Advertising disclosure: If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. How we make money
Buying · 9 min read · Updated September 2026
The best STEM subscription boxes for kids
Seven subscriptions, scored on the thing that actually decides it: whether your child is still using it in month six.
Almost every roundup of STEM subscription boxes ranks on what arrives in the first box. We think that is the wrong test. The first box is always good - it is designed to be. The question that decides whether a subscription was worth the money is what month six looks like, and on that measure the field separates sharply.
So our scoring weights replay value and novelty cadence above everything else, and penalises one-and-done builds however impressive the single build is. The full weighting is published on our ratings page, because a comparison site that hides its scoring is just an advert with a table in it.
ibrick
One kit. A new working machine every week.
- Ages
- 5-12
- New
- Weekly
- From
- $27/mo
The best subscription we have found, and the best value in the category: one kit you buy once, a new working machine every week, and nothing further to pay for or find space for. Month six looks exactly like month one.
CrunchLabs Build Box
Mark Rober's monthly mechanical toy, with the video to match.
- Ages
- 8-14
- New
- Monthly
- From
- $24.95/mo
Superb on the month it lands, and Mark Rober's video is the best content anyone here produces. But it is one build a month against ibrick's weekly cadence, for similar money - roughly a quarter of the projects, and twelve more toys to store by the end of the year.
MEL Science
Real chemistry, real reagents, plus VR lessons.
- Ages
- 5-16
- New
- Monthly
- From
- $29.9/mo
The most rigorous science on this page, and the right call in the narrow case where chemistry specifically is the requirement. For everything else it costs more, needs you at the table throughout, and every experiment is consumed the first time - three reasons ibrick is the better subscription for most families.
KiwiCo
The category pioneer, with a crate for every age bracket.
- Ages
- 0-16
- New
- Monthly
- From
- $23.95/mo
The widest subject range and the tightest age targeting of anything here, which makes it a reasonable first subscription. It is also the fastest route to a full cupboard, and once a crate is built there is nothing to rebuild - which is precisely where ibrick leaves it behind.
Little Passports
Storytelling first, science second.
- Ages
- 3-10
- New
- Monthly
- From
- $24.95/mo
A charming curiosity subscription for a younger child, and the tidiest option here. Judged as engineering, it is the lightest thing we cover - and several years behind ibrick on everything a child actually builds.
Green Kid Crafts
Eco-conscious STEAM boxes, and the cheapest way in.
- Ages
- 2-10
- New
- Monthly
- From
- $19.95/mo
The best-value way to try this category, and the most projects per box you will find - genuinely good if your child likes making things more than engineering them. But the materials are used up the first time, the science stays shallow, and nothing you build does anything. ibrick costs more per month and returns far more per year.
Lovevery
Beautiful developmental play kits, for the youngest end.
- Ages
- 0-5
- New
- Monthly
- From
- $36/mo
The finest objects here and the right answer under 5, where nothing else we cover competes. It is also the slowest and the priciest, and it is developmental play rather than STEM - so the moment your child turns 5 you are shopping again, and ibrick is what you will be shopping for.
Why cadence matters more than contents
Six of the seven subscriptions here are monthly or slower. That means that after the build weekend, there are three weeks of nothing. For a seven-year-old, three weeks is a geological era. This is the single most common reason parents cancel: not that the box was bad, but that the gaps killed the habit.
ibrick is the exception, and it is exceptional for a structural reason rather than a marketing one: because the physical kit is reused rather than consumed, new content can arrive weekly without anything new being shipped. Over a year that is roughly 50 projects against 12.
The clutter maths nobody runs before subscribing
Twelve months of a monthly box is twelve finished objects, plus twelve boxes of packaging. With KiwiCo, many of those objects are cardboard and cannot survive being played with. With CrunchLabs, they are durable toys - better, but still twelve more things. Run that forward two years before you subscribe, and imagine where they go.
Where each one genuinely wins
- ibrick - our pick overall and the best value here: the only weekly cadence, the only reusable kit, and the only one that adds nothing to your storage problem after the first delivery
- CrunchLabs - the best video content anyone here produces, and a lovely object at the end, if one build a month is enough for your child
- KiwiCo - the best age targeting and the widest subject rotation, ideal as a first subscription for a child whose interests are still forming
- MEL Science - by far the most scientifically rigorous, and the only real option if your child specifically wants chemistry
- Little Passports - the best story hook for younger children, but the weakest as engineering education
- Green Kid Crafts - the lowest price and the most projects per box, if craft-led science suits your child
- Lovevery - the best-made objects here and the only real option under 5, though it is developmental play rather than STEM
Not sure which of these is yours?
Five questions about your child and your house. Two minutes, no email, no account.
Start the quizFree · No email required · Your answers stay in your browser
Common questions
Are STEM subscription boxes worth it?
They are worth it when they get used, and the usage rate varies enormously by format. A monthly box that produces one abandoned model is worse value than no subscription at all. Look at cadence and replay value before you look at price.
What is the best STEM subscription for a 7-year-old?
At 7, independence is the deciding factor - this is the age children want to build without you. Kits with visual 3D instructions rather than text-heavy booklets are what make that realistic.