Ibotta Review: Is The Ibotta App Worth Your Time?

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There are loyalty cards and email memberships for all sorts of places now. But who has time to click through all of those emails, let alone actively seek out offers from a billion different companies?

Lucky for us, the days of online coupon-cutting are over, too, thanks to the free Ibotta app.

What is Ibotta?

Ibotta app

Ibotta

Ibotta is a simple and easy app that legitimately pays you $10 cash just for signing up and redeeming your first offer within 14 days.

If tossing free money your way just for signing up and using Ibotta sounds a little strange to you, take it as a friendly introduction – because there’s more where that came from.

With Ibotta, the free money doesn’t end with the initial $10 welcome bonus – this app rewards you for the most basic living expenses. If you buy things at all, chances are Ibotta has a reward for that. This is an app designed to pay you cash to simply shop where you’ve already been shopping.

I have two words for you: cashback offers. AKA, rebates. Ibotta is the coupon cutters dream, a huge and user-friendly rebate database with cash back offers just waiting to find their way to you. Every week, Ibotta posts hundreds of new offers, including a $1.00 rebate every single time you take an Uber ride.

Who Is Ibotta For?

Ibotta works great for everyone who goes shopping! In fact, Ibotta has been downloaded over 35 million times since its founding in 2011.

People who purchase a wide variety of items regularly will see the most earnings, but even infrequent shoppers can snag a few extra bucks if Ibotta has something they need.

Here’s How To Use Ibotta:

In this Ibotta app review, we’ll walk you through the simple steps you’ll take in order to start earning. Here’s how it goes:

1. Easily sign up online.

2. Pick out your favorite stores and apps.

The Ibotta app makes this quick and easy to do, and collects all your preferences on the featured screen so then you can …

3. Find rebates on Ibotta.

Ibotta digs up cash back offers from companies across all categories, like grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants and bars, clothing stores, and even tech stores. It’s also got a long list of rebates for alcohol purchases if you’re a regular imbiber.

Ibotta

Ibotta

Like shopping online? The Ibotta app has that covered, too.

Whereas a lot of apps of this type can be disappointing when you see the savings are on products or services you don’t even use, with Ibotta it’s almost difficult to find something you buy that’s not covered by the app.

Ibotta

Ibotta

You can also search by your location to find rebates that actually apply to purchases made in stores near you.

After you’ve picked out the places where you frequently shop, you can …

4. Click to add rebates on products you plan to buy.

From time to time, there’s a survey question, fun fact about the product, or 15-second video to unlock the rebate, but it’s a pretty painless and quick process when you remember that you’re basically getting paid to save money.

5. Buy stuff.

Now the purchasing action can begin. Go grocery shopping. Go to the bar. Buy some new clothes. You know, buy the things you’re already planning to buy anyway. But this time …

6. Keep the receipt and take a photo of it.

How does Ibotta work, exactly, when it comes to getting you your money? The app scans your receipt, matches it to the rebates you clicked before shopping, and sends you cash back rewards. You’ll get your cash back within 48 hours.

If you already have a loyalty card with a company, the Ibotta app will link to that account and you won’t even have to take that pesky extra step of taking a photo. Ibotta will automatically log your receipts, scan them for the rebates you entered, and deposit your cash back earnings for you.

And now for the fun part of this Ibotta app review!

7. Get that cash.

Ibotta drops $10 into your account after you redeem your first rebate – just like that!

As soon as you’ve earned your first $20, you can transfer your Ibotta app earnings to a PayPal or Venmo account. You can also convert your savings into a gift card if you’ve got a go-to place you know you’ll spend the cash anyway.

How Much Can I Earn with Ibotta?

Ibotta won’t make you rich. But if you have to go shopping anyway, why not earn some money while you’re at it?

Your Ibotta earnings vary widely depending on how much you grocery shop. Offers can be anywhere from $0.25. Food items tend to have lower cashback amounts, but food items usually make up the majority of your grocery bill, so you’ll be able to stack up those food offers.

Higher cashback amounts are seen more often on non-food items. The list of alcohol offers is especially long, with a huge range of cashback rewards. Combine your Ibotta earnings with the deposits you receive from recycling those aluminum cans (https://wallstreetinsanity.com/how-to-make-money-recycling-aluminum-cans/) for even more savings.

Ibotta Pros

  • Ease of use: Ibotta is easy to navigate. You could put together your list of offers faster than it takes to write a grocery list.
  • Product and brand variety: Ibotta has offers for all sorts of brands and items. They even have “any brand” and “any item” offers, which reward you for buying any brand of a particular item or any item at all, respectively.
  • Bonuses: There are frequent bonus incentives for redeeming a certain amount of offers in a time period, buying certain brands, or some variation of the two.
  • Go beyond groceries: Ibotta has offers for all kinds of retailers, not just grocery stores.

Ibotta Cons

  • Your store may not be available: Ibotta might not have your favorite store, but chances are they have several offers at other stores near you.
  • Out-of-stock items: Ibotta will occasionally have offers for items that are out of stock.

Ibotta Best Practices

  • Don’t overspend for the sake of cashback: Overspending for the sake of earning more cashback is counterproductive. Try to use Ibotta only for items you would’ve bought anyways to avoid overspending.
  • Hold onto receipts until you’re credited: Hold on to receipts in case Ibotta misses an offer on your receipt. You’re good to throw them out only when Ibotta credits you for your purchase.

Ready to Give the Ibotta App a Try?

If you’ve made it to this point in our Ibotta app review, you’re probably wanting to jump right in and start racking up some easy money. Each everyday purchase you make before signing up for Ibotta could be missed cash back!

Ibotta is given new users $10 just for signing up and redeeming their first offer within 14 days. Sign up, get out there, and get rewarded for shopping!