What we recommend, and how Savella works.
R60 to R200
a month for a 10 year old
Pay weekly at this age. Short horizons need frequent practice rounds.
See the full breakdown
That is about R15 to R45 a week. Around the midpoint it splits into a R80 reliable base plus up to R50 earned through chores.
Splitting R130 at the midpoint
Banking that R30 every month grows to R2 880 by their 18th birthday, before a single cent of interest.
Paid jobs that suit this age
- Wash the carR20 to R40
- Dishes duty for a weekR20 to R40
- Water the garden for a weekR15 to R30
- Walk the dogR10 to R20
Keep family duties like making the bed unpaid. Paid jobs are the extras.
How to use this calculator
Three inputs, one honest answer. Set your child’s age (5 to 18), choose how pocket money is structured in your home (a fixed allowance, chores-only, or the hybrid we recommend), and tick everything the money must cover beyond tuck-shop treats. The result updates instantly: a monthly and weekly range in rand, the payout rhythm that fits the age, a 70/20/10 spend-save-give split, and going rates for paid jobs like washing the car or mowing the lawn.
How we calculate it
The calculator starts from a base range for your child’s age band, assuming pocket money only covers sweets, tuck shop and small treats:
| Age | Base monthly range | Typical scope at this age | Payout rhythm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 to 7 | R40 to R120 | Sweets, small treats, first savings jar | Weekly |
| 8 to 10 | R60 to R200 | Tuck shop, small toys, saving for a bigger want | Weekly |
| 11 to 13 | R150 to R400 | Outings with friends, airtime, gaming, gifts they give | Weekly or fortnightly |
| 14 to 18 | R300 to R800+ | Data, transport, takeaways, clothing top-ups | Monthly, like a salary |
Then every extra responsibility you tick widens the range, because scope is the biggest driver of the right amount. Airtime and data adds roughly R60 to R200 a month, transport R150 to R400 and clothing top-ups R150 to R400. Those add-ons are deliberately rough estimates. Toiletries are the exception: they change with age more than anything else, so the calculator prices them item by item.
What toiletries cost each month, by age
Each amount is a month’s share of real products: a R31 tube of toothpaste lasts about six weeks, a R29 roll-on about a month and a R50 five-pack of disposable razors about a month. Prices were checked in October 2026 at Clicks, Dis-Chem, Checkers and Shoprite. The low end assumes value brands and careful use, and the high end the brands teenagers ask for.
| Age | Everyday toiletries a month | What joins the basket |
|---|---|---|
| 5 to 9 | R100 to R185 | Toothpaste and brushes, soap or body wash, shampoo and hair food, lotion and lip balm |
| 10 | R130 to R235 | Roll-on deodorant |
| 11 | R165 to R315 | Adult-sized use: conditioner, styling and more of everything |
| 12 | R205 to R415 | Face wash and something for breakouts |
| 13 to 18 | R240 to R465 | Body spray |
On top of the everyday basket, the calculator asks what your child actually uses, because these depend on the child rather than the age: period products (R60 to R120 a month, from age 10), make-up (R40 to R180 a month, from age 12), shaving (R50 to R100 a month, from age 13), and perfume or cologne (R50 to R110 a month, from age 13). A 15-year-old who uses period products and make-up comes to R340 to R765 a month for toiletries alone, about the size of the whole treats-only range at that age. If pocket money is meant to cover that, it has to grow to match.
A worked example: a 12-year-old whose pocket money must also cover airtime and data starts from the 11 to 13 base of R150 to R400, plus R60 to R200 for the data, giving R210 to R600 a month (about R50 to R140 a week, paid fortnightly at this age). From the midpoint of R410, the classic split banks R80 a month towards a goal, sets aside R40 for giving, and leaves R290 free to spend. On the hybrid model that midpoint arrives as roughly a R250 reliable base plus up to R160 in paid-chore top-ups.
Where the numbers come from, honestly
South Africa has no published pocket-money data at all: no bank, insurer or university tracks what families actually give, at any age. Our ranges are editorial guidance from our research-backed parent guide, sense-checked against international benchmarks like the UK’s NatWest Rooster Money Pocket Money Index. We use the shape of those curves (how amounts grow with age, how chore earnings overtake base allowance in the teens), never a currency conversion, because cost of living differs several times over.
That data gap is why the calculator asks one optional question: what do you actually give? The anonymous answers become the South African Pocket Money Index, the first real benchmark of SA pocket money by age, published as medians so no single answer (and no outlier) can skew it. As the Index grows, it replaces the editorial ranges above with real ones.
This is educational guidance for parents, not financial advice. The right amount is the one your household budget sustains every single payday. A consistent small amount beats a generous inconsistent one, every time.
Pocket money questions, answered
How much pocket money should I give my child?
As a starting range: R60 to R200 a month at ages 8 to 10, R150 to R400 at 11 to 13 and R300 to R800+ at 14 to 18, assuming it only covers treats and tuck shop. The moment it must also cover airtime, transport, toiletries or clothing, the right number is higher, which is why the calculator asks about scope first. Treat any number as a starting point and adjust to your household budget: a consistent R60 beats an on-again-off-again R300.
What is the average pocket money in South Africa?
Nobody knows. No South African bank, insurer or researcher publishes pocket money amounts by age. That is exactly why this calculator includes an anonymous one-minute survey: the answers become the South African Pocket Money Index, the first real benchmark of what SA families actually give, published as medians per age (and never as individual answers).
Should pocket money be tied to chores?
The model we recommend is a hybrid: a modest, reliable base amount that teaches budgeting, plus paid top-up chores that keep effort connected to earning. Keep everyday “family duty” chores (making the bed, clearing the plate) unpaid, and pay only for extra jobs like washing the car or an afternoon of garden work. A 100% chore-based income is lumpy and can turn every request to help into a wage negotiation.
Should I pay pocket money weekly or monthly?
Match the payday to the age. Under 11, pay weekly: young kids live in short time horizons and more paydays mean more practice rounds. From around 11, stretch to fortnightly. By high school, pay monthly like a salary, because that is the rhythm of the adult world they are about to enter. Whatever you pick, never miss the payday: reliability is what makes planning possible.
What should pocket money cover?
Decide out loud, once. Parents keep paying for needs (school supplies, clothing basics, food, transport to school). Pocket money covers wants (tuck shop, gaming, outings). The negotiable middle (data, takeaways, gifts for friends’ birthdays, a teenager’s own toiletries) is your upgrade path: each year, move one or two items to your child’s budget and raise the amount to match. Toiletries are a good one to hand over in the teens, but budget for them honestly: a teenager’s everyday basket of roll-on, face wash, body spray and the rest runs about R240 to R465 a month at 2026 prices, before make-up, shaving or perfume.
From what age should a child get pocket money?
From around five or six, small and weekly. Money habits start forming remarkably early: research from Cambridge University suggests the foundations are typically in place by around age seven. Before then, the win is simply handling coins, waiting for a payday and choosing between two wants.
Keep reading
Now put the number to work
Savella turns the amount you just calculated into chores, payday countdowns and savings goals your kids can see filling up. Pocket money that actually teaches. Free during the beta.