GoHenry and Greenlight are two of the most well-liked pay as you go debit playing cards for youths. However they each have much more to supply than safe, versatile fee playing cards with built-in parental controls.

Every app has built-in instructional instruments and budgeting options that empower children to take management of their very own funds — with father or mother or guardian permission. They make it straightforward to pay children for finishing family duties, set spending limits for once they’re out and about, and energy longer-term financial savings objectives with an eye fixed to monetary independence.

There’s lots separating GoHenry and Greenlight as properly. The 2 apps aren’t carbon copies, that’s for certain. So earlier than you select one or one other, take a while to familiarize your self with their options and capabilities.

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Key Options of GoHenry and Greenlight — Plans and Pricing

GoHenry and Greenlight are each wealthy in cash administration and monetary training options. 

GoHenry has a single plan that prices $3.99 per thirty days after the primary 30 days and contains the app’s total characteristic lineup. 

Greenlight has three plans with completely different options and capabilities:

• Greenlight: Consists of the app’s core options, together with a debit card and built-in financial savings account, for $4.99 per thirty days.
• Greenlight + Make investments: Provides an funding platform for youths and fogeys for $7.98 per thirty days.
• Greenlight Max: Provides money again on eligible debit purchases, plus another value-added options, for $9.98 per thirty days.

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GoHenry — Options and Capabilities

GoHenry’s single plan has a month-to-month payment of $3.99 per little one after a 30-day free trial throughout which you’ll be able to cancel at any time with out additional obligation. It comes with a Mastercard debit card for every enrolled child and contains all the next options and capabilities.

Weekly Transfers

You possibly can set weekly automated transfers to your children’ accounts within the GoHenry cell app. This characteristic is helpful in the event you pay your children a common weekly allowance or reimburse them for recurring bills, like a cellphone invoice.

Setting and Paying for Chores

You possibly can set up recurring chores with outlined fee quantities for every proper within the GoHenry app. As soon as the chore is marked full, your child will get paid.

Setting and Funding Financial savings Objectives

You possibly can create and fund particular financial savings objectives within the GoHenry app. Your children have entry to those objectives as properly and may help resolve how a lot they wish to contribute towards every. 

On the spot Transfers

When your children want cash straight away, GoHenry has you coated. You possibly can switch cash immediately to your child’s account proper within the app. The funds are instantly out there on the debit card, together with for ATM withdrawals.

Actual-Time Spend Notifications

GoHenry delivers real-time notifications of spending, ATM withdrawals, and different related account exercise to the father or mother app. This makes it straightforward to maintain tabs in your little one’s spending habits even once they’re not with you.

Card Locking and Unlocking

You possibly can lock and unlock your child’s debit card within the GoHenry app. That is helpful if the cardboard has been misplaced or stolen, or if it’s worthwhile to give your child a time-out from spending.

Parental Controls

Along with locking and unlocking your children’ playing cards, you possibly can set extra granular parental controls within the GoHenry father or mother app. Select when, the place, and the way a lot your child can spend, and rule out total forms of transactions (like ATM withdrawals and on-line purchases) as you see match.

Co-Father or mother Settings

You possibly can add a co-parent or co-guardian to your GoHenry father or mother account in order that they’ll share within the joys of account administration. That is helpful not just for divorced and separated dad and mom however for cohabitating dad and mom who’ve divided up family cash administration duties between them.

Direct Deposit

In case your teen has a job exterior the house, you possibly can arrange direct deposit for his or her paychecks at no further value.

P2P Transfers and Splits

GoHenry permits free peer-to-peet (P2P) transfers from children’ accounts except you select to disable the characteristic. With P2P transfers enabled, child customers will pay pals and distributors, break up payments, and do all types of different grown-up issues with their cash.

GiftLink (Monetary Presents From Pals and Household)

GoHenry’s GiftLink characteristic makes it straightforward for individuals who know and love your children to ship cash to their GoHenry accounts, even when they’re not GoHenry customers themselves. Presents are free to make and obtain, and reward givers can embrace customized messages with the funds. 

Recipients have free reign to do what they need with the funds — simply remind them to ship a thank-you word within the app.

Charitable Donations

You and your children can donate to the Boys & Women Membership of America from throughout the app — a good way to show the significance of serving to the much less lucky.

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Greenlight Plan — Options and Capabilities

Greenlight’s core plan has a month-to-month payment of $4.99. With a Mastercard debit card for as much as 5 children and an array of parent- and kid-friendly monetary instruments, it’s lots highly effective for the everyday family, though it doesn’t embrace every part the Greenlight app has to supply. 

Right here’s what to anticipate from it.

Monetary Training Content material

Greenlight has a trove of kid-friendly monetary literacy content material and instruments: articles, movies, quizzes, and video games, all produced with younger folks in thoughts. Greenlight recurrently runs contests and sweepstakes that encourage sound monetary behaviors as properly.

Funds for Chores and Allowance

You possibly can set recurring or one-time chores within the Greenlight app and tie weekly, biweekly, or month-to-month allowance funds to their completion. Select from a flat-rate allowance that’s not contingent on chores in any respect, a hybrid allowance that solely pays in full when all chores are full, or a chores-based allowance that doesn’t pay in any respect except your children get their jobs accomplished. 

1% Greenlight Financial savings Reward

Greenlight pays an efficient 1% rate of interest on eligible financial savings balances. Funds hit the account month-to-month, no matter steadiness or account exercise — giving your children a real-world demonstration of the idea of compound curiosity.

Parental Controls

Greenlight has a complete set of parental controls. You possibly can flip the cardboard on or off within the app, view real-time spending notifications, disable unsafe spending classes or transaction sorts, set greenback limits for particular forms of spending, and allow contact or face ID for added safety.

Direct Deposit

You possibly can arrange direct deposit for older Greenlight customers so you recognize precisely the place their paycheck goes — and the way they’re spending it.

Greenlight Customized Card

For a further one-time cost of $9.99, your child can select a personalized debit card bearing their likeness. The children’ debit card ships in seven to 10 enterprise days — or two to a few enterprise days in the event you pay an additional $24.99 for expedited delivery.

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Greenlight + Make investments Plan — Options and Capabilities

Greenlight + Make investments prices $7.98 per thirty days. Because the identify suggests, it features a low-cost investing platform that serves dad and mom and children alike — whereas retaining the parental controls that make Greenlight’s core plan so enticing to oldsters.

Greenlight + Make investments contains all of the options and capabilities of Greenlight’s base plan, plus:

Investing for Children

Greenlight presents a parent-supervised funding account for child customers. Promoting factors embrace:

• Father or mother approval for all trades, proper within the app
• No commissions or buying and selling charges
• Begin investing with simply $1
• Purchase fractional shares of eligible shares

Technically, this isn’t a custodial funding account. It’s a brokerage account in your identify that your child can use together with your permission.

Investing for Dad and mom

You possibly can make investments in your children’ behalf by way of Greenlight’s funding platform as properly. In any case, it’s your account. The identical advantages apply, together with no commissions and low minimums.

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Greenlight Max Plan — Options and Capabilities

Greenlight’s top-tier plan is Greenlight Max. For $9.98 per thirty days, it provides a slew of value-added options, together with money again on eligible debit card purchases.

Identification Theft Safety

Children can fall sufferer to id theft identical to adults. They’re arguably much more susceptible as a result of most don’t hold shut tabs on their credit score, creating alternatives for id thieves who wish to open fraudulent accounts. So built-in id theft monitoring, notification, and restoration is a pleasant perk of the Greenlight Max plan.

1% Money Again on Eligible Debit Card Purchases

Greenlight Max plan holders earn 1% money again on eligible Greenlight debit card purchases. Money again accrues month-to-month and is deposited into children’ financial savings accounts on the finish of the incomes interval.

2% Greenlight Financial savings Reward

Greenlight Max customers earn double the rate of interest of different Greenlight customers. That’s a 2% financial savings reward on eligible financial savings balances, paid month-to-month.

Greenlight Black Card

Greenlight Max customers get a particular black debit card that appears method cooler than the standard-issue model.

Precedence Buyer Assist

Greenlight Max customers all the time get precedence once they name or electronic mail Greenlight for assist. Greenlight doesn’t make any guarantees as to how lengthy you’ll wait throughout busy help durations, however you’ll all the time end up on the entrance of the road.

Cellphone Safety for As much as 5 Children

Greenlight Max customers get complimentary cellphone safety insurance coverage for as much as 5 children and units. Protection is offered by Virginia Surety Firm and isn’t out there to residents of New York state.

Buy Safety

Choose Greenlight debit card purchases get complimentary protection by way of Greenlight Max’s buy safety plan, which covers the price of repairs or replacements as much as preset limits. This protection can also be offered by Virginia Surety Firm and isn’t out there in New York state.

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The Verdict: Ought to You Select GoHenry or Greenlight?

GoHenry and Greenlight are each wonderful apps for educating children monetary ideas and empowering them to take management of their cash. However every has its personal set of options, capabilities, and strengths.

You Ought to Get GoHenry If…

GoHenry is a greater match if: 

• You Wish to Strive Earlier than You Purchase. GoHenry comes with a 30-day free trial for brand new members. You’re underneath no obligation to proceed with GoHenry in the event you resolve it’s not best for you in the course of the trial.
• You Need Highly effective Budgeting Capabilities. GoHenry has highly effective budgeting options for folks who actually wish to hammer ideas like “spend lower than you earn” and “pay your self first.” 
• You Wish to Put Your Children to Work. GoHenry has sturdy instruments for folks who wish to customise and automate their children’ at-home revenue streams, be they allowances or chores (or each). 

You Ought to Get Greenlight If…

Greenlight is a greater match if:

• You Wish to Educate Your Children About Investing. Greenlight + Make investments presents low-cost investing capabilities for folks and children alike. It’s the best first brokerage for minor kids.
• You Need Constructed-in Identification Theft Safety. Greenlight Max contains id theft safety for youths at no further value — not that it’s even doable to place a price ticket on peace of thoughts.
• You Wish to Earn Money Again on Eligible Purchases. With Greenlight Max, eligible debit card purchases earn 1% money again. That’s a strong charge of return for a debit card and one other approach to educate children the worth of a buck (or penny).

Each Are Nice If…

Each GoHenry and Greenlight are wonderful choices if:

• You Need Some Say Over Your Children’ Monetary Habits. Each Greenlight and GoHenry have sturdy, customizable parental controls and notifications. They make it straightforward to maintain tabs in your children’ spending and veto unwise choices.
• You Wish to Make It Straightforward for Pals and Relations to Give Your Children Monetary Presents. Each apps have built-in gift-giving options that allow pals and relations to reward cash to the children of their lives.
• You Wish to Shield Your Children’ Funds. Each apps have FDIC-backed deposit insurance coverage as much as statutory limits ($250,000 per account kind). That gives worthwhile peace of thoughts within the unlikely occasion that both app goes underneath.

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Ultimate Phrase

Greenlight and GoHenry are each nice monetary training apps. Each earn our endorsement.

However don’t let that idiot you. Regardless of superficial similarities, Greenlight and GoHenry serve distinct audiences. The correct selection for your loved ones won’t be the best transfer in your neighbor’s.

GoHenry is extra of a pure cash administration app. It’s ideally suited for folks who wish to slowly loosen the reins and provides their children extra duty for his or her funds over time. It actually shines as an allowance-management device.

Greenlight is extra complete. It’s helpful for folks who wish to introduce extra superior monetary ideas, comparable to investing and insurance coverage, with out sacrificing these day-to-day spending fundamentals.

You possibly can’t go incorrect with both. However it’s best to nonetheless select correctly.