Here we’ll compare scooters for kids and teens of all types: kick scooters (foot-powered, push scooters), electric kids scooters, and gas powered scooters.
We’ve included scooter prices for all ages: small children, older kids, and stunt scooters. Prices and basic information are listed below each photo.
Scooters for Kids: Basic Terminology
Kick Scooter: A kick scooter is the smallest type: narrow, small wheels, stand-up on a small platform (the deck). Kids kick the ground to push the scooter and get momentum. Kick scooters can be two, three, or four wheels.
Micro Scooter, Mini Scooter: Once concept with two different uses. Basically, it’s a much smaller board on which to stand. With shorter handlebars, this can be a scooter for younger children, for older kids, it’s merely a preference for riding or doing tricks. There’s also companies called Mini Scooter and Micro Scooter, which can get annoying.
Trike Scooters: This is more commonly used with referencing larger scooters pushing into motorcycles. For push / kick scooters. More stability for young scooter riders so very common for mini scooters.
Y Scooters: This covers one design that (sort of) makes it “self propelled. It’s a three-wheel scooter, but the back wheels move independently (pictured above), so you can get some momentum with the same sort of movement as rollerskates or rollerblades.
Pro Scooters: This actually should be called stunt scooter. The wheels are actually smaller than kick scooters that are used for actually getting places. They are designed to be light weight and take a beating without breaking.
Twistable: For the more adventurous, the rear wheel of these kid scooters swivels so the rider can do all sorts of things that make a parent go out and buy a stronger helmet and knee pads.
Compare Kick Scooter Prices:
The price of kick scooters depends mostly on the materials, and some on the brand name (basically like cars). Scooters for small children use a lot of plastic in their construction, are usually trikes, and the quality of the wheels is not very great (the assumption is you won’t have a 4-year old doing ticks on ramps). The first comparison group below are for scooters for young kids, 3-5 years old.
Kick Scooters for Younger Children:
Foot-powered scooters for smaller kids are not only shorter in stature, but you want to have the trike, three-wheel style for more stability. The price differences are materials (plastic vs. metal), and the wheels. The latter makes a big difference when it comes to how smooth the ride will be (and how fast children can go).
Kick Scooters for Older Kids, Teenagers:
Kick scooters for older kids are all about weight and durability. As kids learn to do kick scooter tricks When you first look at them, they appear really simple and stripped down – like you’re paying more to get less – but in the case of pro scooters it’s all about strength of the materials. When doing scooter tricks, these scooters take lot of shocks, so the cheap scooters tend to break. These four “pro kick scooters” below are examples of higher-end kick scooters that are made specifically for hard-riding and doing tricks.
The strength of the deck and frame, wheels, and quality of the bearings are all things to consider if you’re looking to buy a stunt kick scooter. You want the wheels to roll forever and the deck to be able to withstand being stomped on by an elephant. Oh yeah, and within all that, you want light-weight, too. The pro scooters use less overall materials than the more recreational-style, but the quality of all the materials is as good as they can get to achieve the desired combination of weight and performance.
Electric Scooters for Kids
Electric scooters for kids are not for doing tricks, they’re actually intended to be a means of getting around — a fun way to get around, but a kids mode of transportation nevertheless just as a regular bicycle would be. The size of the wheels is the first noticeable difference in the actual design of the scooter. Weight and the manufacturer’s desire to keep it low also pretty much goes out the window, mainly due to the battery and motor. The rating of the motor is important (in watts) because that gives you an idea of how much weight it can move, as well as it’s ability to go up hills (a kids electric scooter with a really low-powered motor might not be able to cruise up a hill without some extra pushing from the rider).
What you want to look for when shopping for electric scooters for kids is the range / ride time, speed, and max rider weight. These three things work together to determine the overall performance of the kids scooter.
Gas Powered Scooters
While we recommend going with an electric version, older kids are most often looking for two things: more power and more speed – for both of those you need to consider buying a gas-powered scooter. Gas powered scooters are definitely not the best choice for younger kids. It won’t make the neighbors happy, but pre-teens and teenagers will love the speed and power compared to electric models. There are not as many options out there, but you can always find them for sale online without too much work.
The gas powered stand-up scooters are all two-stroke engines around 50cc, and are meant more for tracks (with names like “Dirt Dog” what do you expect?), but that’s not to say they can’t be used on streets as well.
