The best cash back websites in Canada can help put a small dent in your shopping costs when you make purchases online or in the store.
Combined with a good cash back credit card, you can double up on the savings and give yourself some breathing room without the hassle that comes with cutting endless coupons.
As grocery costs continue to rise alongside steady increases in inflation, these cash back websites can help.
What is a Cash Back Website?
A cash back website or app is a rewards platform that has partnerships with retailers who pay it commissions for bringing customers to their store.
In turn, a cash back site gives its members a portion of the sale commission or affiliate revenue they have earned, making for a WIN-WIN situation.
For example, if you want to buy something on Walmart, you could just log in to your Rakuten account to see the specific offers available for Walmart.
If you click through and make a purchase, Rakuten gives you a cut of the commission, and this “cash back” (in percentage) is known upfront.
Not all cash back sites pay using real dollars. Some offer rewards points (such as the Drop App) you can redeem for gift cards or prepaid cards.
Best Cash Back Sites To Save Money
The best cash back and rebates sites in Canada are free to join.
Other than Honey and Ampli, I have personally used all the platforms listed below and think they are worth checking out.
1. KOHO
KOHO is not your typical cash back website.
Instead of limiting its users to specific retailers, you can use the free KOHO prepaid card anywhere Visa is accepted and earn cash back.
Also, it offers more than just cash back rewards. KOHO members get access to a free budgeting app with an automated savings feature, early payroll, and price matching.
They can also earn a competitive interest rate on their balance.
How it works: Visit KOHO to sign up ($20 welcome bonus). You get a reloadable prepaid card that earns 0.50% on all purchases. Simply pay using your KOHO Card and cash back is automatically credited to your balance.
You can easily deposit funds from your bank account; bill payments and Interac e-Transfers are free.
Cash back payout: Cash back earned can be used to pay for purchases or you can withdraw it to your bank account. There is no minimum payout threshold.
Available: Canada only.
If you plan to do a lot of chopping with your KOHO Card, there’s an option to upgrade to a premium account and earn up to 2% cashback.
Promotion: Sign up for KOHO and get a $20 bonus after making your first purchase.
Learn more: KOHO review.
2. Rakuten
Rakuten is one of the oldest cashback rebates sites for online shopping. Formerly known as Ebates, the platform is available in the U.S., Canada, and Japan.
How it works: Create a free account ($30 bonus). In Canada, Rakuten is affiliated with over 750 stores (2,500+ in the U.S.). When you want to shop online, first visit Rakuten to find your store and click through to their website.
Rakuten uses cookies to track your purchase and you earn the advertised cash back rate at the time of purchase.
Cash back earn rate varies and it is not unusual to see discounts ranging from 1% to as high as 30%. I find it is easier to activate cash back when you install Rakuten’s browser extension.
Cash back payout: The cash back you have earned is paid out four times a year in February, May, August, and November.
Payment options include PayPal, cheque, or Amazon gift cards. The minimum payout threshold is $5.01.
Available: Canada, the United States, and Canada.
Promotion: Get a $30 welcome bonus when you sign up and make your first purchase of $30 or more.
Learn more: Rakuten Canada Review.
3. Great Canadian Rebates
Great Canadian Rebates (GCR) is the homegrown version of Rakuten. It is affiliated with more than 700 merchants including U.S. retailers that ship to Canadian addresses.
If you are looking for a new credit card, this site often has some of the best offers to get free $100 gift cards.
How it works: Join Great Canadian Rebates ($3 bonus). Visit GCR before making any online purchase to search for your favourite store and click through to their website.
Make sure to remove ad blockers from your browser as they may affect tracking and cause you to lose rebates. Cash back is usually credited to your account within 72 hours.
You can also install the GCR Toolbar Addon to get automatic alerts when you are shopping at a participating website.
Cash back payout: Redeem cash back rebate for gift cards, direct deposit, or PayPal payment, starting at $12. When you refer friends to the platform, you earn a 15% referral bonus on all cash back they earn for 3 years.
Available: Canada only.
4. Drop App
Drop is a cashback app that is available on iOS and Android devices. It has over 4 million users and is based in Toronto.
How it works: Get the free app and link a bank card (debit or credit). When you make a purchase at any of the retailers featured on the app, you earn points you can redeem for gift cards.
Unlike cash back apps that require you to upload receipts, Drop automatically tracks purchases at more than 400 brands.
Drop also pays users to take surveys and play mobile games.
Cash back payout: 1,000 Drop points are equivalent to $1. The minimum payout is $25 (25 points), and you can redeem points for gift cards.
Available: Canada and the United States.
Promotion: Get a $5 bonus after linking your gift card.
Learn more: Drop App review.
5. Caddle
Caddle is a free grocery cash back site and app founded in 2015.
How it works: Get the Caddle App ($1 bonus). Every week, the app features new offers to help you save on grocery purchases. Buy the item at any store (or in some cases at a specific store) and upload your receipt via the app.
Cash back earned is added to your account within 24-72 hours. Caddle also pays its users to complete short questionnaires and provide feedback on video ads.
Cash back payout: You can request a cheque payout when your account balance reaches $20 or more.
Available: Canada only.
Promotion: Get a $1 sign-up bonus after you complete at least one task.
Learn more: Caddle review.
6. TopCashback Canada
Like Rakuten, TopCashback works well for online purchases at thousands of retailers.
The company operates in the United Kingdom, U.S., and Canada.
How it works: Create an account and visit TopCashback prior to making a purchase online. Click on your preferred retailer to visit their site and place your order. Cash back is automatically credited within 7 days.
Cash back payout: Redeem your earnings at any time using PayPal, gift cards, (Amazon, Walmart, etc.), and Visa prepaid cards.
Available: Canada, the U.S., and U.K.
Learn more: TopCashback review.
7. Swagbucks
Swagbucks is a get-paid-to site that rewards members when they shop online, complete surveys, play games, and more.
As per its website, Swagbucks has paid members more than $591 million since its founding.
How it works: Sign up ($5 bonus) and visit over $1,500 retailers directly from your dashboard. You earn Swagbucks points (SBs) for every dollar spent at participating stores.
Cash back payout: You can redeem points for gift cards, prepaid cards, and PayPal cash.
Available: Canada, the U.S., and U.K.
Learn more: Swagbucks review.
8. Ampli
Ampli is a cashback app that is available on the App Store and Google Play. It is backed by RBC.
How it works: Download the free app and get a $5 bonus after linking your debit or credit card. When you make a purchase online or in-store at partner brands, you earn cash back.
Cash back payout: You can withdraw cashback using Interac e-Transfer starting at $15.
Promotion: Get a $5 bonus after linking a card.
Available: Canada only.
Learn more: Ampli review.
9. Checkout 51
This grocery rewards site pays you to shop with lots of new offers available every Thursday.
How it works: Download the app and browse the offers available for the week. Make your purchase at any store (in some cases at specific stores) and upload your receipt using the app. Cashback is added to your account within days.
Cash back payout: Withdraw earnings starting at $20 and a cheque is sent to your mailing address.
Available: Canada and the U.S.
Learn more: Checkout 51 review.
10. Honey
Honey is a browser extension that alerts you when there are coupons available on over 40,000 sites. It also has a rebates feature, Honey Gold, that works like Rakuten.
How it works: Install the Honey browser extension on Google Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. When you are shopping on a site that has coupons available, Honey finds the coupons and automatically applies them to your cart.
Cash back payout: The ’Gold’ you earn via Honey Gold can be redeemed for gift cards.
Available: U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia.
How To Maximise Cash Back Rewards
In addition to earning cash back using the cash back sites listed above, you can earn even more by using a cash back rewards credit card to pay.
For example, the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card pays up to 2% cash back on all purchases in your chosen categories (groceries, gas, entertainment, etc.).
Other strategies include:
Combine offers: In some cases, you can combine cash back offers and earn using multiple sites. For example, use your KOHO prepaid card to purchase an offer available on Rakuten, Caddle, or Checkout 51.
I have also had instances where I could submit the same receipt on both Caddle and Checkout 51.
Use the browser extension: It is quite easy to forget to first visit a cash back site prior to making a purchase online. With their browser extension, you get alerts when cash back is available.
FAQs
For non-credit card purchases, my top choice is KOHO. For online shopping, your best option is Rakuten.
Cash back sites that pay you to upload receipts are Caddle and Checkout 51.
The cash back sites listed here are legitimate and payout your earnings when you reach the minimum threshold.
Yes, they are generally safe to use. You should take normal precautions by using a strong password. Also, check their privacy terms to learn about how your private information or data is used. For example, do they sell your data to third parties?
Which of these cash back websites do you use?
Hi Enoch,
Hope you’re enjoying your summer?
Do you know any further details regarding the CIBC Costco MasterCard and have you heard of the website called adjustedcostbase.ca?
@Manish: Yes, thank you. Hope you are enjoying your summer, too? I have seen some talk about the new card, but haven’t yet looked into it closely. As for adjustedcostbase.ca, yes. I think it is great for tracking your capital gains, etc. I actually plan on using their paid plan in the future…heard good things about it.