Key takeaways
- A common starting point is $1/year of age per week — adjust up or down for your household budget.
- Splitting the weekly amount across save / spend / give gives the money a plan before anything is bought.
- The “hybrid” system (small base + earn-more chores) teaches both budgeting and earning, which is why the calculator starts there.
- There is no single right number. The number you pay matters less than the conversation around it.
How this calculator works
The math behind the slider is intentionally simple, so you can verify it without trusting a black box. Three inputs drive one weekly recommendation.
Base amount starts at roughly $1 per year of age per week, a common rule of thumb: easy to remember, and it grows with the kid. Budget tier multiplies that base: Tight at 60%, Comfortable at 100%, and Flexible at 120%. Payment system then splits the result: Unconditional pays the full base every week with no strings; Hybrid pays half of it as a small base and lets chores earn the other half; Chore-only shifts the entire amount into chore-based earnings.
The save / spend / give split then takes the resulting weekly total and splits it across three buckets. Defaults of 50% Save / 40% Spend / 10% Give are a common starting point — but the calculator lets you change them, because the right split depends on what your kid is saving toward.
What this looks like by age
The calculator above will produce a precise number for the age and budget tier you pick. The table below shows the Unconditional weekly amount across the full ages 6–16 range, so you can see how the numbers scale before pay-system adjustments.
| Age band | Tight | Comfortable ★ | Flexible | Suggested split (S/S/G) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6–7 | $3.60–$4.20 | $6–$7 | $7.20–$8.40 | 33 / 33 / 33 |
| 8–10 | $4.80–$6.00 | $8–$10 | $9.60–$12.00 | 40 / 40 / 20 |
| 11–13 | $6.60–$7.80 | $11–$13 | $13.20–$15.60 | 50 / 40 / 10 |
| 14–16 | $8.40–$9.60 | $14–$16 | $16.80–$19.20 | 60 / 30 / 10 |
Numbers reflect the calculator’s math at the lowest and highest age in each band. Pick your kid’s exact age in the widget above for the precise figure. The payment system changes how the money is paid, never the weekly amount: Hybrid pays half of it as a small base and lets chores earn the other half, and Chore-only pays all of it for chores. The free printable chart runs from half the rule to the rule, so Tight and Comfortable fall inside it; Flexible goes 20% above the rule, above the chart’s $0.50 to $1 a week per year of age, for a kid who pays for more of their own things. From about 15, once a teen earns a paycheck, the allowance can shrink to a small supplement or stop; the 15-year-old and 16-year-old guides cover that change.
Why these amounts?
The “$1 per year of age” rule is a rule of thumb, not a research finding. We use it because it is easy to remember, grows with your kid, and gives you a number to adjust for your own budget.
The research below is about something else: the practice an allowance makes possible, and who children learn it from. None of it sets an amount.
Allowance
A child who decides each week whether to spend an allowance or save it for something bigger is practicing goal-oriented financial planning.
Source: CFPB, September 2016
Ages 6–12
Money habits and norms begin to form in middle childhood, ages 6 to 12, as children watch and interact with their parents and caregivers.
Source: CFPB, September 2016
Parents
Parents and caregivers are usually the main influence on how children learn about money through elementary and middle school.
Source: CFPB, September 2016
In our view, that makes the conversation matter more than the dollar amount. The calculator gives you a starting number; the weekly conversation around the save / spend / give split is where the lesson lives.
Want this as a printable?
Get the free one-page Allowance by Age Chart PDF, emailed to you: weekly ranges for ages 5 to 18, from half of this calculator’s rule of thumb (about $1 a week per year of age) up to the rule itself, and a fill-in save / spend / give plan for your family.
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Or just download the chart directly.
Frequently asked questions
How much allowance should I give my kid?
A common rule of thumb is about $1 per year of age per week — so $7/week for a 7-year-old, $12/week for a 12-year-old. It is a starting point, not a research finding. The calculator above lets you adjust for household budget and pay system so the number reflects your situation, not a generic table.
Should I tie allowance to chores?
There are three workable models. Unconditional (pay weekly, no strings) teaches budgeting without the negotiation. Chore-only ties earning to work. Hybrid pays a small base plus earn-more chores. Hybrid is the calculator’s default because it teaches both budgeting and earning without making every chore a transaction.
How often should I pay allowance — weekly or monthly?
Weekly works best for kids under about age 11. Younger kids have short time horizons and a monthly cycle is too long to feel connected to the work. Older preteens and teens can handle bi-weekly or monthly, which is closer to a real paycheck cycle.
Should I pay in cash or use an app?
Both have a place. Cash is concrete for ages 6 to 9 — kids can physically split coins between Save / Spend / Give jars. From about age 9 or 10 onward, a virtual or app-based system scales better and starts building the digital-money habits they’ll need before a debit card.
What if my kid doesn’t save any of it?
That is what the save / spend / give split is for. Use the calculator to pre-allocate the weekly amount — for example, 50% Save, 40% Spend, 10% Give. The kid only “sees” the Spend portion as discretionary. Saving becomes the default, not the willpower battle.
How much per chore?
A simple starting range is about $0.25 to $2 per task for ages 6 to 12, and $2 to $5 per task for ages 13 to 16. Use Hybrid mode in the calculator and the earnable portion gives you a starting per-task budget.
When should I bump the amount up?
Two natural moments: when responsibilities expand (a new chore tier, a new household role) and at birthdays. Annual increases of about $1 per year of age keep the math simple and predictable.
Is there a “right” save / spend / give split?
No single split fits every family. Two simple starting points are 50 / 40 / 10 and 33 / 33 / 33. The 50 / 40 / 10 split saves more of each payment; the 33 / 33 / 33 split gives more. Pick what reflects your family’s priorities and revisit annually.
See the lessons your kid will play
The numbers above are the parent half of the conversation. Inside Sprout Saver, kids get the other half — three lessons that map directly to the calculator’s inputs: the budget map, paying yourself first, and the $10 challenge.
Related guides
The full Allowance for Kids guide
Pillar page — amounts, systems, save/spend/give, and the conversation that goes with the dollars.
Allowance by Age Chart
Ages 6 to 16 in one table, with the money milestone of each year.
How much allowance for a 10-year-old?
The deep dive at the median preteen age, with the most-debated trade-offs explained.
Printable Allowance Contract
A one-page parent-child agreement template that locks in the numbers from this calculator.
The Save / Spend / Give System
Why the three-jar split sticks where dollar amounts alone don’t.
More free money calculators
Save, spend and give splits, Robux and V-Bucks budgets, holiday money and a teen’s first paycheck.
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