Greenlight as a Venmo alternative: Which is better for your family?

Teaching kids and teens how to manage money, be financially literate, and spend — and save — wisely can be tough without dedicated tools to help. Today, though, it’s never been easier to teach these essential life skills with digital money management tools that make it easy and enjoyable to learn money basics together. There are many options out there, and here we break down the differences between Greenlight and Venmo, a popular money transfer app that includes a debit card for teens.

Features comparison

Venmo at a glance

Most people know Venmo as an app where you can easily send money to friends and family members for situations like splitting restaurant bills or paying someone back. But, Venmo also has a debit card for teens ages 13 to 17 that allows teens to have a physical debit card they can use to shop in-person or online, wherever Mastercard is accepted. Teens and their parents can apply for a teen debit card and a teen account, a simplified version of a Venmo account that allows teens to securely send money to friends and family and get paid back. Parents can monitor teen account balances from their own Venmo app, lock the teen's debit card, and receive notifications on spending activity. However, Venmo’s teen offerings don’t include a savings account feature. 

Features

• Debit card for teens

• Parental account monitoring 

• No-cost cash withdrawals at in-network ATMs

• Early access direct deposit

• Fast money transfers

Greenlight at a glance

Greenlight is an all-in-one money management and family safety app that teaches kids of all ages how to save and spend money wisely. With Greenlight, you’ll find three plan tiers — Core, Max, and Infinity. Each comes with the same core features, including the debit card for kids, chore and allowance management, and category-specific parental spend controls, plus, you can level up for more comprehensive tools like investing, up to 5% on savings¹, up to 1% cash back², and a suite of family safety features like location sharing, crash detection, and SOS alerts⁴ for when your teens enter their driving years.  

Features

• Debit card for kids

• Chore and allowance management

• Investing for kids and parents

• Category-specific parental spend controls

• Up to 5% on savings¹

• Up to 1% cash back²

• Financial literacy games

• Family safety features like location sharing, crash detection, SOS alerts, and driving reports⁴

• Quickly send money

• Identity theft, phone⁵, and purchase protection

Pricing

There are no monthly or application fees with Venmo’s teen debit card, though fees can be associated with using the card or transferring money. In general, though, the Venmo teen debit card and account has no monthly cost for the basic features it offers. 

Greenlight offers three plans at different pricing tiers: Core, Max, and Infinity. While there’s a monthly fee for a Greenlight account and debit card, you also get a robust stable of financial literacy tools and family safety features that don’t come with the Venmo teen debit card or account.

• Greenlight Core: $5.99 per month

• Greenlight Max: $9.98 per month

• Greenlight Infinity: $14.98 per month

The Greenlight Core plan starts at $5.99 per month, which offers the basics like chore and allowance management, parental spend controls, financial literacy games, and up to 2% on savings¹. When you upgrade to Greenlight Max, priced at $9.98 per month, you can teach your kids investing basics with the expanded Invest for Kids platform, access up to 3% on savings¹, and up to 1% cash back² on purchases, plus, identity theft, phone⁵, and purchase protections. With Greenlight Infinity, at $14.98 a month, you get everything in the Core and Max plans, plus up to 5% on savings¹ and family safety features like driving reports, crash detection, and more⁴. 

Parental control features

Both the Venmo teen debit card and Greenlight offer parental controls, though only Greenlight offers granular options like category-specific and store-level spend controls. 

Venmo parental controls

• Account monitoring

• Real-time spending alerts

• Privacy setting adjustments

• Ability to lock and unlock the teen debit card at any time

Greenlight parental controls

• Store-level parental controls

• Category-specific parental controls

• Flexible spending limits and real-time notifications

• Parental approval for money sent via Greenlight Pay Link

Safety features

Regarding safety, the Venmo teen debit card and account lets parents lock debit cards instantly and get spending alerts in real time to keep tabs on transactions. Teen transactions automatically default to private on the app, meaning that others can’t see what (or where) they’re spending their money, and only parents can adjust that privacy setting through their own Venmo account. 

With Greenlight, parents can block unsafe spending categories, turn cards off any time, and set flexible spending limits where they want. But Greenlight’s safety capabilities go far beyond these basics. Families who upgrade to Greenlight Max can access phone⁵, purchase, and identity theft protections, so you’re protected if your teen’s phone breaks, there’s a concerning data breach, or something they bought is damaged or stolen. Further, Greenlight Infinity offers valuable safety features like family location sharing, driving reports, crash detection, and SOS alerts⁴, giving parents all-important peace of mind when their teen gets behind the wheel. 

Greenlight vs. Venmo: Which is better for your family? 

When deciding which digital money management tool to use for your family, think about what you and your kids might benefit from the most. If you have teens and just want an easy way to keep track of their spending and accounts, the Venmo teen debit card and account is a good option. But Greenlight may be the better choice for families who want a more comprehensive app that teaches smart saving and spending habits and investing fundamentals while still maintaining parental control over your child’s accounts. You can also upgrade for expanded family safety features like location sharing and driving safety.