Introducing an investing app to your kids can be a fun and simple way to teach them about finances.
Learning about finances and investing is important for everyone, but especially for families who are trying to build generational wealth for the first time. We have to remember that teaching our kids how to manage their money is just as important, if not more so, as attaining it.
Whether our kids grow up to work lower-paying jobs or they become millionaires, financial literacy is a crucial life skill. It can mean the difference between living paycheck to paycheck, going bankrupt, or having a good quality of life with a financial safety net.
Teaching finances can be an overwhelming task for even the most budget-oriented parents. Here are some kids’ investing apps that can help your kids start learning about finances and investing.
12 Kids’ Investing Apps
Greenlight
Greenlight, $4.99/month
Several companies offer debit cards for children and teens. Greenlight is a popular one that allows parents to link their kid’s allowance to the card and rewards them for saving money rather than spending it. The associated app also functions as a kids’ investing app and allows them to research stocks and ETFs, learn how to manage a bank account, and set financial goals.
Counting Coins
Counting Coins, free
The Counting Coins app is not an advanced kids’ investing app. Instead, it’s a basic money app that teaches young children how to recognize American coins. The app teaches kids what the value of each coin is through games. It’s a great way to introduce preschoolers and kindergartners to money concepts, and it’s free.
Savings Spree
Savings Spree, $5.99
Savings Spree is an award-winning app that teaches kids how to save money with fun games and approachable concepts like adding sprinkles to cupcakes. Intended for children ages 7 and up, the game gives children choices on how to spend their money, and based on their choices, they’ll see their savings grow or they’ll rack up big expenses.
Overall, the app shows children how they can spend, save, donate, or invest their money.
Acorns
Acorns Family, $5/month
Acorns is an investing app for kids that lets parents create custodial accounts for minors, enabling them to create a bank account and invest their money in stocks, ETFs, and even cryptocurrency.
One particularly neat feature of this investing app is that purchases can be rounded up to the next whole dollar and the difference is automatically invested. There are also various learning tools available on the app.
Fidelity Youth
Fidelity Youth, free
With a Fidelity Youth bank and investing account, your teen will have access to a plethora of tools designed to help them become financially literate. The app is designed to help teens learn how to save and invest their money and can be accessed through the Fidelity mobile app, where they’ll find a “financial curriculum” created to get kids off on the right foot when it comes to money.
The account has no minimums, no account fees, and no trading commissions, but parents do need to have a Fidelity account.
Stash
Stash, from $1/month
The Stash investing app is an all-in-one platform in which kids can pair a checking account and debit card with the ability to instantly invest funds. The app also features budgeting and saving tools and a wealth of financial information and tips for your kiddo to peruse. You can get started with as little as $5.
Stockpile
Stockpile, free
Stockpile is a free kids’ investing app that offers custodial accounts, so kids can start investing from a young age. There are no trading fees, account fees, or monthly minimum balances.
Kids can choose from thousands of stocks and ETFs, check to see how their stocks are doing as often as they want, and request trades.
RoosterMoney
NatWest RoosterMoney, free
NatWest RoosterMoney is a really neat kids’ investing app that serves as an allowance manager and savings tracker. Kids can designate their money to the categories of spend, save, give, and goals and earn extra cash by doing extra chores.
There’s even a chore chart on the app. Parents can create a reward chart and issue allowances via a prepaid debit card.
BusyKid
BusyKid, from $3.99/month
BusyKid is another easy-to-use chore app that helps kids learn to manage and invest money. It features a chore checklist that reminds kids how much allowance they’ll get for each task, allows parents and kids to set a regular payday, and parents can load allowances onto a prepaid debit card.
It also gives in-app options for donating to various charities, and parents can send bonuses to their kids for special occasions or outstanding efforts.
Zogo
Zogo, free
Geared toward children ages 10 and up, the Zogo investing app allows kids to complete learning modules on financial topics like investing, saving, and building wealth in order to earn gift cards to the stores of their choice.
Each lesson is based on a potential real-world situation, which helps kids get the practical knowledge they need. There are even daily trivia questions.
FamZoo
FamZoo, free
FamZoo is a family finance app that allows parents to schedule chores and allowances and then have allowance payments designated directly into savings, giving, or spending accounts. Some features give you the ability to pay your kids interest and charge them for money they borrowed and/or shared expenses like cell phone bills.
One of the things we like about FamZoo is that it doesn’t have to be linked to a debit card. Instead, parents can add funds to an IOU account.
Bankaroo
Bankaroo, $6.99/month
Bankaroo is a virtual banking app designed for kids as young as 4. It helps kids learn the value of money, how to save and budget, and allows them to invest their money and earn interest.
