Is ShopBack Legit? Earn Cashback with Every Purchase

ShopBack is a money-making app that allows users to earn cash back on their everyday purchases.

While it’s relatively new to the U.S., ShopBack has been a go-to for shoppers across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region for over a decade. (And is now active in 13 countries.)

With more than 50 million users and over $600 million in cash back rewards paid out, ShopBack certainly has the numbers to back it up.

Now the question is whether it lives up to the hype here in the States.

In this honest review, I’ll cover:

• How ShopBack works
• Ways you can earn
• How much you can realistically make
• A few pros and cons

Let’s dive right in!

What is ShopBack?

Founded in 2014, ShopBack is headquartered in Singapore, with a U.S. main office located in Austin, TX. 

Simply shop with one of the 3,000+ participating brands and earn back a portion of what you spend.

Each retailer sets their own offer, which can range anywhere from 0.5% to 80%+ (yes – you read that right!). Some retailers offer a flat cash back dollar amount (e.g. $20 cash back for a confirmed subscription). 

You can also earn money just by playing games through ShopBack Play.

Any money you earn (referred to by the platform as “Cashback”) can be withdrawn through PayPal.

At press time, you can get a $20 bonus when you join through our referral link.

At the time of publishing, ShopBack was available to users in the following countries:

• United States
• Australia
• Germany
• Hong Kong
• Indonesia
• Malaysia
• Philippines
• Singapore
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• Vietnam
• New Zealand

*Offline payment and gift cards features are not available in all countries.

Is ShopBack Legit?

Absolutely! Even as a relatively new user, using the app and web extension to make purchases has been seamless and straightforward.

There’s also the opportunity to snowball your earnings through Quests and Bonuses (I’ll go into that in more detail below).

Will you earn enough with ShopBack to quit your day job?

Probably not, but you can still make some decent money—especially on those big-ticket purchases (like electronics or travel) and by playing mobile games.

How to Make Money with ShopBack

With over 3,000 brands to choose from, earning cash back through ShopBack is incredibly easy. The more you shop, the more you make! It’s seriously that simple.

Getting started is quick, easy, and free. 

Once you’re signed up, simply connect to the participating retailer of your choice either through:

• the ShopBack app
• the ShopBack website
• by activating a shopping trip through the desktop plugin

You can search for available incentives by category or brand name. Cashback is available for both products as well as certain services, like Internet or wireless phone plans:

Travel is another popular Cashback category on ShopBack:

There may also be “boosted” deals that are available for a limited time and/or offer extra savings:

When you find a deal you like, just click on the link to start your shopping session. You’ll be redirected to the retailer, and ShopBack will track your purchase.

After completing a shopping session, ShopBack automatically calculates your Cashback and sends you an email:

Once your Cashback balance reaches at least $5, you can withdraw to your PayPal account.

If you use the browser plugin, a notification will automatically pop up any time you visit a participating retailer’s website. You can then activate your ShopBack shopping trip with one simple click.

You may also earn a bonus by installing the extension. For instance, at press time, new extension users are eligible for a couple $2.99 shipping rebates on top of ShopBack’s coupon savings and Cashback.

Other Ways to Earn/Save with ShopBack

Browser Plugin

Cashback isn’t the only cool thing about ShopBack.

Like Rakuten, the ShopBack app and plugin also scan the web for any relevant coupon codes, which you can apply to your cart with one click.

This saves you time and money on top of earning Cashback.

Quests

You also have the option to boost your earnings through limited-time shopping deals known as “Quests.” Quests may be associated with a specific retailer, like Amazon:

If you know you’re going to spend $50 at Amazon anyway, that’s like $5 in free money.

Or, ShopBack Quests may be challenges that include multiple retailers:

Each quest must be completed within the specified time period and the requirements must be met in order to qualify for the bonus.

ShopBack Play

The other interesting section of the ShopBack app is ShopBack Play.

Here’s where you can earn some pretty serious cash for playing games or completing offers. As you can see, some of these are worth hundreds of dollars.

Each of these has certain milestones you have to hit within a specific period of time, but the cool part you earn along they way — it’s not all or nothing.

And it’s not just games. For example, I earned $243 for creating a SoFi account and depositing $100:

It took less than 10 minutes!

This section is definitely worth a look, especially if you already enjoy playing mobile games.

Referrals

Lastly, you can earn a Cashback bonus for referring your friends to ShopBack. At press time, ShopBack was paying $20 for each qualified referral!

Your friends will get their $20 bonus after their first qualifying purchase, so everyone wins.

How Much Can You Make on ShopBack?

The amount you can earn from using ShopBack will ultimately depend on:

• How often you use the app
• How much you spend at participating retailers
• What types of incentives those retailers are offering
• Whether you participate and complete available quests and games / offers

Each retailer or brand sets their own cash back amount.

For instance, Best Buy is currently paying 0.5% Cashback while Shein is offering up to 12%.

Some retailers choose to offer a flat dollar amount for qualifying purchases as well. For example, users can earn $1 in Cashback for every Amazon purchase.

(Not sure if I should be embarrassed by this, but I placed 95 Amazon orders in 2024 … which could have been worth $95!)

There may also be certain exclusions to each offer. These criteria will be detailed in the “Terms and Exclusions” section, which is visible once you click on the offer.

ShopBack also frequently runs campaigns where you can earn extra Cashback, such as their monthly travel campaign where you can earn up to 15% Cashback on hotels and 11% Cashback on flights with merchants such as Trip.com and Expedia.

Since travel tends to be a big-ticket purchase, make sure to check the app before you book!

How to Maximize your ShopBack Earnings

There are several ways you can get the most out of your ShopBack earnings.

Check ShopBack Before Shopping

My first piece of advice is to get into the habit of checking the ShopBack app or website any time you plan on making a purchase to see if there are any incentives you can take advantage of.

It’s super quick and easy to search by category or retailer.  

Install the Plugin

Add the ShopBack plugin to your desktop and enable popups. This takes the guesswork out of using the platform, since it automatically informs you of any current offers for any website you happen to visit. 

Stack Your Savings

In addition to cash back, you can also stack your savings by using the coupons that ShopBack automatically finds and applies.

Take Advantage of Quests and Bonuses

Quests enable you to boost your earnings by simply completing the specified action(s). Additionally, many offers include limited-time bonuses that can also snowball your earnings.

Compare for Max Benefits

Most of the offers on ShopBack are very competitive with those on similar apps, but some are much higher.

For instance, if you want to shop at Under Armor, you could earn:

• 11% through ShopBack
• 8% through Rakuten
• 3% through Ibotta

Of course, the opposite could also be true, so it’s a good idea to check around before you check out. This ensures you’re getting the biggest bang for your buck.

Subscribe to Emails

Occasionally, retailers will offer higher-than-normal Cashback incentives. By signing up for email notifications, you can get alerted whenever there are any new or limited-time offers. 

Look for “Boosted” Offers

There’s a section of the ShopBack and app that features “Boosted” offers, which are usually a higher percentage of Cashback that’s available for a limited-time-only.

Check this section frequently to see what’s up for grabs. 

Disable Ad Blockers and Enable Cookies

Tools like ad blockers can sometimes interfere with Cashback being tracked. Likewise, many merchants require that cookies be accepted in order to confirm that a transaction is properly recorded.

Check the Terms and Conditions

Most offers on ShopBack have certain terms that must be met or exclusions that could prevent you from earning Cashback.

Always read the fine print to be sure you understand the offer before moving forward with your purchase.

Refer Friends

If you know of any friends, family members, or colleagues who might also be interested in using ShopBack, you can both earn a cash bonus for each qualifying referral.

The purchase requirement and reward amount can vary, but the most current promotion can always be found on the Invite a Friend page.

At the time of this publication, the referral bonus is $20 per qualified referral.

Plus, there’s no limit to how many people you can refer or how much you can earn.

How Does ShopBack Make Money?

Participating retailers pay ShopBack for referring customers to their sites. ShopBack then passes along a portion of this revenue to you in the form of Cashback.

ShopBack Pros & Cons

Pros

• Free to Use: ShopBack is free to join, and there aren’t any recurring fees for being a member or using the app.
• User-Friendly: The ShopBack app and website are easy to navigate and activating/claiming offers is seamless.
• Variety of Retailers: Members can shop with 3,000+ participating retailers, covering everything from clothing and electronics to travel, food delivery, and more.
• Decent Incentive Amounts: Shoppers who use ShopBack can earn anywhere from 0.5%-80%+ cash back, and the more you shop/spend, the more you’ll earn.
• Additional Savings: ShopBack automatically scours the web for digital coupons, which can be applied to your shopping cart with one simple click.
• Ability to Stack Earnings: Quests, bonuses, and boosted offers enable users to earn even more with their everyday purchases.
• Referral Program: You can earn cash bonuses for every friend you refer. 
• Low Minimum Withdrawal Amount: Users can cash out their earnings once they have $5 confirmed Cashback in their account.

Cons

• Only One Payout Option: ShopBack currently only allows users to withdraw earnings via PayPal, so if you don’t yet have a PayPal account, you’ll need to set one up.
• Activation is Required: In order to earn Cashback, you have to activate a shopping session with ShopBack. If you forget or skip this step, you won’t earn Cashback for your shopping trip.
• Can Be Finicky: According to ShopBack’s Cashback tips section, users should empty their shopping carts berfore starting a shopping session through their platform. For people like me, who always keep a lot of items in their Amazon cart, this can be a bit cumbersome.  
• Maximum Payout: Users are only allowed to withdraw $300 per day. (Although, if you’re earning more than that daily, is there really anything to complain about?!)

Is ShopBack Worth It?

While it’s not going to replace your day job, ShopBack is absolutely worth installing and using. There really are no downsides.

It’s free to signup, install, and use, and you basically make money doing your everyday shopping. How awesome is that?

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