Monzo for Under 16s is a newcomer to the children’s finance space. We see how it compares with GoHenry, a veteran of 13 years.
GoHenry's £20 pocket money bonus for new accounts
GoHenry is currently offering a £20 pocket money bonus when you open a new children's account, making it a strong sign-up incentive compared with any other provider. Use the code AFFFDR220 to get a £20 pocket money bonus when opening a new account.
GoHenry has more than a decade of experience over Monzo when it comes to children’s accounts. Since its launch in 2012 as a prepaid card and app to help children learn about money, it has grown and become popular among kids and parents alike.
Monzo finally launched its Monzo for Under 16s account in 2025 and hopes to entice its following of loyal customers to try its option for kids.
Monzo for Under 16s is, as the name suggests, for children aged 6–15. GoHenry is available for kids between 6 and 18.
Both have an app for parents and a different version of the app for children, which is handy.
As Monzo is a licensed bank, it offers FSCS protection up to £120,000, but GoHenry doesn’t.
The other difference here is Monzo for Under 16s comes with a Mastercard, while GoHenry comes with a Visa. Though that’s unlikely to be a distinction that will have much impact.
Monzo allows up to 5 accounts, while GoHenry’s limit is 4. If you have more kids and want to open an account for all of them, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
Something that both of these offer is a choice of card. Monzo’s comes in yellow, blue or pink, while GoHenry’s can come in over 45 customisable designs, for a fee. If you choose a non-customised version it’s free.
GoHenry accounts come with their own account number and sort code, while to pay into a Monzo for Under 16s account it has to go through the parent account or a dedicated payment link, which is useful for gifts.
Monzo’s daily ATM limit is £100, while GoHenry’s is £120. With both you can lower the limit if you need to.
If you’re happy just using an app then Monzo will be fine, but if you think you want to access your account on a browser as well then you can do that with GoHenry.
Winner: Tie. Although GoHenry has more choice in terms of cards, it costs £4.99 to choose a customised design and a lot of kids will opt for that if given the choice, which sets you back financially at the start. Monzo allows you to open an extra account compared to GoHenry, which will only really comes in handy for a small amount of people.
Both have the features you’d expect for an account made for children, so parents can set limits and control spending, receive notifications and freeze cards in the app when they’re misplaced. Then you can unfreeze them if you find them again. You can also set savings goals for both, which might get your kids to pay attention.
GoHenry does more in a couple of areas, allowing parents to manage tasks or chores in the app and it has a suite of interactive educational tools and resources to help kids learn about money. This is actually one of the areas that makes it so popular so it’s no surprise it excels there. Monzo does have educational resources, but there are just straightforward guides, rather than GoHenry’s gamified money lessons.
Winner: GoHenry’s strength is in its financial education tools and ability to set tasks for a child to earn money.
Now we come to a section where Monzo is stronger, because it charges no fees, apart from a card replacement fee if your kid loses their card. GoHenry doesn’t charge for a replacement card, as long as you choose the same design.
But GoHenry charges for other things that Monzo offers for free. There’s a monthly fee, starting at £3.99, depending on your plan. For a child account that could seem a bit steep and it depends how much value you get out of its educational features if it’s worth it to you. You get a 1-month free trial to figure that out, at least.
GoHenry also charges 50p to top up the account, though you get a free top-up each month. If you deposit money only once each month and trust your child to budget accordingly then that won’t be an issue, but if you like to deposit more regularly then the costs could add up. Monzo doesn’t charge anything to transfer money to the account, as a point of comparison.
Winner: Monzo, because it doesn’t charge any fees other than a card replacement fee.
Overall winner: Is Monzo for Under 16s better than GoHenry?
Both of these are a good starting point to get your child learning and interested in finances, with adequate parental oversight and control. It really just depends what you’re looking for.
Because Monzo doesn’t charge any monthly or loading fees, it’s probably more sutitable for most people. Having a monthly fee and top-up fee above the allowance, as GoHenry does, can make the costs really add up, which seems slightly counter-intuitive when the goal is to teach your child about finances and there are free options available.
Monzo is also a bank and comes with FSCS protection. Overall we think it’s a better starting option for a children’s account, because it won’t cost you any money to start with and you can use it however you need to.
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Jason is a writer and editor. He worked as a senior subeditor for Finder for 5 years and in that time became familiar with a wide range of financial products and services. Before that, he worked for Australian Associated Press. He has a BA from Macquarie University in Australia. Jason loves to help other people find new ways to save money.
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GoHenry gives financial independence to children and full control to parents. We look at how it works and what features it has to see if it’s worth the fee.
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