Greenlight Fees (2026): Does Greenlight Cost Money? Full Breakdown
Yes, Greenlight costs money — $5.99/month for Core, up to $19.98 for the top tier. Here's every Greenlight fee from the CFPB-filed schedule, plus the $0 alternatives.
Yes, Greenlight costs money — it's a paid subscription, not a free card. Greenlight fees start at $5.99/month for the Core plan (up to five kids) and rise to $10.98, $15.98 and $19.98 for higher tiers. There's a one-month free trial, and the pricing is filed with the CFPB.
The most common question about Greenlight is also the simplest: does it cost money? Yes — Greenlight is a paid subscription, and anyone telling you it’s “free” is describing the one-month trial, not the product. The useful part is knowing exactly what you pay and what each tier buys. Here’s the full breakdown from the official record we track on the Greenlight fiche and review.
Greenlight fees: the full price list
Per Greenlight’s official plans page, snapshotted and dated in our records, the tiers are:
- Core — $5.99/month: the card, app, parental controls, chores and allowance, savings rewards (2%). Up to five kids.
- Max — $10.98/month: adds higher savings rewards, investing with parent approval, and cashback.
- Infinity — $15.98/month: adds identity-theft protection and safety features on top of Max.
- Family Shield — $19.98/month: the top tier, with the broadest family safety and financial features.
Every tier covers up to five kids on one plan — there’s no separate per-child fee stacked on top. That per-family pricing is what makes Greenlight cheaper per child than per-kid apps once you have two or more children.
Why the price is trustworthy
Greenlight’s fee schedule isn’t marketing copy you have to take on faith — it’s a legal filing. Its pricing lives in the CFPB Prepaid Product Agreements Database (product 47546), with agreements on file since 2018. We flag each new version the day the Bureau publishes it, so the pricing history is verifiable and any change is dated. Deposits sit at Community Federal Savings Bank (FDIC cert. 57129, active at our latest BankFind check).
The free trial — and why a code matters less than the fee
New customers get a one-month free trial on any plan. That’s the real “free” in Greenlight, not a coupon. As we cover in the Greenlight promo code guide, the codes floating around aggregator sites are time-limited affiliate promos, often expired — the number that actually matters is the monthly fee, which no code changes.
Is it worth the money — or should you go $0?
That depends entirely on whether you’ll use the features:
- Pay for Greenlight if you want chores, allowance automation, category limits per kid, and especially if you have multiple kids — see how the fee math plays out in our GoHenry (Acorns Early) vs Greenlight comparison.
- Go free instead if you only need basic oversight — Chase First Banking and Capital One MONEY cost $0 every month. Our free kids debit card guide lays out the genuinely $0 options.
Greenlight earns its 4.5/5 and its #1 spot in our kids ranking on features, not price. If those features fit your family, the fee is fair; if they don’t, a $0 account saves you $71.88 a year.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Greenlight cost money?
- Yes. Greenlight is a paid subscription — there is no permanently free tier. The Core plan is $5.99/month and covers up to five kids; higher plans cost more. New customers get a one-month free trial, but after that it bills monthly. The fee schedule is a public CFPB filing (prepaid product 47546), not a promotional number that quietly changes.
- How much are Greenlight fees per month?
- Greenlight's tiers, per its official plans page: Core $5.99, Max $10.98, Infinity $15.98, and Family Shield $19.98 per month. Every tier covers up to five kids on one plan. The higher tiers add savings rewards (up to 6%), investing with parent approval, and cashback. There are no per-child add-on fees on top of the plan.
- Is there a free version of Greenlight?
- No permanent free version — only a one-month free trial for new customers on any plan. If you want a genuinely $0 option, look at bank-held accounts like Chase First Banking (free with a parent Chase account) or Capital One MONEY (no monthly fee), which we cover in our free [kids debit card](/banks-that-offer-kids-debit-cards) guide.
- Are there hidden Greenlight fees?
- The monthly plan is the headline cost, and it's the one filed with the CFPB. Standard third-party charges can still apply — for example out-of-network ATM operator fees — as with any debit card, but there's no separate per-child subscription or maintenance fee stacked on top of the plan price. We track each new CFPB filing so any change is dated, not discovered at renewal.