5 Best Cash Back Apps in 2026: Earn Cash on Spending

If you're going to spend money anyway, you might as well make a few extra bucks while doing so. Luckily, there are a variety of cash back apps that can help you earn money back for everything from scanning receipts to shopping online. Even better, these apps can reward you for everyday purchases, such as gas, groceries, pet goodies, and even nights out at your favorite restaurant.

After researching several options, we've found that the best cash back apps offer convenient payout methods, good customer reviews, and multiple ways to earn. But be aware that many require you to activate deals, shop through a specific portal, or keep receipts, so they're best if you're willing to put in a little work.

Let's look at five of the next cash back apps that suit different spending habits.

Compare the best cash back apps

Upside

Unlike apps aimed at online shopping, Upsiderewards you for making purchases at local grocery stores, gas stations, and restaurants. It also shows you real-time pricing at the pump, which comes in handy when gas prices are high, and you're hunting for the cheapest station.

When we tried Upside, we found it pretty straightforward to use. You browse different offers, and once you see one you want to use, you claim it and add your payment card. You usually have four hours to make the purchase. It should appear in the app afterward, but you can upload the receipt if it doesn't.

While you won't get rich with this app, your purchases can still add up. For example, our writer, Lindsay, earned 8% cash back using Upside while buying groceries. We also found that the best offers are on gas, sometimes running 30 cents back per gallon.

Since this app is designed for local shopping only, we recommend pairing it with another app, like Rakuten, for online shopping. The same applies if you're comfortable adding your credit or debit card. Plus, note that Upside charges a $1 fee for low small-dollar PayPal or bank transfers, which cuts into your rewards.

Who this app is right for: Upside is great for earning rewards on gas purchases and easily finding the cheapest pump near you.

Visit Upside | Read our Upside review to learn more.

Earn an Average of 8% Cash Back on Gas, Groceries, and at Restaurants

Upside Benefits

• Download this cash back app for free and you could earn a ton
• Earn an average of 11¢ per gallon on gas
• Earn rewards on everyday purchases across gas, groceries, and dining
• Real money you can cash out via PayPal or direct deposit
• Join over 30 million who have downloaded Upside
• BONUS: Use the code 25financebuzz to get a 25-cent per gallon bonus on your first gas fill-up!

Download Upside

Fetch

Some money apps require you to select coupons before your shopping trip, which can be a hassle and lead to missed rewards. However, you can use Fetch as an afterthought when you return home from the store.

We like that Fetch works with over 600 popular brands to save you money on thousands of products. A few that stood out when we checked the grocery category are Sargento, Betty Crocker, Barilla, and General Mills. Tide, Revlon, and Starbucks are more household names on there from other categories.

This broad selection makes Fetch a great choice for frequent supermarket-goers who don't want to spend time selecting coupons or preparing a shopping list. We also find the ability to earn rewards just for shopping your favorite brands a huge perk, especially if you're a brand loyalist. And even if you can't find the right offer, you can still earn points simply for scanning receipts up to two weeks later.

Once you've racked up at least 3,000 points, you can choose from hundreds of gift cards to restaurants and retailers, from Amazon to Airbnb, or select a prepaid Visa or MasterCard. Our editor, Ashley, uses Fetch regularly and has cashed out several gift cards for Domino's, Papa Johns Pizza, and Target over the last year and has never had to pay any fees.

While Fetch is great, we don't recommend it if you prefer cash, as bank transfers and PayPal aren't available. You should also be aware that you can't let your account go inactive for 90 days, as you'll lose all your points if that happens.

Who this app is right for: We recommend Fetch if you want a low-effort way to get rewarded for your shopping through in-app offers and receipt uploads after your shopping trip.

Read our Fetch review to learn more.

Ibotta

While Fetch is also a strong contender in this area, Ibotta is our go-to app for earning cash back at grocery stores. We love that it rewards you for in-store purchases at over 2,000 retailers, including Target and Walmart. You can simply select the offers you want in the app before shopping and submit your receipt later. For automatic savings, you can link Ibotta to your retailer's loyalty account.

The app lets you browse offers at a certain store or search for them directly. Personally, we prefer to browse all available offers at once rather than narrowing them down to a specific grocery chain or item, but you might not mind this. We also wanted to warn you that Ibotta might not partner with your preferred grocery chain, and that the app's deals can tempt you to buy things you otherwise wouldn't, which isn't good for your budget.

Overall, Ibotta is great for shoppers who don't mind clipping coupons, as you can potentially save a ton of money with minimal effort, especially as you get to know what offers are available. And unlike Fetch, it lets you redeem your rewards for cash via a bank transfer or PayPal.

But if you don't want to do the extra work, you might be better off with an app like Upside that offers general grocery store cash back. We also recommend a different app if you prefer a low minimum to cash out.

Who this app is right for: Consider Ibotta if you shop at one of its partnering grocery store chains and don't mind doing some extra work to find offers and earn rewards for your shopping trips.

Read our Ibotta review to learn more.

Receipt Hog

As far as apps that pay cash back for scanning receipts, Receipt Hog is one of the best. You can upload a paper or digital receipt from any store to earn rewards. For digital purchases, if you connect your email, Receipt Hog automatically finds receipts in your inbox and adds them to your account, making it even easier to earn rewards. The same goes if you link your loyalty accounts from different retailers.

However, what we don't like is how things get a little confusing when you look more into how Receipt Hog works. It divides your receipts into three categories: Coin-Receipts, Spin-Receipts, and Sweepstakes-Receipts (or Sweeps Only-Receipts). Coin-Receipts earn you coin rewards, while the other two earn you the chance to win coin rewards.

Which category a receipt goes into depends on the category of the retailer you shopped at. For example, receipts for purchases at supermarkets, drug stores, and pet stores are among those classified as Coin-Receipts, while gas receipts are classified as Sweepstakes-Receipts. We can see how this system can be disappointing if you want some certainty for your rewards.

Despite being tricky to manage, we think Receipt Hog is best for someone who often shops at Coin-Receipt merchants weekly. If you can scan 60 receipts a week, this is probably worth it. We'd also recommend pairing Receipt Hog with Upside for gas purchases and Fetch for any receipts that you can't get coins for.

Who this app is right for: We recommend giving Receipt Hog a try if you frequently shop with Coin-Receipt merchants and don't mind the learning curve for navigating its rewards system.

Rakuten

Rakuten is the app for shoppers who love saving when they shop online. It features cash back deals at a number of retailers, including drugstores, eyeglass retailers, clothing stores, travel booking sites, restaurants, and more. The highest offer we've ever seen is 95% cash back on digital security services, which is an incredible rebate just for shopping through a portal. However, many other offers are much more modest, giving you back 10% or less.

That said, one of our gripes with Rakuten is that it's sometimes finicky when giving cash back. We think this is because you have to click a link in the app to complete your purchase, so if you browse to other sites or come back later to check out, the tracking cookie used might have expired. If you're someone who clicks around to other sites often, your Rakuten deals could get lost in the shuffle.

Still, if you do a lot of shopping — especially with a credit card that earns cash back for online shopping — you stand to get a hefty deal on your purchases. You also won't have to go through the hassle of uploading any receipts, and Rakuten finds helpful coupon codes that can give you further savings.

Just a caution if you prefer getting to redeem rewards often. Rakuten pays out only every three months, and only if you've earned more than $5 in confirmed rewards (which can take a few months). Our editor, Ashley, has used Rakuten as a supplement to Fetch and dislikes the long payout time, as it's easy to forget about the rewards until a surprise payment arrives months later.

Who this app is right for: If you don't mind long payout times and potential glitches, Rakuten can be a good tool for earning rewards on online purchases.

Read our Rakuten review to learn more.

How to maximize earnings from cash back apps

Looking to get the most out of cash back apps? Here are our suggestions:

• Use multiple apps. Most of these apps work great in tandem with one another. And because they're free to use, you don't have to choose or weigh whether they're worth it.
• Activate offers before and after shopping. Always do a quick scan of your apps before hitting up a store to see what offers are available. Try to get into the habit of checking for offers after you're done, too.
• Refer your friends. Plenty of these apps have referral credits if you get your friends to sign up. For example, Rakuten offers a $50 referral credit if you get a friend to sign up and spend $50 within 90 days of joining.
• Make purchases with a cash back credit card. This is an excellent way to double up your cash back. Look for a cash back card with no annual fee that complements your lifestyle and spending habits.

How to choose the best cash back app for you

As you browse different cash back apps, keep the following in mind:

1. Think about your spending habits. Do you do a ton of grocery shopping? Or do you mostly make online purchases?
2. Look at payout options and thresholds. Do you prefer getting a physical payout or an e-gift card? Can you wait until you accumulate a certain number of rewards, or do you want your cash back as soon as you earn it?
3. Consider how easy the app is to use. Many apps require you to log in and browse offers, which could be a deterrent, especially if the user interface is lackluster. Mobile app ratings are helpful for researching this.
4. Look at privacy policies. You should choose an app that protects your information. Choose an app that outright states that it doesn't sell your data to businesses or third parties.

FAQs

Bottom line

To get the most savings with the least effort, choose the apps and sites that best suit your lifestyle and shopping habits. Although you can't always use more than one to get cash back on the same purchase, it might still be wise to make use of a few different ones depending on where you shop.

For example, you could use Upside for gas, Rakuten for online shopping and Ibotta for groceries. This is great practice for learning how to manage your money better. Consider using a budgeting app to monitor your spending and maximize your monthly savings.

Up To 5% Cash Back

Discover it^® Cash Back

Benefits Card Details

• $0 annual fee
• Intro APR on purchases and balance transfers
• Apply Now

• INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. You could turn $150 cash back into $300.
• Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
• Redeem cash back for any amount. No annual fee.
• Get a 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases. Then 17.49% to 26.49% Standard Variable Purchase APR applies, based on credit worthiness.
• Terms and conditions apply.

4.7

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

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Rates and fees

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Intro Offer

Discover will match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year.

Annual Fee

$0

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Why we like it

• The Discover it^® Cash Back is ideal for anyone who loves flexible rewards options.

• Cardholders can redeem their cash back for any amount.

• Earn 5% cash back on rotating bonus categories up to the quarterly maximum when you activate, along with 1% cash back on all purchases. Categories may include places like gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, and more.

• Apply Now