ReceiptPal is one of several receipt-scanning apps that pays you real money for sharing your shopping receipts.
But does the app deliver?
Dedicated ReceiptPal users can earn $10-25 a year. It’s essentially free money — but is it worth the effort?
In this review, I’ll share:
How ReceiptPal works
My experience with the app so far
Some ReceiptPal alternatives to consider
We based this ReceiptPal review on:
Our personal experience with the app
Feedback from our independent app testers and public App Store reviews
Comparing with other similar receipt-scanning apps
Ready? Let’s do it!
ReceiptPal
2.5
Free
ReceiptPal is a legit app that pays you for scanning receipts. Consistent users can earn $10-25 per year, depending on your shopping habits.
Easy to useAll receipts earn points$5 minimum to cash out
Must connect your email account to cash outNo PayPal, Venmo, or bank withdrawal optionPoints expire after 90 days of inactivity
Is ReceiptPal Legit?
Yes, ReceiptPal is legit. ReceiptPal was founded in 2013 and has over 1 million downloads and a 4-star rating from almost 40,000 reviews on Google Play.
At press time, the app had also earned a 4.5-star rating from over 20,000 reviews on the Apple App Store.
How Does ReceiptPal Work?
ReceiptPal (sometimes written as “Receipt Pal”) collects your receipts and gives you points to redeem for gift cards.
You can submit paper receipts through your smartphone camera, or connect your email and other retailer accounts to share digital receipts.
You have 7 days from the date of purchase to submit your receipts.
With ReceiptPal, all receipts are treated equally. (Other apps give you more points for larger purchases, or only work with receipts from certain stores.)
You can upload receipts from convenience stores, grocery stores, clothing stores, sporting goods stores, gas stations, and more.
How Much Can You Make with Receipt Pal?
The Receipt Pal earning system is somewhat convoluted, but the more receipts you share, the more you can earn.
Every four receipts you submit earns you one “card.”
A card is worth 100 points.
It takes a minimum of 2200 points to cash out for a $5 reward. If my math serves me, that means each receipt is worth approximately $0.06.
(This is actually higher than some other popular receipt scanning apps.)
The average shopper could anticipate filling about 1-2 cards per week (4-8 receipts). That would earn you 100-200 ReceiptPal points each week, letting you get a $5 cash out every 3-5 months.
Over a year, ReceiptPal would be worth $12-$25, depending on your shopping habits.
How Does ReceiptPal Make Money?
ReceiptPal takes your information and combines it with information from other ReceiptPal members.
Then they sell the anonymized information to help companies better understand consumer purchase behaviors. Based on everyone’s buying patterns, brands and retailers can make better product and marketing decisions.
What are the Payout Options?
You can cash out your ReceiptPal points for an Amazon gift card or a gift card to other select retailers. There is no option to redeem for PayPal credit, bank deposit, or Venmo or Zelle transfer.
As of press time, here are the Receipt Pal payout levels:
2,200 points = $5 gift card
4,000 points = $10 gift card
9,250 points = $25 gift card
17,250 points = $50 gift card
32,250 points = $100 gift card
Some of the non-Amazon retail gift card options include:
Apple
Chipotle
Panera
Starbucks
Target
Walmart
One potential downside to be aware of is you must connect your email account for at least 30 days to redeem any ReceiptPal reward.
How to Maximize Your Receipt Pal Earnings
The best way to maximize your ReceiptPal is to simply make it a habit to scan your receipts after every shopping trip.
It won’t be a lifestyle-changer in terms of the extra income, but you’ll slowly build points over time.
Here are some other ways to make the most from Receipt Pal.
Connect Your Email and Retailer Accounts
ReceiptPal wants you to connect your email addresses so it can scan your inbox for online shopping receipts. That way, you’ll get points for all the shopping you do, not just the trips with paper receipts.
Important note: If you don’t want to give Receipt Pal access to your inbox, you won’t be able to cash out from the app.
You can also connect your Amazon, Instacart, Kroger, Starbucks, and Walmart accounts to earn more points.
They’ll give you a small bonus for each account you connect, plus you’ll automatically earn ReceiptPal points for every transaction through a connected account.
Sweepstakes, Bonuses, and Surveys
As you use the app regularly, you’ll notice different point bonus earning opportunities and sweepstakes entries. I’ve yet to win big here, but it is a way to earn more points and get you closer to your next cash out.
Keep your eye out for paid surveys as well.
Stack with Credit Card Rewards
At most stores, the price you pay is the same whether you’re paying with cash, a debit card, or a credit card. So you might as well get some credit card rewards while you’re shopping.
Here are some of the best current cash back card offers.
Credit cards like the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card offer a $200 sign-up bonus after you spend $500 in your first 3 months — with no annual fee. That’s up to 40% cash back!
If you know you’re gonna spend $500 in the next 3 months, that’s #freemoney. This card also gives you one of the highest cash back rates, with unlimited 1.5% back on every dollar you spend.
Stack with Other Cash Back Apps
Receipt Pal is one of several cash back apps, and there’s nothing to stop you from scanning receipts into multiple apps.
It still won’t make you rich, but can turn pennies into more pennies.
Among my favorites are:
Fetch Rewards – Scan receipts with this app to earn rewards and cash in for free Amazon gift cards (or other stores).
Ibotta – Check your grocery receipts for special cash back offers. I’ve gotten as much as $5 back on single items so it pays to check!
Pogo – Pogo pays you for sharing your location data and linking your credit card statement. You can cash out via Venmo or PayPal. Check out our full Pogo review for more.
CoinOut – Featured on Shark Tank, CoinOut has similar functionality to Receipt Pal. Check out our full CoinOut review for more
Save Up for Better Redemption Values?
If you like a deal, you might have noticed that Receipt Pal points are worth more the more you have.
For example, your points are worth $0.003 each when you redeem for a $100 gift card, compared to just $0.002 when you cash out at $5.
“That’s a 50% better value!” you might be thinking. And you’d be right … but it might also take you 4+ years to save up enough points to get to that level.
My recommendation? Cash out as early and as often as you can, because you never know when the point values may change.
What We Like and Dislike About ReceiptPal
On the positive side, “It’s quite easy to use,” our independent app tester explained. “You just snap a picture and earn points. Once you add your accounts, the app automatically scans them for possible points. I like the little sweepstakes entries too.”
The $5 cash out minimum is reasonable and the value per receipt is in line with other similar apps.
We’d love to see some more cash out options, and not require an email account connection to cash out.
It’s also kind of lame that your points expire if you forget to upload a receipt for 90 days.
Other users mention the app itself can be slow, but I haven’t experienced that myself.
Receipt Pal Alternatives
ReceiptPal is one of several receipt-scanning apps I keep on my phone. After each shopping trip, it’s pretty fast to go through and take a picture with each to earn the points.
Here are some similar apps to consider, along with some other ways to get paid for your data.
1. Fetch Rewards
The Fetch Rewards app is a favorite of mine because it’s super easy. You earn points by snapping pictures of your grocery receipts, which you can cash in for gift cards.
Pro Tip: Use referral code FETCH300 when you sign up to get 300 free bonus points added to your account.
2. Receipt Hog
Receipt Hog is a similar receipt-scanning app, where our independent app tester reported earning $25 a year.
Here’s our full Receipt Hog review for more.
3. Ibotta
I use Ibotta every week to check for extra cash back on our grocery purchases.
The drawback is you still have to scroll through each store’s listing and choose the products you bought. Then, you snap a picture of your receipt and watch the cash back hit your account.
Ibotta Savers who use the app every month earn over $130 a year! I’ll take it. (You can cash out via gift cards or PayPal.)
4. CoinOut
CoinOut won’t replace your day job, but could pay you up to $36 a year for uploading your shopping receipts.
It’s easy to use and you can cash out for an Amazon gift card as soon as you earn your first $3 worth of coins.
Check out our full CoinOut review to learn more.
5. Pogo (iOS)
The free Pogo app is one of my latest finds. By sharing your location and credit card transaction data, Pogo gives you points that you can cash out to PayPal or Venmo.
Just enable location tracking and link your bank account credentials when you sign up. Based on my results so far, I expect Pogo to be worth around $5-20 a year.
Check out my full Pogo app review to learn more.
Is Receipt Pal Worth It?
If you’re an online shopper, Receipt Pal is an easy way to score gift cards just by granting access to your receipts via email and online retailers.
Add in the ability to upload your paper receipts too, and you could earn multiple gift cards throughout the year.
If you shop regularly — and don’t care sharing what you buy — then yes, Receipt Pal is worth it given how little time it takes to use.
But if you’re looking for a side hustle with more earning power, Receipt Pal isn’t it. Take a look at our big list of ways to make extra money for ideas that will make a bigger impact on your bottom line.
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