The best cash back apps are the ones that match where your money already goes: Upside for gas and restaurants, Swagbucks for online orders, and Fetch Rewards or Ibotta for store receipts. No single app covers all of your spending, so the goal is one app per category, not ten apps on your phone.
This page sorts them by how much work each one takes and what kind of spending it covers. Set them up once and it is one of the easier ways to collect free money on purchases you were making anyway.
Best Passive Cash-Back Apps and Sites
Most cash back apps only pay at certain stores, and only when you do something first: activate an offer, click through a portal, or scan a receipt. That is the problem with a lot of coupon apps. Forget the step and you earn nothing.
So each app below gets a plain rating for how passive it is. Completely passive means you set it up once and it works in the background. Semi-passive means one small action per purchase. If you like income that needs no upkeep, our list of passive income streams goes further than shopping.
1. Upside
Up to 25¢/Gal on GasUpside covers the spending most cash back apps skip: gas stations, restaurants and grocery stores near you. You claim an offer in the app, pay as usual with a credit or debit card, and the cash back is added to your balance. Gas pays up to 25 cents a gallon, and Upside says groceries and dining average 8% back. It is semi-passive, since each purchase needs an offer claimed first. Cash out to a bank account, PayPal or a gift card.
2. Ibotta
Real Cash BackIbotta pays real cash, not points or credits. In stores, you add offers in the app before you shop and submit the receipt afterward. If you link a store loyalty account, Ibotta matches your purchases to offers for you and no receipt is needed. For online orders on a computer, its Chrome browser extension pops up at participating retailers and you click Activate before you buy. Ibotta says it has paid more than $2 billion in cash back across 2,600+ retailers. It is semi-passive, and the minimum to withdraw is $20, paid to a bank account or as a gift card.
3. Fetch Rewards
2,000 Bonus PointsFetch Rewards turns receipts into points with no offers to hunt for. It takes receipts for groceries, restaurant meals and fuel, so it works as a catch-all for whatever your other apps missed. You can also connect your email and Amazon account so eligible online orders earn points without a paper receipt. Points redeem for gift cards, and most rewards need at least 3,000 points. Code C1JAV starts you with 2,000 points, about $2.
4. Swagbucks
$10 Bonus (1,000 SB)Swagbucks is a rewards site with a shopping portal built in. You start at Swagbucks, click through to the store, and earn SB points on what you buy online. Points can be redeemed for PayPal cash or gift cards. New members can earn a 1,000 SB bonus, worth $10, by spending at least $25 on a qualifying purchase through the shopping portal within 30 days. It is semi-passive, because the click-through has to happen before each order.
Our Swagbucks review covers the other ways to earn points there, and these Fetch Rewards hacks show how to get more out of each receipt.
Which cash back app covers which spending
- Gas: Upside. It is the only app here built around the pump.
- Restaurants: Upside for local offers. Fetch also accepts restaurant receipts.
- Online shopping: Swagbucks for portal cash back, and the Ibotta extension if you use Chrome.
- In-store shopping: Ibotta for cash on specific products, Fetch for points on any receipt.
- Groceries: that is its own topic. See the best apps to save money on groceries for which ones fit the weekly shop.
How to stack cash back
None of these apps replaces the rewards you already have. They sit on top of them. A typical online order can earn three ways at once: a coupon code that lowers the price, portal or extension cash back on the order, and your credit card's own rewards on the amount you pay.
- Pay with a cash back credit card. Upside states that its offers stack with credit, debit and loyalty rewards.
- Join the store's own rewards program. It is separate from every app on this list.
- Use one portal or extension per order. Swagbucks and the Ibotta extension both track the same click, so usually only one of them gets credit for a purchase. Pick whichever shows the better rate before you check out.
- Scan the receipt afterward. Fetch does not care how you paid or which other app you used. If you want more places to send a receipt, see these apps to scan receipts for money.
- Install one browser extension for online orders and leave it on.
- Check Upside before you buy gas or eat out.
- Photograph every receipt for Fetch when you get home.
- Pay with the card that earns the most in that category.
Bottom Line
Cash back apps will not make you rich, and none of them is worth buying something you did not need. Used on spending you already do, they return a little on gas, dining, online orders and store trips with very little effort. Start with the one that matches your biggest category and add a second only when the first is a habit.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on what you spend on. Upside is the strongest for gas and restaurants, Swagbucks covers online shopping, and Fetch Rewards or Ibotta cover store receipts. Most people get the most from two or three apps that match their own spending.
Yes. Every app on this page is free to join and use. They make their money from the stores and brands, not from you.
Sometimes. A receipt app like Fetch Rewards can be combined with a card offer or a credit card's rewards. Shopping portals and browser extensions are different: usually only one of them gets credit for an online order, so choose one before you check out.
Upside and Ibotta pay cash. Upside sends it to a bank account, PayPal or a gift card, and Ibotta lets you withdraw to a bank account or gift card at $20. Swagbucks pays in points that can be redeemed for PayPal cash, and Fetch Rewards pays in points for gift cards. For more, see these ways to get free money.
Fetch Rewards comes closest. Once you connect your email and Amazon account, eligible online orders earn points without a paper receipt. Most other apps need one small step per purchase, such as claiming an offer or scanning a receipt.
