As parents, we want our kids to learn good money habits before they’re out on their own. Greenlight promises to help by giving kids a debit card and tools to save, spend, and invest while parents guide the process. In this Greenlight review, I’ll share both the pros and the cons so you can decide if it’s the right fit for your family.
What is Greenlight?
Greenlight is a family finance and safety app. It aims to help families work together to reach goals, manage chores, and invest together. By managing your money together, you can build a solid financial foundation for your whole family.
While Greenlight allows you to manage money as a family, kids and grown-ups have slightly different experiences with the app. For example, you both download the app. However, Greenlight tailors the experiences based on who is using the app. Kids will have the opportunity to check off chores on their app, whereas grown ups will be able to automate allowance payments.
For families who want to take their finances offline and out into the brick-and-mortar world, Greenlight also offers a debit card for kids.
Greenlight Review: Best Features
For years, families asked for a streamlined banking platform that would work for the whole family. Greenlight finally answered that call. Here are some of the most beloved Greenlight features.
Robust features
For starters, Greenlight is packed with features families want. It is a banking app and a debit card for kids. More specifically, Greenlight understands the difference between a kid, a tween, and a teen. They allow families to help children manage and spend their money safely, while allowing customization through the parent controls. That means that you might limit or control the spending of your child while giving your teen more freedom.
Other features that families might be excited about include:
- Chore management (we're all about chores!)
- Instant money transfers
- Savings tools
- Kid-friendly financial literacy
- Safety features
Kid-friendly interface
One of the biggest reasons why parents ask for family-friendly financial tools is to help their kids learn about money. Therefore, it only makes sense that Greenlight prioritized creating a kid-friendly interface.
We think that Greenlight is set up in a way that makes sense to everyone. That means that kids can really take ownership of their money. These thoughtful interactions will help set them up for a lifetime of strong financial literacy.
Comprehensive financial literacy lessons
Another comment we frequently hear in the Marriage Kids and Money community is that some grown-ups question their own financial literacy and don’t feel equipped to teach their kids. Greenlight can help!
Kids and teens can play the Greenlight Level Up game inside the Greenlight app. This game features a curriculum that exceeds the national personal finance education standards. That means they will be exposed to everything from budgeting to investing, with challenges and rewards that make them want to keep learning. After all, research shows that gamification is one appealing way to help learning really stick.
In addition to the game, there are videos, quizzes, and more financial literacy lessons in the app. You can work through them as a family to learn along with your kids.
Parental oversight and connection
We know you want your kids to have authentic experiences with money. Additionally, we know that part of learning how to spend and save involves making mistakes. That’s where the Greenlight parental controls come in handy.
With the app, you can set spending limits or block certain categories. In addition to determining where their money can and can’t go, you can also monitor the transactions they make in real time. If you’re worried about how a card is being used, you can even turn it off. These controls allow you to set up helpful guardrails and then take them down when they are no longer needed.
Good deal for big families
Do you have a big family? You might really enjoy Greenlight then! The app is designed for up to 5 kids, and you don’t have to pay an additional cost per child. More importantly, every tier of Greenlight supports big families!
Greenlight Review: Things to Consider
Greenlight serves more than 6.5 million kids and their grown-ups, so it’s easy to see that there’s a lot to love about the platform. However, there are some things you should consider as well, including fees and a reduced interest rate.
Monthly charge
There’s no getting around this. Perhaps the biggest hang-up that people have with Greenlight is the cost associated with using it. Families will pay a monthly fee from $5.99-$19.98. For some people, the cost is worth it given the features and kid-friendly interface.
However, other options like Crew and Ally are available at no cost. So families who are looking to save even more may want to consider their free options.
Investing fees
When you use Greenlight, there is a monthly investing cost. For people who are looking for a one-stop family finance tool, the investing fee may be worth the convenience. However, you want to note that you can bypass this cost with brokerages like Vanguard or Fidelity.
Encourages single stock trading
It’s no secret that index funds play a big role in the FIRE movement and in financial planning in general. That’s why it’s important to note that Greenlight seems to promote a different investing style. Greenlight users may find themselves encouraged to trade single stocks. That isn’t inherently bad, but it does break with the long-term buy-and-hold philosophy that has served so many people very well.
Lower APY
If you’ve spent any amount of time in the Marriage Kids and Money family, you’ve likely heard someone singing the praises of high-yield savings accounts. That’s because these HYSA are such easy ways to earn extra money through interest on your account. That’s why we were a little surprised to see that the Greenlight APY pays less than its competitors. As a result, families who want to earn more through interest might consider other family money tools.
Greenlight Competitors
Greenlight has several competitors that you may want to learn more about to determine which company can best serve your family’s money needs.
Ally
Ally is a long-time online bank that quickly became a fan favorite in the personal finance world. While Ally isn’t specifically set up for families, it can serve your financial needs well. We especially appreciate the buckets feature to help with savings goals.
Learn more about Ally with our full Ally review here.
Crew
Crew is one of our new favorites. Unlike Ally, this banking platform is designed for families. What is so impressive about Crew is that it manages to be thoughtful, family-friendly, intuitive, and pays a very competitive interest rate. Best of all, it’s currently free!
Read our full Crew review here!
Acorns Early
If the investing side of Greenlight interests you, you may also want to explore Acorns Early. Acorns initially came onto the finance scene to help people get the hang of making small investments consistently. So it makes sense that Acorns Early prioritizes investing for families.
With their gold tier, you can set up a UTMA/UGMA for your kids. There are other features like debit cards for kids and allowance options that are appealing as well!
Again, if you want to dive deeper, here's our full Acorns Early review.
Greenlight FAQ
Since Greenlight is a unique tool, we wanted to make sure that our Greenlight review includes answers to some of the most commonly asked questions.
What bank does Greenlight work with?
Greenlight isn’t a bank itself. Instead, it partners with a bank called Community Federal Savings Bank. This partnership allows the Greenlight debit card to be FDIC-insured up to $250,000.
Does Greenlight have a monthly fee?
Yes, Greenlight has a monthly fee. Greenlight offers several different product tiers that come at different costs. These tiers include:
- Core – $5.99/month
- Max – $10.98/month
- Infinity – $15.98/month
- Family Shield – $19.98/month
What is the savings rate with Greenlight?
Greenlight doesn’t pay interest. Instead, they offer a Greenlight Savings Reward. Depending on the Greenlight plan level that you pay for, you earn between 1% and 6% per annum reward on money in your general savings or savings goals.
Final Thoughts on Greenlight Review
Overall, Greenlight clocks in at a solid 3.5 stars. That’s because Greenlight can definitely be a helpful tool for families. They offer really robust features and provide interactive and interesting financial education for kids.
However, because they underpay in interest, we could see families potentially also needing to set up accounts at other banks. The fact that some families may have to spread out their finances means that their financial picture won’t be as streamlined. That’s certainly not a dealbreaker. But for a paid platform, we’d like our all-in-one solutions to truly be all-in-one.
What surprised you in our Greenlight review? How does your family manage your finances?
Please let us know in the comments below.
Disclaimers: Greenlight and Marriage Kids and Money have a Tier I affiliate relationship. Compensation and additional details can be found at https://greenlight.com/affiliates-details
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