GoHenry (now Acorns Early) vs. Greenlight: Which app is best for your family?

Teaching your kids financial skills is easier than ever with family debit cards and money apps, where you can set chores and allowances, track savings goals and spending, and even learn how to invest from an early age. 

Greenlight and GoHenry (now known as Acorns Early) are two of the most popular debit cards for kids, both designed to help parents teach kids smart money management through hands-on learning. While they share many similarities, there are key differences in features, prices, and flexibility. Here, we break down the details of each to help you decide which is best for your family.

Features comparison

Both GoHenry and Greenlight come with similar core features like the debit card, allowance automation, chore assignments, and basic parental controls. But Greenlight gives you the option to upgrade beyond the basics with features like cash back on savings¹, cashback rewards², location sharing³, and driving reports³ that make it more of a one-stop experience.

Pros and cons of Greenlight vs. GoHenry

Both apps deliver core features like parental controls, spending notifications, automated allowance, chore trackers, investing options, and educational tools. However, notable differences in cost, customization, and savings incentives set them apart. 

GoHenry at a glance

GoHenry, now known as Acorns Early, is a debit card and money app that leans heavily into education and family money management. With only two price tiers based on the number of kids, GoHenry is a great beginner choice when it comes to simplicity, educational tools, and affordability. 

Where GoHenry falls short is when it comes to extra features like cash back and more extensive safety protections parents may want to add as kids grow.

GoHenry core features

• Debit card for kids 6 to 18

• Customizable chores and allowance by age 

• Allowance management

• Parent-paid interest

• Parental money controls

GoHenry pros:

• Lower cost for basic card compared to Greenlight

• Both plans offer the same set of features

• Assign chore-specific payments 

• Extensive financial education resources (no additional cost) including courses, videos, quizzes, and age-specific missions

• “Pay kids to learn” options

• Customized card designs start at $5

GoHenry cons: 

• Limited to ages 6 to 18

• No savings incentives (parent-paid optional) 

• No cash-back rewards

• No in-app investment platform (you must have an Acorns Gold account to access Acorns Early Invest)

• Not available to residents of U.S. territories

Greenlight at a glance

Greenlight is a feature-packed debit card and money management app that helps parents teach kids how to earn, spend, and save wisely. Greenlight offers three plans and prices: Greenlight Core, Greenlight Max, and Greenlight Infinity. All three include the same core features, including up to 2% savings rewards¹. But you’ll need to subscribe to a higher tier to unlock some of Greenlight’s other valuable features, like cash back, higher savings rewards, the Investing for Kids platform, and safety and security tools.

Greenlight core features

• Debit card for up to 5 kids

• Allowance management

• Chore scheduling and tracking

• Up to 2% on savings¹

• Level Up™ financial literacy game and The Learning Center, an educational blog

• Parental money controls

Greenlight pros:

• Multiple plan and price options by feature

• All plans cover up to 5 kids regardless of cost

• Open to all ages

• Up to 5% on savings¹

• 1% cash back on purchases²

• Auto-blocks certain vendors (lotteries, massage parlors, etc.)

• Investing for Kids (research and propose trades with parent approval)

• Robust Learning Center and Level Up™ money game (no additional cost)

• Phone⁴, purchase, and identity theft protection

• Family location sharing, SOS alerts, and driving reports³

Greenlight cons:

• Higher core plan costs of $5.99 

• Must upgrade to Greenlight Max or Greenlight Infinity plans to access advanced features like cash back, investing, and up to 5% on savings

• Customized debit cards are $9.99

Pricing

At the basic level, GoHenry costs less than Greenlight by a dollar a month, though GoHenry only offers two plan tiers while Greenlight has three. At the tier 2 level, GoHenry and Greenlight are priced the same, but Greenlight delivers substantially more benefits and features. 

Overall, GoHenry is a good value if you have a smaller family or just want the basics – debit cards, parental controls, and age-tiered financial education resources. But, Greenlight may be a better value for bigger families or those who want more features like interest on savings, cash back, and security protections. 

GoHenry (Acorns Early) pricing

GoHenry offers two plans by family size. Both plans deliver the same features.

• $5/mo. for one child

• $10/mo. for 2 to 4 kids

Greenlight pricing

Greenlight offers three plans based on features and benefits. Each covers debits cards up to five kids, with a core set of tools and protections. 

• Core: $5.99/mo.

• Max: $9.98/mo.

• Infinity: $14.98/mo.

Parental controls

GoHenry (Acorns Early) and Greenlight offer similar in-app parental controls, but Greenlight has a few more specific and customizable features. 

Greenlight parental controls

• Store- and ATM-level parental controls

• Category-specific parental controls

• Flexible spending limits and real-time notifications

• Block unsafe spending categories

• Block specific retailers

• Parental approval for money sent via Greenlight Pay Link

GoHenry (Acorns Early) parental controls

• Flexible spending limits and real-time notifications

• Card declined alerts

• Block specific retailers

• Parental approval for money sent via Giftlinks or Relative Accounts

Earning and saving

When it comes to earning and saving, Greenlight has a clear edge with cashback and savings rewards. In comparison, GoHenry lets you set parent-paid interest on savings but offers no additional incentives. 

Greenlight earning and saving features

• Set savings goals

• Automate savings and allowance

• Savings rewards up to 5%¹

• 1% cash back on purchases² (with Greenlight Max and Infinity plans)

• Assign and track chores

• Connect allowance to chores (optional)

• Optional Round-Up rules (send change from transactions right to savings)

GoHenry (Acorns Early) earning and saving features

• Set savings goals

• Automate savings

• Automate allowance

• Assign chores and payouts

• Parent-paid interest options

Security and safety

Both apps provide the same core fraud protection. But, Greenlight offers substantially broader safety and security measures for identity theft, phone and purchase protection, and even a physical safety package in its higher tiers.

Greenlight safety and security features

• Fraud protection from Mastercard®’s Zero Liability Protection Policy

• Customer support 24/7

• Additional security through Greenlight Max and Infinity:

  • Identity theft protection³: Theft monitoring, alerting, and restoration for the whole family.

  • Cell phone protection⁴: Coverage for damaged, lost, or stolen phones for up to 5 kids.

• Physical safety through Greenlight Infinity:

  • Family location sharing³: Switch on location sharing to stay connected with your family. 

  • SOS alerts³: Send an alert to emergency contacts, 911, or both with one swipe. 

  • Crash detection³: Your app will dispatch 911 when a crash is detected. 

  • Driving reports³

GoHenry security features 

• Zero Liability Protection by Mastercard

• FDIC-insured up to $250,000 through a partner bank

• Real-time spending notifications

• Block unsafe spending categories

• Access app with a code

• Fingerprint and facial recognition

• Chip and PIN-protected transactions

• Secure PIN recovery in the app

• Bank-level encryption

• Block lost or stolen cards

Investing 

Both GoHenry (Acorns Early) and Greenlight offer an investing component, but you can only access GoHenry’s if you have an Acorns Gold account. Greenlight includes its Investing for Kids platform with higher-tier plans and a scaled-down version for parents with the Greenlight Core plan. Given that Greenlight Max is $9.98 and Acorns Gold is $12/month, Greenlight may be a better value if you want to teach your kids about investing.

Greenlight investing features

• Invest for Parents “Lite”: Parents can choose from 10 selected EFTs and start investing with as little as $1, with no hidden trading fees. 

• Investing for Kids: In the Greenlight Max and Infinity plans, kids can get in on the action with Investing for Kids — a platform where kids learn to invest and parents approve every trade. Kids can research their favorite stocks and EFTs and buy shares with as little or as much as they’re comfortable with — once parents give the OK, of course.

GoHenry (Acorns Early)

• Acorns Early Invest is available to Acorns Gold account holders ($12/month).

• Currently, there is no option to add the Invest product outside Acorns Gold

Education and financial literacy

Managing money in real-time is just one part of learning smart money habits – educational features like games and in-app content can help further financial literacy. GoHenry (Acorns Early) and Greenlight offer educational tools for kids and families about money. Here’s how they differ.

Greenlight educational features

• Greenlight Level Up™ is an in-app game where kids can build the foundations of financial literacy. It includes interactive challenges developed with a best-in-class educational curriculum by certified financial education experts. The game is included with all three of Greenlight’s plans, at no additional cost. 

• The Greenlight Learning Center, where families can learn more about money management and personal finance basics.  

• Outside the app, Greenlight also offers free financial education lesson plans for teachers.

GoHenry (Acorns Early)

• Age-tiered money lessons 

• Videos, quizzes, and teen Money Missions 

• Learning incentives like hints, badges, and points

• Pay kids to learn (optional in parent app)

The Verdict

Choosing Greenlight vs. GoHenry depends on your family’s unique needs. If you’re looking for a good basic money management app with interactive, age-specific educational tools, GoHenry is a solid option. But if you want a one-stop app with savings and cash rewards and robust feature options like parent-approved investing, location sharing³, crash and SOS alerts³, and purchase protections⁴, Greenlight is a great all-in-one solution.