What to look for in a pocket money app
Before diving into the list, here's the framework we used to evaluate each app:
- Age-appropriateness — Does the UI make sense for a 6-year-old, or is it designed for teens?
- Cost — What's the real annual cost for a family with 2–3 kids?
- Core features — Allowance scheduling, multiple pockets, savings goals
- Debit card — Needed for independent spenders, unnecessary for young kids
- Australian-built or adapted — Does it use AUD and work with Australian norms?
Our picks
1. Happy Pocket — Best for ages 5–11 (free)
Happy Pocket is a free shared ledger built specifically for Australian families. Parents manage pockets from their account; kids log in and see their balance in real time.
Standout features:
- Multiple named pockets (Spending, Saving, Giving — you name them)
- Scheduled allowances (weekly, fortnightly, monthly)
- Works for kids as young as 5 with a PIN-based login
- Full Chinese language support alongside English
- No bank account or debit card needed
- Free, with current features staying free
Best for: Families who want to build money habits before the card era. The focus is on the ledger — tracking, saving goals, and the parent-child conversation around money — not on enabling independent spending.
Cost: $0
Track pocket money for free — no bank account needed.
Happy Pocket is a free shared ledger for Australian families. Kids see their balance, parents stay in control. Works from age 5.
Get started — it's free →2. Spriggy — Best for independent spenders (paid)
Spriggy's main strength is the physical Visa debit card. When your child is catching trains or buying lunch without you, a card with real-time parental visibility is genuinely useful.
Cost: $47.88/year first child, $24/year each additional child
Best for: Kids 10+ who spend independently
Not great for: Young kids — the card feature isn't relevant and you're paying for something you don't use
3. GoHenry — Best for educational content (paid)
GoHenry is a UK product that works in Australia. Alongside the card, it has built-in financial education "missions" for kids — short lessons on concepts like compound interest and budgeting.
Cost: ~$4.99/month per child
Best for: Parents who want structured money education content alongside the app
Not great for: Families on a budget — per-child pricing gets expensive with multiple kids
4. Roosteroney — Best for chore tracking (free tier)
Roosteroney is a chore and allowance tracker with a free tier. The UI is kid-friendly and the focus is on connecting chores to earnings.
Cost: Free (limited) / ~$7.99/month for full features
Best for: Families where chore-linked payments are the core system
Not great for: Managing actual spending or savings goals — it's more a chore tracker than a money manager
5. Westpac Dollarmites / CommBank Youth — Best for teens
These are real bank accounts with debit cards for children. Dollarmites is aimed at school-age kids; CommBank Youth is for 14+.
Cost: Free
Best for: Teenagers who are ready for a real bank account and the full responsibility that comes with it
Not great for: Under-10s — the apps are adult-banking interfaces that don't teach habits the way a dedicated pocket money app does
The age-based recommendation
| Age | Best option | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 5–9 | Happy Pocket | Habit-building, no card needed yet |
| 10–13 | Spriggy or Happy Pocket | Card if spending independently, ledger if not |
| 14+ | CommBank Youth or Spriggy | Real banking interface or continued card use |
The transition from ledger to card to bank account mirrors the natural growth of financial responsibility. There's no need to jump to a card before kids are spending on their own.
What about just using a spreadsheet or a jar?
Both work. A jar of coins is a perfectly good first money lesson for a 5-year-old. A spreadsheet works fine for a tech-comfortable family.
The advantage of a dedicated app is the kids side of the experience — children can check their own balance without asking a parent, set their own saving goals, and see transactions as they happen. That autonomy is a meaningful part of the learning.