Scan Your Grocery Receipts with Any of These 27 Apps and Make Extra Cash

Posted Mar 06, 2020 | Chris Petrie

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Has a friend told you how they get paid to scan grocery receipts with an app?

Maybe you think they are joking with you or wasting their time.

If you’ve been hesitant to try receipt scanning apps because you think they aren’t worth the effort, these apps make it extremely easy to earn cash back or gift cards on every single trip to the grocery store.

InboxDollars will give you access to free coupons for groceries at places like Walmart, Target and Kohls. Use them to save money on your everyday purchases while also earning cashback in your account for every coupon you redeem! Also, grab a $5 Bonus when you start today!

And since you’re going to be buying groceries anyway, you don’t have to do anything extra to make money. In fact, if you currently cut paper coupons each week, you will save time and maybe even earn more.

Earning cash back is simple:

  • Activate the offers before you checkout
  • Buy the food you love
  • Scan the grocery receipts
  • Collect your reward

After seeing all the different ways you can make money with these apps, you’ll wish you knew about these sooner. I did!

Scan Grocery Receipts to Earn the Most Money

Although it takes a little extra, using an app that requires you to scan your receipt usually have the highest payments. Scanning a receipt only takes a few seconds and the additional reward is well worth it because you can access more product offers than a run-of-the-mill coupon app.

1. Fetch Rewards

The Fetch Rewards turns your grocery receipts into savings. After you checkout, scan any grocery receipt using the mobile app  and save on thousands of popular products throughout the store.

Every time you scan a receipt, you will earn points.  You can even scan and submit grocery receipts up to 14 days after the purchase date on the receipt to be eligible to earn all your points.

Fetch Rewards partners with brands in the following grocery categories:

  • Baking
  • Beauty and Personal Care
  • Beer, Wine, and Spirits
  • Beverages
  • Breakfast and Cereal
  • Canned Goods and Soups
  • Condiments and Sauces
  • Dairy
  • Deli
  • Frozen
  • Snacks

How many rewards points you earn is based on the total amount spent on participating products. Some brands also offer bonuses for if you purchase a featured product.

All you need to do is take a picture of your receipt within the next 14 days and Fetch will do all the hard work of calculating your earnings.

Points can be redeemed for free gift cards. Fetch Rewards offers an Android and iOS mobile app.

2. Ibotta

Ibotta is the most well-known grocery receipt app and maybe you have family and friends that already use it. My wife and I personally use it when we buy groceries and highly recommend it because you can get cash back on many brand names you might purchase already.

If you only buy store brands, Ibotta’s “Any Brand” and “Any Item” offers each give you 25 cents to 75 cents for buying items like:

  • Sliced bread
  • Bananas
  • Coffee
  • Eggs
  • Milk

After you checkout, take a picture of your receipt and select the offers you want to redeem for this shopping trip and your cashback will be deposited within 48 hours. Some grocery stores let you link your store loyalty card directly to Ibotta; if so, your receipt will be automatically uploaded to Ibotta to save you time.

When you’re curious to see if there’s a discount for a product you want to buy, you can scan the product barcode using the Ibotta app to find any active offers.

In addition to the grocery savings, you can also get cash back at restaurants and select online stores when you make an in-app purchase. Periodically, Ibotta will offer $5 shopping bonuses just because they can. I made a purchase on eBay and received a $5 bonus just because I shopped online using the Ibotta app.

You can cash out your rewards balance for cash, gift cards, or charity donations when your balance reaches $20. Ibotta also offers $10 bonus cash when you make your first grocery purchase too.

Ibotta is available for Android and iOS devices in the United States and Puerto Rico.

3. National Consumer Panel

To be a panelist for Nielsen’s National Consumer Panel, you only need to set aside one hour per week to scan your weekly purchases. You can scan grocery receipts and product barcodes to receive rewards points.

Nielsen also offers paid consumer opinion surveys to earn extra points and the longer you remain an active panelist, the more points you can earn per shopping trip.

Rewards points can be redeemed for Visa gift cards, retail gift cards, and merchandise rewards. You will also be automatically entered into Nielsen’s weekly, monthly, and quarterly cash sweepstakes when you submit a receipt.

Nielsen lets you scan with your Android or iOS device, but they will send you a scanner if you don’t have a compatible mobile device.

Check out National Consumer Panel for Mobile here.

Check out National Consumer Panel for Desktop here.

4. BerryCart

While you can earn rewards for healthy food with the other apps mentioned here, BerryCart specializes in finding the best offers for the following kinds of foods:

  • Organic
  • Gluten-free
  • Non-GMO

BerryCart works at more than 100,000 stores nationwide at the obvious health-focused stores like Whole Foods and also at your everyday discount stores such as Walmart and Target. As long as you have an itemized receipt that states which products you purchased, BerryCart will accept it.

Although many people think it’s impossible to save money on healthy food, BerryCart makes it a lot easier to eat healthy on a budget including a $2 sign-up bonus.

Your cash back will be deposited into your account within 24 hours and can be redeemed for gift cards or PayPal cash with a minimum rewards balance of $5.

BerryCart works with Android and iOS devices in the United States.

5. Checkout 51

You should also consider Checkout 51 if you live in the United States or Canada. Checkout 51’s offers change every Thursday morning; so always come back to see all the ways you can save money on fresh produce and packaged foods.

Upload a copy of your grocery receipt, redeem your offers, and receive PayPal cash or a paper check when your balance reaches $20.

Checkout 51 is compatible with Android and iOS devices.

6. Receipt Hog

If you try to keep the number of apps on your phone to a minimum or forget to activate offers before you checkout, Receipt Hog only requires you to take a picture of your receipt to earn a reward.

What makes Receipt Hog even more enticing is that they accept receipts for nearly any in-store purchase from groceries, clothes, electronics, and even buying gas.

Although you can earn credit for any receipt, there are three different types of rewards points you can earn:

  • Coins (cash rewards)
  • Spins (earn bonus coins or other prizes)
  • Sweepstakes (monthly cash prizes)

Grocery purchases always earn coins-rewards that can be redeemed for PayPal cash or Amazon gift cards. Depending on how much you spend, you will earn between five and twenty coins per receipt and receive an automatic entry into the monthly sweepstakes.

Once your rewards balance is at least 1,000 coins ($5), you can redeem your coins for cash or Amazon gift cards. U.S. participants can also redeem their coins for magazine subscriptions.

Receipt Hog is open to U.S. and United Kingdom residents with iOS and Android devices.

7. Shopkick

No purchase is necessary to make money with Shopkick, but you can earn more rewards points (kicks) if you do make a purchase.

When you walk into a store, open the Shopkick app to check-in and begin earning “kicks” when you:

  • Scan product barcodes
  • Submit a receipt

Shopkick also gives rewards points just for walking into a store and don’t browse the aisles or make a purchase. You can also earn kicks by shopping online, viewing featured products, and watching videos inside the Shopkick app.

Rewards points can be redeemed for gift cards as small as $2 to many of your favorite stores and restaurants.

Shopkick is open to U.S. residents with Android and iOS devices.

8. Punchcard

One of the most flexible receipt scanning apps is Punchcard. You can upload receipts for nearly any purchase, even oil changes, and receive points that can be redeemed for gift cards.

Punchcard also partners with select retailers to offer loyalty rewards for subsequent visits. For example, you might be able to get a free Subway sandwich for every fourth punch at Subway stores.

To receive credit for your grocery purchases, you only have to scan your receipt and earn a flat reward for each visit. You don’t have to activate any offers before shopping. Although you might not earn as many rewards points with Punchcard because they award the same number of points for all receipts, the simplicity makes it possible to earn rewards at a faster rate.

For every six receipts you upload, you can take a free spin in the Punchcard app to earn bonus points. All points can be redeemed for gift cards, sweepstakes entries, and charitable donations.

Punchcard is open to U.S. residents at least 13 years old with an Android and iOS device.

9. ReceiptPal

ReceiptPal is another receipt scanning app that pays 25 points per uploaded receipt for grocery and non-grocery purchases. Besides taking photos of your paper receipts, ReceiptPal also accepts digital receipts for your online purchases with your linked your email address..

For every four receipts you upload in a week, you receive one entry into the weekly sweepstakes to win bonus rewards points that you can redeem for any ReceiptPal prize.

Rewards points can be redeemed for gift cards or prepaid Visa debit cards if you prefer cash.

ReceiptPal is available for iOS and Android devices but doesn’t work with iPad tablets.

10. Target Cartwheel

Cartwheel, Target’s reward app, has saved Target customers more than $1.1 billion so far. The next time you go to Target, activate the offers to save 5% to 50% on groceries, clothing, electronics, and almost anything inside the store.

At checkout, have the cashier scan your unique Cartwheel app barcode to instantly receive your discounts. If you also have paper coupons to redeem, you can “stack” your savings.

Target Cartwheel is available for Android and iOS devices.

12. SavingStar

By linking your store loyalty card or scanning your grocery receipt, SavingStar helps you save money at more than 60,000 stores from over 100 retail chains. SavingStar even works at discount stores like Walmart and Target or pharmacies like CVS.

You can use your mobile device or computer to active offers for specific products with brand-specific coupons and they also have a “Healthy Offer of the Week” that helps you save money on fruits and veggies.

New deals are always posted on the first of each month, plus weekly deals are Thursdays and Sundays.

Once you accumulate at least $5 in cash rewards, you can redeem your balance for the following payouts:

  • Direct bank deposit
  • PayPal cash
  • Upromise account
  • Starbucks gift code
  • iTunes gift code
  • AMC Theaters gift code
  • American Forests donation

U.S. residents can download the SavingStar app for their Android and iOS devices. You can also activate offers and scan your receipts with a computer too.

Apps That Automatically Track Your Savings

These next batch of apps save you money on groceries without having to take a picture of your receipt.

By linking your store loyalty card or shopping online, you can instantly enjoy the savings with a few of these apps if you want to avoid the hassle of banking up rewards points to be redeemed later for cash back or gift cards.

13. InboxDollars

InboxDollars is a “get-paid-to” site that also pays you to print coupons and try new products. Oh yeah, you can also make money taking surveys, watching videos, surfing the web, and playing games–those things you do every day on the internet.

You might also be able to buy groceries from some of InboxDollar’s online shopping partners, although you will reap the most cash back with their printable coupons.

Once you earn $30 in rewards from all these activities, you can request payment by paper check, prepaid Visa debit card, or a retail gift card. These rewards offers are only available to U.S. residents.

14. Ebates

As a cashback portal, Ebates can help you save money on pantry items you might buy online from Amazon, Walmart, Target, Jet, Boxed, Vitacost, GNC, and many others that ship directly to your front door.

Ebates can help you save up to 40% on every online purchase by simply going to their website and clicking through to your favorite store, or you can install the browser extension, which is even easier!

My wife and I are constantly saving money with Ebates and usually receive our cash back email within 24 hours.

Sometimes, you can get double cash back by using the Ebates app instead of shopping with Ebates on your computer.

You can redeem your rewards balance on a quarterly basis through a mailed check, PayPal, or gift cards when your balance is at least $5.

Read our Ebates review to learn more and to receive a $10 cash bonus after your first $25 purchase.

15. Swagbucks

You might associate Swagbucks as an online survey site, but they also offer three different ways to make money with groceries:

  • Printable grocery coupons
  • Online shopping
  • Paid product samples

Swagbucks pays you 10 points (SBs) for every grocery coupon you print and redeem. In addition to the money you save at the cash register, Swagbucks pays you 10 cents per coupon. These coupons are valid at any store within the United States.

When it comes to online shopping, you will earn a rewards points based on how much money you spend. This can be a good option to save money on dry pantry items, although some grocery stores will pay you bonus points for ordering online and picking up in-store.

Finally, Swagbucks offers free and discounted product samples for products you can buy online or in-person. For example, you can buy a box of NatureBox snacks for $14.99 and receive 1,250 SBs that effectively drop the price to $2.50. Or, you can receive a bonus for trying the Blue Apron meal delivery service.

SBs can be redeemed for gift cards starting at $2 or PayPal cash in $25 increments. Other apps mentioned in this list that specifically focus on grocery savings can be more lucrative, but since you can earn rewards points easily on Swagbucks doing what you already do online, their offers are worth a look.

16. TopCashback

Another popular cash back portal is TopCashback. By initiating a shopping session through TopCashback, you can get cash back on online grocery orders at online-only food and beverage websites.

Some grocery stores like Safeway offer cash back for first-time online customers. Before going directly to your grocery store website to place an online order, check TopCashback first for exclusive savings opportunities.

If you make a qualifying purchase, TopCashback will automatically track your reward and credit your account. There are no minimum payment thresholds and you have five different payout methods:

  • PayPal
  • Direct Deposit
  • Amazon gift cards
  • Gap gift cards
  • American Express prepaid debit cards

When you redeem your balance for a gift card, you also receive a 3% redemption bonus. If you do a lot of online spending on Amazon, the additional 3% is a very valuable bonus.

TopCashback is available for Android and iOS devices.

17. Drop

By linking your credit or debit card to Drop, you earn shopping rewards at your favorite retailer, grocery store, or restaurant. To earn rewards points, all you have to do is pay for the purchase with your linked card and Drop will automatically credit you your rewards points–no receipts required!

Drop rewards points can be redeemed for gift cards to save money on future purchases.

Open to U.S. and Canadian residents, Drop is available for Android and iOS devices.

18. Coupons.com

The Coupons.com app links to your store loyalty card to help you save money. Activate the digital coupons before you shop and the digital coupons will be automatically applied when the cashier scans your store loyalty card.

The savings are instant and you might enjoy the same savings opportunities as some of the other apps mentioned here that require you to scan your grocery receipt before you can claim the savings.

In addition to the app, Coupons.com also lets you print paper coupons that can help you save money at stores you don’t have a loyalty card. Once again, you don’t have to scan your grocery receipt and the savings are instantly applied to your total before you pay.

This app works with all iOS and Android devices.

19. Favado

Favado is Savings.com coupon app that lets you download digital coupons and print paper coupons. To help you save even more money, you can create a shopping list in Favado to see which local store has the lowest prices and to find any relevant coupons.

Not only will Favado help you pay as little as possible for your groceries, but you won’t overlook any items on your list either.

Favado is completely free to use and works with iOS and Android devices.

20. Cellfire

Another app that offer store-specific digital and printable coupons is Cellfire. Digital coupons are loaded directly to your store loyalty card for instant savings.

Cellfire also offers non-grocery coupons that you can redeem by showing the digital coupon on your smartphone screen to the cashier.

You can active coupons from your computer and Android or iOS device. At this time, Cellfire only works at U.S. grocery stores and supermarkets.

21. Coupon Sherpa

Coupon Sherpa offers digital grocery coupons that link to your store loyalty card. In addition to grocery shopping, you can also find digital and printable coupons for non-grocery purchase too.

Downloading the mobile app isn’t necessary to redeem the grocery coupons, but enabling location-based services within the app can help you quickly find the closest stores that accept coupons.

The Coupon Sherpa app is available for Android and iOS devices.

22. Key Ring

Key Ring is an all-in-one app you might enjoy if your wallet is busting at the seams because you can’t fit another store loyalty card inside it. This free digital wallet links to your grocery and retail store loyalty accounts so you can load your loyalty card in the Key Ring app.

You can also activate coupons with Key Ring and the savings are applied at checkout. To save time, you can also build shopping lists so you don’t forget to buy the milk and eggs.

Key Ring is available for Android and iOS devices.

23. Grocery iQ

Grocery iQ offers the following features:

  • Digital coupons
  • Printable coupons
  • Barcode scanning to find available coupons
  • Create an digital shopping list

If you prefer an app that helps you organize your grocery shopping list and also offers coupons, this is a good app to choose from. The savings are instantly applied so you don’t have to keep up with rewards points that will help you save money in the future.

24. Spent

The Spent App tracks your spending and can give you cash back when you buy groceries by linking your payment card and store loyalty cards. Spent’s cash back reward will be in addition to any other savings or purchase rewards you might earn.

If where you buy groceries is one of Spent’s featured partners, you can earn an additional 1% cash back on your purchases at that partner for the month.

You can also save up to 25% cash back on your online retail and travel purchases. All cash rewards are deposited back into the account you used to make the purchase or your PayPal account.

25. SnipSnap

SnipSnap can be a good option when you currently have a stack of paper coupons and don’t want to take them to the store. It can be easy to forget one in your pocket, drop it in the aisle, or overlook the coupon after reviewing all the items in your cart before you head to the checkout line.

Avoid this frustration by using SnipSnap to scan the coupon barcode to store the offer in the app. When you enter the store, open the SnipSnap app and all your coupons can be redeemed digitally.

SnipSnap is available for Android and iOS users.

26. Amazon Coupons

Although there are several different ways to save money at Amazon, their in-house coupons section has plenty to choose from for grocery and non-grocery items. Clip these coupons before you check out and the savings will be applied when you’re ready to pay.

Some coupons are for Prime members only, so you’ll need to join Amazon Prime to have full access to the Prime Pantry and Amazon Coupons benefits.

27. Southern Savers

Southern Savers is a regional app for the southeastern United States to look at the latest grocery store coupons, weekly circulars, and unadvertised deals that only the most serious bargain hunters find.

The Southern Savers app can help you quickly compare the best coupons that can be applied directly to your store loyalty card or exclusive offers only offered by Ibotta or Checkout 51.

In addition to helping you find the best digital coupons, you can also learn how to coupon to maximize your savings beyond the grocery receipt scanning apps to save up to 50% on your everyday purchases. And, Southern Savers is completely free to use!

The Southern Savers app can be downloaded by Android and iOS devices.

Takeaway

No matter which apps you choose to save money with, here are a few important tips you must remember:

  • Digital offers must be activated before you checkout
  • Receipts must usually be uploaded within 14 days or sooner
  • You can “stack” paper coupons to double your savings
  • Some offers can be redeemed multiple times

Since we all must go to the grocery store, scanning your grocery receipts is one of the best ways to stretch your budget. In a matter of seconds, you can scan your receipt and get money back with minimal effort. And, these apps are almost always more convenient than clipping paper coupons.

If you’re looking for some other ways to make money using your mobile device, you can get paid to play games on your Android device or you can find the best apps to sell stuff online as well.

Chris Peach Author 150x150

Chris Petrie

Chris (Peach) Petrie is a personal finance expert, money coach, speaker and podcaster.

In 2011, Chris and his family were exhausted from living paycheck-to-paycheck and facing a mountain of debt. They started going against the society standards of misbehaving with money and made the decision to take back control of their lives and money. Within seven months they paid off $52,000, started saving like crazy and began building real wealth.

The word spread fast and Chris started showing friends how to create a budget over dinner. Soon after he started showing their friends how to do the same and eventually Chris started teaching personal finance classes around the community. As the need for the classes grew, Chris launched Money Peach in 2015.

Money Peach was created to help everyday people remove the stress and fear of money by showing them how to save more, make more, and keep more of their money.

Chris Peach has been featured in places like Business Insider, The Huffington Post, Elite Daily, and CheddarTV.

When Chris isn’t at “work” he can be found at the Crossfit gym or riding on the fire truck — Chris is also a full-time firefighter in Phoenix, Arizona.

One Comment

  • Great, never came through such type of information, thank you for sharing the information.

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