Cash back sites are websites that give you a percentage of your money back when you shop through their links at participating retailers. It's an easy – and sometimes very valuable – way to save money on purchases you were already planning to make.
Some cash back sites offer even more ways to save, like filling out surveys, playing games, or taking advantage of bonus offers. Sites with corresponding mobile apps can make things easier and, sometimes, even more valuable.
Below, check out the best cash back sites for Canadians below and discover how they can help you earn more money with every purchase.
How we picked the best cash back sites
To evaluate cash back sites, we analyze over 20 data points to generate a trustworthy Genius rating. We consider all aspects of a cash back site, including cash back percentage, access to an app, variety of retailers, diversity of payment options, customer satisfaction, and promotions, to assess its overall value. Then, the cash back site’s features are rated based on how they stack up against other available options.
Top cash back sites and apps in Canada
Here's a look at some of the best cash back apps and sites in Canada:
GeniusCash
Monthly Fee
$0
Mobile App
Available Retailers Estimate
20
Minimum Balance To Cash Out
$0
GeniusCash is a cash back program that rewards users for subscribing to many of the products and services they use on a regular basis. Plus, its new GeniusCash mobile app makes it easier than ever to bank real cash and level up your rewards.
Pros
- New industry-leading mobile app
- Up to $250 cash back
- Flexible payout options
- Bi-weekly payouts
Cons
- Cash back bonuses are harder to get
- Only a limited amount of offers available
- No cash bonus on sign up
Provinces
ALL
Eligibility
- Age of majority
- Eligible to receive select Canadian credit cards
Why You Want It
Earn up to $250 in bonus cash back + Level up your money & rewards.
Special Features
- Up to $250 in bonus cash back
- Easy to use mobile app for even more deals and exclusive offers
- Payments are made directly to you via PayPal or Interac e-Transfer
- Referral bonuses available via the GeniusCash app
Monthly Fee
$0
Mobile App
Available Retailers Estimate
20
Pay Via Cheque?
Pay Via PayPal?
Pay Via Amazon?
Pay Via Gift Cards?
Pay Via Electronic Fund Transfer?
Minimum Balance To Cash Out
$0
Pay Frequency
After a certain amount of time
Limited Payment Wait
Biweekly
Welcome Bonus
$0
Welcome Bonus End Date
N/A
Refer A Friend Offer
See Issuer for Details
GeniusCash is the top cash back site in Canada. It offers opportunities to earn as much as $250 in bonus cash back simply for choosing a financial product or service that you needed anyway – it's essentially free money.
While traditional cash back sites give you back a percentage of your what you purchase, GeniusCash gives you a lump sum of money when you successfully apply for new financial products, services, or credit cards like these:
- Chequing accounts
- Savings accounts
- Investment platforms
- Personal loans
- Mortgages
- Newspaper subscriptions
- Online wills
- Prepaid credit cards
- Travel credit cards
And it's not just one site – you can access valuable cash-back offers via the moneyGenius site, the creditcardGenius site, or the brand-new GeniusCash GeniusCash mobile app.
The GeniusCash app is a cash back rewards app developed by moneyGenius that sends real cash straight to your bank account. It also helps you get the most credit card rewards, find the best deals, and unlock exclusive offers to get you even more cash back on your everyday purchases.
Just pick a product, get approved, and wait for your bonus cash to arrive either via PayPal or an Interac e-Transfer. GeniusCash is that easy.
Rakuten
Monthly Fee
$0
Mobile App
Available Retailers Estimate
750
Minimum Balance To Cash Out
$5.01
Rakuten Canada has long been one of Canada's favourite cash back sites, thanks to its wide range of over 750 retail partners and legit cash back opportunities. Over the last 10 years, it’s paid out more than $100 million to Canadians, which shows how popular Rakuten Canada really is.
Pros
- It's so easy to earn free money
- More than 750 partnering stores and services
- Browse and earn with the Gift Card Shop
- Welcome bonus and referral program
Cons
- Rewards are only paid out 4 times per year
- Tricky exceptions for cash back purchases
- Cash back amounts change without notice
Provinces
ALL
Eligibility
See Issuer for Details
Why You Want It
Earn cash back with over 750 retail partners + $5 sign up bonus.
Special Features
- Link a credit card and get cash back when shopping in-store
- Rakuten Button browser extension provides automatic cash back alerts
- Impressive $30 referral bonus
Monthly Fee
$0
Mobile App
Available Retailers Estimate
750
Pay Via Cheque?
Pay Via PayPal?
Pay Via Amazon?
Pay Via Gift Cards?
Pay Via Electronic Fund Transfer?
Minimum Balance To Cash Out
$5.01
Pay Frequency
After a certain amount of time
Limited Payment Wait
Quarterly
Welcome Bonus
$5
Welcome Bonus End Date
N/A
Refer A Friend Offer
30
Rakuten is one of the most popular cash back sites available for Canadian users. You can earn up to 30% cash back at 750+ various stores and retailers, paid out as a PayPal deposit or a physical cheque – it's one of the very few sites that still offer paper cheques.
One big perk with Rakuten is that they give $5 free just for signing up and making $25 in purchases within a few months. This can definitely make creating an account worth it on its own. And if you refer a friend, they give you a straight $30 cash back credit for each one.
Great Canadian Rebates
Monthly Fee
$0
Mobile App
Available Retailers Estimate
900
Minimum Balance To Cash Out
$10
Great Canadian Rebates is a Canadian cash back site that offers a surprising variety of opportunities to earn cash back when shopping online. It also provides coupon codes, free shipping offers, cash back for (approved) credit card applications, and more.
Pros
- Multiple categories and earning opportunities
- Flexible payment options
- Bonus cash back for gift card cash-out option
- Referral bonuses too
- Canadian-owned and operated
Cons
- Outdated website design can make it clunky to navigate
- Long wait for payout
Provinces
ALL
Eligibility
See Issuer for Details
Why You Want It
Get a $3 sign up bonus + Refer a friend and earn 25% of their rewards.
Special Features
See Issuer for Details
Monthly Fee
$0
Mobile App
Available Retailers Estimate
900
Pay Via Cheque?
Pay Via PayPal?
Pay Via Amazon?
Pay Via Gift Cards?
Pay Via Electronic Fund Transfer?
Minimum Balance To Cash Out
$10
Pay Frequency
After a certain amount of time
Limited Payment Wait
58 days
Welcome Bonus
$3
Welcome Bonus End Date
N/A
Refer A Friend Offer
25% of your friend's earnings
Often referred to simply as GCR, Great Canadian Rebates is one of the longest-standing and most trusted cash back sites in Canada. The site may not be the most modern or attractive, but it compensates by offering loads of value.
At the time of writing, the "Top Offers" section includes 3.25% cash back when shopping at Under Armour Canada, 3% back at Best Buy Canada, and 3% back at AliExpress.com. The highest offers we noted on the site were $150 for signing up for various credit cards.
TopCashBack
TopCashBack originally started in the U.K., expanded into the United States, and now has a long list of Canadian retailers too. These include Adidas Canada, PetSmart Canada, SiriusXM Canada, and more.
At the time of writing, the cash back offers for Canadian retailers range from 0.5% and 30%. But perhaps the best feature of TopCashBack is that there's no minimum payout threshold and no extra fees.
BeFrugal.com
This may be a very basic-looking site but BeFrugal.com has 5000+ participating retailers and some fantastic cash back rates (up to 40%!).
They also offer a few different payout methods, including PayPal and direct deposits – although not all of these will be available to Canadians (Venmo, etc.). There's even a browser extension you can download in order to make the most of their coupons and cash back offers.
One very interesting feature is the BeFrugal+ Retailer program – click on a cash back offer and you'll see a block on the left side of the screen that describes how long a retailer has been a cash back partner. You'll also see a list of features and services (free delivery, return policy, etc.) offered by that particular retailer.
Swagbucks
Monthly Fee
N/A
Mobile App
Available Retailers Estimate
1,500
Minimum Balance To Cash Out
$1
Earning gift cards and extra cash is pretty simple with Swagbucks. In fact, it's one of the most popular cash back sites out there. By completing tasks and doing everyday things – like surfing the net, playing games, shopping online, etc. – you can earn gift cards, PayPal cash, and other sweet prizes.
Pros
- A surprisingly long list of ways to earn
- Opportunities for bonuses
- Impressive list of gift card options
- Handy browser extension
Cons
- No cheque or e-Transfer options for cash-out
- Harder, longer tasks sometimes have small payouts
- Limited global availability
Provinces
ALL
Eligibility
- Age 13+
Why You Want It
Earn free gift cards for shopping online + Also earn for web searches and games.
Special Features
See Issuer for Details
Monthly Fee
N/A
Mobile App
Available Retailers Estimate
1,500
Pay Via Cheque?
Pay Via PayPal?
Pay Via Amazon?
Pay Via Gift Cards?
Pay Via Electronic Fund Transfer?
Minimum Balance To Cash Out
$1
Pay Frequency
Whenever you want
Limited Payment Wait
N/A
Welcome Bonus
$10
Welcome Bonus End Date
N/A
Refer A Friend Offer
$3
Swagbucks pays its users for an ever-growing list of activities. These are just a few of the ways you can earn cash back:
- Downloading apps and games
- Completing polls and surveys
- Watching videos
- Uploading receipts from partnering retailers
- Using their own Yahoo-powered search engine to surf the net
- Referring friends
The payout thresholds vary but are reasonably low (100 points/$1), plus there are several ways to get paid. You can choose to exchange your Swagbucks for gift cards or cash in your earned funds as PayPal money.
There's even a list of charities to choose from if you'd like to use your Swagbucks as donations.
Drop
With Drop, users can earn cash back by shopping, playing games, and taking surveys. Users bank points that they can cash in for gift cards from different brands, including Amazon.
However, joining a Collectible group allows you to earn and redeem points in unique ways. Members of the Games Master Collectible can redeem points for virtual pets. And the Beauty Buff Collective lets you earn extra points on purchases made from specific brands.
The Super Shopper Collectible tracks how often you shop and offers bonus points for hitting certain streaks of shopping activity.
An important detail to remember is that Drop penalizes inactive accounts. If you don't open the app for one year, points are deducted.
Checkout 51
With Checkout 51, users can upload receipts to the app to show they've purchased eligible products and/or brands. Once the app matches your purchases with its featured offers, it credits your account with the appropriate cash back amount.
It's similar to how PC Optimum points work. But if you'd rather not take the time to search through the weekly offers, you can share your location and Checkout51 will send notifications regarding featured offers from the store you're shopping at.
Once you reach the $20 threshold, you can choose to have your cash back paid out by cheque or PayPal.
How much can you earn with cash back apps and sites?
Everyone's spending habits are different, and not everyone can be as dedicated as others to seizing cash back opportunities – but, Swagbucks says that members should be able to earn between $2 and $5 per day.
If you were to earn this, though, you'd be sitting at a max of $1,825 per year – or $9,125 in five years.
Of course, this depends on what you buy and the offers you're able to take advantage of. Rebates can range from 1% of your total purchase amount, all the way up to 30% or even 50% for higher-margin products.
Plus, frequent cash back boost promotions can double or even triple the normal cash back rate a store offers.
Let's say the shopping you do via your chosen app is about $2,000 per month, and your average offer is 1.5% cash back. That's $30 that you've earned for the month – $360 for the year.
Keep going for five years and you've banked a whopping $1,800.
How cash back sites work
Cash back sites usually aren't complicated – you simply choose something you want to buy, take a few seconds to create an account, then use the search box on the cash back site to look for the name of the store you’re planning to buy from.
If the cash back site has a partnership with that store, it’ll show you how much of a percentage you’ll earn for your purchase. Click on the special link that’ll take you to the store you’re buying from.
When earning cash back on something like a credit card referral, all you usually have to do is use a certain link to reach the bank's application page. For example, the current GeniusCash offers are listed on the offers homepage or via the mobile app.
Now your purchases or applications will be tracked and your reward will show up in your online account in the near future.
Finally, you’ll usually need to wait about 30 - 60 days or so until the cash back "clears" and becomes available for payment. They often do this to make sure you don’t return the item.
As long as you’ve set up your payment details properly and you’ve reached the minimum payment threshold (typically around $10), you’ll typically be paid out by cheque, gift card, or PayPal.
The payment threshold, payment schedule, payment method, and time to clear varies between different cash back sites.
Tips to make your cash back experience better
Your time is valuable, not to mention your money, so here are a few tips on how to make these cash back sites worth your while – even more than they already are.
1) Clear your cookies first
You can either clear your cookies first, or just do your shopping using incognito mode (Chrome) or InPrivate browsing (Microsoft Edge) to start with a clean slate and complete the entire purchasing process in that window.
This will also delete all cookies that are made during your purchase once you close the window, so you won’t have to do it again later on. Don’t worry, as long as you fully complete your purchase without closing the window first, you’ll get credited for your cash back.
2) Compare cash back rates
Some people use one cash back site religiously, but it pays to shop around. Unless you’re adamant about simplicity, you should have at least two or three cash back sites that you check whenever you make a purchase.
3) Don’t forget services and financial products
When people think of cash back, they usually think of buying a physical product. But there’s actually a whole range of other intangible products and services that you pay for as well, many of which may have cash back partnerships with some sites listed here.
Think bank accounts, streaming subscriptions, online learning courses, eBooks, etc.
4) Read the fine print and check exclusions
Most of these sites have a "More Details" link you can click that gives you additional information about the terms of the cash back offer linked to a particular retailer.
This will tell you if certain product categories earn a smaller percentage or if there are any exclusions like gift cards, etc.
5) Things that can potentially invalidate your transaction
Keep these details in mind so you don't forfeit your cash back:
Using a coupon code found on another site
Coupons are sometimes specially coded so that they can’t be combined with other discounts or payouts.
Coupon codes from other sites generally do work, but if you want to be safe instead of sorry, then you should probably avoid them.
Trying to combine cash back with any other third-party offer
By third party site I mean a site that isn’t the store you’re making your final purchase from.
For example, you can’t combine bonus Air Miles from airmilesshops.ca with cash back. You have to choose one or the other.
Editorial Disclaimer: The content here reflects the author's opinion alone, and is not endorsed or sponsored by a bank, credit card issuer, rewards program or other entity. For complete and updated product information please visit the product issuer's website.
FAQ
Which cash back site is the best?
GeniusCash is the best cash back site, especially since the launch of its mobile app. It has a long list of products to choose from with cash back amounts that vary but are always valuable. Plus, these offers change regularly.
What is a cash back site?
A cash back site allows you to accumulate extra cash back on online purchases. Simply log in to your account and use their links for the online stores you like, then earn extra cash back on your purchase.
What cash back sites are there in Canada?
There are quite a few cash back sites available in Canada, with the leading choices being GeniusCash and Rakuten. Many of these sites have corresponding mobile apps for easy use when you’re on the go.
What tips should I consider before using a cash back site?
Our biggest tip is to shop in incognito mode – sites track your browser cookies between sessions and this can prevent you from getting the best deals. You should also compare cash back rates between sites/apps to get the best offers.
How do cash back sites get paid?
Cash back sites and tools generally have a partnership with their featured retailers. Purchasing something through these special links prompts the featured site to pay the cash back site a commission, and part of this is passed on to you.
Are there any good cash back apps in Canada?
Yes, there are plenty of cash back apps available here. A few of the top choices are GeniusCash, Checkout 51, and Swagbucks. Each offers various ways to earn cash and more than one way to redeem your rewards.
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