FamZoo vs. Greenlight: Which kids’ card is worth it?

Greenlight and FamZoo both offer prepaid debit cards for kids with no age requirements. Pricing is similar, with Greenlight starting at $4.99 per month and FamZoo at $5.99 per month. Both options are full of features — almost too many to list — so the winner may ultimately come down to which features you want for your family.

FamZoo vs. Greenlight: A quick comparison

	FamZoo Go to site	Greenlight Go to site
Finder score	3.6★★★★★	4.6★★★★★
Fee	$5.99 per month	$4.99 per month
Age requirements	Any age	Any age
Bonus offer	One month free trial. After your one-month trial, plans start at just $5.99/month for the whole family. First 4 prepaid cards free.	Get the first 30 days for free. After your one-month trial, plans start at just $4.99/month for the whole family. Includes up to five kids.
Card purchase fee	$0	$0
ATM withdrawal	$0	$0
ATM out of network fee	$0	$0
Foreign ATM withdrawal fee	$0	$0

How features compare

The similarities

FamZoo and Greenlight are both mobile kids’ banking options that offer prepaid debit cards with no age requirements. Each are also fintech companies with partner banks that provide FDIC insurance up to $250,000.

Either option is great for large families. Greenlight gives up to five debit cards per plan, and FamZoo offers up to four cards per plan with the option to buy more additional cards with no limit.

In terms of features, Greenlight and FamZoo lead the pack, each offering perks you aren’t likely to find with free kids’ cards. And since both come with prepaid debit cards, there are no overdraft fees to worry about. Both options let parents try it for free before committing, turn their kids’ cards on and off, set up chores and allowances and let kids donate to charities.

Which card is worth the cost?

FamZoo offers a 60-day free trial, while Greenlight offers a 30-day trial, so you can try either at no cost before you commit.

Greenlight and FamZoo’s pricing is very similar. Greenlight has three plans to choose from, and its most affordable plan is Greenlight Core for $4.99 per month. Greenlight Max is $9.98 per month, and Greenlight Infinity is $14.98 per month.

FamZoo has a single plan of $5.99/month, but you can pay six, 12 or 24 months ahead for some savings. While Greenlight’s Core plan is one dollar cheaper per month, you technically get more features with FamZoo’s single plan than Greenlight’s Core plan.

Which one’s safer?

Both accounts are FDIC-insured. But when you look at the security features and parental controls, Greenlight is the clear winner over FamZoo.

All Greenlight’s plans allow parents to set customer spending limits by store and category, such as $100 per month on gaming, groceries and so on. Greenlight’s more expensive plans, Max and Infinity, also offer a breadth of safety perks, such as cell phone coverage for up to five phones, identity theft protection and priority customer service. Greenlight Infinity also offers car detection and family location sharing, an SOS feature that dispatches 911.

FamZoo vs. Greenlight: Which one’s better?

Greenlight destroys the competition with its breadth of features, including financial literacy games that teach your kid about money, safety features, granular parental controls, cash back, savings rewards and an investing platform. If cost is your major concern, its basic plan is $1 less than FamZoo, but you won’t get all the perks Greenlight has to offer unless you upgrade.

All of FamZoo’s features are included with its only plan. Parents can create mock loans, set up automatic bill payments for the kids and even award kids with parent-paid interest weekly, monthly or yearly. FamZoo’s chore system may also be the most in-depth system we’ve seen: Parents can split chore payments between kids, kids can claim “dibs” on chores, parents can withhold payment until after parental review and much more.

All in all, Greenlight is better if you want granular parental controls, gamified learning and teaching kids about investing. And FamZoo is best if you want to add more than five kids and want a fully customizable app and robust chore chart.

FamZoo is best for:

• Chore and allowance features
• Mock loans
• Families with more than five children

Greenlight is best for:

• Granular parental controls
• Safety features
• Investing platform

Alternatives to FamZoo and Greenlight

Greenlight and FamZoo each have an unavoidable monthly fee. If you want to teach your kids about money without having to spend money yourself, consider these alternatives.

• Current teen banking. A fintech, Current teen banking is a mobile-only app with no monthly fees. It comes with automated chore and allowance tracking, strong parental controls, savings round-ups and more. Parents need a regular Current account to manage the teen one, but that one is also free to open and maintain.
• Step. This secured card works like a debit card. Parents can create a parent-managed Step account for their kids with no age requirements, monthly fees, overdraft fees or interest charges. It also helps teens build credit history before they turn 18.
• Chase First Banking. This one is powered by Greenlight and is offered by the trusted bank Chase. Chase First Banking has no monthly fees or opening deposit requirements and also comes with chore and allowance features. It’s for kids aged 6 to 17 and requires a parent to have a Chase checking account.

See how even more cards stack up:

• Greenlight vs. Current
• Step vs. Current
• GoHenry vs. Greenlight