Like GoHnery but find the fees are too expensive? Well, the good news is, there are six great alternatives for you to consider. Let’s take a look at what they have to offer.
And the winner is…
NatWest Rooster Money
If you’re looking for a direct replacement for GoHenry, then NatWest Rooster Money is the best option. It offers almost all the same features and is half the price. Otherwise, HyperJar, Revolut and Starling Kite all offer free alternatives, although they aren’t quite as fancy.
Comparison Table
| Rating | Age | Cost (per month) | Extra accounts | Top up fees | |
| GoHenry | 3.4 | 6-18 | £3.99 | £3.99 £9.99 (for 4) | 50 pence |
| Rooster Money | 4 | 6-18 | £1.67/Free | £1.67 | 50 pence |
| HyperJar | 3.4 | 6-17 | Free | Free | Free – £1 |
| Revolut | 3 | 7-17 | Free | up to £12.99 | None |
| Starling Kite | 3.5 | 6-16 | Free | £2 | None |
| Osper | 3.5 | 8-18 | £2.50 | £2.50 | 50 pence |
| nimbl | 3.4 | 6-18 | £2.49 | £2.49 | None |
Alternatives to GoHenry
If you’ve used GoHenry, then I’m sure you’ll know that it’s a great way to keep an eye on your kid’s finances, as well as help them learn about money (my full GoHenry review). But there’s no escaping from the fact that it can be a little pricey, especially for larger families.
So, here are the best alternatives available.
NatWest Rooster Money
A great option for teaching your children about money and the most similar alternative to GoHenry. Rooster Money allows your child to earn money for completing chores and encourages them to save with an interest rate… although you pay that interest.
The card can be used anywhere that accepts Visa and can be used at ATMs. Ordering a basic card is free, or there are some customisable features for an extra £4.99.
Rooster Money costs £1.99 per month, or you can subscribe for the year for £19.99 (equal to £1.67 per month).
Even better than that, if you have a current account with NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank and online banking, you can get the Rooster Card free for up to three of your children. Once you’ve downloaded the app, just link it to your bank.
Advantages over GoHenry
- ✅ Cheaper monthly cost
- ✅ Most of the same features
- ✅ Available for free if you have the right bank account
Disadvantages
- ❌ Customisable cards aren’t as appealing as GoHenry’s
- ❌ The interest rate isn’t provided by Rooster Money, but by you
Verdict
A great option as Rooster Money is not far off half the price of GoHenry and comes with many of the same features.
Use the button below for a free one-month trial.
HyperJar
This is a subscription-free alternative to GoHenry. HyperJar allows you to place money into ‘Jars’ that can only be spent in certain retailers. In return, you’ll get 4.8% in interest.
You can have as many cards as you like, so it’s ideal for larger families. As another bonus, once your child reaches 13, they can add their card to Apple Pay and Google Pay to pay from their phone. But your child cannot withdraw money from a cash machine.
You can set up financial goals for your child to achieve and your child also gets to manage their money from an app.
HyperJar is set to automatically decline at certain retailers, such as an off-licence. Although that may sound great, our local sports club is listed as selling alcohol. That means my son’s card is automatically declined every time he uses it there to try and buy sweets.
Although there are no subscription costs, each HyperJar card will set you back £4.99. It also comes with top-up fees, but these are easily avoided. You can make 10 transfers to your HyperJar account of £10 or more each month without charges. And you can make one transfer under £10. Any more and you’ll pay a £1 fee for each transfer.
You can make four withdrawals to your bank from HyperJar each month without cost. More than four and you’ll pay £1 each time.
Advantages over GoHenry
- ✅ No subscription and you can have as many cards as you need
- ✅ No FX fee when spending on foreign sites or abroad
- ✅ Top-up fees are less
Downsides
- ❌ Card can only be used for making purchases. There is no ability to use it in an ATM
- ❌ It will automatically decline at certain retailers
- ❌ No automatic money loads
- ❌ Need to set up your own HyperJar account
- ❌ Not great when it comes to financial education
Verdict
If you’re happy to create a HyperJar account, this is a great value option, especially if you have several children. You can send your child money, monitor their spending and block their card all for free. Find out more by taking a look at my HyperJar vs GoHenry comparison.
Revolut <18
If you’re looking for a free alternative to GoHenry, then Revolut is a great option. You can have one <18 account at no cost, allowing you to monitor your child’s spending easily. You can also create goals for them and set a weekly allowance.
You will have to create an adult’s Revolut account first, although this is free to do. You can learn more about this account’s advantages by checking out my Revolut review.
Advantages over GoHenry
- ✅ No subscription cost for one <18 account
- ✅ If you have two children, it will only cost you £2.99 per month
- ✅ Transfer money between accounts as often as you like
- ✅ Free foreign spending (up to £250)
Disadvantages
- ❌ Lacks some of GoHenry’s features, such as earning tasks
- ❌ Revolut only allows up to £40 worth of free cash withdrawals each month (2% fee over that amount)
- ❌ If you have three or more children, it will cost you £12.99 per month
- ❌ The parent needs a full Revolut account
Verdict
Great if you only have 1 or 2 children and don’t need any fancy features.
Starling Kite
Starling Bank was founded back in 2014 and now has over 2 million customers. Like Revolut, Starling also introduced their child’s prepaid card to attract new customers.
Like all the other accounts on this list, Kite allows you to monitor your child’s spending from your app. You can add money when you like for no extra charge and foreign spending attracts no fees.
It’s completely free to use but doesn’t have any kind of financial learning tools. It’s more of a basic child’s bank account, which you can easily keep an eye on.
Advantages over GoHenry
- ✅ Free to use
- ✅ No extra charges
- ✅ Set spending limits for your child
- ✅ Create automatic transfers
Disadvantages
- ❌ Cannot customise your card
- ❌ Parent needs a full Starling account
- ❌ You will need to provide a photo of your child’s ID (passport, birth certificate, etc.)
- ❌ You can’t set chores or rewards
Verdict
A good value option without the worry of extra fees. However, it lacks much in the way of educational content.
Osper
This card has been around since 2012 but doesn’t seem to be mentioned as much as its rivals. Osper works similarly to GoHenry and allows you to set spending limits, with text notifications if transactions are denied.
You can load money once per month to Osper for free. But, if you need to make any extra transfers, you’re charged 50 pence.
Using the card to spend and withdraw money is free. If using abroad, you are charged 3% of the purchase cost and £2 for a cash withdrawal.
There is a one-month trial on offer if you want to try it out first.
Advantages over GoHenry
- ✅ Slightly cheaper at £2.50 per month
- ✅ You can try it out for free
- ✅ A range of personalised cards available (for a fee)
Disadvantages
- ❌ 50 pence charge for loading your account instantly
- ❌ Not as many monitoring features
Verdict
Although it lacks the features of GoHenry and the kids can’t design their own card, it is slightly cheaper, so better for bigger families.
nimbl
nimbl’s mission is to help children become more confident with their money. They too provide an app and prepaid card to help kids manage their finances.
As the parent, you have full control of how your child spends and can top up their account at any time. You’ll also receive notifications every time your child uses their card.
Advantages over GoHenry
- ✅ Comes with ‘micro-savings’ where your child saves a small amount of money every time they spend
- ✅ Cheaper at £2.49 per month. Or you can pay £28 for the year
- ✅ No fees to add money to your child’s account
Disadvantages
- ❌ No customisable card
- ❌ Lacks some of GoHenry’s features
So, which is the best alternative to GoHenry?
A tough question, as it depends on what you’re after. If you’re looking for an account with similar features but cheaper, then you can’t go wrong with Rooster Money. It’s almost half the price.
If you want a no-frills, free option, then look towards HyperJar. It doesn’t really teach your child much about budgeting, but it gives them their own spending card, which you have control over. You can send them money in an emergency or block their card with a touch of a button.
A small request
I would like to give a quick plee to the companies that create these apps. Please put your money where your mouth is. The whole idea of these apps is to teach children about money and budgeting.
At the moment, there’s no real incentive for my children to save money as none of these accounts offer any interest. I would love for them to be able to check their accounts each week to see that some interest has been added… even if it’s just a small amount.
Also worth reading
Why not take a look at why I’ve introduced a new way for how my kids get their pocket money.