The best apps for cashback can help you save money on everything from groceries to gas and even your next vacation.
Cashback apps are a great way to get discounts and deals on things you already buy, and they make it easy to save while you shop. When you use these apps, the retailer pays you back a portion of the money spent when you use their credit card or bank card.
Here are some of the best cashback apps available today:
Best Apps For Cashback
The Best Cash Back Apps for 2022
by:
Natasha Gabrielle
| Updated April 29, 2022
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Whether you’re heading to the grocery store or need to buy some new clothes, it can be fun to earn rewards for shopping. Cash back apps are an easy way to save money and earn money back on your everyday purchases. The best cash back apps are free to use and can be a great tool to add to your regular personal finance routine. So if you’re not using these cash rewards apps, you’re missing out on free money. Check out these popular choices for best cash back apps for May 2022.
The Ascent’s best cash back apps:
Fetch Rewards: Best cash back app overall
Ibotta: Best cash back savings app
Dosh: Best cash back app for online and in-person shopping
Rakuten: Best cash back app for online shoppers
Checkout 51: Best cash back app for gas stations
1. Fetch Rewards
Fetch Rewards
BEST CASH BACK APP OVERALL
Fetch Rewards
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Bottom line: Fetch Rewards allows shoppers to earn rewards on their regular shopping trips, including visits to grocery stores, convenience stores, big-box stores, and restaurants. To earn reward points, you need to upload a receipt within 14 days of shopping. You can do this by linking your email and submitting an e-receipt or taking a photo of a physical receipt. There’s no need to apply or save specific offers before shopping. Instead, you’ll earn points on all of your regular shopping. Some featured brands will earn more points, but just going shopping and uploading a receipt will earn you points, no matter what.
The best cash back apps make it easy to redeem earnings, and Fetch is no different. You’ll be able to exchange your points for gift cards to popular retailers. You also have other redemption options, such as redeeming your points for charity donations or using your points to enter monthly sweepstakes. You can cash out at as little as 3,000 points ($3). Since it’s so simple to earn and redeem points, this is a favorite app for people who want an easy, no-planning-necessary cash back rewards app.
Rewards rates: Base rate of 1% of the final purchase price
iOS app rating: 4.8/5 stars
Android app rating: 4.5/5 stars
Cost: Free
READ MORE >> Fetch Rewards review
2. Ibotta
Ibotta
BEST CASH BACK SAVINGS APP
Ibotta
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Bottom line: Ibotta is a popular cash back app that allows users to earn cash rewards when shopping at grocery stores and other popular retailers. It functions as a receipt scanning app. You can download the mobile app or use the browser extension and find offers that appeal to your needs. You will then need to activate each offer. You’ll notice that each listed offer has a dollar amount attached to it. To earn cash back, you can scan a receipt, or you can link a store loyalty card. The Ibotta app lets you withdraw cash back earnings any time your account reaches a minimum of $20. Another option is to redeem cash back for gift cards, some of which have a minimum redemption amount of $25.
What makes Ibotta one of the best cash back apps is that it features hundreds of retailers, such as Staples, Walmart, The Home Depot, Walgreens, Kohls, Target, Party City, and Wegmans. With so many popular retailers featured within this app, it’s no wonder Ibotta is one of the best apps for earning extra cash back on purchases.
Rewards rates: Varies; some offers are for $0.10 cash back, while others offer $1.00 or more
iOS app rating: 4.8/5 stars
Android app rating: 4.5/5 stars
Cost: Free
READ MORE >> Ibotta review
3. Dosh
Dosh
BEST CASH BACK APP FOR ONLINE AND IN-PERSON SHOPPING
Dosh
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Bottom line: Dosh is one of the best cash back apps because it provides a variety of options for earning rewards. This app promises automatic cash back when shopping, dining, or booking hotel stays. The Dosh app doesn’t require users to upload receipts. Instead, you’ll have to link your debit or credit card to the app to automatically earn cash back. There’s no need to activate offers — rewards for eligible purchases will automatically be placed in your Dosh wallet. Once you reach at least $25, you can transfer your cash back to your bank account, PayPal, or Venmo, or you can donate your cash back earnings to charity.
Rewards rates: Varies; many retailers offer 2% to 3%
iOS app rating: 4.7/5 stars
Android app rating: 4.4/5 stars
Cost: Free
READ MORE >> Dosh review
4. Rakuten
Rakuten
BEST CASH BACK APP FOR ONLINE SHOPPERS
Rakuten
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Bottom line: Rakuten, previously named Ebates, is both a cash back and shopping app that lets you earn cash rewards for shopping in various categories. This includes purchasing clothes, ordering takeout, booking travel, and buying home improvement items. Each participating retailer will list a cash back percentage that they’re offering, and you earn cash rewards just by shopping as you normally would.
Rakuten provides cash back offers for both online purchases and in-store purchases. For an online purchase, a user must click a Rakuten link to activate it and then go through the checkout process. For in-store shopping, users can link their credit or debit card to Rakuten, then click on an in-store cash back offer to activate it and shop like normal. Payments are sent out every three months. You can choose to receive your cash through your Paypal account or a paper check if you prefer. You also have the option to donate your cash back earnings to a nonprofit organization.
Rewards rates: 1% to 10%, or more
iOS app rating: 4.7/5 stars
Android app rating: 4.1/5 stars
Cost: Free
READ MORE >> Rakuten review
5. Checkout 51
Checkout 51
BEST CASH BACK APP FOR GAS STATIONS
Checkout 51
Learn More
Bottom line: Checkout 51 is a rewards app that allows users to earn cash back on grocery and gas purchases. To take advantage, you’ll have to add offers within the app, then click “redeem” to check off items that were purchased. Finally, a receipt needs to be uploaded by taking a photo. Once the receipt is verified, cash back is added to your account.
What makes Checkout 51 another one of our best cash back apps is that it’s also a coupon app that helps users save even more money when shopping. You can cash out your account balance as soon as it reaches $20. Cash back is available in the form of a paper check or PayPal. New offers appear every Thursday, and you can also take advantage of a search feature that lets you find your favorite products or get inspiration before shopping.
Rewards rates: Rewards rates vary
iOS app rating: 4.1/5 stars
Android app rating: 4.4/5 stars
Cost: Free
READ MORE >> Checkout 51 review
Types of cash back apps
If you’re looking for a simple move that can save money, cash back apps are one way to go. But not all cash back apps function in the same way. Here are some of the types that are available:
Earn points: Some of the best cash back apps reward you with points. The more you shop and spend money, the more points that you earn. Eventually, you can redeem your points for cash back or exchange them for a gift card.
Earn cash back: The best cash back apps are all about the cash rewards. Each purchase will earn a certain cash back amount, and your earnings accumulate until you’re able to cash out. Rewards can be redeemed for cash or a gift card.
Receipt scanning apps: Some cash back apps require you to upload or scan your receipt after shopping. You’re then rewarded with points or cash based on the eligible purchases that you make.
Card-linked reward apps: Some of the best cash back apps require you to link your credit card or debit card. Doing this allows the app to check and see when you make eligible purchases. This is helpful for people who don’t want to take the time to scan a receipt. Instead, the app does the work for you and tells you when you have earned rewards.
Earn even more cash back: Check out our top picks for the Best Cash Back Credit Cards
Features of the best cash back apps
While there are many grocery cash back apps and cash back receipt apps available, you want one that has features that are the most useful to you. Here are some of the features that you should look for in the best cash back apps:
Rewards redemption options: It should be easy for you to redeem the rewards that you’ve earned. Look for the best cash back apps that offer multiple redemption options. If cash back is awarded, you should be able to request a check or have the money sent to PayPal.
Can be used at many stores: The best cash back apps can be used at many stores. You want to make sure that you’ll get regular use out of the app that you choose and that the retailers listed fit with your shopping preferences and habits.
Low minimum redemption amount: You want to be able to cash out your earnings quickly. Be sure to look for apps that have low minimum redemption requirements so that you’re able to get access to your money or redeem for gift cards sooner rather than later.
best free cash back apps
The 18 Best Cash Back Apps That Will Save You Thousands
November 13, 2018/Tana/No Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more information.
In This Post
The 18 Best Cash Back Apps that will Save You Thousands
How to Make Money from Your Receipts
The Best cash back apps for shopping
The Best Cash Back Apps for Groceries
Cash Back Apps for Gas
Don’t Forget Specific Store Apps
Everybody I know loves to bring home the spoils of a great sale, if only to brag about how much they saved on their score. And with the holidays quickly approaching, the sales are really ramping up. So now is the time to double down on those bragging rights and start using cash back apps to sweeten the savings!
There are a ton of cash back and rebate sites out there. Sifting through them to find the best cash back apps is time consuming at best. Luckily, I’ve taken the time to pull together a comprehensive list of the absolute best.
There are a ton of cash back and rebate sites out there. Sifting through them to find the best cash back apps is time consuming at best. Luckily, I’ve taken the time to pull together a comprehensive list of the absolute best. #cashback #frugal #savings #savingmoney #cashback #savemoney
How To Make Money From Your Receipts
There are two options to maximize savings while shopping:
Cash back apps
Rebate websites
Cash back apps have a list of items that they provide cash back on. Then, once you purchase them, you scan the receipt and depending on the app, the barcode of the product. Your earned cashback sits in an account until you hit a certain thershold (generally $20), and then you can request for the account to be paid out via Paypal, check, or directly to your bank account.
Examples of cash back apps are: Ibotta, Fetch Rewards, NCP Recap, Shopkick, or Receipt Hog.
Rebate websites involve clicking through that website to the retailer you want to buy from. Not only do these sites offer cash back, but they often have some great coupons to help stack your savings. Sites like Ebates pay out quarterly, no matter how much is in your account.
Examples of rebate sites are: Rakuten (formerly Ebates), Topcashback.
Whether it’s an app or a site, it’s really easy to submit your receipts or click through a link and claim your money. Once you get into the habit of looking at these spots for savings first, you’ll not only save cash but your time as well.
Next, I’ll cover which apps work best for shopping, groceries, gas, and other items.
The Best Cash Back Apps For Shopping
These are the best cash back apps for shopping that you can use to save your money. Stack these with sales and you’ll be golden:
Ebates
Ebates is easily one of my top cash back apps to save money when I shop online. They have cash back for over 2500 stores online, and they’ve recently added cash back in stores as well!
There are three ways to save with Ebates:
Go through the Ebates website and click through their link to your favorite retailers
Install an extension on your Chrome browser that alerts you every time you visit a retailer that Ebates offers cash back at (my favorite way!)
Download their cash back app for Android or iOS
As an added bonus, Ebates offer coupons that you can’t get elsewhere. Ebates also gives double cash back offers that rotate through various stores as well, so your chances of finding additional savings are great.
Ebates offers payouts via Paypal or check, and pays out quarterly. Cash back categories include vacation and travel, health and beauty, electronics, clothing, accessories, gifts, flowers, baby, home, office, auto, and much, much more.
Sign up for Ebates now >
TopCashBack
TopCashBack is a direct competitor to Ebates and is giving them a run for their money. You can get cash back at over 4,000 retailers and they have 17 different payout options! If you choose to take your payout via a gift card, some of the gift cards offer additional bonuses up to 5%.
TopCashback also offers cash back guarantee. They’ll match other cash back site amounts (with a few terms and conditions). They also offer coupons and promotions, and sign up bonuses as well.
Once your earnings clear, you can request a payout at any time, for any amount. TopCashBack offers savings in travel, home and garden, electronics, fashion, health and beauty, gift cards, and more!
Sign up for TopCashBack now >
NCP Recap
With NCP Recap, there’s no buying specific products. You just take a picture of your receipt, earn reward points, and cash them in for Amazon.com gift cards. It’s that easy!
Sign up for NCP Recap now >
Paribus
I love using Paribus because I’m often super busy and don’t always have time or the inclination to scan receipts. With Paribus, I don’t even have to click through any links. I just shop like I normally would online, and Paribus tracks confirmation emails and watches for price changes.
Paribus instantly scores you money back if the price drops on something you’ve bought from any of the 25+ major retailers that they partner with.
If your shipment is late, Paribus negotiates on your behalf with the retailer and gets a reimbursement without you having to lift a finger.
Think that once you finally book your hotel room (even with cash!), you’re locked into that price? Nope!
Paribus also can help you save when you book hotels rooms. If they price drops on a room, they’ll find the drop and help you get the difference back. Paribus works with hotel rooms booked through: Expedia, Hotels.com, Hilton, Booking.com, Priceline, and Marriott.
Sign up for Paribus now >
Swagbucks
Most people know Swagbucks for getting paid to do surveys, watch videos, play games, and more.
But did you know that Swagbucks offers cash back, just like Ebates and TopCashBack?
Just by shopping through Swagbucks, you can earn cash back at over 1500 major retailers, including Amazon, Walmart, and Target. You’ll also get exclusive deals and coupons!
Swagbucks payouts are done through Paypal or gift cards. Often times different gift cards will be discounted so you can stretch your points even further.
Once you’ve hit your minimum you can request a payout at any time, and they usually take a day or so to show up in your email.
Sign up for Swagbucks now >
Shopkick
While Shopkick isn’t exactly a cash back app, it’s worth mentioning. Shopkick is a rewards app that rewards you with “kicks” (or points) for shopping online or in-store.
When in-store, you can use Shopkick to scan select products to earn kicks. Or, you can earn kicks just for making purchases.
Online, you can visit their partner retailer websites and view offers or purchase items to get kicks.
There are a total of eight different ways that you can earn kicks:
Walk into a store – without even purchasing anything!
Scan barcodes on select products
Make a purchase with a linked card
Purchase and submit a receipt
Visit online stores
View online products
Make online purchases
Watch videos
Cash your kicks out for digital gift cards to popular places, like Target, Amazon, Starbucks, and Groupon to name a few!
Sign up for Shopkick now >
Bonus: PayPal
Did you know you can get a $10 referral fee for anyone who doesn’t have a PayPal account yet? Learn more about how both you and your referee can get $10 from PayPal!
The Best Cash Back Apps For Groceries
There are a ton of great cashback apps where you can submit receipts for money. These are the best grocery rebate apps out there:
Ibotta
Ibotta is a game changer for grocery shopping – and it’s so easy! Rebates are organized by store so they’re very easy to find. Just select the items you want to redeem, scan your receipt, and scan the barcodes on the items you bought as you’re prompted.
You cash shows up within 48 hours (usually much, much faster!) and boom – you’re done! Ibotta also offers tons of great bonuses that change every month, which adds an extra bit of fun to the challenge of redeeming your rebates.
As of the typing of this post, I’ve personally saved over $456 through Ibotta. There’s nothing easier than getting paid to upload receipts!
Ibotta also allows your to link your loyalty card for certain retailers to redeem your rebates that way. No scanning involved!
Recently they’ve branched out to include mobile in-app purchases, which makes a great app even better. With over 290 supported stores, it’s easy to rack up the savings.
The Ibotta app pays out with Paypal, venmo, or gift cards. You can also earn bonuses as well as earn more by hooking up your Facebook so that you create a team of earners.Last, you can get a $10 referral fee for anyone that uses your referral link to sign up! You can read more about my Ibotta review here.
Sign up for Ibotta now >
Checkout 51
If you’re looking for an Ibotta alternative, take Checkout 51 for a spin. With Checkout 51 you also scan receipts for money back, but it’s not limited to which store you shop at.
The updated offer list comes out every Thursday. Just add your favorites to your shopping list, make your purchase, and scan your receipt. It’s as easy as that!
Offers are available in limited quanities, so double check they’re still available before you hit the store and make sure to upload your receipt as soon as you’re done shopping.
Checkout 51 has a $20 minimum, and pays out via check.
Sign up for Checkout 51 now >
BerryCart
BerryCart is the crunchy Ibotta alternative. Every offer that you can snag a rebate for is either:
All-natural
Organic
Gluten-free
Non-GMO
Vegan
Or vegetarian
Their claim to fame is that you won’t find any items that have high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, or chemicals. That’s definitely a win-win, right?
Stack that with the coupons and deals available through the app, and you’re not only saving cash but helping your family stay healthy.
BerryCart works at any store that gives you a printed receipt, meaning that it’s good for over 100,000 locations in the US. Payouts are through Paypal or select gift cards available through the app.
Sign up for BerryCart now >
Receipt Hog
Receipt Hog is another hugely popular cash back apps like Ibotta. However, the twist here is that you don’t have to buy certain items to get rebates.
Instead, you shop anywhere, scan your receipt, and you’re given chances to play Hog Slots, take paid surveys, win free shopping trips, and more.
Once you’ve earned enough coins, you trade them in for Amazon gift cards, magazines, or cash via Paypal.
Sign up for Receipt Hog here >
SavingStar
Another cash back app for receipts that I really like to use is SavingStar. This Ibotta competitor has very similar offers, but they’re redeemed a bit differently.
First, you add stores to your account so you can redeem rebates there. If you have a loyalty card, you can link the store automatically and be able to skip the receipt scanning. if not, you’ll just scan the receipt like on other apps.
Next, you’ll activate your offers, shop, and redeem your offers. Once you’ve hit the $20, threshold, you can select from Paypal, a bank deposit, gift cards, or choose to donate your earnings to American Forests.
This grocery receipt cash back app can be used at over 100,000 stores in over 1000 different retails chains, so there’s bound to be a grocery store you can use it at.
Sign up for SavingStar now >
Fetch Rewards
With Fetch Rewards, you can earn points with ANY grocery receipt. There’s no shopping at specific stores, clipping any coupons, or redeeming offers before shopping.
Fetch Rewards matches items on your receipt and credits you for every item you buy from their list of 250+ participating brands. You then cash out your points to purchase gift cards from hundreds of retailers.
Whether you shop at a local mom and pop store or a Sam’s Club, your printed receipt will be accepted up to 14 days after purchase. Also included are convience stores, club stores, drugstores, liquor stores, and of course, grocery stores.
Sign up for Fetch Rewards now (Android) >
Sign up for Fetch Rewards now (iOS) >
Cash Back Apps For Gas
While cash back apps specifically for gas are mostly non-existent, there is one app that will accept gas station and convenience store receipts:
ReceiptPal
The Receipt Pal app is one of the few apps that let you just scan receipts for money back, making it one of the few apps like Receipt Hog.
You don’t have to buy any particular products or shop at certain stores. Just scan those receipts to earn cash back. Simple, right?
This app is unique in that it accepts any receipt – from gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, car dealerships, online retailers, convenience stores, travel and entertainment, and more. The receipt must include the merchant name, purchase date, total amount spent and phone number or zip code of the store. That’s it!
ReceiptPal also has weekly sweepstakes to give you a chance to win a cash bonus (cha-ching!). Your earned points can then be cashed out to purchase gift cards.
Sign up for ReceiptPal now >
Don’t Forget Specific Store Apps
Several mass merchandisers have created their own apps to help you save when you shop there.
The Target App
With the Target app, I’ve been able to save over $562 by stacking cartwheel offers, in-store digital coupons, sales, and my 5% redcard discount!
Saving with the Target app is easy. As you shop, scan the barcodes of the products to see if there’s a discount or manufacturer coupon that applies. When you checkout, scan the barcode in the wallet section to apply your savings, and that’s it!
The Target app also has additional coupons available in the wallet section, such as $10 off of a $50 food and beverage purchase. Plus, you can choose to store your redcard info in the app so that you just scan the barcode to pay.
It’s almost like they’re making it toooo easy to spend money there…
Get started with the Target app >
Walmart Pay
Walmart has replaced the Walmart Savings Catcher with Walmart Pay, but it essentially does the same thing.
When you pay with Walmart Pay, your digital receipt is automatically checked for lower prices at competitors. If a lower price is found, you get the difference! That cash back difference is loaded onto an egift card, which can be used with – you guessed it – Walmart Pay.
Learn more about Walmart Pay now >
Other Savings Apps
While these aren’t necessarily cash back apps, they are another way to save some cash:
Acorns
Acorns is a great app that rounds up your purchases and invests them for you. By setting up an IRA through Acorns, you can save for retirement without even thinking about it.
Besides investing your spare change, you can also schedule reccuring investments so that you can grow your investments quicker.
It’s an easy way to dip your toe into investing without too much stress over if you’re doing it “right”.
As an added bonus, if you shop at any of Acorns’ 250+ retail partners, they’ll automatically invest in your Acorns account!
Sign up for Acorns now >
Hopster
Hopster provides unique coupons for natural products. The more you do on Hopster.com, the more points you earn. And the more points you earn, the more coupon savings you get.
Not only can you print coupons on natural products, but you can also upload your receipts to earn points as well.
Learn more about Hopster now >
Mobee
Ever wanted to be a secret shopper? Now you can with the Mobee app!
Start by finding a mission near you at popular stores and retailers. Next, answer questions once you’re at the location and submit it for review. You’ll earn points for every mission completed, which can be cashed in for gift cards and prizes.
You can also unlock achievements to earn more points as well, helping you level up to earning those gift cards quicker.
Earn additional points by referring friends as well, and cash them n for the gift cards to Dunkin’ Donut, Starbucks, Walmart, Best Buy, MasterCard prepaid gift cards, and more!
Learn more about Mobee now >
Punchcard
My wallet used to be full of half-punched loyalty cards from a bunch of different restaurants and coffee shops that I loved. With Punchcard, you no longer have to carry these around and can still earn rewards.
This app works at a ton of major retailers and restaurants, including: Target, Subway, Starbucks, Trader Joe’s, McDonald’s, CVS, 7-Eleven, Chili’s, Vons, Chipotle, Safeway, Best Buy, Banana Republic, Chevron, and more!
Punch, spin and win points with every purchase, then use them to get gift cards, contest entries or give them away as a charitable donation.
Conclusion
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