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Receipt Hog review: Not worth the effort

What if I told you that you could earn money just by taking photos of your receipts? Well, take a look at this Receipt Hog review to see why this is one to be avoided and take a look at some better alternatives.

Receipt Hog review

I love free money. Something that takes little effort but still rewards me is a win-win. And when I heard about Receipt Hog, I thought I would jump at the chance. Getting paid to submit photos of my receipts sounded like an easy job.

For every receipt you submit, you earn coins. These coins can then be traded in for PayPal or UK Amazon vouchers. Sounds good, doesn’t it? But take a look at why I wouldn’t recommend this app.

What is Receipt Hog?

Taken from their site:

Receipt Hog is a free mobile app that turns your everyday shopping receipts into easy cash rewards! The more receipts you snap, the more rewards you’ll earn! 

Receipt Hog is run by an American company called ScoutIt Inc. They are based in San Fransico, California and have been operating since 2011.

What receipts can you use with Receipt Hog?

If you shop at the following stores, you will earn coin rewards (note that this covers US users too).

  • Grocery / Supermarket
  • Supercenter
  • Club (Cash and Carry)
  • Health (Chemist)
  • Bargain (Dollar / Pound Shops)
  • Drug & Pharmacy
  • Liquor (Off-License)
  • Convenience & Corner Stores
  • Beauty Supply
  • Pet Supply
  • Toy Stores
  • Mom-and-Pops, Bodegas & Newsagents

And shopping at these stores will earn you spins on the Hog Slots.

  • Apparel
  • Auto Part Retailers
  • Department
  • Discount
  • Home Improvement
  • Home Furnishings
  • Office Supply
  • Electronics
  • Arts & Crafts
  • Sports & Outdoors

Submitting these receipts will enter you into a monthly sweepstake (although no other rewards).

  • Gas / Petrol-only Receipts
  • Receipts from Restaurants & Bars
  • Receipts from Bakeries, Delis, and Cafes

And any of the following will earn you nothing.

  • Ticket Stubs
  • Service Invoices
  • Credit Card Slips
  • Hand-Written Receipts
  • Receipts Older Than 14 days
  • Refund/Return of Purchase Slips
  • Non-Standard Receipts Not Printed From a Cash Register
  • Receipts From Non-Retailer Businesses (i.e. service, entertainment, government, utilities)

The good

It’s very easy to get started with this app. Just download and you’re ready to go. Receipt Hog allows you to submit receipts from anybody in your household, so if you have a big family, you can earn faster.

Submitting some receipts earns you a spin on “Hog Slots.” This is basically a chance to earn extra coins.

Unfortunately, that is where the good points finished…

The bad

My first issue is with having receipts accepted. Smaller receipts are generally fine (unless they get slightly crumpled), but large receipts can be an absolute pain. I do my weekly shop at Tesco online and they provide you with an A4 receipt. Trying to photograph this can be a real issue. Although the photo looks fine when you submit, they often reject it as being blurry. And when you check the returned receipt, it does indeed look blurry.

I have also had receipts returned as incomplete even when they weren’t. You can re-submit them and sometimes they accept them the 2nd time and sometimes they don’t.

receipt hog earnings

All-in-all, it can be a frustrating process, when it should be very simple.

And as you can see from above, not all receipts are guaranteed to earn you a reward. There are receipt apps out there that are far less picky.

There is also no refer a friend bonus currently on offer by Receipt Hog. Many apps will offer you a small reward if you can convince friends to join, but this one doesn’t.

How much does Receipt Hog pay in the UK?

So, 1500 coins are equivalent to £5 in PayPal (Amazon vouchers cost more). The most you can earn for 1 receipt is 20 coins, as long as that receipt is worth over £100.

Let’s say your weekly grocery shopping came to just over £100 each time and you only submitted these receipts. It would take you almost a year and a half to reach £5.

You could try and cheat with Receipt Hog and split up your spending when in store so you receive more receipts. However, I’m sure they would soon clamp down on this. In fact, I have read about people being suspended from using Receipt Hog across various forums.

Okay, so you won’t be just submitting your weekly shop receipts. But after 2 months, I have reached a grand total of 500 coins. That means I should reach £5 after 6 months. On average, I spend around 5 minutes per week faffing around with the app. It doesn’t sound like much, but over a 6 month period, that’s around 2 hours. So expect to earn around £2.50 per hour from this app.

Receipt hog extra points

My Receipt Hog review conclusion

Rating: 1 out of 5.

I hate to say it, but this is one to avoid. Although Receipt Hog is a legitimate app, it takes a lot of work. The amount of effort needed for the rewards you gain is just not worth it. There are better money making apps out there that can earn you far more.

If you want to brave it and make up your own mind, visit the Receipt Hog website.

Are there any apps like Receipt Hog?

If my Receipt Hog review has made you think that scanning receipts is a complete waste of time, it’s not. U.K. users will be pleased to know that there are plenty of alternatives out there and they all pay more.

Take a look at the best receipt apps to earn money.

Receipt Hog to close

After rumours on social media of Receipt Hog shutting down, I contacted them to find out more. This was their reply:

As you’ve read within Receipt Hog’s in-app messaging, we will be shutting down operations within the UK on Oct 1st at 12am BST. Since we are ceasing operations in the UK and will no longer be available in your country, there is an opportunity for participation in another service not run by us at Receipt Hog but rather run by Nielsen called Storewards.

For specific questions about the new app and the service itself, please direct your questions to their support team at support@storewards.co

Sue

Sunday 16th of August 2020

How do you change it to UK pound instead of USA dollars?

Money Saver Pete

Sunday 16th of August 2020

Hi Sue. Sorry, it's been a long time since I have used the app. Hopefully, somebody else knows that can answer.

Caz / InvisiblyMe

Thursday 12th of April 2018

I've been with Receipt Hog for, well, I'm not sure how long... feels like forever and I've not cashed out yet! I totally agree with you. It's not a money-maker and patience does run thin with it. I think I'll keep going to the next cashout point then call it a day.

Money Saver Pete

Thursday 12th of April 2018

You’re stronger than me! I really wanted to keep going but couldn’t.