MemoryBank vs. Greenlight

Parents compare these two because both say “investing” and “kids.” They do different jobs. Greenlight is a debit card and allowance app that also lets kids invest money held inside Greenlight. MemoryBank holds no money and has no card: it shows your child the investment accounts you already opened, wherever they are, and teaches them what they own.

MemoryBank is

A read-only kids’ investment dashboard. You connect the UTMA, 529, custodial Roth IRA, Trump Account or savings account you already have at your brokerage, state plan or bank. Your child gets their own view of what they own and how it’s growing, with Penny, an AI money mentor, explaining it at their age. Nothing can be bought, sold or spent inside it.

Greenlight is

A kids’ debit card with allowance, chores and parental spending controls. On its Max and Infinity plans, kids and parents can also invest in stocks and ETFs through Greenlight, with a parent approving each trade. Money for spending and investing lives inside Greenlight’s accounts.

Side by side

	MemoryBank	Greenlight
The main job	Show kids the real accounts their family already opened, and teach them what they own.	Give kids a debit card and allowance, with chores, spending controls and optional investing.
Debit card	None. There is nothing to spend.	Yes. A parent-controlled debit card is the core of the product.
Where the money sits	At your brokerage, 529 plan or bank. MemoryBank never holds, receives or moves money.	Inside Greenlight: card balances at its partner bank and investments in a brokerage account held in the parent’s name.
Can the kid trade?	No. No trading, transfers or withdrawals exist anywhere in the app.	Kids can propose stock and ETF trades; a parent approves each one (Max plan and above).
Accounts it shows	UTMA/UGMA, 529, custodial Roth IRA, Trump Account, brokerage and savings accounts at 10,000+ institutions through Plaid, including Schwab, Fidelity and Vanguard. Unlinkable accounts can be entered manually.	Greenlight’s own spending, savings and investing accounts.
Financial literacy	Penny answers questions at your child’s age level (5 to 18), every holding gets a plain-English story, a weekly recap teaches one money word at a time, plus 90+ free parent guides.	In-app articles, quizzes and lessons on earning, saving, spending and investing.
How kids get in	A paired device opens straight to the child’s view. No password for them to manage; revoke any device from your dashboard.	Kids log in to the Greenlight app with their own login, linked to the parent’s account.
Price	Free to start. Starter $6.99/mo (1 kid), Family $9.99/mo (up to 4 kids), Family Plus $14.99/mo (up to 10 kids). About two months free on annual billing.	Core $5.99/mo, Max $10.98/mo, Infinity $15.98/mo, per family. Investing starts on Max.
Platforms	iPhone, Android and any web browser; an always-on frame mode for a wall tablet or TV.	iPhone and Android apps.
Best age range	Any age from the first account at birth; Penny adjusts from 5 to 18.	Kids old enough to carry and use a debit card, through the teen years.

The main job

MemoryBank

Show kids the real accounts their family already opened, and teach them what they own.

Greenlight

Give kids a debit card and allowance, with chores, spending controls and optional investing.

Debit card

MemoryBank

None. There is nothing to spend.

Greenlight

Yes. A parent-controlled debit card is the core of the product.

Where the money sits

MemoryBank

At your brokerage, 529 plan or bank. MemoryBank never holds, receives or moves money.

Greenlight

Inside Greenlight: card balances at its partner bank and investments in a brokerage account held in the parent’s name.

Can the kid trade?

MemoryBank

No. No trading, transfers or withdrawals exist anywhere in the app.

Greenlight

Kids can propose stock and ETF trades; a parent approves each one (Max plan and above).

Accounts it shows

MemoryBank

UTMA/UGMA, 529, custodial Roth IRA, Trump Account, brokerage and savings accounts at 10,000+ institutions through Plaid, including Schwab, Fidelity and Vanguard. Unlinkable accounts can be entered manually.

Greenlight

Greenlight’s own spending, savings and investing accounts.

Financial literacy

MemoryBank

Penny answers questions at your child’s age level (5 to 18), every holding gets a plain-English story, a weekly recap teaches one money word at a time, plus 90+ free parent guides.

Greenlight

In-app articles, quizzes and lessons on earning, saving, spending and investing.

How kids get in

MemoryBank

A paired device opens straight to the child’s view. No password for them to manage; revoke any device from your dashboard.

Greenlight

Kids log in to the Greenlight app with their own login, linked to the parent’s account.

Price

MemoryBank

Free to start. Starter $6.99/mo (1 kid), Family $9.99/mo (up to 4 kids), Family Plus $14.99/mo (up to 10 kids). About two months free on annual billing.

Greenlight

Core $5.99/mo, Max $10.98/mo, Infinity $15.98/mo, per family. Investing starts on Max.

Platforms

MemoryBank

iPhone, Android and any web browser; an always-on frame mode for a wall tablet or TV.

Greenlight

iPhone and Android apps.

Best age range

MemoryBank

Any age from the first account at birth; Penny adjusts from 5 to 18.

Greenlight

Kids old enough to carry and use a debit card, through the teen years.

Greenlight details are as described on Greenlight's own website and help center in October 2026and can change; confirm current prices and features there before deciding. MemoryBank isn't affiliated with Greenlight. Sources: How much does Greenlight cost?, Greenlight investing accounts.

Which one fits your family

Choose Greenlight if

You want your child to have a debit card with allowance and chores built in.
You want spending controls, store limits and instant transfers for everyday money.
You’d like your teen to make small, parent-approved trades with money kept inside the app.

Choose MemoryBank if

You’ve already opened a UTMA, 529, custodial Roth or Trump Account and want your kid to actually see it.
You don’t want a card, spending or trading involved in how your child learns about investing.
Your kids’ accounts live at different places (a 529 with the state, a UTMA at Schwab, a Roth at Fidelity) and you want one view per child.
You want the learning tied to real money that is already theirs, from age five up.

Plenty of families run both. Greenlight handles allowance and spending; MemoryBank shows the long-term money that a card app never touches, the 529 and the custodial accounts, so a child grows up seeing their savings and their spending as two different things.

Common questions

Is MemoryBank a Greenlight alternative?

For the investing and financial-literacy part, yes. For the debit card, no. MemoryBank is a read-only dashboard for the investment accounts you already have, with an AI money mentor; it has no card and no spending. Greenlight is built around the card.

Does Greenlight show a UTMA or 529 held at another brokerage?

No. Greenlight shows the spending, savings and investing accounts held inside Greenlight. MemoryBank connects to accounts at 10,000+ outside institutions through Plaid and shows them in one view per child.

Can kids trade stocks in MemoryBank like they can in Greenlight?

No. MemoryBank is read-only by design: no trading, no transfers, no withdrawals, no card. Kids learn by watching the real accounts their family opened and asking Penny what things mean. Greenlight lets kids propose trades that a parent approves, on its Max plan and above.

Which is cheaper, MemoryBank or Greenlight?

As of October 2026, MemoryBank is free to start and paid plans run $6.99 to $14.99 a month; Greenlight plans run $5.99 to $15.98 a month per family, with investing available from the $10.98 Max plan. Both offer discounts for annual billing on some plans; check each site for current prices.

Can I use Greenlight and MemoryBank together?

Yes. Many families use a card app for allowance and spending and MemoryBank for the long-term accounts, so a child can see their 529, UTMA or Roth growing alongside the money they spend.

Their money is growing. Let them see it.

Free to start. Connect the accounts you already have and give your kid their own view.

Try MemoryBank free See every feature

MemoryBank is not a brokerage. It cannot receive, keep or transfer securities, and it never holds your money.