Lodavo vs KOHO: Honest Canadian Comparison

Searching Lodavo vs KOHO usually means you are trying to figure out which app to put your savings in. Here is the honest answer up front: they are not really competitors, because they do two different jobs. KOHO is a spend-and-save app built on a reloadable prepaid Mastercard that holds your money and pays you interest (about 2 to 3.5 percent depending on the paid plan, as of 2026). Lodavo holds no money and pays no interest at all. It connects read-only to the bank you already use and gives you free weekly draw tickets for the savings you keep there. So the real question is not which one wins. It is which job you are trying to do, and the surprisingly common answer is that you can use both.

What is the difference between Lodavo and KOHO?

The one difference that matters: KOHO holds your money and pays interest on it, while Lodavo holds nothing and pays no interest, adding free prize-draw tickets on top of the savings you keep at your own bank. Everything else follows from that.

KOHO is custody plus a rate. You load money onto a KOHO prepaid Mastercard, spend with it, and earn interest on your balance, with higher rates and more cash back on the paid plans. Your money lives inside KOHO’s system (held in trust at CDIC member banks), and KOHO is the place you spend and save from.

Lodavo is a free prize-linked layer, not an account. As Canada’s first prize-linked savings app, it links to your existing bank through Plaid in read-only mode, checks your savings balance each week, and converts what you save into free tickets for a weekly draw. It cannot move a dollar. Your money never leaves your own bank, and it earns whatever it already earned there.

How KOHO works

KOHO gives you a reloadable prepaid Mastercard and an app to spend, save, and budget in one place. There is a no-cost entry point, but the interest and perks scale with paid plans. As of 2026, KOHO advertises roughly 2 percent interest on the Essential plan, 2.5 percent on Extra, and 3.5 percent on Everything, per KOHO’s own interest rates page. Plan fees run from about 4 dollars a month for Essential (waivable with qualifying direct deposit or recurring loads) up to roughly 22 dollars a month for Everything when billed monthly.

On top of the rate, you get cash back on everyday categories like groceries, dining, and transit (more cash back on the pricier plans), plus budgeting tools and an optional credit-building add-on at about 10 dollars a month. KOHO is not a bank. Eligible balances are held in trust at CDIC member banks, so the deposit protection flows through the partner bank, not through KOHO itself. For context on the rate backdrop, the Bank of Canada has held its overnight rate at 2.25 percent since April 2026, which is why even the best app rates have come down from their peaks.

How Lodavo works

Lodavo does not touch your money. You connect your existing Canadian bank account through Plaid, which covers over 99 percent of deposit accounts in Canada and gives apps scoped, read-only access (never your bank password). Lodavo reads your savings balance, and the more you keep saved, the more free tickets you get for the weekly draw. The draw pays up to 10,000 dollars, with a guaranteed weekly prize of at least 100 dollars going to a member every week.

Because the connection is read-only, Lodavo cannot withdraw, charge, or transfer anything. Your money stays at your own bank, earning whatever it already earns, and you do not switch banks or open an account. You can confirm exactly how draws are run on the provably fair page, and the eligibility and odds live in the contest rules. For a wider look at where Lodavo sits next to other apps, the best savings apps in Canada roundup puts it in context.

Can you use Lodavo and KOHO together?

Yes, and this is the part most comparisons miss. Because Lodavo holds no money, it does not compete with KOHO for where your cash sits. You can keep your savings in KOHO, earn KOHO’s interest and cash back, and then connect that same account to Lodavo to add free draw tickets based on the balance you hold. Nothing about KOHO changes. You are simply adding a free prize layer on top.

That is the cleanest way to think about it. KOHO answers where do I spend and save and how much interest do I earn. Lodavo answers can I also get a free shot at cash prizes for that saving. One holds and grows; the other rewards the habit. They stack, and stacking them costs you nothing extra.

When KOHO is the better choice

KOHO is the right tool, on its own, if any of these is your main goal:

• You want one app to spend and save from, with a real card you can tap.
• You want to actually earn interest on your balance and are willing to pay for the higher tiers to get 2.5 to 3.5 percent (as of 2026).
• You want cash back on groceries, dining, and transit.
• You want budgeting tools and a clear view of your spending in one place.
• You want to build credit history through KOHO’s credit-building add-on.
• You want your money held somewhere, with eligible balances in trust at CDIC member banks.

If maximizing yield is your only goal, also weigh a plain high-interest account. A no-fee CDIC-member option can sometimes beat a paid KOHO plan once you factor in the monthly fee, so do the math on your balance. The KOHO alternatives in Canada guide lays a few out side by side.

When Lodavo is the better fit

Lodavo is the right fit if these sound like you:

• You want a free chance at cash prizes for the saving you already do.
• You do not want to move money, switch banks, or open another account.
• You want zero monthly cost and no card to manage.
• You like the bank you already have and just want a reason to save a bit more.
• You want the upside of a draw without any of your money being at risk, since Lodavo never holds it.

Lodavo will not replace a savings account, and it pays no interest, so it is not the tool if pure yield is what you are after. It is the tool if you want saving to come with a weekly shot at a real prize, for free, on top of whatever bank or app (KOHO included) you already use.

Want a shot at cash prizes for the saving you already do? Download Lodavo free on iOS or Google Play.

Terms and conditions apply. No purchase necessary (alternate method of entry available). Skill-testing question required. Open to legal residents of Canada who are the age of majority. Odds depend on the number of eligible entries received. Full rules and odds at /contest-rules.