Between writing notes, preparing for exams and conducting research, getting one of the best tablets for school can definitely help to be more productive.
As you are preparing your kids – or yourself – to get back to school, it is necessary to get equipped with tools that will make school life easier.
A school tablet can help in many ways. From doing study-related research to helping with to-do lists and note-taking apps, a tablet is one of the best gift you can give to your kids. Here are the best tablets for school that you should consider.
If you are looking for gadgets for college, you need different products, so read our guide of best tablets for College instead.
Our Top 3 Picks
| #1 – Samsung Galaxy Tab A | #2 – Lenovo Yoga Book (Windows) | #3 – Apple iPad |
 |  |  |
Low-Price & Good Quality | Versatile Windows Tablet | Best iPad for School |
| 10.1″ HD | 10.1″ HD | 9.7″ HD |
| Samsung Exynos 7870 with 2 GB of RAM | Intel Atom with 4 GB of RAM | A10 Fusion with 2 GB of RAM |
| 16 GB | 64 GB | 32 GB |
| Up to 14 hours | Up to 15 hours | Up to 10 hours |
| Jump to our Review | Jump to our Review | Jump to our Review |
What to Expect with the best tablets for School
While deciding a tablet for your school going kid, you may want something more lightweight that is easier to carry around in their backpacks. The tablet should also be well built so that it can withstand a bit of rough handling.
Quality and Casing
Kids that goes to school don’t necessarily need a device with premium build quality. However, you can expect the device to be well built enough to withstand accidental drops and scratches.
Depending on your preference, some school tablets also come with keyboard cases but that makes them weighs more than tablets without one. Tablet in this range can weigh as little as 0.5 lbs and go up to 2 lbs.
Display
A bright display will surely help kids the most as they mostly work in good lighting conditions or under direct sunlight. A 720p HD display is good enough for research and note-taking with crisp and clear text output, and anything above that is a bonus.
Performance
The performance on these tablets are never an issue as most of the tablets for school can offer adequate performance for projects or home works. Students should be able to browse the internet, use multimedia apps, productivity apps without any issue with the Intel, Qualcomm and MediaTek processors on board.
Audio
Most of the best tablets for school come with decent audio quality and speakers. The speakers should be adequately loud with the clear sound output.
Camera
You can expect at least 5-megapixel rear camera that can help the student in quickly snapping notes from the whiteboard. More premium tablets offer better camera and quality.
Software
Some manufacturers pre-install academic software to help the student with productivity. However even if it’s not the case, there are tons of educational related apps on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store that you can install after the purchase.
Other Aspects
The best tablets for schools should come with adequate internal storage and a Micro SD card slot for memory expansion, a good battery life with at least 6-8 hours of backup and an affordable price tag.
Recommended for you:Specs for the Top 12 Best Tablets for School
| Graphics | 7, 8, 10-inch |
| Processor | A10 Fusion, Intel Atom, Qualcomm Snapdragon, Samsung Exynos 7870 and similar |
| RAM | 1 to 4 GB |
| Storage | 8 to 128 GB |
| Cameras | Front: 0.3 to 5 MP Back: 2 to 8 MP |
| Battery life | 6 to 15 hours |
| OS | Windows 10, ChromeOS, Windows 8.1, iOS 11, Android |
| Dimensions / Weight | Height: 7.44 to 10.28″ Width: 4.25 to 7.05″ Thick.: 0.22 to 0.39″ Weight: 0.58 to 2.8 lbs |
| Price Range | $, $$, $$$, $$$$, $$$$$ |
Top 12 Best Tablets for School
1 – Samsung Galaxy Tab A – 10″ HD
“Low-Price & Good Quality”
Samsung Galaxy Tab A is certainly one the bests tablet for school as it comes with a gorgeous 10-inch full HD AMOLED display which is great. The display has good color accuracy and gets adequately bright even under direct sunlight. The plastic body is well built and offers a good grip.
Under the hood, it comes with an in-house Exynos processor and 2 GB RAM, delivering more than enough performance for a school tablet. It is on par with any other similarly priced tablet as it can run most of the Android apps without any lag. What impressed us the most is the camera quality which is above average and with a monstrous 14 hours of battery life, it will last school hours with ease.
The S-Pen is particularly helpful for handwritten notes. There is no lag and inaccuracy while taking notes with it.
The Galaxy Tab A also comes with the educational app Samsung Kids. It is a subscription-based app that offers the kids to engage with educational content from Dreamworks Animation, Sesame Street, National Geographic, etc.
All-in-all, a really great 10-inch tablet for school!
Pros
| Cons
|
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| Graphics | 10.1″ HD screen (1920 x 1200) |
| Performance | Samsung Exynos 7870 with 2 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 16 GB |
| Cameras | Front: 2 MP / Rear: 8 MP |
| Battery life | Up to 14 hours |
| OS | Android 6 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 10″ x 6.11″ x 0.32″ / 1.16 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Black, White |
| Price Range | $$$$ |
Other similar versions (prices may vary)
2 – Lenovo Yoga Book (Windows) – 10″ HD
“Versatile Windows Tablet”
The Lenovo Yoga Book is not your typical tablet. It not only runs a full-blown Windows 10 OS out of the box but also comes with a touch type full-size keyboard that can be used as a canvas to draw arts and more.
The Yoga Book comes with a 10.1-inch full HD display that is adequately bright and offers good viewability. It can run Microsoft Office suite with ease thanks to the Intel Atom chip with 4 GB of RAM on board. 64 GB of internal storage is adequate for storing multimedia files and school projects.
It also comes with decent audio quality, 12 hours of battery life, but has an average camera unit. The Lenovo Yoga Book is an ideal tablet for you kid if their school project requires a versatile device and also if they are into digital arts.
Pros
| Cons
|
| Graphics | 10.1″ HD screen (1920 x 1200) |
| Performance | Intel Atom with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 64 GB |
| Cameras | Front: 2 MP / Rear: 8 MP |
| Battery life | Up to 15 hours |
| OS | Windows 10 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 10.1″ x 6.72″ x 0.38″ / 1.52 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Black, White |
| Price Range | $$$$$ |
Other similar versions (prices may vary)
Android version: Lenovo Yoga Book (Android)
3 – Apple iPad – 10″ HD
“Best iPad for School”
If price is not a constraint, the Apple iPad is definitely one of the best tablets for school. It is well built with a premium aluminum body and weighs just 1.05 lbs. It comes with a 9.7-inch retina display which is brighter than any other tablet in this segment. We can tell you that the display is sharp and offers a crisp reading experience.
The A9 fusion chip can run any app in the Apple App Store with ease. You can use productivity apps like Evernote and Todoist for note taking and to do list purpose. With 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage, the iPad offers adequate space to store any notes and media files.
The 8-megapixel rear camera is good enough depending on what you do with it. This best iPad for school offers 10 hours of battery life that can easily last a full school day.
For educational purpose, Apple bundles its new iPad with iWork app. The iWork app is a productivity app that includes pages, numbers, and keynotes along with Apple pencil support.
Pros
| Cons
|
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| Graphics | 9.7″ HD screen (2048 x 1536) |
| Performance | A10 Fusion with 2 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 32 GB |
| Cameras | No Front Camera / Rear: 8 MP |
| Battery life | Up to 10 hours |
| OS | iOS 11 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 9.4″ x 6.6″ x 0.29″ / 1.05 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Silver, Gold, Grey |
| Price Range | $$$$ |
4 – Asus Transformer Mini T102HA – 10″
“Half tablet / Half computer”
Asus Transformer Mini is a premium looking 2-in-1 device that comes with 10-inch display and a keyboard / cover. If you are looking for a tablet with a Pen (Stylus) and keyboard, this fits the bill perfectly.
The Transformer Mini is on of the best Windows 10 tablet for school with an HD display. The display gets adequately bright and offers good viewing angles. It is powered by an Intel Atom processor paired with 4 GB of RAM, and it can handle any of the Windows Store apps with ease. You can even run the Microsoft Office suite without any problem.
There is a 2-megapixel front-facing camera which is of average quality and 128 GB of flash storage for blazing fast performance. It also comes with a good 10 hours of battery life.
On the negative side, the Intel Atom processor could have been better, and the tablet weighs around 1.74 lbs which is a little heavier than other tablets though it comes with a type cover.
Pros
| Cons
|
| Graphics | 10.1″ touchscreen (1280 x 800) |
| Performance | Intel Atom with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 128 GB eMMC |
| Cameras | Front: 2 MP / No Back Camera |
| Battery life | Up to 11 hours |
| OS | Windows 10 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 10.2″ x 6.7″ x 0.32″ / 1.74 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Silver, White & Orange |
| Price Range | $$$$ |
5 – Asus ZenPad C – 7″
“Low-Cost & Portable”
Asus ZenPad C is a compact tablet that comes with a well-built premium looking plastic body. A 7-inch tablet with HD display and weighs around 0.58 lbs making one of the lightest tablets for school you can find.
The ZenPad 7 is powered by an Intel Atom X3 processor along with 1 GB of RAM. While the tablet performs without any lag most of the time, under heavy usage it starts lagging due to the smaller quantity of RAM.
The tablet only comes with 8 GB of internal storage and using it without a micro SD card slot might quickly become a difficult task. The camera quality is average, and it can last up to 8 hours on a single charge.
Asus ZenPad C is a low-cost tablet that is adequate for school kids and their projects and casual web browsing and gaming.
Pros
| Cons
|
| Graphics | 7″ screen (1024 x 600) |
| Performance | Intel Atom x3-C3200 with 1 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 8 GB |
| Cameras | Front: 0.3 MP / Rear: 2 MP |
| Battery life | Up to 8 hours |
| OS | Android 5.0 Lollipop |
| Dimensions / Weight | 7.44″ x 4.25″ x 0.33″ / 0.58 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Black, White |
| Price Range | $$ |
6 – RCA Viking Pro – 10″
“Low-Cost Tablet with Keyboard”
RCA Viking Pro is a 10-inch tablet that comes with an affordable price tag. It comes with Android 5.0 Lollipop and a type cover out of the box. An interesting thing to note in this tablet is the full USB 2.0 port and a micro HDMI port, which is seldom available on any other tablet in this price range.
The 10.1-inch display works well. It may not be as bright or as good as more expensive tablets, but for the price, you can’t ask for more.
Under the hood, it is powered by a quad-core processor and 1 GB of RAM. The processor is made for low-cost tablets, and it can perform when browsing, streaming video and for writing emails without any issues.
Pros
Cons | |
| Graphics | 10.1″ touchscreen (1280 x 800) |
| Performance | Quad Core with 1 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 32 GB eMMC |
| Cameras | No Front Camera / No Back Camera |
| Battery life | Up to 6 hours |
| OS | ChromeOS |
| Dimensions / Weight | 10.2″ x 6.5″ x 0.39″ / 2.8 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Black, Blue, Purple, Pink |
| Price Range | $ |
# 7 to 12 Best Tablets for School
7 – Samsung Galaxy Tab E – 8″
“Old OS but Good School Tablet”
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 is an affordable 8-inch tablet that gets features right except for the software which is older by today’s standard.
It has an 8-inch HD display which has a good Samsung panel with adequate brightness and color accuracy. So is the case with audio well.
Inside, you get a Snapdragon processor with 1.5 GB of RAM. The performance is adequate if you don’t run heavy apps and games as it only gets 1.5 GB of RAM, but for web browsing, video streaming, and school projects, the tablet works great.
The tablet can last up to 8 hours on a single charge which is decent what is not decent though is the Android 4.4 KitKat OS it runs on.
Pros
| Cons
|
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| Graphics | 8″ screen (1280 x 800) |
| Performance | Qualcomm Snapdragon with 1.5 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 16 GB |
| Cameras | No Front Camera / Rear: 5 MP |
| Battery life | Expect 8 to 10 hours |
| OS | Android 4.4 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 8.27″ x 4.88″ x 0.35″ / 0.72 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Black |
| Price Range | $$ |
8 – Asus ZenPad 3S 10 – 10″ HD
“Great Display and Performance”
If you want something that is bigger yet premium looking, then the Zenpad 3S is probably the best tablet for school. It has aluminum edges, rubberized back, and a reliable build.
On the front, you get a 9.7-inch 2K resolution display which as good as it can get on a tablet of this range. The touch feels responsive, the color accuracy is good and the tablet is relatively lightweight for the size at 0.94 lbs.
For the performance needs, Asus ZenPad 3S comes with a MediaTek dual-core processor paired with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of onboard storage. Despite the MediaTek processor, the tablet performs well during web browsing, video streaming, and casual gameplay sessions.
Asus ZenPad 3S would have been the best all-rounder if the battery and camera quality was better, which we found to be average at best. The audio, on the other hand, is on the impressive side.
Pros
| Cons
|
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| Graphics | 9.7″ HD screen (2048 x 1536) |
| Performance | MTK MT8176 Dual-Core with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 64 GB |
| Cameras | Front: 5 MP / Rear: 8 MP |
| Battery life | Up to 10 hours |
| OS | Android 6 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 9.45″ x 6.44″ x 0.22″ / 0.94 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Silver |
| Price Range | $$$$ |
9 – Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 – 8″ HD
“Portable & Great Value 8-inch”
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 is a compact tablet that weighs just 0.58 lbs. The body is made of plastic but does not feel cheap in hand. Tab S2 boasts an 8-inch 2K resolution display that gets adequately bright with sharp viewing angles and good color accuracy.
Under the hood, it comes powered with an octa-core CPU paired with 3 GB of RAM. The hardware combination is capable of handling casual web browsing, note taking and video streaming session without any lag.
You also get 32 GB of internal storage, 2-megapixel front, and 8-megapixel rear camera. The rear camera does a good job of taking photos with good details for a tablet. There is a micro SD card slot for memory expansion as well.
While the build quality and performance are satisfactory, the tablet scores low in battery and audio department. Tab S2 will last around 10 hours on paper. However, you can expect approximately 8 hours of use.
Pros
| Cons
|
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| Graphics | 8″ HD screen (2048 x 1536) |
| Performance | Octa-core APQ8076 with 3 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 32 GB |
| Cameras | Front: 2 MP / Rear: 8 MP |
| Battery life | Up to 10 hours |
| OS | Android 6 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 7.82″ x 5.31″ x 0.22″ / 0.58 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Black, White, Gold |
| Price Range | $$$ |
Other similar versions (prices may vary)
10 – Samsung Galaxy Book – 10″ HD
“Versatile & Powerful, but Expensive”
The Samsung Galaxy Book is a 2-in-1 tablet for school that not only looks premium, but feels premium thanks to its build quality. Due to its price, it’s mainly aimed at working professional, but it can also work for school kids as it comes with a type cover and S pen for handwritten notes.
The 10.6-inch full HD display is second to none in this price range. With its Super AMOLED display, Samsung has produced one of the best displays for the tablets. It also comes with 4 GB of RAM and Intel m3 processor. The hardware is capable of running any Windows 10 app without issues.
While we don’t expect it to run heavy apps like Photoshop CC, you can still install apps like Photoshop Express and Paint.net. The S Pen is super responsive and offers precise writing on note-taking apps.
Other aspects of the device include 128 GB of SSD, good audio, good keyboard and excellent performance. However, the tablet is priced relatively steep and can be expensive for a school tablet.
Pros
| Cons
|
| Graphics | 10.6″ HD screen (1920 x 1280) |
| Performance | Intel m3 with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 128 GB |
| Cameras | Front: 5 MP / No Back Camera |
| Battery life | Up to 9 hours |
| OS | Windows 10 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 10.28″ x 7.05″ x 0.35″ / 1.42 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Silver |
| Price Range | $$$$$ |
11 – Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus – 10″ HD
“Good Quality & Performance”
Lenovo is known to make some good tablets and the Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus is one of the best tablets the company has ever made. It comes with a 10.1 full HD display that is bright, colorful and has good viewing angles.
The Tab 4 10 Plus also get a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. The storage is further expandable using the Micro SD card slot in the device. In our testing, the tablet performed exceptionally well without any noticeable lag issues.
The 5-megapixel front and 8-megapixel rear cameras are on the average side while the battery on the tablet is good for a whole day of school. It runs on the latest Android 7.0, so compatibility is not an issue for any Android app.
Pros
| Cons
|
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Check current price on Amazon.com
| Graphics | 10.1″ HD screen (1920 x 1200) |
| Performance | Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8953 with 2 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 16 GB |
| Cameras | Front: 5 MP / Rear: 8 MP |
| Battery life | Up to 11 hours |
| OS | Android 7 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 9.7″ x 6.8″ x 0.3″ / 1.05 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Black |
| Price Range | $$$$ |
Other similar versions (prices may vary)
Low-Price 8-inch 8-inch non-HD, 
Cheaper Version: 16 GB
12 – Toshiba Encore 2 WT8 – 8″
“Windows Tablet at Good Price”
Toshiba Encore 2 is a Windows tablet that runs on the previous version of Windows 8.1. The tablet feels sturdy and looks well built. Housing an Intel Atom processor with 1 GB of RAM, you can run basic Windows apps with ease. Apps like Skype and OneDrive works fine; MS Office suite also sails smoothly.
The battery life is the best part of this tablet. With 11 hours of battery life, it keeps the power on till you get home. Front and rear cameras are average and it also a little heavier for an 8″ tablet at 0.84 lbs.
The Toshiba Encore is a good large tablet with an affordable price tag if you are looking for a Windows tablet.
Pros
Cons | |
| Graphics | 8″ screen (1280 x 800) |
| Performance | Intel Atom with 1 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 32 GB |
| Cameras | Front: 1.2 MP / Rear: 5 MP |
| Battery life | Up to 11 hours |
| OS | Windows 8.1 |
| Dimensions / Weight | 8.3″ x 5.2″ x 0.37″ / 0.84 lbs |
| Colors Avail. | Black, Gold |
| Price Range | $$ |
