What Spriggy actually costs
Spriggy charges $47.88 per year for the first child, billed as $3.99/month. Each additional child is $24/year ($2/month).
There is no free tier. There's a 30-day free trial, but after that the subscription kicks in.
| Plan | Cost |
|---|---|
| First child | $47.88/year ($3.99/month) |
| Additional children | $24/year each ($2/month) |
| Debit card replacement | $5 |
| International transactions | 2% |
What you get for the fee
The subscription covers:
- A physical Visa prepaid card for your child
- The Spriggy parent app (top-ups, limits, transaction visibility)
- The Spriggy kids app (balance, spending history, saving goals)
- Instant notifications when the card is used
- Spending category breakdown
There are no ATM fees for domestic withdrawals, though the card can only be loaded with funds from the Spriggy app (no direct deposits).
What Spriggy doesn't include
- No savings interest. The balance on the card earns nothing.
- No bank account. It's a prepaid card, not a regulated bank account. Funds aren't covered by the Australian Government's Financial Claims Scheme.
- No investment features. Products like Raiz or Spaceship are separate.
- No budgeting categories for parents. The fee goes to the card product; there's no sophisticated parental budgeting dashboard.
Is it worth it?
That depends entirely on your child's age and how they're using money.
Worth it if:
- Your child is 10+ and regularly making purchases independently
- You want real-time transaction notifications
- The physical card is meaningful — they're catching trains, buying lunch
Not worth it if:
- Your kids are under 9 and most spending happens with a parent present
- You mainly want to teach saving habits, not facilitate independent spending
- You're managing multiple children (the multi-child cost adds up fast)
A family with three kids would pay $47.88 + $24 + $24 = $95.88/year. For that money, a free ledger-based app covers the habit-building years completely, with a migration path to Spriggy when kids are genuinely spending independently.
Teaching money habits doesn't need a monthly fee.
Happy Pocket is a free virtual ledger for Australian families. No card, no subscription, no bank account. Just pockets parents and kids manage together.
Get started — it's free →Spriggy vs Happy Pocket: side by side
| Feature | Spriggy | Happy Pocket |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $47.88/year | Free |
| Debit card | Yes | No |
| Min age | Any | 5 |
| Bank account needed | No | No |
| Multiple pockets | Limited | Yes |
| Scheduled allowances | Yes | Yes |
| Kids app | Yes | Yes |
| Chinese language | No | Yes |
| Works offline | No | No |
The bottom line: Spriggy is the right tool once your child is ready to spend independently. Before that, the fee is hard to justify when free alternatives handle the habit-building just as well.