Over the last few years, dozens of new Cash back apps for shopping have popped up.

These apps – all of which are free to use – can save you money on groceries, travel, clothes, and so much more.

I’ve endlessly experimented with cash-back apps since 2015, back when DollarSprout was first launched. I don’t even know how many apps I’ve tried, but there are definitely a small handful that stand above the rest. These are the apps that I continue to use to this day.

In fact, we’ve done so much research on these neat little tools that, earlier this year, we decided to build our own cash back browser extension. We took everything that we liked about what the competition was doing, threw out everything we didn’t care for, and came up with DollarSprout Rewards.

So, as you read through this roundup, yes, you’re going to see our own app at the top of the list. We are proud of what we have built. But the rest of the apps mentioned are also top quality – you can’t go wrong with using any of them. In some way or another, they have all inspired our own app.

Best-In-Class Cash Back Apps 

• DollarSprout Rewards: Best overall cash back app
• Capital One Rewards: Best cash back app for online shopping
• Rakuten: Best cash back app user experience
• Ibotta: Best cash back app for grocery shopping
• Upside: Best cash back app for gas discounts
• Fetch: Best cash back app for scanning receipts
• Honey: Best cash back app for Amazon

1. DollarSprout Rewards

DollarSprout Rewards is a desktop-only cash back browser extension that is available on Chrome and Safari.

After installing the extension, you’ll notice a small alert appears in the upper right hand side of your browser whenever you visit an eligible merchant’s website:

Simply click the “Activate” button, and continue shopping as you normally would. Accrued earnings will post to your Earnings Dashboard shortly after purchase.

What I like about it:

• I personally do most of my shopping on my computer (not my phone), so a rewards app that works on my laptop makes it much more likely I’ll use it.
• Rewards accrue as cash, not points, making it much easier to track earnings.
• Payouts are direct cash to PayPal once monthly ($5 minimum).
• I like the subtleness of the savings alerts, especially in Google search results. It doesn’t feel obtrusive but still lets me know when a deal is available.
• Large network of retailers (over 15,000 and counting).
• Infrequent marketing emails and no intrusive notifications. User experience and utility come first.
• Automatically searches the web for working digital coupon codes and applies them at checkout.
• Shareable links that allow you to earn rewards with friends and family.
  • Example: You recommend a food processor to a friend using the link to the product listing that the DollarSprout Rewards extension provides. If they purchase using your link, you will earn additional cash back.

What I would improve:

• No cash back at Amazon. That said, I have yet to come across any app that offers cash back at Amazon. Amazon knows they have a strong grip on their customers, so there’s no need to incentivize or discount sales. 
• No price-tracking features. I don’t personally use this feature much with other apps, but I know some people do like that option.
• No referral program. 
• No mobile app, yet (coming soon).

2. Capital One Shopping

Capital One Shopping is a coupon app and browser extension. The company was founded in 2014 as Wikibuy and was renamed after being acquired by Capital One in 2018.

When you install the browser extension and shop online, Capital One Shopping will alert you if there are any available coupons, or if it finds a better price somewhere else. You just have to click the button on the Capital One Shopping pop-up to claim the deal.

What I like about it:

• Easy to install and use.
• Sometimes the cash back deals are so good that I am fairly certain Capital One is taking a loss on them. My impression is that this is a way for the credit card arm of the company to build brand recognition via their shopping extension. They know they will likely recoup the losses on the credit card side of their business.
• Watchlist feature alerts you of price drops.
• Low payout threshold ($5 for most gift cards).

What I would improve:

• Not as many gift card options as some other sites.
• It tracks your online shopping history, which doesn’t bother me that much but I know some people are put off by that.
• Payouts are only done via gift cards.
• Only available to users in the United States.

3. Rakuten

Rakuten — formerly known as Ebates – gives rebates and cash back on purchases made in store or online. It is available as a mobile app or browser extension, and they Offer an online shopping portal to see all deals in one place.

In general, the app works the same way as the preceding tools on this list. Consumers can additionally use the website or app to search for deals or see featured merchants. Rakuten’s browser extension automatically searches for and applies promo codes and cash-back offers when you shop online.

What I like about it:

• There are a few merchants that I can only seem to (consistently) find on Rakuten, like Nike and Target.
• The website is clean and easy to navigate. I can see a large selection of deals in one place.
• Rakuten will regularly run deals where they offer up to 10% cash back from select merchants, instead of their normal 1-2%.
• You earn a $30 welcome bonus if you spend $30 within 90 days. It’s basically free money if you were going to make a purchase anyways.

What I would improve:

• Out of all the apps and extensions I have signed up for, Rakuten seems to send the most marketing emails. You can unsubscribe from the emails and still keep your account active, though.
• Cash back is only paid out quarterly, which can be quite a long wait. For most people this won’t be an issue since it takes some time to accumulate the $5 minimum balance required.

4. Ibotta

Originally marketed as the best cash back app for groceries and helping users save money on food, Ibotta has expanded its cash back offerings to several large retail chains including Lowe’s, Petco, Walmart, Target and more.

The app now offers a card-linked option, that detects purchases at participating merchants and then credits your account with earned rewards. They too offer a browser-based cash back extension that helps users earn rewards across thousands of additional participating retailers. If a shopper chooses to pay in cash, all hope is not lost – Ibotta allows users to manually upload their receipts after a store visit so long as they selected advertised offers prior to visiting the merchant.

What I like about it:

• Advertised rewards are displayed in cash values instead of percentage cash back. This helps me easily understand how much I can expect to save.
• Still maintains a strong grocery focus (many cash back apps are weak in this area).
• Popular retailers receive premium visibility within the app making it easier to find the stores I most frequently shop at.
• Payouts are via free gift cards or to cash.
• Ibotta offers frequent incentive-based bonuses in the form of free cash and/or free items at popular retailers. For example, they currently have an offer where a user can earn a free Butterball Turkey (~$20 value) by loading and completing 16 offers.
• Ibotta offers a $10 welcome bonus if a user spends $30 and they also have a referral bonus incentive where you’ll earn $10 for each friend or family member that you refer.*

*Referred friend or family member must make an eligible purchase and upload their receipt.

What I would improve:

• The knock against Ibotta has always been that their offers need to be manually loaded. This makes the entire process labor intensive and is a huge turn off for me personally. (Users have to search a merchant, select offers for particular products, if they exist, and then proceed to shop).
• Only 300 or so merchants offer card-linked offers, the rest require manual loading of offers, and manual scanning of receipts.
• Users face psychological biases that push them to buy additional products they may otherwise not need because they see savings offers that are only semi-relevant to them, if at all (not great for those that think they’re predisposed to shopping addiction).
• Cash back is only offered for specific products, not as a savings percentage across your entire order. If there are no cash back deals for items you need, you won’t save any money.

Related: 12 Apps Like Ibotta to Earn Cash Back at Grocery Stores

5. Upside

Upside is a cash back app for gas that offers discounts on more than just fuel. It has three main categories for cash back: gas, groceries, and restaurants. The app functions similar to other cash back apps and offers rates of up to 25 cents off per gallon at participating stations.

What I like about it:

• I can see a map of nearby gas stations to see which ones are offering the best cash back deals.
• Cash back is paid out via PayPal or check and requires no minimum balance.
• Generous referral program that’s composed of one-time bonuses and recurring fill-up bonuses. You can earn a passive 1(¢)/gallon discount on your future fill-ups each time a referred friend fills up their tank.

What I would improve:

• The cash back is not automatic; you must “Check in” or add a photo of your receipt to the app. It’s not a big hassle, though.
• Keep in mind that the highest cash back offers might not actually be the best deals. For instance, if Gas Station A offers $3.50/gal with 25 cents cash back, but Gas Station B is $3.20/gal with no cash back, Gas Station B is still the best deal.

Related: 5 Legit Ways to Get Free Gas Cards

6. Fetch Rewards

Fetch Rewards, also known as Fetch, is a cash back receipt app that allows you to earn points when you purchase from thousands of products at over 300 brand partner stores. To redeem points, simply scan your receipt through the app or connect your email address to scan eReceipts.

Brands partner with Fetch because, in addition to incentivizing consumers to purchase their products, Fetch provides brands with analytics to help them better understand consumer shopping habits.

What I like about it:

• Fetch awards points for receipts from any store or restaurant, even if it’s not from one of their partner brands.
• Works with both physical receipts and email receipts.
• Earn a modest number of points for receipt upload, even if no eligible offers were redeemed.
• You don’t need to pick your offers in advance in order to earn points.

What I would improve:

• The offers are usually tied to specific brands as opposed to a store-wide offer.
• The eReceipts feature doesn’t always work perfectly.
• I personally prefer to earn pure cash back rather than points. It’s easier for me to track my progress that way.

Related: 17 Passive Income Apps for Easy Extra Money 

7. Honey

Honey is a free browser extension that automatically finds online discount codes. After installing the extension, Honey will provide you with discount codes every time you shop online. You don’t have to search manually.

Before checking out, the Honey browser extension will alert you if there are any deals available. If there are, they’ll be applied to your purchase. There’s also a feature called Droplist that allows you to track prices on certain items and receive an alert when the price drops.

What I like about it:

• Price comparison features allow you to find the cheapest price for an item on Amazon across different sellers.
• Price drop alert notifications allow me to save on purchases that I’m in no hurry to make.
• Price history tools allows me to see if there is seasonality for certain products (some items are cheaper in the Summer vs. Winter, etc.).
• The tool is owned by PayPal, so there’s notch protection against scams and frequent product updates.

What I would improve:

• Extension seems to frequently come up empty when searching for working coupon codes (user reviews across the web cite this as a common problem).
• Ad blockers seem to cause performance and tracking issues (I have to disable Adblock Plus in Chrome to use the extension).
• More cash back offers would be a huge plus. They’ve recently added PayPal Rewards into the mix, which offers actual cash back rewards in addition to the coupon-finding portion of the application.