Greenlight Investing Review: A Kid-Friendly Investing App
Review
Updated
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Greenlight might be for you if: You're looking for an investing and banking app to use as a family. Greenlight helps kids and teens learn about investing and get firsthand experience with buying and selling stocks. With Greenlight, your kids can research companies and request trades for your approval in the app.
Learn more about how it works in our full Greenlight investing review.
Greenlight
Greenlight makes investing fun and interesting for kids, while providing plenty of educational content. However, you can't use Greenlight investing on its own, as you also need to get its debit card and pay a monthly fee. That makes it more expensive than simply setting up a custodial account for your child with a brokerage.
$9.98 per month for Max plan; $14.98 per month for Infinity plan
$0 ($10 minimum load required to open account)
We recommend comparing brokerage options to ensure the account you're selecting is the best fit for you. To make your search easier, here's a short list of our best trading platforms of 2025.
| Broker | Best For | Commissions | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
4.5/5
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5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
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= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair = Poor |
Managing your finances under one roof | $0 for stocks,¹ $0 for options contracts⁴ |
Learn More for SoFi Active Investing
On SoFi Active Investing's Secure Website. |
Rating image, 4.0 out of 5 stars.
4.0/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair = Poor |
Low mutual fund fees. | $0 per trade |
Learn More for J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing
On J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing's Secure Website. |
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
4.5/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair = Poor |
Low fees on stocks, ETFs, crypto, and options | $0 for stocks, ETFs, and options |
Learn More for Robinhood
On Robinhood's Secure Website. |
Greenlight is a personal finance app for families offering banking and investment services. It has three plan options, each of which includes debit cards for up to five kids when you sign up. The plan options are:
Greenlight's Investing for Kids feature is available with the Max and Infinity plans. It allows parents and kids to invest together, through a standard brokerage account in the parent's name.
You and your kids will each have access to the Greenlight app on your smartphones. With the Investing for Kids feature, your kids can research and propose investments. You have the option to approve these with the Investing for Parents feature in your account.
Greenlight investing is worth the monthly fee if you're also planning to use the app's other features. It's a good way to teach your kids about important financial concepts and to start them off with their own debit card. If you're only interested in investing with your kids, one of the custodial accounts offered by major stock brokers is a more affordable option.
Greenlight is well-liked by kids and parents, and that's largely because of the user experience. It doesn't take long to learn how to use the app. Kids can jump in quickly and start learning about investing.
The educational content on Greenlight strikes a nice balance between being informative and fun. Greenlight Level Up™, a financial literacy game, is one of the standout features. It has quick, bite-sized lessons on investing and other financial concepts, followed by a short quiz to test your knowledge.
Greenlight lets kids choose the investments they like, while keeping parents in control. It has over 4,000 stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with insights on them from investment professionals at Morningstar.
When your kid wants to invest, they can send you a request in the app. You decide whether to approve it.
You don't need to worry about paying any commissions on investments. Greenlight offers commission-free stock and ETF trading. Just about all of the top stock brokers have this, but it's still an important perk.
Buying an entire share of a company can be expensive. Some of the most popular companies have share prices of $200 or more. That makes it harder to build a diversified portfolio, especially for kids who are getting started with investing on a limited budget.
This isn't a problem with Greenlight, as it offers fractional shares you can buy with as little as $1. Even if your kid is investing $25 to $50, they could still use that to buy stock in several of their favorite companies.
You're as safe investing with Greenlight as with any big-name stock broker. It provides brokerage services through DriveWealth, LLC, which is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).
The SIPC protects customers of SIPC-member brokerage firms if they fail financially. It covers securities and cash of up to $500,000, which includes up to $250,000 of cash in the account. Keep in mind that this doesn't protect against market losses -- if you make an investment that loses value, that's not covered.
You need either Greenlight's Max plan ($9.98 per month) or Infinity plan ($14.98 per month) to use its investing features. That's about $120 to $180 per year. Many online brokers, on the other hand, offer custodial accounts with no monthly fees.
If you just want an investment account for your kids, Greenlight probably isn't the best choice. The monthly fee could wipe out most or all of the returns your investments make.
The monthly fee is more reasonable if you want an all-in-one financial app to use with your kids. The Greenlight debit card makes it easy to pay kids an allowance and for any chores they do. Kids will also earn interest on their savings and cash back on purchases (with a Max or Infinity plan).
Greenlight investing isn't available on its own. To use it, you need to sign up for a plan and get a Greenlight debit card. You also need to load that debit card with at least $10.
A Greenlight investment portfolio is a taxable brokerage account in the parent's name. A custodial account is in the minor's name and is turned over to them once they reach the age of majority in their state.
This makes it a little more complicated if you want your child to have ownership of the investments. You'd need to transfer the investments to them once they're an adult. You can certainly do that, but it's an extra step you wouldn't need to take with a custodial account.
Greenlight is a financial services company that was founded in 2014. It offers a debit card and savings feature for kids, as well as a money app for both kids and parents. In 2021, Greenlight launched an investing feature.
At Motley Fool Money, brokerages are rated on a scale of one to five stars. We primarily focus on fees, available assets, and user experience; however, we also take into account features like research, education, tax-loss harvesting, and customer service. Our highest-rated brokerages generally include low fees, a diverse range of assets and account types, and useful platform features.
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Yes, you can invest in over 4,000 stocks and ETFs on Greenlight. Kids select investments they want to make in the app and send them to their parents for approval.
Investing in stocks and ETFs on Greenlight is commission free, but the app charges a monthly fee. The fee amount is based on the plan you choose:
To invest on Greenlight, you need a Max or Infinity plan.
No, Greenlight isn't a broker. It partners with DriveWealth, LLC to provide brokerage services.
We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. Motley Fool Money does not cover all offers on the market. Motley Fool Money is 100% owned and operated by The Motley Fool. Our knowledgeable team of personal finance editors and analysts are employed by The Motley Fool and held to the same set of publishing standards and editorial integrity while maintaining professional separation from the analysts and editors on other Motley Fool brands. Terms may apply to offers listed on this page.
Robinhood disclosure
All investments involve risk and loss of principal is possible.
Securities are offered through Robinhood Financial LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Cryptocurrency services are offered through an account with Robinhood Crypto, LLC (NMLS ID 1702840). Robinhood Crypto is licensed to engage in virtual currency business activity by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Cryptocurrency held through Robinhood Crypto is not FDIC insured or SIPC protected. For more information see the Robinhood Crypto Risk Disclosure.
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Investing is risky. Bonus offers subject to terms and conditions, visit robinhood.com/hoodweek for more information. Margin is not suitable for all investors. Robinhood Gold is offered through Robinhood Gold LLC and is a subscription offering services for a fee. Brokerage services offered through Robinhood Financial LLC (member SIPC), a registered broker dealer.
J.P Morgan Disclosure
INVESTMENT AND INSURANCE PRODUCTS ARE: NOT A DEPOSIT • NOT FDIC INSURED • NO BANK GUARANTEE • MAY LOSE VALUE
SoFi Disclosure:
INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE
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