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Financial literacy, which refers to both your knowledge of and ability to use financial skills, is one of the most important factors in smart money management. Although this is an area where many people are lacking, there are more options than ever to learn about personal finance. Financial literacy apps, in particular, are the perfect way for both adults and kids to become more knowledgeable about money. Our team of experts has analyzed all the most popular options to bring you our picks for the best financial literacy apps for April 2024.
The Ascent’s best financial literacy apps:
- World of Money: Best financial literacy app overall
- Zogo: Best financial literacy app for bite-sized lessons
- RoosterMoney: Best allowance app
- Investmate: Best financial literacy app for investing education
- FamZoo: Best financial literacy app for families
- Savings Spree: Best financial literacy app for games
- Penny | Master Your Money: Best financial literacy app for audio lessons
1. World of Money
Best financial literacy app overallWorld of Money
Bottom line: While many financial literacy apps focus on one age group, World of Money has content for everyone. Each of its lessons has a video module with a quiz at the end. Modules are taught by World of Money graduates who are the same age as the target audience, giving users the opportunity to learn from their peers.
- iOS app rating: 5.0/5 stars
- Android app rating: 5.0/5 stars
- Cost: Free
READ MORE >> World of Money review
2. Zogo
Best financial literacy app for bite-sized lessonsZogo
Bottom line: Zogo is a standout for the way it makes finance fun and keeps users motivated to learn more. It has a similar style to Duolingo, the popular and highly rated language-learning app. You progress through a skills tree with modules dedicated to different financial concepts, such as budgeting and building wealth. Each module offers bite-sized lessons you can complete in a couple minutes.
What's most exciting about Zogo is that it actually pays you to complete lessons. Through partnerships with financial institutions, Zogo rewards users with gift cards to well-known brands, including Amazon, Target, and Starbucks.
- iOS app rating: 4.8/5 stars
- Android app rating: 4.3/5 stars
- Cost: Free
READ MORE >> Zogo review
3. RoosterMoney
Best allowance appRoosterMoney
Bottom line: When it comes to allowance apps, RoosterMoney has everything parents need. It includes an allowance manager with the option of automatic payments, a chore chart, a savings tracker, and a virtual piggy bank. One of the more unique features RoosterMoney offers is its Spend, Save, and Give pots. These encourage kids to think about the different ways they can use their money. If parents want, they can also split allowances between these options.
- iOS app rating: 4.7/5 stars
- Android app rating: 4.6/5 stars
- Cost: Free for virtual tracker; $2.99 per month or $18.99 per year for Rooster PLUS
READ MORE >> RoosterMoney review
4. Investmate
Best financial literacy app for investing educationInvestmate
Bottom line: Investmate takes the often-complicated subject of investing and simplifies it with jargon-free lessons. Courses are designed by finance experts and feature real-world examples to aid your learning. Along with its courses, Investmate also has quizzes, videos, and a comprehensive glossary.
- iOS app rating: 4.8/5 stars
- Android app rating: 4.5/5 stars
- Cost: Free
READ MORE >> Investmate review
5. FamZoo
Best financial literacy app for familiesFamzoo
Bottom line: FamZoo is a virtual family bank with parents as the bankers and children as the customers. Everyone in the family gets their own bank account. Parents can set up automated allowances, create budgets, give out loans, and much more. FamZoo offers both an IOU system that tracks money couples plan to give their children and prepaid cards that parents can load with money. One of the biggest benefits of this finance app is that parents can keep it simple to start and then teach more sophisticated financial concepts later.
- iOS app rating: 4.6/5 stars
- Android app rating: 4.4/5 stars
- Cost: $5.99 per month or as low as $2.50 per month by paying upfront (free two-month trial)
READ MORE >> Famzoo review
6. Savings Spree
Best financial literacy app for gamesSavings Spree
Bottom line: Savings Spree is an award-winning financial literacy app for children ages seven and up. It presents important financial topics through a game to make learning about money fun. During the game, kids will learn about the different ways they can use their funds by putting money into savings accounts, spending it, investing it, or donating it. They'll also find out how seemingly small decisions can add up over time and why it's a good idea to have an emergency fund.
- iOS app rating: 4.0/5 stars
- Android app rating: N/A
- Cost: $5.99
READ MORE >> Savings Spree review
7. Penny | Master Your Money
Best financial literacy app for audio lessonsPenny | Master Your Money
Bottom line: Penny | Master Your Money, or Penny, teaches financial literacy through audio lessons presented by everyday people from all walks of life. It offers content on all sorts of financial topics, including saving money, investing, real estate, and paying off debt. Lessons are quick but still packed with valuable information.
- iOS app rating: 4.7/5 stars
- Android app rating: 5.0/5 stars
- Cost: Free
READ MORE >> Penny app review
Types of financial literacy apps
There are a variety of financial literacy apps available. Here are the most common types and what they offer.
Financial education apps
These apps focus on providing educational content to users through modules and lessons. They may offer videos, audio, text content, and/or quizzes. This is among the most popular types of financial literacy apps, and there are educational options available for users of all ages.
Allowance apps
With this kind of app, parents can manage allowances for their children. Allowance apps usually offer automated or manual payments and the option to offer rewards for certain tasks, such as completing chores or getting good grades. Some companies that offer allowance apps also have prepaid cards that parents can use for their children's allowances. With a prepaid card, kids can only spend what their parents load from their checking account onto the card. It's not like a credit card, so there's no risk of going into debt.
Investing education apps
A sub-type of financial education apps, investing education apps focus specifically on the subject of investing. They tend to be more advanced than other financial literacy apps, and they're often aimed at teenagers or adults.
Financial games apps
This type of app uses exciting games to help users learn about financial concepts. Although financial games apps can work well for kids of all ages, they're best-suited for younger kids who may not have the attention span to sit through standard money lessons.
Financial literacy apps by age range
Another popular way to group types of financial literacy apps is by the intended age range. There are apps available for kids in grade school, preteens, teens, college students, and adults interested in expanding their financial knowledge.
How to pick the best financial literacy app for you
The most important part of picking the best financial literacy app is deciding the type of app you need. Here are a few questions that can help you figure this out:
- Is the app just for you, or are you looking for an app to help teach your kids about finance?
- How old are the users?
- What features are you looking for? You can find apps that let you send allowances to your kids, watch video lessons, learn how to set up a budget, play games, and much more.
Based on that, you can narrow down your options. For example, if you want to track your kid's allowance on your phone, then you'd focus on allowance apps. You can keep trimming the list with other criteria, such as your price range.
After you have a couple financial literacy apps in mind, take them for a test run. There are plenty of high-quality apps out there, and your personal preference will play a big part in which one is best for you. By giving them a try, you can pick the one you like the most that meets your requirements.
Typical financial literacy app fees and costs
Financial literacy app fees and costs vary depending on the app. There are free financial literacy apps that you can use without any sort of charge. There are also premium financial literacy apps that cost you money. Some apps have both free and premium versions, with the premium versions offering more features.
With apps that charge fees, the typical fees can be one or more of the following:
- One-time fee: A fee you pay only once to use the app or service. This may be the cost of buying the app, unless there's a free trial available.
- Subscription fee: A regular fee you must pay to use the service. Subscription fees are generally charged monthly or yearly. There are often discounts available if you pay for a longer subscription upfront.
- Additional service fee: A fee you pay to access additional services. An app could charge extra for specific content, or if the company also offers a prepaid debit card for your kid's allowance, then that could cost extra.
For the most part, financial literacy apps aren't expensive. And if you're only interested in free apps, you'll still have many options available.
Additional resources to improve your financial literacy
FAQs
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The best way to improve your financial literacy is through educational content. If you want content you can access anywhere, financial literacy apps are a convenient and effective option.
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Some financial literacy apps are free, while others charge fees. There are plenty of free financial literacy apps if that's what you're looking for. Premium apps often have free trials available, so you can see if you like them before you pay anything.
Our Personal Finance Expert
Lyle Daly is a personal finance writer who specializes in credit cards, travel rewards programs, and banking. He writes for The Ascent and The Motley Fool, and his work has appeared in USA Today and Yahoo! Finance. He was born in California but currently lives as a digital nomad with a home base in Colombia.
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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Lyle Daly has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon.com, Starbucks, and Target. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short April 2023 $100 calls on Starbucks. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.