GoHenry was set up in 2012 by a group of parents who wanted to encourage children to understand more about money. It consists of a child account, a parent account to top up the child account and a Visa prepaid card. The accounts can be managed via the app.
Meanwhile, HyperJar is a prepaid card and budgeting app that enables you to organise money into different “jars” for different purposes, one of which can be your kids’ pocket money. The HyperJar Kids Card can be linked to one of your jars, so you can transfer their pocket money at any time.
So, how do you decide which option is best for you and your child? We take a look at how they both work so you can make the right choice.
GoHenry is a financial tool suitable for children aged between 6 and 18, while HyperJar Kids is aimed at children aged between 6 and 17.
GoHenry comes with a prepaid Visa debit card and your child can customise it by choosing from more than 45 different designs. HyperJar Kids comes with a prepaid Mastercard debit card that comes in standard colours of blue and yellow – but also glows in the dark.
Kids and parents alike can manage their money through the GoHenry and HyperJar apps. GoHenry’s app is tailored to your kids’ age and parents also have a companion app to help them track their kids’ progress, set flexible boundaries and goals and get real-time spend notifications. With HyperJar, kids download the same version of the app as their parents, but with a few additional tweaks. Parents will still have full control of their kids’ spending, including being able to set limits.
Because both GoHenry and HyperJar Kids offer prepaid debit cards, there’s no overdraft available so you don’t need to worry about your kids getting into debt.
However, as both GoHenry and HyperJar are e-money products, your funds will not be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Instead, your money will be held in segregated accounts governed by the e-money regulations of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which means you should still get your money back if either company stopped trading.
GoHenry limits the number of accounts you can have per household to 4. With HyperJar, you can order as many cards for as many kids as you have living at home. Each prepaid card will be linked to one of your “jars”.
Both HyperJar and GoHenry also allow other family members (not just parents) to pay money into your child’s account. Relatives will need to create their own account with GoHenry to be able to do this, although it also lets relatives and friends send money to a child’s card via Giftlinks. With HyperJar, each kid’s jar has a QR code or a specific reference which means anyone can pay into it from their own bank and it’ll land in the right place.
ATM withdrawals are permitted up to £120 a day with GoHenry, but you cannot withdraw cash from an ATM with the HyperJar Kids card.
There are a number of similarities between the GoHenry and HyperJar apps but also some key differences. Both offer spending controls and card notifications for parents, and both let parents freeze a card if it is misplaced and unfreeze it again when found.
Both also include savings goals. GoHenry will calculate the amount your child should save based on the amount of pocket money they get and their end goal date (though you can amend this as required). With HyperJar, you can simply set up different money jars with different names and colours, plus targets for how much you want to save in each.
However, GoHenry’s app is a little more advanced as it also offers a “Money Missions” feature, with different levels of learning for different age groups. Through a combination of stories, videos and quizzes, your child will be able to learn more about managing their money from budgeting and planning to borrowing and credit.
Winner: Although it’s close, GoHenry’s app offers a wider range of features.
There’s no monthly fee to pay for HyperJar Kids, but with GoHenry, you’ll need to pay £3.99 a month (customers can take advantage of a 1-month free trial first). GoHenry also charges a card loading fee of 50p, although you’ll get 1 free load per month. There’s no loading fee with HyperJar Kids.
Your first HyperJar Kids card will be free of charge, but replacements cost £4.99. Standard GoHenry cards are free, including replacements, but if you want to change the design, you’ll pay £4.99 for a customisable card or Eco Card.
In terms of using the card abroad, cash withdrawals are not permitted with HyperJar Kids, but there are no fees for card purchases. There are no fees for either cash withdrawals or purchases overseas with the GoHenry card.
Winner: HyperJar Kids because there are no monthly or loading fees to pay.
Round 4: Customer reviews
On reviews site Trustpilot, GoHenry scores 4.1 out of 5 from over 10,500 reviews. HyperJar scores 4.7 from around 2,500 reviews, but this is for the whole company, not just the kids’ account. We checked this in March 2025.
Customers said they like GoHenry’s financial education tools, but some reviews complained about delays with getting their money back when they closed the account.
HyperJar reviews said it’s easy to use, but there were some comments about accounts being closed without any notice.
Winner: HyperJar Kids, because it’s ahead on Trustpilot reviews.
Overall winner: Is GoHenry better than HyperJar Kids?
There’s a lot to like about both GoHenry and HyperJar Kids, which means this isn’t a straightforward decision. They are both great options if you’re looking for a way to help your child become more financially independent, while also maintaining an element of control over their spending.
However, we’d say GoHenry definitely beats HyperJar Kids in terms of offering a smarter app that will adapt and change according to your child’s age. It also lets your children withdraw money on their prepaid card, which you can’t do with HyperJar Kids.
That being said, GoHenry is relatively expensive compared to HyperJar Kids. This means if you’d prefer not to pay a monthly fee or if you’re not fussed about the extra features available on the GoHenry app, HyperJar Kids is likely to be the better option for you.
We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
Rachel Wait is a freelance journalist and has been writing about personal finance for more than a decade, covering everything from insurance to mortgages. She has written for a range of personal finance websites and national newspapers, including The Observer, The Mail on Sunday, The Sun and the Evening Standard. Rachel is a keen baker in her spare time. See full bio
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. See full bio
Considering Barclays for a bank account for your kids? We’ve put together all the relevant information about Barclays’ savings accounts and current accounts for children and kids, in order to help you choose the right one.
Whether your teenager is travelling overseas or wants to learn how to manage funds when paying on plastic, start comparing prepaid cards with this guide.
Digital challenger bank Starling has launched a new children’s app for its Kite debit card. This prepaid card for kids comes with parental controls and can be managed from the parent’s banking app.
Rooster Money offers a colourful app to teach your kids about budgeting and makes a valid alternative to the traditional children’s current account.
Advertiser disclosure
Finder.com is an independent comparison platform and information service that aims to provide you with the tools you need to make better decisions. While we are independent, the offers that appear on this site are from companies from which Finder receives compensation. We may receive compensation from our partners for placement of their products or services. We may also receive compensation if you click on certain links posted on our site. While compensation arrangements may affect the order, position or placement of product information, it doesn't influence our assessment of those products. Please don't interpret the order in which products appear on our Site as any endorsement or recommendation from us. Finder compares a wide range of products, providers and services but we don't provide information on all available products, providers or services. Please appreciate that there may be other options available to you than the products, providers or services covered by our service.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
How likely would you be to recommend Finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
