Tired of keeping track of your kid's allowance and chore system in your mind? Check out these free allowance and chore tracking apps.
Ready to upgrade from printable chore charts with money, Excel sheets, and "mind-tracking" to a chore and allowance app (but not quite ready to pay for one)?
There are plenty of paid chore and allowance tracking apps with robust features (check out my article on the best chore and allowance tracking apps), but maybe you’re not ready for that.
That’s why I’m listing out my favorite free allowance and chore tracking apps. These apps are limited because you can't connect a bank account to automatically pay family members, and there's no prepaid debit card attached.
However, they are a great way to test out how things work before settling on your own system.
Psst: don’t have your chore or allowance system down yet? Start with this.
Best Free Allowance Tracking App
Are you tired of having to remember the day of the week to pay your child, or how much you need to pay them?
While these free allowance tracking apps lack the functionality where you can physically pay your child through the app to their account or prepaid debit card (you’ll need a paid allowance/chore app for that, which can be a great addition to your teen chore chart), they will help you keep track of everything.
Not only that, but they have built-in functionality where you can easily assign chores (unpaid or paid – your choice), chore completion proof, and more. Which can be a big upgrade from a printable chore chart system.
Psst: here’s my article on should you pay allowance to kids, in case you’re still deciding whether to give an allowance or not.
1. Chores and Allowance Bot
You download the app and set up your Parent Passcode (this is your ticket to doing admin tasks within the app).
Allowances can be set up to be daily, weekly, or monthly, and can accrue automatically or only upon parental approval.
You can also set up chores for each child, with photos of the chore if you’d like, and kids can pick a photo or one of the 16 avatar options to represent them in the app.
The app sends reminders for forgotten allowance payouts, and forgotten chores (set up to 4 chore reminders/day) – for both parents AND kids.
You get a one-week free trial of their pro version (you have to sign up for their free trial, and you can then cancel it under Settings > Tap Your Name > Subscriptions > Chores and Allowance Bot before the one week is up to avoid a fee and still be able to use the free version).
The free version allows you to:
- Set up chores and allowances
- Rotate chores between kids automatically
- Track kids’ savings and spending
- Auto-sync across all your family’s devices (everyone needs to sign in with the same email/password)
And if your kids don’t have a smartphone? No problem – this app is actually available on the web/desktop! I love that.
Currency symbols can be configured in Account settings for almost all world currencies.
Available on iOS, Android, AND on desktop.
2. CHORSEE
Chorsee is the cleanest of the bunch – a chores and allowance tracker built to do one job, without a lot of extra.
You set up a profile for each family member, then create color-coded chores with custom icons. Chores can be scheduled daily, weekly, monthly, on specific days, or on alternating schedules.
You can:
- Assign a chore to one person or several, set it to rotate between kids automatically, or leave it up for grabs for whoever gets there first
- Add notes, reminders, categories, and subtasks to any chore
- Require photo proof on specific chores, so you can see the job was done to your standards
- Choose how you reward – Allowance, Points, or No Rewards – set per chore, with completed chores adding to that child's balance automatically
I like the "up for grabs" option. It turns the chore list into something the kids race each other to, instead of something you have to assign.
3. KidsHomeBank Plus
This app came about from a mother who was frustrated by trying to track her kid’s earnings and money use through money jars and then Excel sheets.
Instead, she just created her own app. I love that!
The original KidsHomeBank has been retired – the developer now points everyone to KidsHomeBank Plus, which is the version linked here.
It’s a way for you to add all of your kids; then you can credit kids in cash for an allowance, or credit them per chore completed, etc. And your kids can keep track of how much they have left in their various “accounts” or buckets that they create.
You can then “debit” for your kids, tracking how much they’ve spent, say, when they go to the store with you or make an online purchase.
Kids get three accounts by default – Checking (earning), Savings, and Giving – plus any extra accounts they create as savings goals. I love that you can offer them an interest rate on what they save, so the money grows while it sits with you instead of just being a number on a page.
I also really like how you can allow negative balances (click on Settings on the account where you want to allow the negative balance).
Best Free Chores Apps
Do you want to pay your children for doing certain chores? The following free chores apps are great for tracking your chore system – which chores you want your kids to do, the amount you want to pay them, chore oversight, crediting them for the chore payments, etc.
Wondering how much do you pay per chore? Check out this freebie.
Psst: here’s my article on should you pay for chores, in case you’re still deciding whether to pay for chores or not.
1. KiddieKredit
Activities are suggested to you, based on the ages of your child(ren) that you input during setup.
Each time your child completes an activity, they earn Bamboo Bucks.
Bucks are earned for tasks:
- 1 Bamboo Buck for tasks that take <10 minutes
- 3 Bamboo Bucks for tasks that take 10-30 minutes
- 5 Bamboo Bucks for tasks that take 30+ minutes
The app also suggests rewards for certain Bamboo Bucks thresholds, such as:
- 5 Bamboo Bucks = Favorite Snack/Treat
- 10 Bamboo Bucks = Stay up Late (30 minutes)
- 25 Bamboo Bucks = No Chores Pass (1 day)
- Etc.
I like how your child can either use your device or their own – meaning this is helpful for families that aren’t ready for kid smartphones yet (that’s us!), but want to set up a chore reward system.
2. Homey
Homey is free to download with paid upgrades. On the free plan, you can use it as a money tracking app for allowances and chore completion.
You can:
- Choose from the free chore packs to assign chores easily
- Choose whether each individual chore is a paid one, or a responsibility that is not paid
- Take pictures of the chore/mess area that needs to be done
- Choose a chore due date, with a reminder notification sent to the person an hour before
- Set up chores on repeat, or as one-time chores
- Have kids take photo proof that they completed the task, and upload it to the app
- Allow you to enable “completion confirmation”, which means the chore requires parental approval to count towards a daily goal, allowance progress, or chore commission
And your child can manage their money in different savings jars, and for different savings goals they track through the app.
However, you should know that you cannot connect bank accounts for easy payments to your kids with the free plan – you can use it as a money tracking tool on their free plan.
3. Privilege Points
Heads up – this one is listed in the App Store as Chores, Rewards, and Allowance by Salamander Apps. Same app, just renamed, so don't be thrown when the name doesn't match.
There are three areas to this app:
- Tasks kids complete to earn points
- Privileges are things kids can spend points on
- Penalties are a way to take things away from kids
You get to define how kids can earn points and how they can spend them. You can also create rewards for good behaviors, and/or choose to punish for bad behaviors. You also choose the points cost for privileges they “buy”, and points values for tasks you set up.
Available on iOS only.
How Do I Keep Track of My Kid’s Money?
These apps don’t have the banking functionality of the paid allowance and chore tracking apps, where you can pay your child within the app and the money physically goes to their account OR to their prepaid debit card for teens.
And that’s okay – you can still use these apps to track your money, chore, and allowance systems. Then, you’ll know how much to pay your child come payday for your Kid Money System.
But, what if you don’t want to use an app to track your kid’s money?
I actually wrote a whole post on this, and you can check it out here: How can I keep track of my kid’s money.
Starting with a free allowance and chore app can help upgrade your system from one where you have to remember and keep track of everything on paper, to one where you can set up automations. When you're ready to upgrade from that to a much more convenient option, be sure to check out the following articles:
- Greenlight vs. Acorns Early Prepaid Debit Card + Money App
- Greenlight vs. FamZoo Prepaid Debit Card + Money App
- Best Allowance Apps for Kids
Amanda L. Grossman is a writer and Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI®), a 2017 Plutus Foundation Grant Recipient, and founder of Money Prodigy. Her money work has been featured on Experian, GoBankingRates, PT Money, CA.gov, Rockstar Finance, the Houston Chronicle, and Colonial Life.
Amanda is the founder and CEO of Frugal Confessions, LLC. Read more here or on LinkedIn.
