Cashback Apps For Online Shopping

My dream job: Getting paid to shop. Which as a blogger I actually kind of do! BUT if you’re not exactly looking to quit your day job AND you’re a total shopaholic, getting cash back on your purchases is certainly the next best thing! I mean, who doesn’t want to earn extra cash every time they go shopping?

Enter the wonderful world of cash back apps! If you’re not using them, you’re losing cash! There are so many mobile apps out there that offer points, rewards, rebates, gift cards, and cash for every time you make a purchase, that you’d be crazy NOT to be using these all the time. Even if you do your shopping in person, you can still use some of these apps in-store as long as you charged your phone and remembered to actually bring it with you. A constant struggle for me.

I love that these apps are seamless that you won’t even really have to go through much effort to even use them. Sign up, download the necessary browser attachments or add your credit cards and voila! You’re earning money right into your bank account for purchases you’d be making anyway! BTW these are all free apps to download! Again, why haven’t you downloaded these yet??

Oh that’s right, because instead of taking up a whole bunch of space on your laptop and phone and downloading every cashback app known to womankind, you were waiting for me to tell you the 5 BEST ones for you to download! Because it all depends on your shopping habits. There are cashback apps for everything from food, clothes, gas, and everything in between! Plus some only have specific retailers, so if you shop at the same places all the time, you’re going to want to pick an app that includes your most frequented stores!

Quick disclaimer: Some of these links are affiliate links! Which means if you go ahead and sign-up for or download the app through my link I get a small commission! All of these apps are totally free to download so this is at NO additional cost to you!

1- Rakuten

Formerly known as Ebates! They are pretty much the ULTIMATE when it comes to cash back apps! If you’re a big online shopper and do a lot of shopping from your desktop, then ya NEED this one, but they also have an app that works on your phone. They have pretty much every popular retailer under the sun! And it’s a very seamless experience when you add their browser extension. Anytime you are shopping one of their approved retailers, you’ll get a little pop up in the corner asking if you want to activate the cash back option on your purchase. Every retailer has a different percentage and some popular retailers are even DOUBLE cash back stores (Like Ulta, Macy’s, and H&M!).

What I also love about Rakuten is that they have a section on their website that tells you current deals and coupon codes! So you can get a great deal ON TOP OF getting that cash back!

You get what they call your “big fat check” once per quarter with all the cash back you earned from all your purchases! A little annoying that your cash back isn’t immediate, but it is fun to get a little extra money in the mail 4 times per year! I especially love my check that comes after all of my holiday shopping! That one is usually a big one LOL!

You can sign up for Rakuten here! AND by using my referral link you’ll get an automatic $10 bonus once you’ve spent $25 using the app (yay)!

2- Dosh

HANDS DOWN, this is my all-time favorite cash back app. Because there is minimal effort involved! You simply link your debit or credit cards and BOOM. Dosh automatically sends you cash back on qualifying purchases. You can search around in the actual app to see what stores qualify, and it’s a good mix of popular stores (Dunkin Donuts, CVS, H&M, etc) and local stores and restaurants. The local deli we go to around the corner is one of the stores that qualifies!

No scanning receipts or activating offers yourself, simply link your card and you get INSTANT cash back whenever you make a qualifying purchase. So you just make money back by going about your normal spending! So easy and very secure! You just have to remember that if you’re using a debit card to run it as credit in-store otherwise it won’t count!

You can sign up for DOSH here!

3- Fetch Rewards

If you don’t mind your cash back in the form of gift cards, then Fetch Rewards is a must-download for your next shopping trip! Especially great for those who frequently shop the super popular retailers including Target, Walmart, Amazon, Walgreens, and more! You simply upload your receipts if you are shopping in-person, OR if you’re shopping online you can connect your e-mail address, Amazon account, and other store loyalty cards, and the app will scan those for qualifying purchases!

Fetch Rewards works as a points system, so you can scan the app and see what brands are offering the most points and if they are things you normally buy you can keep it in mind! You then cash in your points for gift cards to tons of popular retailers. You can even just get a Visa gift card if you want! Personally I always go for an Amazon gift card (my favorite LOL)!

You can sign up for Fetch Rewards here! Use referral code HM6R4D and get a bonus 2,000 points when you scan your first receipt!

4- Ibotta

Do you go grocery shopping? Yep same, same. Well did you know you’re basically throwing money away by NOT using the Ibotta app when you go to your usual grocery stores?! This app is a must-have whether you shop your groceries in-store or even do your grocery shopping online! It’s the ONLY app that actually allows you to earn cash back on PRODUCE! Which is amazing! This app works at pretty much all the major grocery retailers including ShopRite, Kroger, WholeFoods, Walmart, Acme - you name it! Plus some other stores too like Ulta, Home Depot, and Staples!

You can choose to cash out with real cash, or gift cards- totally up to you! But hey you’re shopping at these stores anyway, you might as well get rewarded for it! You can search in the app for current brands offering cash back offers. My advice— don’t focus too much on what brands are currently offering extra cash back unless you regularly buy them or have been interested in trying them. You don’t want to get lured in by $2 cash back when in reality you’re spending $5 extra for something you wouldn’t normally buy!

You can sign up for Ibotta here!

5-ShopKick

I LOVE ShopKick because you don’t actually have to spend any money to get rewards on this app! (Although if you DO make a qualifying purchase the rewards are better, but it’s not necessary!) You can get your “kicks” (AKA your points) by simply going to any participating retailer and opening up the app! Earning points (AKA getting your kicks!) is made easy by simply scanning the barcodes of qualifying products. That'‘s literally it. It’s like a shopaholic’s version of a scavenger hunt and the prize is points you can redeem for gift cards!

You can also earn kicks online and never even leave your couch if that’s more your style. Simply watch videos and product demonstrations in the app and you’ll earn kicks just for watching! Doesn’t get any easier than that.

You can sign up for ShopKick here!

I hope this review of the best cash back apps was helpful for you! Us shopaholic’s gotta help each other out LOL! If you just love staying trendy on a budget, you can sign up for my weekly newsletter and check out my most recent blog posts below!