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Acorns Early vs Greenlight vs Cash App for Kids: Honest 2026 Comparison
Acorns Early vs Greenlight: which is better?
Greenlight is cheaper than Acorns Early at every level: $5.99 a month for the card, chores and allowance versus $8 on Acorns Early Lite, and $10.98 with kid investing versus $12 on Acorns Gold. Acorns Early is the pick if you want its 100+ Money Missions lessons or a custodial account that becomes your child's at adulthood.
Cash App for Kids is the free third option. Parents run accounts for kids 6 to 12 from their own app, and teens 13 to 17 get a sponsored account on their own phone, with no monthly fee. There is no chore tracker, and teens can buy stocks and bitcoin only if a parent turns it on. Short version: a free spending card means Cash App, the best chore automation at the lowest price means Greenlight, and lessons plus a custodial account (on Gold) mean Acorns Early. Prices checked September 2026.
Two big shifts changed this category. In April 2026, Cash App added free parent-managed accounts for kids 6 to 12, on top of the teen accounts it has offered since 2021. And GoHenry's US service now ships as Acorns Early, renamed in November 2024 under its parent company Acorns. Most comparison articles you will find still treat GoHenry as a separate brand and ignore Cash App entirely. If GoHenry and Modak are your real shortlist, our Greenlight vs GoHenry (now Acorns Early) comparison covers that pair head to head. This is a research-based look at what actually changed, what each one is good at, and where they fall short.
For this comparison we checked each provider's current pricing and published feature lists in September 2026 and cross-referenced independent coverage of the 2026 changes. What follows is what each one is good at, and which one fits a specific kid.
Monthly cost in 2026: Cash App for Kids $0, Greenlight $5.99 to $19.98, Acorns Early $8 to $12. Penny Time is free for the whole family. Full disclosure: Penny Time is our own free app, not one of the products compared here.
Cash App vs Greenlight vs Acorns Early: which is cheapest?
| Feature | Cash App for Kids | Greenlight | Acorns Early |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $0 | $5.99 to $19.98 | $8 (Lite) to $12 (Gold) |
| Minimum age | 6 (parent-managed) | No minimum age | 6 |
| Debit card | Yes, free | Yes, included | Yes, included |
| Chore tracking | No | Yes | Yes |
| Allowance automation | Yes, recurring (ages 6-12) | Yes, scheduled | Yes, scheduled |
| Kid investing | Teens only, if a parent allows it | From Max ($10.98) | Gold only ($12) |
| Parent controls | Spend limits, alerts | Limits, alerts, card lock | Limits, category blocks, alerts |
| Best for | Free spending, ages 6 to 17 | Hands-on chore and savings | Lessons, and investing on Gold |
Venmo, PayPal, Apple Cash and kids bank accounts each set their own minimum age. Our minimum age table for money apps lists them with the official source for each.
Skip the monthly fee entirely
Penny Time gives kids automatic allowance and a running balance they can track, free for the whole family.
Cash App for Kids: what is actually new
Cash App added parent-managed accounts for kids 6 to 12 in April 2026, alongside the sponsored teen accounts (13 to 17) it has run since 2021. Both are free, the only one of the three that can say that. Teens get a Visa debit card and their own app login; the 6 to 12 accounts are run entirely from the parent's app, with a recurring allowance and savings that earn 3.5% interest. Parents can set spending limits and get an alert whenever the card is used. Cash App announced the kids accounts on April 21, 2026. Most parents ask about safety before they ask about price, so we handled the controls and the gaps separately in is Cash App safe for kids.
What is missing matters. There is no chore feature, and investing is limited to teens whose parents switch on stock and bitcoin buying; the recurring allowance on the 6 to 12 accounts is the extent of the automation. If you want a teen to have a card that works at the gas pump and lets them split a pizza with friends, this is the cheapest, cleanest option in the market right now. If you want a learning tool, it is not that.
Greenlight: still the chore and savings workhorse
Greenlight ($5.99 to $19.98 a month, depending on the plan) is built around chores and allowance, and its chore-to-allowance flow is still the best of the three. You assign tasks, kids check them off, and allowance pays automatically, in full or in part. The Max plan ($10.98) adds investing for kids and 1% cash back, Infinity ($15.98) adds family safety features like location sharing, crash detection and SOS alerts, and Family Shield ($19.98) adds identity theft and fraud coverage for the family.
Three details worth knowing. One replacement card per family each calendar year is free, then it is $5.99 a card. The savings reward (2% to 6% depending on the plan, on up to $5,000 per family) is paid by Greenlight, not the bank, so it is a reward rather than interest. And Greenlight's investing account is a standard brokerage account in the parent's name, not a custodial account: kids pick from 4,000+ US stocks and ETFs, starting at $1, with a parent approving every trade and no trading commissions.
For families that want a single app where chores, allowance, and savings goals all link together, Greenlight is still the pick. If you also want a structured way to assign chores at home before opening any account, our chore chart tool gives you a printable starting point.
Acorns Early: GoHenry under new management
GoHenry's acquisition by Acorns closed in 2023, and the brand became Acorns Early in late 2024 (announced November 18, 2024). The kid product is now Acorns Early, which costs $8 a month on the standalone Acorns Early Lite plan, or is included free with Acorns Gold at $12 a month. If you already use Acorns Gold for your own retirement or brokerage, the kid account comes included rather than billed separately.
The investing piece lives on Gold. Early Invest opens a UTMA/UGMA custodial account for each child, and Acorns adds a 1% match on the first $7,000 you invest per year. The Lite plan covers the debit card, chores, allowance, savings goals and 100+ Money Missions lessons, all carried over from GoHenry, but not investing.
The catch is price. For a kid card alone, Lite at $8 costs more than Greenlight Core at $5.99, and Cash App is free. For kid investing, Gold at $12 costs more than Greenlight Max at $10.98. What the extra buys is an account the child owns at adulthood, plus the 1% match.
Acorns Early vs Greenlight side by side
| Factor | Greenlight | Acorns Early |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $5.99/mo (Core) | $8/mo (Lite), or included with Acorns Gold ($12/mo) |
| Kid investing | From the $10.98 Max plan; 4,000+ stocks and ETFs, no trading commissions | Gold only ($12); custodial account with a 1% match |
| Custodial account the child keeps | No (a brokerage account in the parent's name) | Yes (UTMA/UGMA, on Gold) |
| Chores and allowance | Best-in-class automation | Works (inherited from GoHenry), a little less polished |
| Lessons | Level Up game on every plan | 100+ Money Missions |
| Ages and kids | No minimum age; up to 5 kids | 6 to 18; up to 4 kids |
| Best for | Money habits at the lowest price | Built-in lessons, and a custodial account on Gold |
Pick Greenlight if you want chores and allowance handled well at the lowest price, which is $5.99 a month (see how much Greenlight costs across all four plans). Pick Acorns Early if you want the Money Missions lessons, or an investing account the child will own, which needs Acorns Gold at $12 a month.
On fees, Greenlight wins at both levels unless you already pay $12 for Acorns Gold for your own investing, in which case the kids side comes included. On investing, the two work differently. Greenlight lets a kid pick individual stocks and ETFs, with a parent approving each trade, inside the parent's own brokerage account. Acorns Early Invest is a custodial account that becomes the child's at adulthood, with a 1% match. On chores and allowance, Greenlight is the more polished flow, though both cover the basics.
Is Greenlight or Acorns Early better for investing?
It depends on who should own the account. Acorns Early's investing (Early Invest, Gold plan only, $12 a month) is a UTMA/UGMA custodial account that becomes your child's at adulthood, with a 1% match on the first $7,000 you invest each year. Greenlight's kid investing (from the Max plan, $10.98 a month) sits in a standard brokerage account in the parent's name: the kid picks fractional shares of stocks and ETFs from $1, you approve every trade, and there are no trading commissions. For hands-on stock-picking lessons at a lower price, choose Greenlight. For a hands-off account your child keeps, choose Acorns Early on Gold. In both apps the invested money sits in a brokerage account rather than a bank, so FDIC insurance does not cover it, which is normal for investments.
Raise kids who understand how money works
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Which one should you pick for your kid?
- Pick Cash App for Kids if: You want zero monthly fees and a simple spending card (teens 13 to 17 use the app on their own phone; kids 6 to 12 stay parent-managed), and you do not need chore tracking.
- Pick Greenlight if: You want the strongest chore-to-allowance automation and one app that does everything without bundling.
- Pick Acorns Early if: You already use Acorns, want the Money Missions lessons, or want a custodial investment account for the kid alongside the debit card. Gold at $12 covers your account and theirs, including Early Invest; Lite at $8 covers the kids card, chores and lessons without investing.
These three are not your only options. Our full comparison of the 7 best Greenlight alternatives adds cheaper paid cards like BusyKid and Famzoo, plus the free debit cards for teens, to the shortlist.
For the full field ranked side by side, our guide to the best kids allowance apps covers pricing and age limits across every major option.
None of these apps teach kids the underlying math. Before you hand over a card, it helps to run the numbers on what an allowance should actually be and how much should go to saving versus spending. Our allowance calculator sets the baseline, the wants vs needs framework handles the spending split, and the birthday money calculator helps with one-off windfalls that show up before any of these apps will. And since Acorns Early and Greenlight both push kid investing, our guide to teaching kids about investing by age covers compound interest, custodial accounts, and index funds, the concepts those features assume you already understand.
What to watch for in late 2026
Cash App says merchant and category blocking for the 6 to 12 accounts is coming soon, and a chore feature would be the obvious next gap to fill. In the UK, Barclays expects to complete its purchase of GoHenry's UK business in late 2026; US Acorns Early accounts are not part of that deal. If you are not in a rush, waiting 60 to 90 days before committing to a multi-year subscription is reasonable.
Sources
Prices, plans and fees checked on each provider's own site on September 28, 2026.
- Greenlight: fee disclosures
- Greenlight: what type of investment accounts are available
- Acorns: Acorns Early (plans, ages, Money Missions)
- Acorns: plans and pricing (Early Invest is Gold-only)
- Cash App: managed accounts for kids 6 to 12 (April 21, 2026)
- Cash App: how teen accounts work
- Barclays: agreement to acquire GoHenry (UK)
Frequently Asked Questions
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Greenlight is better on price and chore automation, and Acorns Early is better for built-in lessons and custodial investing. Greenlight costs $5.99 a month and adds kid investing at $10.98 (Max). Acorns Early costs $8 on Lite, and its custodial Early Invest account needs Acorns Gold at $12. Short version: Greenlight for money habits at the lowest price, Acorns Early for lessons and an investing account the child keeps.
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Greenlight, at both levels. The card, chores and allowance cost $5.99 a month on Greenlight Core against $8 on Acorns Early Lite. With kid investing, Greenlight Max is $10.98 against $12 for Acorns Gold. The exception is a parent who already pays for Acorns Gold for their own investing, because Acorns Early is included in that plan.
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Only on Acorns Gold. The $8 Lite plan covers the debit card, chores, allowance and Money Missions lessons for up to 4 kids, but not investing. Acorns Gold, at $12 a month, adds Early Invest, a UTMA/UGMA custodial account for each child, with a 1% match on the first $7,000 you invest per year.
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Greenlight. The chore-to-allowance pipeline is its strongest feature: you assign tasks, the kid checks them off, and the allowance pays out automatically. Acorns Early inherited the chore, allowance, and savings-goal tools from GoHenry, so all of it still works, but the flow is less polished than Greenlight's.
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Yes. Cash App has run sponsored teen accounts (ages 13 to 17) since 2021, and on April 21, 2026 it added parent-managed accounts for kids 6 to 12. Neither has a monthly fee, a subscription or a minimum balance. Kids 6 to 12 get no login of their own, plus a recurring allowance and savings that earn 3.5% interest. They cannot use ATMs; teens can, and Cash App charges $2.50 per ATM withdrawal. A replacement card costs $5.
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Acorns bought GoHenry in 2023, and GoHenry's US service was renamed Acorns Early on November 18, 2024. Existing GoHenry accounts moved to Acorns Early, which costs $8 a month on the Lite plan or is included with Acorns Gold at $12. The card, chores, allowance and Money Missions carried over. In the UK, Barclays agreed in June 2026 to buy GoHenry's UK business and keep the brand there.
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Greenlight or Acorns Early. Greenlight has no minimum age, and Acorns Early starts at 6. Cash App now covers kids from 6 too, but its 6 to 12 accounts are parent-managed spending, allowance and savings only, with no chores. For kids 6 to 12 who earn pocket money through chores, Greenlight's chore-to-allowance flow tends to match how families actually run it.
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All three cards are issued by FDIC-member banks: Community Federal Savings Bank for Greenlight, nbkc Bank or Community Federal Savings Bank for Acorns Early, and Sutton Bank for Cash App. Money invested through Greenlight Max, Acorns Early Invest or a Cash App teen account is held in a brokerage account instead, so FDIC insurance does not cover it, which is normal for investments.
Raise kids who understand how money works
Download the app, add your child, and connect their phone or tablet by scanning a code. About a minute, no email needed for kids.
How setup works for you and your child →
No ads. No data selling. No credit card.
Put this into practice this week
Add your child in Penny Time and, on their own phone or tablet, they can watch a real balance grow, take on quests, and ask for cash-outs you approve. Free for the whole family.