The best pocket money apps 2023

If you want to teach your children about money but are unsure of how to go about it, there are numerous tools and resources out there that can help. A great way to help teach your children about money is to use a pocket money app and in this article, we take a look at some of the top free and paid-for apps. We provide a list of the main features, the pros and cons of each as well as two handy comparison tables so you can easily compare the best free and paid-for apps.

What is a pocket money app?

A pocket money app is a money management tool that allows children to learn how to earn, save and spend money wisely. A prepaid card is usually sent out as part of the signup process and parents and children can access the app with parents able to set tasks and spending limits.

Best paid for pocket money apps

Below is a comparison table of the best pocket money apps that require a monthly subscription fee. For more information on each of the apps scroll down to reveal the features we like as well as the pros and cons.

Pocket Money Apps that charge a fee - Comparison Table

(scroll to see full table)

	GoHenry	NatWest Rooster Money	Starling Kite	Revolut <18	Nimbl	Osper
Cost	£2.99 a month (30-day free trial)	£19.99 a year or £1.99 a month (1-month free)	£2 per month (1 month free if sign up before 31st January)	Free/£2.99/£6.99/£12.99	£2.49 a month / £28 a year (1 month free)	£2.50 per month (30 days free)
Age Range (years)	6-18	6-18	6-16	6-17	6-18	8-18
Prepaid debit card
Connect bank account
Separate children's app
Free loads	1 free load a month (50p thereafter)	10 free loads a month (50p thereafter)				50p for instant loads
Savings goals
Fee-free spending in the UK		15 free spends a day and 25 free spends a week (£0.50 per spend thereafter)		ATM withdrawals free up to £40 (2% thereafter)
Fee-free spending abroad		3% spending transaction fee over £50 per month		ATM withdrawals free up to £40 (2% thereafter) Spending abroad free up to £250 per month	£1.50 per ATM withdrawal 2.95% of spending transaction value	£2 per ATM withdrawal 3% of spending transaction value
Set tasks/chores

GoHenry - good for setting tasks and chores

GoHenry* is a pocket money app for parents to teach their children about money. The app is easy to navigate and allows full access to your child’s account and spending habits. Your child has the option to have a customisable card for free (usually worth £4.99) if you open a GoHenry account* via Money to the Masses. For more information on GoHenry read our independent Go Henry review.

£2.99 a month (30-day free trial)
For children aged between 6-18
1 free load via BACS, direct debit or standing order a month (50p charge thereafter)
Your child can save real money
Instant spending notifications
The ability to block/unblock cards
Pick where your child can spend money
Set custom tasks and chores for your child to complete
Set savings goals
Manage your child’s allowance with spending limits
Open up to 4 GoHenry accounts

Easy to navigate and great for teaching children how to manage money

Quite expensive if you only want to pay small amounts of pocket money each month

NatWest Rooster Money - good for regular loads

NatWest Rooster Money* has a colourful app that is easy for parents to navigate and child friendly. You can set and manage tasks with the option of a prepaid debit card. There are different account types which makes it suitable for children from the age of 3 to 18. For more information read our 'NatWest Rooster Money review'.

£19.99 a year or £1.99 a month (1 month free)
For children aged between 6-18 (a virtual star chart is available for children 3+)
10 free loads via BACS, direct debit or standing order a month (50p charge thereafter)
A maximum of 15 spends a day and a maximum of 25 spends a week (50p charge thereafter)
Create an account with real or virtual money
Instant spending notifications with the prepaid debit card
The ability to block/unblock cards
Pick where your child can spend money
Set custom tasks and chores for your child to complete
Set savings goals
Manage your child’s allowance with spending limits
1 NatWest Rooster Money account per household but you can subscribe to as many RoosterCards as you wish

Multiple account types to choose from

Daily and weekly spending limits

Starling Kite - good for FSCS protection

Starling Bank* launched a child's account that allows you to manage your child's pocket money whilst giving your children the independence to manage their own money. You can open a Starling Kite space within your own Starling Bank account but you cannot set tasks or chores within the app. Find out more in our 'Starling Bank review'.

£2 per month
For children aged between 6-16
Free instant loads of regular transfers
Instant spending notifications
The ability to block/unblock cards
Pick where your child can spend money
No ability to set tasks or chores within the app
Set savings goals
Separate app for your child
Add up to 6 Starling Kite spaces

Your money is FSCS protected

You have to have a personal Starling Bank account to open a Starling Kite space

Revolut <18 - good for tracking your child's spending

A Revolut <18* account is a prepaid Visa debit card that allows your child to manage their own pocket money within their own Revolut <18 app. Children can choose from a selection of colourful cards with the card number on the back to keep their details safe. Find out more in our 'Revolut review'.

1 x account is Free for a basic Revolut account holder
For children aged between 6 and 17
No fee for topping up your child's account (no automatic top-up facility)
Instant spending notifications
The ability to block/unblock cards
Pick where your child can spend money
Separate app for your child

Free top-ups

You need a Revolut account to create a Revolut <18 account

Nimbl - good for teaching saving

Nimbl is a prepaid MasterCard debit card and a smartphone app that helps you to manage your child's spending money

£2.49 a month / £28 a year (1 month free)
For children aged between 6-18
Free loads via debit card
Your child can save real money
Instant spending notifications
The ability to block/unblock cards
Pick where your child can spend money
No ability to set tasks or chores within the app
Micro saving feature which allows your child to automatically save between 5p and £5 every time they spend on their card
Manage your child’s allowance with spending limits
Add up to 4 children

No top-up fees

No feature to set tasks or chores within the app

Osper - good for earning cashback

Osper is not a bank but a prepaid card that allows children to learn how to manage their money whilst parents can still keep tabs on their spending.

£2.50 per month (30 days free)
For children aged between 8-18
50p charge for instant loads
Save real money
Instant spending notifications
The ability to block/unblock cards
Pick where your child can spend money
No ability to set tasks or chores within the app
Set savings goals
Inbuilt spending limits
Add up to 4 children

Link your account to Kidstart to earn cashback at major retailers

Foreign ATM and transaction fees

Best free pocket money apps

Below is a comparison table of the best free pocket money apps. For more information on each of the apps scroll down to reveal the features we like as well as the pros and cons.

Pocket money apps that are free - Comparison Table

	NatWest Rooster Money	Revolut <18	Gimi
Cost	FREE	FREE*	FREE
Age range (years)	3-18	6-17	7+
Separate children's app
Able to use real money within the app	**
Set tasks/chores
Set regular allowances
Add family members

*You get 1 free Revolut <18 account with a standard Revolut account

**Paid for version allows your child to use real money

NatWest Rooster Money free version - good for earning rewards and boosting good behaviour

NatWest Rooster Money* has a variety of features and the free version is a virtual money management system that allows parents to track the money each child has earned, but unlike some of the other apps you still have to give it to them manually. The free version of NatWest Rooster Money allows you to keep track of how much money each child has but in order to track chores/tasks you need to pay for the pro version of the app or the debit card.

FREE
For children aged 6-18
Add more than one parent account
Can have multiple children's accounts
Virtual money management
Earn in stars or pounds
Give boosts for good behaviour or as a reward
Create and set goals
Extra learning resources in-app

A lot of features for a free app

You have to pay to track chores

Revolut <18 - good for spending money abroad

A Revolut <18* account is a prepaid Visa debit card that allows your child to manage their own pocket money within their own Revolut <18 app. Children can choose from a selection of colourful cards with the card number on the back to keep their details safe. Find out more in our 'Revolut review'.

1 x Revolut <18 account is Free for a basic Revolut account holder, Revolut Premium and Metal customers can get 2 and 5 accounts included in the £2.99, £6.99 and £12.99 plans
For children aged between 7 and 17
No fee for topping up your child's account (no automatic top-up facility)
Instant spending notifications
The ability to block/unblock cards
Pick where your child can spend money
Pocket money can be spent abroad fee-free (limits apply)

Separate app for your child

You need a Revolut account to create a Revolut <18 account

Gimi - good for extra money resources

Gimi is a pocket money app created in Stockholm in 2015 with the aim to teach children and teenagers about money. There are two versions of Gimi, the free app and the paid-for Mastercard subscription service, however, you can currently only use the free version in the UK.

FREE
For children aged 7+
Multiple accounts
Set and track chores
Set money-saving goals
Schedule pocket money
Learn more about money in the ‘educate’ section of the app
Invite family members to join the app
Virtually track your children’s money

Useful educate section within the app with helpful articles to help children better understand money

Unable to connect a UK bank account

How much pocket money should I pay?

If you have been considering paying your children pocket money but are unsure how much you should pay based on their age, GoHenry has provided an estimate of how much you should pay a child based on the UK average weekly allowance.

Age (years)	Weekly recommended pocket money allowance (£)
6	£4.30
7	£4.80
8	£5.20
9	£5.80
10	£6.40
11	£7.50
12	£8.60
13	£9.90
14	£11.20
15	£12.50
16	£13.50
17	£14.50
18	£15.70

Are children’s prepaid cards safe?

It is important to note that with any prepaid card your money is held as ‘e-money’ and will therefore not be FSCS protected. However, with most e-money accounts your cash is held securely in a ring-fenced bank account so your money should be safe should the pre-paid card provider encounter any financial problems. However, should the bank account that your money is held in go bust, your money would not be protected. Money held in a Starling Kite* account is protected by the FSCS because Starling is a UK-registered bank.

Are pocket money apps safe?

Virtual bank accounts that do not manage real money store personal information such as emails on secure servers and allow full access to children’s accounts so you have full control.

Alternatives to pocket money apps

If you didn’t want to use a pocket money app to teach your children about money there are a few alternatives you can use instead:

Children’s bank accounts

Children’s bank accounts are for children aged between 11-18 years old and allow bank transfers, direct debits and standing orders just like regular bank accounts. Children’s bank accounts don’t come with overdrafts or loans so your child is unable to get into debt. Money in a children’s bank account is FSCS protected up to the value of £85,000 and comes with either a debit or cash card. A downside to children’s bank accounts is that they cannot be managed in the same way as the pocket money apps and there is no way of keeping tabs on your child’s spending without logging in to their account. For more information read our article, 'The best bank accounts for under 18’s'.

Pigby’s fair

Pigby’s fair is an interactive app created by high street bank NatWest. The app is a virtual game where you run a stall at a village fair. Children get to run Pigby’s stall by managing and creating stock. They can also learn about money management and saving by visiting the bank. Pigby’s fair is a fun game for children to play whilst learning about money at the same time.

Teach your children about money

If you want to teach your children about money at home here are a few tips from the Money to the Masses podcast:

There are also a number of games that you can play with your children to encourage a better understanding of money. Find out more in our article, '5 ways to teach your kids about money'.

Summary

Pocket money apps are fantastic tools to teach children about money and there is an app to suit every parent's budget. The paid-for apps offer more comprehensive features and a slicker user experience, the free apps mostly act as virtual bank accounts and allow you to track how much money your child has. If you want to teach your children to be more financially independent this is a great place to start!

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