Top 7 Cash Back Apps Like Ibotta To Earn Rewards For Shopping
By The Money Manual 
If you’re like me, you’re always looking for ways to save a little extra cash. I mean with inflation through the roof at 8% +, most of us are searching for ways to save any way we can when we’re out shopping for groceries or other stuff we need.
What could be better than getting paid back a little for the things you were going to buy anyway? That’s where cash back apps come in. There are tons of them out there, but I’ve narrowed it down to my top seven favorite apps like Ibotta to earn rewards for shopping. Check ’em out to see for yourself which is the best for you. Maybe you’ll want to download one or two today to maximize your earnings on your next shopping trip.
What Is Ibotta?
Ibotta is the ultimate cash back rewards app. You can get cash back from thousands of different stores, from major grocery chains all the way down to your local drugstore.
With both a browser shopping extension as well as an easy-to-use mobile application available on the App Store or Google Play Store, all of your shopping habits are convenient to use Ibotta to its fullest extent.
Get some money back on your purchases from a wide range of categories, including groceries, health, beauty, clothing, home, auto products, tech, travel, and then some.
Ibotta works at Costco, Walmart, Kroger, ACME, Sam’s Club, Shaw’s, BJ’s, Instacart, Food Lion, Walgreens, CVS, Wawa, 7-Eleven, and Sheetz. Check to see if your local store is supported here.
Simply reach at least $20 in earnings to cash out to either Venmo, Paypal, or via gift cards.
Since its launch in 2011, Ibotta has paid out nearly $800 million in cash back to members.
Is Ibotta Legit?
Ibotta is definitely a legitimate company. There’s no question that they work for the vast majority of users and many happy customers sing their praises. They have received a B rating on the BBB site and are diligent about addressing customer complaints. This is not the action of a scam company.
Ibotta Real Reviews
Nothing beats a freebee meal. Tip: Buy meal ingredients worth less than the sign-up bonus and you’ve got yourself a free treat!
We tested Ibotta and absolutely loved it.
This happy 5-star user says they’ve tried tons of money-saving apps this is the one that really pays out. They made over $40 back in a week.
Another happy 5-star user says it’s super easy to use and they’ve earned back over $500. They use their rewards for Amazon and other online gift cards
Several recent TrustPilot reviews are in the 1-star range but TrustPilot still has a high overall average with 84% of reviewers saying it’s either excellent or great at the time of writing.
This 1-star reviewer says they earned $1,300+ over 2 years but are frustrated with buying what you’re supposed to according to the offer and then having to fight to get the reward.
Ultimately it’s up to you the user to decide if Ibotta is a good cash back app. Download Ibotta today to try it and see what you think.
Read more in our in-depth Ibotta review.
What Is Fetch Rewards?
The Fetch Rewards app is a must-have for anyone who loves saving money. The best part? You don’t have to take any extra steps or carry around pesky loyalty cards. Simply scan your receipts from eligible purchases and voila: instant rewards are ready in less than 60 seconds.
Fetch Rewards has more than 10 million active monthly users and offers great discounts. If you want an easy way to earn rewards for shopping, Fetch is the perfect app!
Is Fetch Rewards Legit?
Fetch has a love it or hate it attitude from the online reviewers but it is a legitimate company in that it does offer cash back by simply scanning your receipts. It just takes a while to accumulate enough points to redeem.
How Fetch Rewards Is Like Ibotta
While Ibotta and Fetch Rewards have some key differences, the two apps certainly have a lot of similarities. Both of these apps are highly dependent on how much you use them as far as earnings go. The more you shop and take advantage of offers via the two apps, the more you’ll earn.
Both have opportunities to increase how much you earn while utilizing the app, too, and both offer referral bonuses for getting friends and family to sign up for the app.
A quick recap of all of the ways these apps are similar:
- Require receipts to earn cash back shopping in stores
- Offer gift cards to cash out on earnings
- Free signup
- Ease of use
- Many supported retailers
- Multiple redemption offers
- Offer referral bonuses
- Earn cash back for shopping online
How Fetch Rewards Is Not Like Ibotta
With both Ibotta and Fetch Rewards, you can earn cash back on your shopping. Here’s a quick breakdown of the differences between these two apps.
Fetch Rewards allows you to earn rewards points from any store receipt while Ibotta has partnered with hundreds of major retailers (including Costco, CVS, Kroger, Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods Market) to provide its users cash back.
Ibotta does have some advantages for earning over Fetch Rewards — particularly because of the many opportunities it offers users to earn. Link your store loyalty cards to your Ibotta app, for instance, and automatically start earning rewards. Ibotta also has a browser extension where you can earn cash back shopping online just with a click of a button.
A quick recap of all of the ways these apps are different:
- Pre-select vs scan and go With Ibotta you have to pre-select offers within the app in order to get cash back after uploading a receipt. Fetch you just scan a receipt no need to preselect items.
- Cash back and rewards With Fetch Rewards, you get to choose between free gift cards, charitable donations, and sweepstakes entries. With Ibotta, you can choose PayPal deposits, bank deposits, or gift cards.
- Points and cash out minimums Fetch Rewards has a minimum cashout threshold of 3,000 points, which is equal to $3, whereas Ibotta requires a minimum of $20 to cash out.
- Points & cash out maximums Fetch Rewards has a maximum amount of receipts you can upload in a seven-day period. Ibotta limits how many times users can redeem offers.
- Apps, sites & browser extensions The Ibotta app is available for iOS and Android. For most people utilizing the app is the best way to earn cash back for shopping in stores. It also offers the ability to sign in to your account via Ibotta.com and a browser extension that can be utilized to get cash back on online purchases.
Fetch Rewards only offers an app, but it is available for both iOS and Android.
Real Review For Fetch Rewards
A slew of 1-star reviews has been cropping up on TrustPilot lately for Fetch. Users have a love it or hate it attitude with no ratings scoring in the middle ranges and unfortunately the majority of reviews – over 63% vs 37% – are poor reviews.
This scorching 1-star Fetch Rewards review from an experienced user says they’re simply done with Fetch Rewards.
This happy 5-star Fetch review says they find it’s an easy-to-use app if you abide by the terms of service to rack up points for gift cards.
Why not use both Fetch Rewards and Ibotta to maximize your savings?
Read our more in-depth comparison of Fetch vs Ibotta.
What Is Swagbucks Cash back?
Swagbucks is an extensive rewards system that has several arms that offer users an opportunity to earn cash. Swagbucks cash back shopping is available at over 1500 retailers including Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Starbucks. Earn SB points for every dollar you spend plus get access to exclusive deals and coupons to your favorite retailers.
Simply join Swagbucks, Shop in-store or online, find great deals to earn points, and redeem your points for gift cards to your favorite retailers like Amazon or Walmart, to name a few, or get cash back from PayPal.
Is Swagbucks Legit?
Swagbucks is a well-established rewards platform whose parent company, Prodege, is also well established. They have a great social media presence, and solid customer support. Their website is robust with information so that should prove pretty quickly to most skeptics that it is indeed legit.
How Swagbucks Is Like Ibotta
Swagbucks is like Ibotta in that they both offer a chance to save a little extra on shopping without the hassle of clipping coupons. They both have the user find offers before shopping, and both offer the opportunity to make purchases online. Neither requires a receipt to be uploaded through the user should typically hold on to their receipts for a week or so to ensure they can prove what they purchased should there be a dispute.
Simply use that linked card to make an in-store purchase that meets the terms and conditions of the offer. For both platforms, there is no need to present anything in-store to gain these savings.
Both systems offer PayPal as a redeeming your savings option which is as close to real cash back in your pocket as can be expected these days.
How Swagbucks Is Not Like Ibotta
The rewards systems are the greatest difference between Swagbucks’ cash back program and Ibotta.
The Swagbucks rewards system is point-based. Earn SB points and redeem for cash paid to a linked PayPal or Venmo account or for a gift card from a participating retailer. The cash-out threshold is $3 (or 300 SB) which is much lower than Ibotta’s cash-out threshold.
Ibotta has a system where instead of earning points, you’ll be able to see how much cash you are actually accruing in real-time. Their cash-out threshold is $20.
Real Reviews For Swagbucks
This happy 5-star reviewer says Swagbucks is her go-to for rewards and cash back. She thinks Swagbucks offers the most cash back for your shopping and mentions how they have magic receipts to easily get cash back on groceries.
This happy but critical 4-star user points out that getting cash back is simple. With the cost of living being so high they appreciate how much Swagbucks has helped with things like Christmas gifts and travel expenses.
This unhappy 3-star user says they don’t understand how the cash back arm of Swagbucks works.
To avoid confusion like this reviewer, here’s how Swagbucks cash back works:
- When shopping online, go to Swagbucks first.
- Find the store where you are shopping.
- You will click through to that store from within the Swagbucks site.
- Swagbucks tracks your purchases and credits you for what you spent.
We highly recommend Swagbucks for so many savings opportunities.
Check out our other Swagbucks reviews to see if the survey or gaming options appeal to you too.
What Is Drop?
Drop is revolutionizing the way people get rewards for shopping with their favorite brands. The first flexible and consumer-led intelligent mobile platform, Drop focuses on personalized member experiences that can be tailored to each individual’s needs–whether they’re linked via debit or credit card (Pro Tip: double up on your savings with solid credit card options that offer reward points).
Drop members earn points from shopping through the app by linking up to 5 primary stores that to earn points. Drop will track your purchase for point offerings (unique to each shopping stop you make) so there is nothing that you need to actively do. Then you can redeem them with all of their favorite brands; there’s no need to sign up for additional loyalty programs or scan receipts.
Every 1K point equals $1 so it doesn’t matter if you buy something small like toothpaste (500) or spend lots more money – every dime spent will be worth its weight in gold when redeemed through this service
How Drop Is Like Ibotta
Both offer the opportunity to nix the receipt scanning by linking a card to their app and then using the app to shop.
How Drop Is Not Like Ibotta
Ibotta has the option to get cash back at physical stores whereas Drop is limited to cash back from shopping through their app only.
Drop also does not offer cash per se, rather the option to either redeem for a gift card or their newest offering of linking your Drop points to crypto to invest in the success of Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Crypto trends will reward you Drop points with the rise or fall of these cryptocurrencies according to the market trends. Then you can use your earnings toward gift cards. This is definitely a unique feature to Drop and Ibotta doesn’t have anything similar.
Real Reviews For Drop
Drop does have some solid positive reviews but the unfortunate truth is that most are negative.
This happy 1-star user says they love Drop support and has had a pleasant experience using Drop.
This critical but fair 3-star Drop review says they have never received their points from the linked card but they did wind up with some help from a senior member of the customer support team.
This delightful little exchange raises some questions. It’s good to see Drop making the effort to give public responses but the customer is clearly unhappy and has a strong argument for not being in the wrong. Use your judgment and discretion if you decide to try Drop out for yourself.
The good far outweighs the bad though in my opinion so I encourage you to give Drop a shot and see how you like it personally.
Read more about Drop in our in depth review.
What Is Capital One Shopping?
Capital One Shopping is a chrome extension tool for comparison shopping that will show you when there are better prices on certain items. It also keeps track of shipping fees so they don’t slip through the cracks and find their way into your cart without being aware. Earn Capital One Shopping Rewards while you shop online, then redeem for gift cards.
In the last year alone, Capital One has saved users over $160 million.
Is Capital One Shopping Legit?
Yes, Capital One Shopping is legit. Capital One is a well-established bank with many features and a history of serving customers. They are not a scam company and will 100% help you save some cash over time.
How Capital One Is Like Ibotta
Ibotta’s browsing feature is similar to Capital One in that both help shoppers like you save a little extra on their online purchases, but how they accomplish this is quite different. See the main differences below.
How Capital One Is Not Like Ibotta
Capital One’s browser extension offers more than just coupon codes you didn’t know about – they also show you where better prices on certain items may be available so you can find money-saving deals easily. Another nifty feature is including shipping fees so that you don’t spend that extra cash without knowing.
Additionally, with Capital One you can earn points that can be redeemed for gift cards.
Ibotta on the other hand has you shop through their app or use their browser extension. Ibotta gives you cash back on your purchases when you shop at more than 750 online retailers, including concert and movie tickets, food delivery, and more. They give you real cash back in your bank account, or PayPal account or they can offer you the option of a gift card through the Ibotta app.
Real Reviews For Capital One
With over 10,000 reviews for Chrome extensions and 8 MIllion users, the average rating is 4.8 stars out of 5 at the time of writing.
This 5-star happy user saved big on her order.
This user went through the identification security process but still didn’t receive their gift card.
What Is Tada?
Tada is a magic app that helps you save money while shopping and get paid for it. No more clipping coupons or hunting down the latest promo code, just use your phone to do what you’ve always done. It’s so easy with Tada – scan products in-store (even if they’re already discounted), take photos of receipts when there are rewards available on them; all from one beautiful interface on your phone.
Is Tada Legit?
Tada is definitely legit and is parented under the same company as Swagbucks –Prodege LLC. This company is well established with a great presence across the board. They respond to negative comments, have a great Social Media presence, and have several reputable brands they are responsible for. It may have its glitches from time to time but it’s definitely legit and is not a scam.
How Tada Is Like Ibotta
Both cash back apps help you save money for your regular shopping excursions, but they achieve this in different ways.
They both offer the chance to have your phone’s GPS location tracked so that you can share your location to find nearby deals and rebates.
How Tada Is Not Like Ibotta
Tada has no featured way to make purchases online like you can with Ibotta.
Tada has a cash back mobile app that unlocks offers for local deals for each individual user, utilizing a GPS map feature to show where the closest deals are. Just provide your address to verify cash back eligibility on purchases.
The Tada app does a good job of providing multiple ways to hunt down products or store deals near them. Tada cash back can be redeemed for gift cards through the mobile app. If you link your app to your cards, you don’t need to scan receipts.
Real Reviews For Tada
Tada has a ton of positive reviews on TrustPilot, with an outstanding record of 90% of reviewers rating it as excellent or great.
This critical 3-star Tada reviewer states it’s a good app when it works but the link to PayPal is time-consuming.
This unhappy 1-star reviewer says they’re unable to redeem points and couldn’t get help to solve the issue.
I definitely think you should give Tada a try today and see how you like it. Maybe you could stack your savings up and combine using Tada with Ibotta.
What Is Getupside?
Getupside is the perfect app for anyone with a little extra cash in their pocket and an eye on some deals. Open up Get Upside to see which stores are offering savings right now, so you can make your purchases without feeling guilty about going over budget or not saving enough first.
GetUpside is a cash back app that anyone can install and use to save money at the gas pump. Get upsides partners with some of America’s biggest brands, making it easy for you to get your share from all those discounts!
Is Getupside Legit?
Getupside has an A- rating on the BBB site and is accredited.
How Getupside Is Like Ibotta
Getupside is similar to Ibotta in that users can make a dent in regular purchases – though how they achieve this is different in many ways.
How Getupside Is Not Like Ibotta
Getupside’s major advantage over Ibotta is the cash back for gas which is their main feature. Ibotta does not have this setup, though you could still pop into the convenience store and get something back for your purchases by scanning your receipts. That’s like a double win-win when it comes to saving a bit of money when you stop for gas.
Real Reviews For Getupside
A rare 4-star Getupside reviewer on TrustPilot is happy with the app but recognizes it has room to improve.
There are several happy reviewers from recent days on the BBB site, most stating they’re happy to be saving a few dollars on gas they’re buying anyway. The Better Business Bureau actually averages a 4.8 out of 5-star rating for well over 1,200+ reviews.
However, when you look into other review sites Getupside seems to leave a lot to be desired. TrustPilot only has a handful of reviews and the vast majority are unhappy complaints.
This 1-star review says it’s a hassle to redeem for the cash back on gas.
Given the state of the world currently with gas prices literally through the roof, you’ll definitely want to take advantage of all the gas and other savings you can with Getupside.
What Is Earny?
The Earny app is genius and easy to use. You can automatically get money back on a purchase you made if the price drops.
Earny works by scanning your receipts and looking for price drops from purchases made on credit cards within the price drop window – which is usually 30-90 days. Then they file a claim for the difference on your behalf automatically, then the app will notify you when a match is found and filed. Then you can expect a refund for that difference to be sent to you.
Additionally, they can get your money back on late deliveries from Amazon, and shop online through the Earny app to earn money back on your purchases.
Is Earny Legit?
Earny is definitely a legit company. They have been in business since 2016, and while they have some poor reviews from the BBB, the issues are getting resolved and the team responds to the poor reviews on Google’s play store. This is not the action of a scammer company.
How Earny Is Like Ibotta
Ibotta and Earny are reasonably similar in that they help users save money but they accomplish these savings in very different ways. See below for details. Both of these money-saving apps have a referral program for getting your friends and family in on the savings.
How Earny Is Not Like Ibotta
Earny works by scraping the data from your connected cards to see if there are any opportunities to get some cash back after a price drop happens within a credit card company’s 30-90 day price match window. It’s completely different for saving money compared to Ibotta which gives users cash back when there’s a deal at a store at the time of purchase using connected cards, or by scanning receipts.
The cashout threshold for Earny is $15 whereas Ibotta’s is $20 so that is good, but the key difference is having to pay for Earny’s service through a monthly service fee whereas Ibotta is completely free to use.
The extra features of Earny are an interesting mix of money-saving measures such as notifying users of the money owed back when their Amazon packages don’t arrive in time. They also feature a sweepstakes contest to win $4,000 for linking an Amazon account to their app.
Real Reviews For Earny
Reviews on Earny are sparse but digging some up from the past couple of years we found a range of opinions on this money-saving app.
This 5-star reviewer from 2020 had mostly positive things to say about Earny though, in the end, they had technical trouble with linking their account to Amazon. We like to see a positive response from the Earny team to try to rectify the situation.
This 2-star critical user notes that it was very easy to get their refund for price changes. However, they noted that the app is not free and apparently requires a monthly fee.
Most of the 1-star reviews are about technical glitches for trying to link the user account to Amazon for automatic data sharing.
Give Earny a try today and see how much you can automatically save from price drops.
Bottom Line:
The world is in a state of turmoil and upheaval that is leading to sky-high inflation, affecting the prices of groceries and gas like never before. Cash back apps can definitely help you save a little bit here and there with due diligence and stacking offers. But with tons of cash back apps to choose from, how do you decide what is the best?
I think Ibotta is the cream of the crop in my opinion. But the others listed here are still worth checking out to see how you like them for your particular circumstance and shopping habits.
Be sure not to linger too long on these though because remember, they are there to serve you in ways to save a little cash here and there, not replace your income. Use them on their own and test which is best for you.
Bonus tip —Go ahead and use a couple of these money-saving apps together. For example, use Tada and Fetch to scan your receipts at the grocery store and get something back, x 2. Why not save your receipts for the end of the week or month and just snap a pic for each app that does receipt scanning? This will drastically up your game for saving a bit of money.
Make this strategy even easier by snagging your best credit card point earnings with the savings of a cash back app like Ibotta and with all the apps that allow for card linking. This makes savings on shopping super easy it’s a no-brainer.
FAQs
How do cash back apps work?
Stores pay the cash back apps commission which acts as a reward to them for sending people to their websites. Then when a purchase is made, the cash back app shares the commission with its users.
Can you use multiple cash back apps?
We don’t see why not! Give it a try. It may take just a little extra work but it’s worth it! If you can, try to do this before you even leave the parking lot of the store. Alternatively, you could stash away your receipts in a safe place (probably best not to stick the receipts in the grocery bags) and then go through every week or so to quickly snap a pic and upload it to your fave cash back apps.
Which is the best app for cash back?
We think Ibotta is the clear winner with their robust, user-friendly platform, but don’t take our word for it! Give these apps a try and see for yourself. We’ve listed them again below so you can quickly get started.
Summary
- Ibotta 100% cash back on your first purchase
- Fetch Rewards Android Only
- Swagbucks $10 signup bonus
- Drop
- Capital One Desktop Only
- Tada $5 welcome bonus
- Getupside
- Earny
