuses on documentaries from all over the globe. The nature of the films seem to focus on relationships amongst real-life people in specific and unique contexts. If you enjoy exploring the complexities of interpersonal relationships while also learning surprising things about the world in an interesting and moving way, then this streamer is for you. The subscription is $8.49/month. True Story was launched in 2020.

Price: $8.49/month

Device availability: Chromecast, Website

Topic is an online streaming service operating in the US and Canada. 

In the US, a monthly subscription currently runs at $5.99 per month or $56.99 per year.

Topic can be accessed via Apple iOS, and AppleTV, Android, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku, in addition to Amazon Prime Video Channels, Apple TV Channels, Roku Premium Channels, and Bell Fibe.

Price: $5.99/month

Free Trial: 7 days

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple TV, iOS, Roku

Toon Goggles is an on-demand service dedicated to streaming kids' shows, including popular cartoons like PJ Masks, live-action features like Guinness World Record, and even games like Angry Birds. There are hours upon hours of content here, not to mention pre-screened ads and strict parental controls, making it a suitable service to leave the children with. 

Some of Toon Goggles' shows can be streamed for free, but if you want full access and no ads, you'll have to subscribe to its premium tier, which costs $1.99 in the US and Canada and just $0.99 everywhere else.

Price: $1.99/month

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Google TV, Hisense Smart TV, iOS, LG Smart TV, Panasonic Vera Connect, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Sony Smart TV, Vizio Smart TV, Website

Noggin is a subscription service catered specifically to preschool-age children. Powered by Nickelodeon's sister channel Nick Jr., Noggin boasts an extensive line-up of ad-free shows such as Peppa Pig, Blues Clues, and PAW Patrol. Aside from thousands of titles like this, the streaming service also has educational games, eBooks, and shorts, as well as exclusive Spanish-language content. With access to five accounts and multiple parental controls, Noggin is reasonably priced at $7.99 a month. It's also a strong competitor to YouTube TV and Netflix's own child-targeted content.

Price: $7.99/month

Device availability: Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, iOS, LG, Roku, Samsung, Sony, Vizio

MagellanTV’s content focuses mostly on documentaries. New movies and series are added weekly, so the library is frequently updated. This streamer is for people who love learning about science, space, and the earth. MagellanTV provides a thoughtfully curated selection of films that focus on current events and global topics of importance. The cheapest subscription it offers is $4.99/month and it has a 14-day free trial. It was launched in 2019.

Price: $4.99/month

Free Trial: 14 days

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Google Play, iOS, Roku, Samsung, Vizio

Described as the Netflix of language learning, Lingopie has a wide array of international movies and TV shows to watch in nine languages: Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, and English. Mainly, it has a flashcard feature that allows you to learn the words in the subtitles as you go along. The flashcard lets you hear the right pronunciation of the word, while also giving info on its position of speech, tense, etc. It's a great option for those interested in learning through entertainment. 

Price: $12/month

Free Trial: 7 days

Device availability: Android, iOS, Website

Kanopy is an on-demand streaming service that schools and public libraries all around the US offer students and members for free. All you have to do is enter the details of your participating institution and you can start watching as you please. Because of the academic nature of the platform, Kanopy makes sure it streams only the most essential and important content available, which could mean hard-hitting films like Moonlight, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Lady Bird, Dogtooh, Memento, and Howard's End for certain viewers, or The Adventures of Paddington, Richard Scarry, and The Monster Math Squad for even other, younger viewers. There are also storybooks, documentaries, and educational programs available to watch as Kanopy makes sure to cater to every learner regardless of leaning or age.

Price: free for channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire Stick, Amazon Fire Tablet, Android, Chromecast, iOS, Roku, Website

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The streaming services on this page were chosen by our editors. If you choose to subscribe to a streaming service we recommend as a result of our research, analysis, and curation, our work is sometimes (but not always) supported by an affiliate commission from the streaming service when you make a purchase.