Best Cashback Websites

By: Cooper Haywood
Last Updated: July 30, 2020
Advertiser Disclosure

Cashback websites (also known as rebate websites) can be one of the easiest ways to save money when purchasing everyday essentials, so definitely take advantage of the completely free money just sitting there for the taking.

Just sign up, start all of your shopping on their site, and earn rewards when you check out. Best of all, many of these sites also provide coupons so you can further increase your savings.

How can you pick the best one for your needs though? Just take a look at the comparison chart and reviews below!



NameRatingNumber of MerchantsPayout Method TypesSign Up BonusAverage Payout PeriodLearn More
Befrugal favicon
BeFrugal

5000+

Check
Gift Card
PayPal

$10

10 business days

Sign Up
BeFrugal Review
Ibotta favicon
Ibotta

350+

PayPal
Venmo
Gift Cards

$10

PayPal: 24 hours

Sign Up
Ibotta Review
Swagbucks favicon
Swagbucks

1500+

Gift Card
PayPal

$5

32-92 days

Sign Up
Swagbucks Review
Mypoints favicon
MyPoints

1900+

Gift Cards
PayPal
Travel Miles

$10

Gift Cards: 2 weeks
PayPal: 5 business days
Travel Miles: 6-8 weeks

Sign Up
MyPoints Review
Mr rebates favicon
Mr Rebates

2000+

Check
PayPal

$5

30 days

Sign Up
Mr Rebates Review
Topcashback favicon
TopCashBack

4000+

Bank Account
PayPal
Amazon Gift Certificate
American Express® Reward Card

$10

PayPal: 24 hours

Sign Up
TopCashBack Review
Ebates favicon
Ebates

2000+

Check
PayPal
Charity

$10

3 months

Sign Up
Ebates Review

What is a Cash Back Website?

A cash back (or rebate) website is a website that gives you a discount on your everyday shopping. When you make a purchase through a rebate site you will earn a percentage of that transaction as cash back. For example, if you make a $100 purchase and the site offers a 5% rebate, you’ll earn $5 in cash back.

You can only earn cash back from shopping at specific stores that the website offers a rebate for. Each store has its own rebate rate, which can be as low as 1% or as high as 25% or more.

The rebate rate is not removed from the final purchase price. If you buy a $100 product, you have to pay the full $100. Once the transaction is finished, the seller will contact the rebate site with the transaction details. The rebate site will then credit your cash back balance for the amount you’ve earned.

Depending on the site, you will receive the cash back immediately, on a set schedule, or when you choose to redeem it.

How Does a Rebate Website Make Money?

Rebate websites don’t give you cash back out of the kindness of their hearts. They’re in business to make money. Rebate sites make their money by advertising to you and give you a cut of their advertising earnings.

An online shoe store may offer other companies who refer business to them a 10% commission. A rebate site will refer customers to the shoe store, and offer the customers 4% cash back. You get to save 4% and the rebate site earns 6%. Both you and the rebate site benefit when you shop using the rebate site.

Here are some things that are important for choosing the best cashback website when you want to get paid to shop.

How to Choose the Right Rebate Sites

How Many (and Which) Merchants Are Offered

A rebate website that offers the best cash back rates is all but useless if the site only offers rebates from a couple stores. Similarly, if the site offers cash back at thousands of stores but you don’t shop at any of them, you’ll never get the chance to benefit.

Make sure that there is a wide variety of stores that you can shop at, and that you already shop at some of the stores offered. That will let you immediately benefit from the cash back site, and increase your odds of being able to make future purchases through the site.

Rebate Rates

Once you’ve confirmed that the stores you shop at are partnered with the rebate site, check what the rebate rate offered is. There’s no harm in having accounts on multiple rebate sites, so if one offers 2% back and another offer 5% back, you should shop using the one with a 5% rebate.

Though it might take some extra effort, rebate rates can vary widely and even a small difference in the rebate can make a huge difference in the final cost of a large purchase.

In-Store Earning

Most cash back sites only work for online shopping but some let you earn cash back on purchases made in person at the store. You can link your credit or debit card to the cash back website and use it to shop. Your transaction information will automatically be picked up by the cash back site and you’ll earn the rewards automatically.

Payment Schedule

Who wants to wait to get money that they’ve earned? Some sites have a set payment schedule, like once every three months or once every month. Some sites will let you cash out whenever you’d like, but only once you’ve reached a certain minimum balance.

Consider how long you’re willing to wait before getting your cash back and how hard it will be for you to reach the cash out minimum before committing to a cash back website.

How is the Rebate Paid?

Some rebate sites mail you a check. Others send your money by PayPal or a similar service. Others let you redeem your cash back for gift cards. Some sites give you a bonus if you choose a non-cash redemption option. Think about what redemption method would be the easiest and most useful for you, and look for a site that offers that method.

Ease of Use

Most rebate sites are easy to use. Visit the site, find the merchant you want to shop at in the site’s listings, and then follow the link to open the seller’s website. The rebate site will automatically track your purchase and credit your account.

Still, it might be difficult to navigate the rebate site’s directory, or maybe it doesn’t have a phone app and it’s hard to use the website from your phone. You don’t want to waste a bunch of time trying to earn your cash back, so make sure that the site you choose is easy for you to use.

Sign-Up Bonuses

What better way to accelerate your earnings than with a sign-up bonus? Some sites offer bonus cash back on your first purchases while others give you a flat amount when you make your first purchase through the site. All else being equal, there’s no reason that you shouldn’t get the best sign-up bonus available.

You can even use multiple sites to take advantage of all of their sign-up bonuses, putting even more money back in your pocket.

Other Offerings

All rebate sites offer the chance to earn cash back on your purchases, but some offer other ways to save money. Many rebate sites offer coupon codes for specific products that give you the opportunity to save even more money.

Other rebate sites offer non-shopping ways to earn money. You can watch advertisements or take surveys and get some money added to your cash back balance. If you want to earn even more rewards, look for sites with lots of earning opportunities.

For more freebies, head over to how to get free stocks.

About the Author
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Cooper is a former equity research professional/finance analyst who holds an MBA in Financial Instruments and Markets from New York University's Stern School of Business. He left the investment banking world in 2015 to become a full-time investor. He contributed to InvestmentZen as an financial product analyst from 2016-2017.