3.9/5
Greenlight
- Best for: Parents who’ll run chores and allowance through the app weekly
- What Sets It Apart: Greenlight pays a reward on kids’ savings itself, and Infinity adds crash detection and driving reports for teens
- APY: 2.00% a year on Core to 6.00% on Family Shield, on up to $5,000 per family; needs a linked bank account
- Rewards: 1% cash back on kids’ spending, paid monthly into savings, on Max and up
- Features: Chores and scheduled allowance; store and category blocks; real-time alerts; FDIC insurance through Community Federal Savings Bank
- Monthly Fee: $5.99 (Core), $10.98 (Max), $15.98 (Infinity), or $19.98 (Family Shield) for up to five kids; free with checking at some banks, such as U.S. Bank
- Cost: No Greenlight ATM fee; $0 to add money; no foreign transaction fee; $9.99 custom card
- Eligibility: No minimum age for kids
- Pros: Chores, allowance, and spending controls on the cheapest plan; One plan covers up to five kids; No Greenlight fees to add money, use ATMs, or spend abroad
- Cons: A monthly fee, unless your bank includes a Greenlight plan; Cash back and kids’ investing need the $10.98 Max plan; Savings rewards stop at $5,000 per family; ATM operators can still charge fees
Each child gets a prepaid Mastercard that a parent controls from the Greenlight app, and there’s no minimum age. You add money free from a bank account or debit card, and it’s held at Community Federal Savings Bank, FDIC-insured up to $250,000.
Key Features
- Core plan at $5.99 a month with cards, chores, automatic allowance, spending controls, parent-paid interest, and real-time alerts
- Max, at $10.98, adds 1% cash back on spending, investing for kids from $1 with a parent approving each trade, and phone, purchase, and identity theft protection
- Infinity, at $15.98, adds location sharing, SOS alerts, crash detection, and driving reports for teens
- Family Shield, at $19.98, adds up to $1 million of identity theft coverage, up to $100,000 of coverage when a scam tricks you into sending money, and credit monitoring at all three bureaus
- Savings rewards of 2.00% a year on Core, rising to 6.00% on Family Shield, on up to $5,000 per family with a verified bank account linked
Pros
- Chores, allowance, and spending controls on the cheapest plan
- One plan covers up to five kids
- No Greenlight fees to add money, use ATMs, or spend abroad
Cons
- A monthly fee, unless your bank includes a Greenlight plan
- Cash back and kids’ investing need the $10.98 Max plan
- Savings rewards stop at $5,000 per family
- ATM operators can still charge fees
Families who assign chores and pay allowance every week get their money’s worth from Core at $5.99 a month, and pay no monthly fee where their bank includes a Greenlight plan with checking, as U.S. Bank does. A child who only needs a card to spend from can get one with a free kids’ bank account.
Learn more about Greenlight or see how it compares to the best debit cards for kids.
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