Cash App for Kids vs Greenlight vs Acorns Early: Honest 2026 Comparison
Two big shifts changed this category in 2026. Cash App launched a free teen-and-tween product in April. GoHenry rebranded under its parent company Acorns and now ships as Acorns Early with built-in investing. Most comparison articles you will find still treat GoHenry as a separate brand and ignore Cash App entirely. This is a parent-tested look at what actually changed, what each one is good at, and where they fall short.
I opened accounts on all three to write this. My kids are 9 and 13. The 13-year-old already had a Greenlight card from 2024, and I set up the other two side by side in April and May 2026. What follows is what worked, what annoyed me, and which one I would pick for a specific kid.
Quick comparison at a glance
| Feature | Cash App for Kids | Greenlight | Acorns Early |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $0 | $4.99 to $14.98 | $5 (Acorns Personal plan) |
| Minimum age | 13 | Any (parent-controlled) | Any (parent-controlled) |
| Debit card | Yes, free | Yes, included | Yes, included |
| Chore tracking | No | Yes | Yes |
| Allowance automation | Manual transfer | Yes, scheduled | Yes, scheduled |
| Kid investing | No | Yes (Greenlight Max $9.98) | Yes, included |
| Parent controls | Spend limits, alerts | Full (per-store blocks, etc.) | Full |
| Best for | Older teens, basic spending | Hands-on chore and savings | Long-horizon investing |
Cash App for Kids: what is actually new
Cash App for Kids launched April 2026 for ages 13 to 17 with parent approval. It is free, which is the only one of the three that can say that. The card is a Visa debit, parents can set per-transaction and weekly limits, and there are real-time spend alerts. Block (Cash App's parent company) confirmed the product on their Q1 2026 earnings call.
What is missing matters. There is no chore feature, no automated allowance scheduling, no investing for the kid, and no financial education content inside the app. 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 ($4.99 to $14.98 a month depending on tier) has not changed much since 2024, which is both good and bad. The chore-to-allowance pipeline is still the best of the three. You assign tasks, kids check them off, allowance pays automatically. The Max tier ($9.98) and Infinity tier ($14.98) add investing, identity protection, and family safety features like SOS alerts.
Three quiet downsides I hit. Card replacements are $3.50 plus shipping. The interest on savings goals is funded by Greenlight, not a bank, which means it is technically a reward, not APY. And the investing inside Greenlight Max is limited to a curated list of large-cap stocks and ETFs with a $1 per trade markup baked in.
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 as of February 2026 the GoHenry brand is being retired. The kid product is now Acorns Early, bundled into the Acorns Personal plan at $5 a month. If you already use Acorns for your own retirement or brokerage, this is the cheapest way to add a kid account, because Early is included rather than billed separately.
The investing piece is the real upgrade. Acorns Early opens a UTMA custodial brokerage for the child, invests on a schedule, and supports gift contributions from grandparents through a shareable link. The debit card and parent controls are inherited from the old GoHenry stack, so chores, allowance, and savings goals all still work.
The catch: you have to be an Acorns Personal subscriber. If you only want a kid card and nothing else, Acorns Early is more expensive than Cash App for Kids and roughly the same as Greenlight base. The payoff is the custodial investment account, which neither competitor includes at the base tier.
Which one should you pick
- Pick Cash App for Kids if: Your kid is 13 or older, you want zero monthly fees, and you do not care about chore tracking or investing inside the app.
- Pick Greenlight if: Your kid is under 13 or you want the strongest chore-to-allowance automation, and you want one app that does everything without bundling.
- Pick Acorns Early if: You already use Acorns or want a real custodial brokerage for the kid alongside the debit card. The $5 fee covers both your account and theirs.
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.
What to watch for in late 2026
Cash App will almost certainly add a chore or savings layer, because the gap is obvious and Block has the engineering muscle. Greenlight is rumored to be cutting prices in response. Acorns Early will keep pushing the investing angle. If you are not in a rush, waiting 60 to 90 days before committing to a multi-year subscription is reasonable.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes. Block launched Cash App for Kids in April 2026 with no monthly fee, no card fee, and no minimum balance. The product is restricted to ages 13 to 17 with verified parent approval, and Cash App makes money on the parent account, not the kid account. There are no hidden fees on standard debit transactions, though ATM withdrawals outside the Cash App network can incur the standard $2.50 charge.
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GoHenry was acquired by Acorns in April 2023 and is being phased into the Acorns Early product through 2026. Existing GoHenry accounts are migrating to Acorns Early at $5 a month as part of the Acorns Personal plan. The card, chore features, and parent controls carry over, and a UTMA custodial investment account is added on top.
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Greenlight or Acorns Early. Both work for any age with parent setup. Cash App for Kids requires the child to be at least 13. For kids 6 to 12, Greenlight's chore-to-allowance flow tends to match how families actually run pocket money. For 8 and up, Acorns Early adds investing without much extra setup.
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Yes, and some parents do. A common combo is Greenlight for chore and allowance automation plus a separate Acorns custodial account for long-term investing. Running both costs around $10 a month combined. Cash App for Kids can replace Greenlight for a teen who only needs a spending card, freeing up budget for the investing side.
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The cash balances on all three are held at FDIC-insured partner banks. Greenlight uses Community Federal Savings Bank, Acorns Early uses Lincoln Savings Bank, and Cash App for Kids uses Sutton Bank (the same bank behind the adult Cash App card). Investment balances in Greenlight Max and Acorns Early are SIPC-protected, not FDIC-insured, which is standard for brokerage accounts.
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