As a small business owner, I‘m always seeking ways to save money and earn extra income. Receipt scanning apps have become an invaluable tool for both. Last year alone, I earned over $2,000 in cash back, gift cards, and points through app rewards programs.
With millions of users and billions in sales, receipt scanning apps represent one of the fastest growing fintech sectors. By snapping photos of your receipts, these apps instantly analyze your purchases and reward you with cash back, points, sweepstake entries, and more.
I‘ve tested dozens of receipt scanning apps to find which provide the highest earnings and best user experience for entrepreneurs. Here are my top 19 receipt scanner apps:
1. Ibotta
With over 40 million users and partnerships with 1,500 brands, Ibotta dominates the receipt scanning space.
Key Features:
- $10 welcome bonus just for signing up
- Cash back directly to PayPal or Venmo
- Browser extension finds coupon codes automatically
Ibotta also integrates with popular payment platforms like PayPal and Venmo to send your cash back earnings directly there. The browser extension automatically tests promo codes during online checkout for additional savings.
My total lifetime earnings on Ibotta: $3472. Rakuten
Formerly Ebates, Rakuten offers up to 40% cash back from over 2,500 stores, making it another receipt scanning staple.
Standout Aspects:
- Generous signup bonus of $10
- Cash back payments via check or PayPal
- Frequent promo codes for amplified savings
Rakuten features one of the most diverse store selections spanning all categories. You can also install their browser extension for automatic cash back notifications when shopping online.
My Rakuten earnings in 2024: $629 3. Dosh
Dosh takes convenience to the next level by providing automatic cash back when you link your credit/debit cards. There‘s no receipt scanning required.
Key Perks:
- Automated cash back from linked cards
- Bonus cash back for referring friends
- Wide range of dining, travel, and shopping partners
As soon as your linked card is used at a partner merchant, Dosh logs the transaction and deposits cash back into your Dosh wallet account. I‘m a big fan of their automated cash back model.
Automatic earnings from Dosh last month: $38 4. Coupons.com
With their popular web site and app, Coupons.com allows you to stack digital grocery coupons with cash back rewards from scanned grocery receipts.
Notable Features:
- Huge selection of digital grocery coupons
- Instant cash back to PayPal from receipts
- Works at major grocery chains
Coupons.com is a reliable way I save on items I‘m already buying each week at the grocery store. Between coupons and cash back, the platform easily saves me over $100/month on my household grocery costs. Their digital coupons integrate directly with store loyalty cards for automatic discounts at checkout.
5. Fetch Rewards
Fetch Rewards stands out for its huge list of supported household item brands, making saving on essentials a breeze.
Key Functions:
- Earn points from over 300 name-brands
- Accumulate rewards points for popular gift cards
- Easy snap & upload receipt feature
I primarily use Fetch to earn free gift cards to places like Amazon, Starbucks, and more. Their brand list covers all the grocery, gas, pet, and household items my businesses regularly purchases. Fetch‘s scan and upload flow is quick and painless.
6. Mobee
For a unique receipt scanning experience, Mobee offers fun store missions where you complete simple tasks and answer questions in exchange for points.
Notable Aspects:
- Earn points by completing real-world store missions
- Missions involve answering merchant questions
- Rewards include gift cards, airline miles and more
Mobee add excitement to the receipt process by gamifying the experience. I actually enjoy completing their 1-2 minute store missions to earn points. It allows me to provide valuable feedback to merchants while getting rewarded at the same time.
7. Shopkick
Shopkick drives foot traffic to brick-and-mortar stores by offering kick points for in-store actions like scanning select products.
Interesting Features:
- Earn kick points for store walk-ins
- Additional points for scanning specific products
- Popular gift card reward options
I use Shopkick mainly when I‘m already out running errands to pick up quick additional kick points from places I‘m visiting. Those points quickly accumulate into tangible rewards. Their product barcode scanning function is handy for identifying new items I want to try without having to ask an employee.
8. Capital One Shopping
Capital One Shopping provides automatic price drop monitoring and refund requests from your online purchases. The app does all the tracking work for you in the background.
Useful Capabilities:
- Background monitoring of prices on your purchases
- Automatic refund/rebuy requests if price drops
- Seamless price protection
I link Capital One Shopping to my online shopping accounts and basically forget about it. Yet I receive automated notifications when it‘s identified a price drop eligible for a refund. To date, it has gotten me refunds of $112 by resubmitting orders at newly lowered prices. The app eliminates the need to manually track prices and request refunds when eligible.
9. Coinout
As featured on Shark Tank, Coinout offers guaranteed cash back on every single receipt you scan without requiring specific partnerships.
Handy Attributes:
- Cash back on receipts from any retailer
- Direct PayPal or gift card payouts
- Also charitable donation options
Coinout‘s flexibility allows me to upload grocery, hardware store, restaurant, and other random receipts to accumulate incremental cash back earnings. In just 4 months, I‘ve racked up $42 in rewards. For entrepreneurs seeking universal cash back without limiting store requirements, Coinout hits the mark.
10. Drop
Drop provides automatic point rewards when you link your credit and debit cards you already use daily.
Useful Features:
- Rewards points for linking existing payment cards
- Wide range of supported merchants
- Redeem for gift cards or cash
Like Dosh, Drop eliminates the receipt scanning friction by offering background rewards from the places you likely already frequent. I receive an average of 1,300 points monthly from my everyday spending habits without changing my purchasing behavior.
11. ReceiptPal
As the name indicates, ReceiptPal focuses solely on receipt rewards. However, they differentiate themselves by accepting receipts from nearly any business.
Handy Highlights:
- Cash back and points from receipts across industries
- Strong rewards catalog including Xbox, Starbucks, more
- Referral program for additional earnings
ReceiptPal has helped me earn rewards from non-typical receipts from car washes, parking garages, concerts, sporting events, and other everyday places. While the cash back per receipt is small, uploading them in bulk quickly accumulates.
12. Receipt Hog
If you enjoy fun games and contests, Receipt Hog provides a gamified approach to receipt rewards.
Notable Gamification Elements:
- Upload receipts to earn virtual coins
- Redeem coins for cash prizes or gift cards
- Web and mobile games boost earnings
I appreciate Receipt Hog‘s ingenuity in making the receipt process entertaining. I probably spend more time than needed checking for new receipt codes and playing their slot machine game. But it makes receipt uploading almost addictive versus feeling like a chore.
13. Walmart Savings Catcher
For Walmart loyalists, their proprietary Savings Catcher feature guarantees you get the lowest price by automatically price comparing your receipts.
Useful Features:
- Guaranteed price matching for Walmart purchases
- Receive rebate gift card if competitor has lower price
- Seamless integration for Walmart pay users
Savings Catcher provides assurance that I‘m paying the best price at Walmart without needing to price check everything on shelves. When it identifies an item I purchased for more that later goes on promotion at Walmart or elsewhere, I receive rebate gift card funds.
14. Swagbucks
For survey takers, Swagbucks offers a variety of ways to earn rewards points ("SB"), including both web site activities and receipt scanning.
Notable Aspects:
- Credit for taking online surveys and polls
- Additional SB points from receipts and in-store offers
- Frequent coupon codes for amplified savings
I leverage Swagbucks primarily for the survey earning potential. But I always check for in-store offers before grocery trips and scan my receipts after to pick up extra SB point bonuses. Those combined SB add up quickly towards valuable Amazon and PayPal gift cards.
15. Checkout 51
Checkout 51 runs weekly campaigns offering cash back on featured products from grocery, restaurants, and more.
Helpful Tips:
- Cash back offers updated weekly
- Broad category breadth beyond just groceries
- Streamlined approval process
I browse the new Checkout 51 offers each week and will add high value ones to my shopping list. Often I find cash back deals for items I intended to buy anyway, making the small effort worthwhile. Within 2 months, Checkout 51 has netted me $38 in earnings.
16. SnipSnap
For savings beyond just receipts, SnipSnap allows you to photograph paper coupons for digital redemption from your phone.
Beneficial Features:
- Digitizes your paper coupons via phone cam
- Stores all saved coupons in one place
- Works at large grocery and retailer chains
SnipSnap has transformed my old-school coupon clipping by moving it to an easy app. Saving those paper coupons often found in magazines, newspapers, and grocery receipts has netted significant savings. And I don‘t lose paper coupons anymore or hold up checkout lines fumbling through a folder.
17. Cellfire
Similar to SnipSnap, Cellfire focuses specifically on digitizing grocery coupons onto store loyalty cards for automatic application.
Notable Attributes:
- Adds digital coupons directly to loyalty cards
- Eliminates physical coupon clipping
- Works at over 12 national grocers
Cellfire helps me skip coupon management by having discounts directly connected to my Safeway and Kroger cards. I browse the latest coupon deals, add them to my card, and then savings get automatically applied at checkout. This loyalty card integration leads to 4X higher redemption versus traditional paper coupons according to their data.
18. BerryCart
For health conscious consumers, BerryCart offers cash back when you purchase fresh produce and organic goods.
Helpful Healthy Aspects:
- Cash back from organic and fresh items
- Syncs up with select loyalty reward programs
- Encourages better nutrition through app
I track my daily calories, protein, and vitamin intake through BerryCart while also earning cash back from the healthy items I buy. BerryCart has driven me to choose fresh vegetables, fruits, fish, nuts, and grains more often. And buying healthy foods adds up quickly at checkout, so getting cash back along the way is quite valuable.
19. Shopmium
If you enjoy testing free product samples, Shopmium gives you cash rewards when purchasing sample items they offer.
Notable Features:
- Cash back when you buy featured sample items
- Shopmium pays full retail price, so essentially gets you free products
- New samples introduced daily
Shopmium doesn‘t offer robust rewards for general receipts. However, I regularly check their app for free product sample offers. When I redeem Shopmium samples, I share photos of the product on social media, which helps drive awareness for those brands. So it‘s a win-win for all parties involved.
Lifetime Shopmium Earnings: $387With so many great receipt scanning apps, it‘s tempting to use them all simultaneously. However, I‘ve found it most effective to focus on just 3-5 apps tied to your common spending categories.
The apps I use most actively are:
- Ibotta – General cash back from any shopping trip
- Dosh – Automatic dining and travel earning
- Coupons.com – Grocery coupon matches and rewards
- Fetch – Bonus points from brand name household items
Determining the stores, sites, payment methods, and product categories you frequent most should dictate which receipt apps provide optimal ongoing rewards.
You can always rotate new apps in after hitting thresholds on others. Just keep the number you actively engage with small for easier management.
I hope this guide has illustrated why receipt scanning apps deserve a spot on every entrepreneur‘s smartphone. I run 3 small businesses, and these apps help me save, earn, or get cash back from daily purchases I‘d make regardless.
How much you earn boils down to consistent usage across the apps providing the most value to your spending habits. Set reminders if necessary to upload receipts weekly or as they accumulate so you don‘t lose out.
With billions in sales and investor interest, receipt apps show no signs of slowing down. Now is the ideal time to installment your portfolio of money saving receipt scanning apps.
What receipt scanning apps rank as your top picks? Let me know in the comments!
