So you might be wondering is Ibotta legit, I am here to tell you that the short answer is yes, Ibotta is legit and very real. In fact, Ibotta is one of the best cash-back apps to earn money on the go in my opinion.
To help save my readers some time and to give them a better understanding of the Ibotta app, I did a lot of research to answer almost all your Ibotta questions.
This post will go into full detail about the Ibotta app. I will also cover the best ways to make money from the app and if the app is really worth it in the end. Let’s dive in!
Related Posts
- 40 Best Foods To Buy On A Tight Budget
- 17 Legit Easy Side Hustles To Make Extra Money
- Best Apps That Will Pay You Real Money
Table of Contents
What is Ibotta?
Ibotta is legit and a free cash-back app where you can earn money back from your everyday purchases online. This app was founded by Bryan Leach who thought it was a great idea for people to upload receipts and get instant cash-back.
Currently, Ibotta is one of the most frequently used shopping apps in the US and partners with over 1,500 leading brands and retailers. Ibotta has also paid more than $860 million dollars to their users in the last seven years. If you want to check out Ibotta, you can grab a $20 welcome bonus by clicking here.
Is Ibotta legit?
Yes, Ibotta is legit and free to use. With a 4.8/5.0 score on the Apple store and 4.4/ 5 score, this app has been rated over a million times by users all over the US.
One of the cool things about Ibotta is that they pay you real money for your everyday purchases from grocery stores. So, if you aren’t using Ibotta to earn cash-back, you are totally missing out on making extra money. Since Ibotta is legit is one of the best cash-back apps in my opinion.
How does Ibotta work?
Ibotta gives you cash-back on your purchases from the different grocery stores you shop at. When you buy certain items from their partner retailers, such as Walmart and Whole Foods, you will earn money back every single time.
The list of qualifying items changes very often, so make sure to check the app daily to see which items are listed for the day.
What’s the Ibotta referral code to get a free sign-up bonus?
Currently, if you sign up for an account with Ibotta, you can earn a $20 welcome bonus. In order to receive the bonus, you must download the app and complete the steps to get your $20 bonus.’
To grab your $20 bonus, all you have to do is sign up here, and then use the referral code “iyqcvie” and redeem a certain amount of offers within 14 days of registration.
How to use the Ibotta app
1. Sign up
The first thing you want to do is sign up for a free account on the Ibotta app. As stated above, if you sign up, you will receive a welcome bonus after you redeem a certain amount of offers within 14 days of registration.
2. Download the app
The second thing you will do is download the app on your iPhone or Android device and log in with your new account.
3. Choose your store(s)
Since different stores have different offers, take some time to view the different stores that partner with Ibotta to earn cash-back. Stores such as Aldi, Jewels, Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods are all on the Ibotta app, so if you shop at any of those shops, you are good to go.
4. Select your deals
Before you go shopping, select your chosen store and the deal offers on the app that you will purchase from the chosen store. For example, if I picked Whole Foods, different items from Whole Foods would pop up that I can add to my personal Ibotta list.
When you add an offer item to your list, you may have to answer a quick question or watch a quick video, but It’s super fast and won’t take much time at all.
5. Go to the store
Once you have your offer items on the app selected, it will be time to go to the store you chose at the beginning to grab those items. When you get to the store, find the offer items, and make sure you have the right ones selected.
To ensure you have the right item, pick up the item, and scan the barcode on the Ibotta app in the store. After you do that, the app will tell if it’s the right item or not. At the end of your grocery store run, make sure to get your receipt because you will need it to upload on the Ibotta app.
6. Scan your receipt and redeem
Once you are finished with your store run, it will be time to scan your receipt and get cash-back. Take a photo of your receipt on the Ibotta app and upload it. After you upload it, the Ibotta app will reward you and you will earn cash-back.
7. Cash-out
Once you hit $20 on the Ibotta app, you will be able to cash out using either PayPal, Venmo, or through a gift card.
Pro Tips To Help Earn More With Ibotta
1. Download the Ibotta Chrome extension
If you shop online a lot, it’s a great idea to install the Ibotta Chrome extension. With the Chrome extension, you can earn money back from retailers such as Kohl’s, Ulta, Best Buy, Walmart, and much more when you shop online with the Ibotta chrome extension.
The Ibotta extension is currently the only browser extension that gets you money back on individual grocery products at your favorite stores as well.
How does the Ibotta Chrome extension work?
- Add the free Ibotta Chrome extension on Google Chrome on your computer.
- Shop online at your favorite stores, and if one of them is on the Ibotta retailer list, you will earn cash-back.
- Ibotta will add your cash-back to your Ibotta earnings on the app.
Click here to see a list of supported retailers for the Chrome Ibotta extension.
2. Link store loyalty cards
Ibotta has preferred partnerships with a lot of different retailers, and those retailers allow you to link your store loyalty cards to the Ibotta app. When you link your card to your Ibotta account, you will receive cash-back on qualifying items you bought at the specific retailer. To find out how to link your loyalty card to your Ibotta account, click here.
3. Use Ibotta teamwork
Ibotta teamwork is an additional way to make more money on the Ibotta app by teaming up with others that use the app. To add teams on Ibotta, connect your Facebook account to your Ibotta account to get started.
After that, tell your friends that use Ibotta to do the same thing, and once they connect their accounts to the Ibotta app, you will automatically be added to each other’s teams.
Does Ibotta charge a fee to use it?
Ibotta is free to use, which is a huge plus. However, they do deduct $3.99 from the Ibotta balance on accounts that go inactive. An inactive account means they haven’t redeemed an offer from the app within 6 months. The $3.99 deduction will never be taken from your personal bank account, but it will be taken from your Ibotta balance if you have one.
To avoid the $3.99 inactivity deduction, simply redeem an offer at least once every 6 months.
How do I make money with Ibotta?
There are a few ways to make money with the Ibotta app. Here are some of the ways to make money with Ibotta.
- Cash-back from your shopping: One of the biggest ways to earn money from the Ibotta app is by picking offer items that are on the app and then purchasing the same items at the grocery store you selected on the Ibotta app.
- Refer other people to the app: Another awesome way to make money from the Ibotta app is by referring your friends and family to the app. When someone signs up with your Ibotta referral link, you will earn $10 when the person signs up and redeems a qualifying offer.
- Complete Bonuses: Ibotta has a ton of bonuses that they offer throughout the month on the app. Each bonus on the app is different and has a different requirement to complete. For example, a bonus may be that you have to purchase two of the same offer items instead of one to receive $2.00 back.
You can find the bonus section on your Ibotta app in the “earn more” section at the bottom of the app.
Does Ibotta really give you money?
Yes, Ibotta does give you cash-back when you purchase items that are listed on their app. Each offer item has a different cash-back amount so make sure to read the details of the item before you add it to your Ibotta list to see how much you will earn back.
What gift cards can I get from Ibotta?
The great thing about Ibotta is that you can get gift cards from different places if you don’t choose to withdraw your earnings via PayPal or Venmo. The gift cards that Ibotta gives out are digital ones you can receive by email.
Some of the places you can get gift cards from are:
- Target
- Sephora
- Starbucks
- Amazon
Which is better, Ibotta or Rakuten?
Ibotta and Rakuten are very similar in the fact that you can earn cash-back from your purchase. I currently use both to maximize my cash-back earnings.
With both Ibotta and Rakuten, you can redeem both online and in-store offers, but Ibotta does have more in-store offers compared to Rakuten. With Rakuten, you can get a $10 welcome bonus just by signing up. Click here to check out Rakuten. You can also get a referral bonus of $20 for each person who signs up through your referral link through Rakuten.
So, overall I think both Rakuten and Ibotta are equally great and are awesome ways to earn cash-back on different purchases. I suggest signing up for both to take advantage of the daily cash-back deals. Additionally, make sure to add both the Ibotta and Rakuten chrome extensions to get notified about what deals are happening when you shop online as well.
Which app gives the best cash-back?
Along with Ibotta, I have a few cash-back apps that are my favorites. The great thing about cash-back apps is that you can sign up for multiple ones to see which ones are your favorite. Along with Ibotta and Rakuten, I am also a fan of Fetch Rewards and Swagbucks to earn cash-back.
Swagbucks is actually more than just a cash-back app because you can also make money from taking surveys online, watching videos, and playing games on the Swagbucks app.
Since signing up, I have made more than $4,000 ( 400,000 points) using the Swagbucks app and referring my friends and readers to the app.
I highly recommend Swagbucks; it’s one of my favorite money-making apps. Check out Swagbucks by clicking here.
Additionally, I also really love Fetch Rewards! This app is very similar to Ibotta because you can earn cash-back from in-store and online offers.
With Fetch Rewards, you can earn cash-back just by uploading your receipt, and you don’t need to select offers before your grocery store trip. Simply upload your receipt after you receive it, and you will earn points. Once you hit 3,000 points, you can redeem your points for gift cards to places such as Amazon and Target.
Right now when you sign up you can grab 2000 free points when you use my referral code of UTA17 when you sign up.
I highly recommend the cash-back apps listed in this post. Check them out below to sign up and grab your free bonuses.
- Click here to sign up for Swagbucks and get a free $10 bonus.
- Sign up with Ibotta and grab your free $20 welcome bonus.
- Create a Fetch Rewards account and earn free 2000 points.
- Check out Rakuten and sign up to grab your $10 bonus.
Additional FAQ
What’s better than Ibotta?
While Ibotta is an amazing app if you are looking for additional cash-back apps I highly recommend the following apps Fetch Rewards, Swagbucks, and Rakuten .
Can I use old receipts on Ibotta?
Currently, you have 7 days from your date and time that you make your purchase to upload your receipt on the Ibotta app. If you upload your receipt on the 8th day from your purchase, it will be too late to grab your cash-back earnings on the Ibotta app.
So I highly suggest uploading your receipt as soon as you finish your grocery shopping.
Is there an activity fee for Ibotta?
While Ibotta is free to use, they do, however, have a fee for accounts that go inactive. If a person doesn’t redeem an offer within 6 months, their account will go into inactive mode.
To avoid the maintenance fee deduction make sure to redeem at least one offer within 6 months. Also, note that the fee is never taken from your bank account; it is taken from your Ibotta balance if you have one.
What is the catch with Ibotta?
Since Ibotta is free to use and pays you to go shopping, you might be wondering if Ibotta is really legit, and I am here to say that it is.
Keep in mind that Ibotta does collect information from the users that upload receipts, which is pretty standard to other apps that you use on a daily basis.
Is Ibotta app safe to use?
Yes, using Ibotta is legit and totally safe for people to use. There are a ton of excellent ratings on both the Apple and Google stores from active users.
How much can you make with Ibotta?
I made an additional $260 last year using the Ibotta app for cash-back. While the app won’t make you rich, it’s still a great way to make extra money.
How much a person can make with Ibotta will depend on the person and how often they use the app. If you use the app every time you shop online and for in-store purchases, you can easily earn a great cash-back amount. I made over $260 last year with the app, and I didn’t use it every time I went shopping. As a result, I am sure I would have made even more money if I did.
Final Thoughts
Is the Ibotta app worth it?
I highly think Ibotta is worth it if you are looking to earn cash-back on daily purchases. Ibotta is legit and not only can you earn cash-back from your in-store and online purchases, but you can also earn money by referring others to the app.
So, if you are looking for an awesome app to earn cash-back, I highly recommend the Ibotta app and believe it’s worth it since shopping is an activity that most people do on a weekly basis. Since joining Ibotta, I have made over $260, and some of my friends have earned even more back from this app.
Do you currently use the Ibotta app? If so, in the comment section, let me know about your experience.