How to Earn Cash Simply by Scanning Receipts

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.

Taking a few seconds to scan grocery receipts lets you earn cash or gift cards. And all of these apps are free to use.

Here are some of the benefits about using grocery receipt scanning apps:

Most come with a free sign-up bonus.

All of these apps are 100% free.

You’ll find that some of these apps work at any store no matter what you buy.

These apps can be deal stacked – this means that you can use the same receipt on multiple apps, possibly doubling, tripling or even quadrupling your savings.

Save hundreds on groceries per year.

With that said, let’s dive right into the reviews.

Apps That Pay to Scan Grocery Receipts

The apps and tips listed below are the best way to make money each time you shop.

1. 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.

2. CoinOut

Do you buy groceries at Walmart or Sam’s Club? This app pays you a flat 1.8% back on all food purchases.

Fans of the tv series Shark Tank may well remember CoinOut. You don’t have to redeem any offers. CoinOut only requires you to upload store receipts.

If you buy groceries at Walmart or Sam’s Club, CoinOut gives you rewards points. And you can use other apps to redeem single item offers to boost your earnings.

Right now, it doesn’t work at other stores that sell groceries. But you can also get cash back at non-food retail partners. These include eBay, Office Depot, Hotels.com and others.

There isn’t a minimum to receive payment via direct deposit or Amazon gift cards. With a $10 rewards balance, you can request PayPal payment.

3. Fetch Rewards

If you like to buy name brand items, you can earn rewards points with the Fetch Rewards app. Some of the discount product categories include the following:

BakingBeauty and Personal CareBeer, Wine and SpiritsBeveragesBreakfast and CerealCondiments and SaucesDairyDeliFrozenGrocerySnacks

Usually, receipt scanning apps don’t include local mom-and-pop stores. But chances are, you buy at least one of these brands on a regular basis. So the good thing is that these offers are good from any store.

Fetch Rewards only requires your store to provide an itemized receipt. That’s a receipt that lists the exact product you buy.

You will earn rewards points for each item you purchase with an active offer. For each dollar spent, you earn ten points. These points are redeemable for Visa gift cards, retail gift cards or future grocery visits.

Make sure to enter the referral code C8MNU to get 2000 free points. That is a free bonus of $2.00 just for signing up and scanning your first receipt!

4. Ibotta

The largest and most popular grocery app is Ibotta. Maybe your friends or family have talked about it before. This app is one of the quickest ways to make money on grocery trips.

Ibotta makes it easy to earn cash back at over 300 grocery store brands. Some of the national franchises include Walmart, Target and Walgreens.

Most regional franchises like Kroger, HEB and Fry’s partner with Ibotta too. And you can earn cash back from online stores including Jet and Amazon for non-grocery purchases.

Also, each month you can earn extra shopping bonuses. It’s possible by buying specific brands or redeeming a certain amount of offers.

To begin, all you need to do is link your loyalty card or phone number to Ibotta. Before you pay, activate the offers on the items you buy.

You can either browse the offers by categories in the app. Or you can scan product barcodes to see if there’s an active offer.

It’s possible to save on a variety of items ranging from food, toothpaste and baby items. You can even save money on alcoholic beverages.

Many offers are for a specific brand (i.e., Crest toothpaste). Others are for “any item” like candy bars or AAA batteries regardless of which brand you buy.

Ibotta deposits most cash rewards into your account after 48 hours. After you have $20 in cash rewards, you receive payment with PayPal, Venmo or gift cards.

Plus get a $10 bonus after your first Ibotta purchase.

5. Shopkick

To get started, download the Shopkick app (available for iOS and Andriod) to your smartphone and turn on your phone GPS within the app. You can earn points just for walking into a store.

Once you are inside the store, see what product barcodes you can scan and enter price amounts.

When Shopkick states “no purchase required to earn points,” they mean it. Shopkick will pay you to scan barcodes of items you don’t purchase. Of course, you earn more points by purchasing items.

Also, you can earn points by scanning items at non-grocery stores. And by browsing online stores and watching videos online.

You can redeem your points for gift cards to your favorite restaurants and retail brands.

So if you enjoy shopping or want an excuse to exercise, Shopkick can make it easy to earn gift cards. Plus you have fun shopping at the same time.

This method usually takes under a minute, and you’re earning free money just for taking a picture of your receipts.

You’ll even find that some of these apps extend beyond groceries, giving you cash back on alcohol, food purchased at restaurants, electronics and other types of products.

In this article, you’ll find the top 10 free money making apps that will pay you to scan your grocery receipt from your smartphone.