Looking to earn money back on your in-store and online purchases?
We put together a list of the best apps to scan receipts and the best-cash back apps to help you earn money on your regular purchases, including:
- Fetch: Best for receipt scanning
- Ibotta: Best for cash back
- Shopkick: Best for options to earn extra cash
- Shopmium: Best for quick cashout
- Dosh: Best for linking credit cards
- Rakuten: Best for web browser extension
- Checkout 51: Best for cash back at gas stations
Some of the apps on this list, like Ibotta, can earn you hundreds of dollars a month if you use them often and strategically, while others simply aren’t worth the time for the little amount you get back.
How receipt cash back apps work
Some cash-back apps allow you to scan physical receipts or upload digital receipts to earn money or gift cards on items you purchased. The apps will pay you based on what you bought.
While the types of eligible receipts vary from app to app, generally, you can scan receipts from:
- Grocery stores
- Clothing stores
- Drugstores
- Retailers like Amazon
- Restaurants
- Travel purchases
Other cash-back apps allow you to link your credit and debit cards to automatically earn rewards points or money back from purchases. In some cases, you’ll need to browse through offers and activate the ones you’re interested in before you shop.
Not all items will earn you the same amount of cash back — the amount can vary substantially based on the store where you’re shopping, the brands you’re purchasing, and other factors determined by the individual app.
Many of the best cash-back apps also let you earn bonuses by taking surveys, referring friends, or scanning a certain number of receipts.
How do cash back apps pay you?
In most cases, the payout you receive is referral money, paid to you via digital gift cards, Paypal, Venmo, or ACH deposit.
Cash-back apps work with retailers to get a commission for purchases made through their apps, and you get part of that commission.
When you buy something through a cash-back app or extension, it’s a win-win-win — good for the retailer, good for the app, and good for you.
7 best apps for cash back
We compared some of the best cash-back apps. Here’s how they stack up:
| App name | App cost | Minimum cash-out amount | Rating | Sign-up bonus | Referral bonus | Receipt expiration |
| Fetch | Free | $5-$50 | 4 stars | 2,000 points (about $2) | 2,000 points per referral | 2 weeks |
| Ibotta | Free | $20 | 4.8 stars | $10 | $10 per referral | Seven days |
| Shopkick | Free | 250 “kicks” (points) of $25 | 4 stars | None | $1 per referral on up to 100 referrals | 10 days |
| Shopmium | Free | None | 4.5 stars | Free gift (not disclosed) | £3 per referral | Seven days |
| Dosh | Free | $25 | 4.5 stars | $1 | $10 per referral | N/A |
| Rakuten | Free | $5 (quarterly) | 4.8 stars | $10 Rakuten or Walmart gift card | $30 per referral | N/A |
| Checkout 51 | Free | $20 | 4 stars | None | None | Seven days |
Fetch
Fetch (formerly known as Fetch Rewards) is a popular app to scan receipts. Download the app (available on iOS and Android devices) and sign up with your email address or by connecting your Facebook account.
Once you sign up, you can start scanning receipts right away. You can earn a 750-point bonus for your first upload and a 500-point bonus for your second.
Fetch accepts receipts from:
- Grocery stores
- Fast-food restaurants
- Clothing retailers
- Convenience stores
- Drugstores
- Big-box retailers
- Department stores
Fetch does not accept medical or utility bills; movie, concert, or experience tickets; or airline tickets.
How much you can earn: Each eligible receipt will get you a minimum of 25 points no matter which retailer it’s from, though Fetch does have some preferred vendors/brands that will earn you more points. Generally, 1,000 points equals $1 in rewards. Popular brands like Pepsi or Cheerios can earn you around 50 extra points.
How to get paid: Submit receipts within 14 days of the transaction date to earn points. Fetch users can submit a maximum of 35 receipts over a 7-day period, and when you cash out, you can choose a digital gift card to stores like Amazon and Target. Your points expire after 90 days of inactivity (no new scanned receipts) within the app. As long as you continue to upload receipts, you can continue to accumulate points.
Pros of Fetch
- Quick and simple to use
- Daily rewards available (you can spin once every 24 hours on the prize wheel for receipts you turn in)
- Ability to scan e-receipts from big retailers like Amazon
- Helpful customer support
Cons of Fetch
- Can take a long time to cash out for a gift card (minimum of 3,000 points/$3 to cash out)
- No cash payments/direct deposit option
- Must scan receipts within two weeks of transaction date
- Points expire after 90 days of inactivity within app
What Fetch users have to say
- Google Play: 4.7/5 stars; 845,000 reviews
- Apple Store: 4.8/5 stars; 4.2 million reviews
- BBB rating: B (not accredited)
According to Fetch Rewards reviews, the app is easy to navigate, and customer support is responsive and helpful. Users appreciate the daily rewards and the ability to scan e-receipts from retailers like Amazon.
However, reviewers also mention that it can take a long time to earn enough points to redeem them for a gift card.
Ibotta
On Ibotta, you have to add store offers to your profile before you shop. The app allows you to search for product offers by retailer and add them to a virtual cart. Then, once you shop, you can scan your receipt and earn cash back for the offers you previously selected. Receipts must be scanned within seven days of purchase.
You can also shop online directly through the Ibotta app to earn rewards from retailers like Amazon.
If you have a loyalty card through a specific store, you can link your account through the Ibotta app and earn cash back automatically on the offers you selected when you scan your loyalty card at the time of purchase — no need to scan your receipt after purchase.
This video offers an in-depth tutorial on how to use Ibotta:
How much you can earn: CNBC reports1 that the average active Ibotta user earns between $10 to $20 a month, and more active users earn as much as $100 to $300 a month.
How to get paid: Ibotta users can cash out via PayPal, Venmo, or digital gift card once they have at least $20 in earnings.
Pros of Ibotta
- Free to use
- More than 300 retailers
- $10 welcome gift when you spend $30 through a linked online retailer
- Earn money through referral program when friends sign up
- Earn more with bonuses (like when you scan a certain number of receipts)
Cons of Ibotta
- App can be confusing/time-consuming
- Most offers are name-brand specific
- Must add offers before shopping
- Must scan receipts within seven days of purchase
- App has ads
- Cannot link e-receipts
What Ibotta users have to say
- Google Play: 4.5/5 stars
- Apple Store: 4.8/5 stars
- BBB Rating: B (not accredited)
According to online reviews, you can earn more money through Ibotta by taking advantage of bonuses and using the referral program.
Several reviewers claim they missed out on deals because of Ibotta’s name-brand specific offers. They also don’t like that you can’t link e-receipts — any online purchases must be made directly through the app.
Shopkick
Shopkick is a rebate app that was recently relaunched to replace Coupons.com, which was sold and will be shutting down in summer 2023. With Shopkick, you receive points in the form of “kicks” for completing actions such as:
- Walking into select partner stores
- Scanning barcodes of select products with the in-app scanner
- Watching online video ads
- Referring friends to Shopkick
- Purchasing select items (and submitting your receipt through the app)
- Shopping at partner stores with a linked credit card
Learn more about how Shopkick works:
How much you can earn: Every 250 kicks earns you approximately $1. Once you have at least 500 kicks, they can be redeemed for gift cards from certain retailers.
Pros of Shopkick
- Kicks don’t expire unless your account is inactive for six months
- Wide variety of options to earn extra kicks
- No limit to the number of kicks you can earn in a day
Cons of Shopkick
- Online shopping must be done through a mobile device (not desktop)
- IRL options can be limited depending on your location
- Can only submit 20 receipts per week
What Shopkick users have to say
- Google Play: 3.9/5 stars
- Apple Store: 4.6/5 stars
- BBB rating: A+ (accredited)
Shopkick reviews say that while users appreciate the ability to earn points without buying anything, opportunities vary depending on your location, and it can be time-consuming to earn significant numbers of points.
Shopmium
Shopmium gives you exclusive cash back offers for your everyday purchases online and in-store. Tap through available offers to find one you like; then activate the offer. Purchase the item(s), upload a photo of your receipt to Shopmium, and earn cash via PayPal. Anything you earn is processed within 48 hours.
How much you can earn: Shopmium states that users can enjoy over $50 of savings each week.
Pros of Shopmium
- Free welcome gift
- Offers include food, beverages, beauty products, pet supplies, etc.
- Cash out within 48 hours
- Get a bonus by referring a friend
- Try new items at a discount
- Gold level includes extra bonuses like a free birthday gift
- No minimum cashout amount
Cons of Shopmium
- Supermarket offers are limited
- Customer service isn’t great
What Shopmium users have to say
- Google Play: 4.2/5 stars
- Apple Store: 4.8/5 stars
- BBB rating: A+ (not accredited)
Shopmium reviews complain that the app’s customer service takes a long time to get back with you and is not very helpful. But reviewers do appreciate the fast payout and the new offers that appear every week.
Dosh
Use the Dosh app to get cash back from any credit or debit cards you use for shopping, dining, and traveling with Dosh partners. After linking your cards, go about your normal shopping. The app will notify you when you get cash back. Dosh is simpler to use than other cash-back apps because you don’t need to manually activate each individual purchase.
How much you can earn: Some retailers offer up to 10% back, and booking hotels through Dosh can get you up to 40% back. You’ll receive the money within 90 days and can withdraw the funds to your PayPal, Venmo, or bank account once you’ve earned at least $25.
Pros of Dosh
- App has bank-level security (including 256-bit encryption and multi-factor authentication)
- 100% passive cash back
- $10 referral bonus
Cons of Dosh
- Amazon purchases are not eligible for cash back
- Takes up to 90 days to verify purchases
- Dosh takes a maintenance fee ($4.99/month) from accounts inactive for more than 12 months
What Dosh users have to say
- Google Play: 4.5/5 stars
- Apple Store: 4.7/5 stars
- BBB rating: A+ (not accredited)
Dosh reviews say that Dosh is a secure, simple way to passively earn cash back on your normal purchases. The interface is easy to navigate, and you can earn a $10 bonus for each friend you refer to the app.
However, users don’t like how long it takes to verify purchases.
Rakuten
Rakuten is available as a mobile app but can also be installed as a web browser extension so you can shop from your computer. Link your credit or debit cards to your Rakuten account, choose from more than 2,500 stores, and activate available offers before shopping.
Your cash back balance will show up in your Rakuten account within a few days and is automatically transferred to your PayPal account quarterly.
How much you can earn: While some retailers only offer 0.5% cash back, others offer up to 40% cash rebates.
Pros of Rakuten
- Sign-up bonus ($10 Rakuten cash bonus or $10 Walmart gift card)
- High cash-back rates
- Military discount
- Partners with thousands of stores
- Referral rewards
- Get paid via PayPal or check
Cons of Rakuten
- Cash-back payments are only withdrawn quarterly
- Must manually activate each offer
- Some purchases are exempt from cash back
What Rakuten users have to say
- Google Play: 3.9/5 stars
- Apple Store: 4.8/5 stars
- BBB rating: B (accredited)
Reviewers praise Rakuten’s excellent customer service and higher-than-average cash-back rates. However, they don’t like that users are responsible for individually activating each offer and that cash-back payments are only paid out quarterly.
Checkout 51
Checkout 51 is a cash-back app that can earn you rewards for grocery shopping, gas purchases, and online shopping from certain retailers and brands.
Browse through a list of offers in the app, and choose which ones you’re interested in. After you go shopping and purchase the items, upload a photo of your receipt to get cash-back rebates.
How much you can earn: You can earn up to a dollar back for certain items and cash out via PayPal or check once you reach $20.
Pros of Checkout 51
- New offers every week
- Cash back at gas stations
- Most grocery offers aren’t store-specific
- Maximize earnings by redeeming some offers multiple times
- Double up with coupons
- App available in both Canada and U.S.
Cons of Checkout 51
- No sign-up bonus available
- Offers are somewhat limited (or for name-brand products only)
- Must add offers manually before shopping
- Offers can “run out” if fully claimed
- Must use current offers before next week’s new offers will populate
What Checkout 51 users have to say
- Google Play: 4.2/5 stars
- Apple Store: 4/5 stars
- BBB Rating: F (not accredited)
Checkout 51 users love earning up to $0.10/gallon back when they buy gas. Unlike other apps, Checkout 51 lets you redeem some offers up to five times! However, there is no sign-up bonus available, and offers may be limited.
Which app pays the most for receipts?
Ibotta and Rakuten are two of the apps that pay the most money for receipts.
However, the amount you earn from any cash-back app can vary widely based on which offers are currently available, where you make a purchase, how much you spend, and whether you take advantage of bonuses.
Bottom line: Can you make money by scanning receipts?
Yes! While it likely won’t be a significant amount of money, you can absolutely earn some extra cash by scanning receipts.
Just be prepared to put in the work if you want a measurable payout — researching and activating offers, keeping up with purchases and receipts, and referring friends to get the maximum number of rewards.
Wondering what is the best app to scan receipts and get money back? Out of the choices on this list, we recommend Dosh as the quickest and easiest way to get cash rewards.
Need extra cash right away? Check out 15 ways to get money instantly, or tackle this 52-week money challenge to maximize the funds you already have.
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Ibotta and Rakuten are two of the apps that pay the most money for receipts.
