The Best Apps to Teach Kids Investing: A Parent's Honest Roundup
If your kid has ever asked how someone "makes money from stocks," you already know the moment is coming. The next question is which app to hand them. That is harder than it sounds, because the apps in this space are not doing the same thing at all. Some put real money into a real brokerage account. Some let kids practice with pretend money. Some are really allowance-and-chores apps that happen to have an investing button.
This roundup sorts them out for you, honestly: what each app actually is, what it is genuinely good at, and which kind of family it fits. One note before we start: features and terms on these apps change often, so confirm the current details on each app's own site before you sign up.
What are the three kinds of "kids investing" apps?
There are three categories, and knowing which one you are looking at matters more than any single feature.
- Real-money custodial and youth brokerage apps. Actual dollars buy actual shares. A parent usually controls or approves the account. Greenlight, Stockpile, Acorns Early, BusyKid, and the Fidelity Youth Account live here.
- Simulated, education-first apps. Kids invest a pretend balance with no real money at risk, so a bad trade teaches a lesson instead of costing you. Rapunzl, The Stock Market Game, and the Investopedia Simulator live here.
- Allowance and chores apps. The core job is earning, saving, and spending, with money lessons layered on top. GoHenry is the clearest example.
Most families actually want a blend: a safe place to practice, plus a small real-money account once the concepts click. Here is how the main options compare.
Comparison table: the best apps to teach kids investing
| App | What it actually is | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Greenlight | Real-money custodial brokerage inside a family debit-card app; kids request trades and parents approve every one, with fractional shares from $1 (Greenlight) | Families wanting allowance, a debit card, and first real trades under parent approval in one app |
| Fidelity Youth Account | Real-money brokerage owned and controlled by the teen (ages 13 to 17), no subscription fee, trades most US stocks and ETFs but not crypto or options (Fidelity) | Older teens ready to make and own their own real investing decisions |
| Stockpile | Real-money family investing app with fractional shares from $1 in stocks, ETFs, and crypto; kids make trades that an adult approves, and relatives can gift stock (Stockpile) | Families who want to invest together or gift shares to a child |
| Acorns Early | Real-money UGMA/UTMA custodial account the parent controls, auto-invested in diversified ETF portfolios, bundled into a paid Acorns subscription (Acorns) | Parents who want to invest for a child long-term, mostly hands-off |
| BusyKid | Chore-and-allowance app with a kids' debit card; investing runs through a Stockpile partnership and needs parent approval (BusyKid) | Families who want to tie investing directly to chores and earned money |
| GoHenry (by Acorns) | Allowance, chores, and debit-card app with in-app "Money Missions" money lessons; it does not offer direct stock investing (FinanceBuzz) | Younger kids learning earning and budgeting before they invest |
| Rapunzl | Simulated, education-first app: a pretend $10,000 stock and crypto portfolio priced on live Nasdaq data, no real money at risk, plus a free national scholarship competition | Kids and teens learning to invest safely before risking real dollars |
| The Stock Market Game | Simulated, classroom-run program from the SIFMA Foundation; student teams trade a virtual $100,000 portfolio at little to no cost (SIFMA Foundation) | Teachers and clubs running a team-based investing unit at school |
| Investopedia Simulator | Free paper-trading simulator with a $100,000 virtual balance and no real money at risk (Investopedia Simulator overview) | Self-motivated older teens who want free, unstructured practice |
The real-money apps: which is right for your family?
If you want your child holding actual shares, start with how much control you want to keep.
Greenlight is the most parent-friendly on-ramp. Kids can research companies and request trades, but nothing executes without a parent's approval, and they can buy fractional shares starting at a single dollar (Greenlight). Its genuine strength is that investing sits inside the same app as allowance, chores, and a debit card, so a child sees earning and investing as one story. The trade-off is the paid subscription: you are buying the whole ecosystem, not just the trading.
Stockpile shines at two specific things: fractional shares from $1 across stocks, ETFs, and crypto, and letting grandparents or relatives gift stock to a child (Stockpile). Kids place their own trades, and an adult approves them. If your extended family likes to give meaningful gifts, this is a natural fit.
BusyKid takes a narrower angle. It is fundamentally a chore-and-allowance app with a kids' debit card, and its investing feature runs through a partnership with Stockpile, again with parent approval (BusyKid). The appeal is philosophical: money a child earns from real chores is the money they invest. That connection between work and ownership is a genuinely good lesson.
Acorns Early is the most hands-off. It is a UGMA/UTMA custodial account that the parent controls, and it auto-invests real money into diversified ETF portfolios rather than individual stock picks (Acorns). It is bundled into a paid Acorns subscription. This one is less about a child learning to trade and more about you building a long-term nest egg on their behalf, which is a worthwhile but different goal from teaching.
The Fidelity Youth Account is the outlier, and for the right teenager it is excellent. It is a real brokerage account owned and controlled by the teen, ages 13 to 17, with no subscription fee, letting them trade most US stocks and ETFs (though not crypto or options) and read teen-focused learning content (Fidelity). The teen makes every decision. That independence is the point, and it is also the reason it suits an older, more mature kid rather than a 12-year-old placing a first trade.
GoHenry, now part of Acorns, belongs in this section only to correct a common assumption. It is an allowance, chores, and debit-card app with interactive "Money Missions" that teach earning, budgeting, and even investing concepts, but it does not actually let kids buy stocks inside the app (FinanceBuzz). For a younger child building money habits, that is a strength, not a flaw. Just do not buy it expecting a brokerage.
The safer way to start: apps where kids practice without real money
Here is the honest case a lot of parents do not hear: for most kids, the best first step is not real money at all. It is practice.
A simulated portfolio lets a child buy the companies they actually care about, watch the market move, make a mistake, and learn from it without losing a dollar of your money. Once diversification and volatility stop being vocabulary words and start being things they have lived, a small real-money account makes a lot more sense.
Rapunzl is built entirely around this idea. Kids and teens manage a simulated $10,000 portfolio of stocks and crypto priced on live Nasdaq data, so when the market reacts to real news, their portfolio moves with it, all with no real money at risk. It is education-first by design: the app pairs the simulator with lessons in both English and Spanish, and it runs a free national scholarship competition (January through late April) where students compete on what they learn, not on how much cash they have. Rapunzl has reached 150,000+ students since 2018, which tells you it was built as a teaching tool from the ground up, not a brokerage with a kids' mode bolted on. If your goal is for your child to understand investing before they risk anything, this is the category leader, and it costs your family nothing to start exploring.
The Stock Market Game, run by the SIFMA Foundation, is the classroom classic. Student teams trade a virtual $100,000 portfolio, and it is offered at little to no cost through schools and state economic-education councils (SIFMA Foundation). If your child's teacher runs it, lean in; the team format and essay competitions make it engaging. The interface shows its age, but the underlying experience is solid.
The Investopedia Simulator rounds out the practice options. It is a free paper-trading tool with a $100,000 virtual balance and no real money at risk (Investopedia). It is aimed at adults, so it lacks the guardrails and lessons younger kids need, but for a motivated 16-year-old who wants to practice for free, it is a fine sandbox.
How should I choose based on my kid's age and goals?
Match the app to where your child actually is, not where you wish they were.
- Ages 6 to 10: Start with earning and saving. GoHenry or BusyKid build the habits investing will later stand on.
- Ages 10 to 14: Practice first. A simulated app like Rapunzl lets them make real decisions and real mistakes with zero financial risk, which is exactly what this age needs.
- Ages 13 to 17: Layer in a small real-money account with approval, such as Greenlight or Stockpile, and keep the simulator running alongside it for bigger experiments.
- Ages 16 to 18, mature and motivated: A teen-owned account like the Fidelity Youth Account gives them full ownership of their decisions before they leave home.
For most families, the sequence is the real answer: practice, then invest small, then hand over control. You rarely need to pick just one app.
Frequently Asked
Questions
It depends on your goal. For learning the concepts safely, a simulated app like Rapunzl lets kids invest a pretend $10,000 portfolio on live market data with no real money at risk. For a first real-money account with parent approval, Greenlight or Stockpile are strong. For a teen ready to own their decisions, the Fidelity Youth Account works well.
Both exist, so read carefully. Greenlight, Stockpile, Acorns Early, BusyKid, and the Fidelity Youth Account use real money in real accounts. Rapunzl, The Stock Market Game, and the Investopedia Simulator use simulated money for practice. Many families start with practice and add a small real account later.
Usually, yes, but not always. On Greenlight and Stockpile, kids request or place trades and a parent approves them (Greenlight, Stockpile). On the Fidelity Youth Account, the teen makes every decision themselves and parents can monitor but not trade (Fidelity). Simulated apps carry no financial risk, so approval matters less.
For most kids, yes. A simulated portfolio lets a child learn diversification, risk, and volatility by living them, without losing real money on a beginner's mistake. Rapunzl is built around this, using live Nasdaq pricing so the practice still feels real. Once the concepts click, a small real-money account is a natural next step.
Rapunzl offers its lessons in both English and Spanish, which matters for bilingual households and Spanish-first families. Language options vary across the other apps, so confirm current availability on each app's own site.
Cost models differ a lot. Several real-money apps run on a monthly subscription, the Fidelity Youth Account has no subscription fee, and simulated tools like The Stock Market Game and the Investopedia Simulator are low or no cost. Rapunzl's national scholarship competition is free for students to participate. Check current pricing directly with each app.
Rapunzl gives students a simulated $10,000 stock and crypto portfolio on real-time pricing, in English or Spanish, inside a course their teacher can run. Request access for your child's school.
By Maria Rodriguez, Curriculum Designer at Rapunzl.