Greenlight costs $5.99 per month for its most basic plan, and Current’s teen account is free to open and maintain. If you want a free debit card for your teen, Current might win you over, but Greenlight’s savings rewards, granular parental controls, educational content and extra safety features can make it worth the cheddar.
Greenlight |
Current teen banking |
|
| Finder score | 4.6★★★★★ | 4.8★★★★★ |
| Fee | $5.99 per month | $0 per month |
| Age requirements | Any age | Any age |
| Card purchase fee | $0 | $0 |
| ATM withdrawal | $0 | $0 |
| ATM out of network fee | $0 | $2.50 |
| Foreign ATM withdrawal fee | $0 | $3 |
| Greenlight | Current teen banking | |
|---|---|---|
| Free trial | No | No |
| Free reloads | Yes | Yes |
| Custom spending limits | Yes | Yes |
| Educational quizzes and game | Yes | No |
| Chore assignment and allowance tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Design custom debit card | Yes | No |
| Investing features | Yes | No |
| Credit building opportunities | Coming Soon | No |
| Savings rewards | Yes | No |
| Cashback rewards | Yes | No |
| $0 ATM withdrawals | Yes | Yes |
| Free replacement debit card | No | No |
Greenlight and Current are both mobile-only banking options. They’re also fintech companies, providing banking services through their partner banks.
Both Greenlight and Current have no specific age requirements, but Current is specifically designed with teens in mind. Current and Greenlight both offer chore and allowance tracking, tools for saving, customizable spending controls and free card reloads.
Current is free to open and maintain and doesn’t have any paid membership plans. Parents are required to open a regular Current account to monitor and open the kids’ account, but it’s also free.
Greenlight costs at least $5.99 per month for Greenlight Core, giving you up to five debit cards per plan. If you want more safety features, the price can reach $9.98 for Greenlight Max or $14.98 per month for Greenlight Infinity. The higher-tier plans come with higher savings rewards, cash back, identity theft monitoring, priority customer support and family location sharing.
If you don’t mind paying a little extra, Greenlight’s additional perks could make it worth its cost. But if affordability is what you’re after, Current is the clear winner.
Both Greenlight and Current’s accounts are covered under FDIC insurance up to the typical amount of $250,000. In the unlikely event of a bank failure, funds are protected up to that amount.
When it comes to overall safety features, Greenlight has more to offer, especially with Greenlight Infinity for $14.98 per month. You’ll get things like cell phone coverage for up to five phones, identity theft monitoring, family location sharing, SOS button with 911 dispatch and car crash detection.
Comparing features alone, Greenlight takes the win. You’ll get significantly more features than you would with Current, which includes financial games to teach your kid about money, an optional investing platform, granular spending controls, cash back and savings rewards. But if you just need a no-frills free teen banking option with chore and allowance tracking and strong parental controls, Current comes out on top.
Greenlight is best for:
Current is best for:
There are many other kids’ banking options to choose from.
See how even more cards stack up:
GoHenry is now Acorns Early. If you’re looking for a GoHenry alternative, try Greenlight, Step, Current, Modak Makers or Chase First.
Modak has no monthly fee, but it’s slim on features. Greenlight starts at $5.99 but is a value for big families.
Modak is a no-frills, free debit card for kids and teens that comes with a virtual or physical card and the ability to set up direct deposit.
Some of the best free debit cards for kids that don’t charge any monthly fees include Step, Current, Cash App, Axos, Chase, Revolut and more.
Kachinga is a kids’ prepaid card with chores and allowance features, but it comes at a cost.
Step banking accounts help kids and teens learn to manage their money while building their credit scores.
Teach your child financial responsibility with this reloadable debit card that comes equipped with parental controls.
Compare the best kids’ prepaid and debit cards designed for ages 13 and under.
See our first-hand review of the Greenlight card to see if the $5.99 monthly fee makes sense for your family.
Our list of the best credit cards for teens includes Step, Greenlight, Capital One Quicksilver and more. See the full list here.