13 of the best receipt apps to earn money in the UK

Looking to make a little extra, or do you need to save money on your weekly shop? Well, plenty of apps pay you to take photos of your receipts and uploading them. Here are the best receipt scanning apps available in the UK.

Best shop and scan till receipts apps in the UK

The apps looked at in this post include:

1. Shoppix
2. Amazon Shopper Panel
3. ySense
4. SnapMyEats
5. Storewards
6. ZipZero
7. Snap & Save
8. ShopandScan
9. Swagbucks
10. CheckoutSmart
11. Shopmium
12. GreenJinn
13. Jisp

Top receipts apps in the UK 2023

I shouldn’t admit it, but I’m one of the least motivated people out there. I want to earn a lot of money, it’s just that I’m incredibly lazy.

But I do enjoy earning easy money. Even if it won’t make me rich, as long as it takes minimal effort, I’m interested. And scanning receipts is one of the simplest ways to boost your income. Just a quick photo and a couple of questions and you’re on your way.

How can I get money back from receipts?

Two types of apps will pay you when you scan receipts.

• Simple receipt apps – these want to know what you have bought, which can be from a photo of paper receipts or digital receipts can be sent in by email with some apps
• Cashback apps – these want you to purchase certain items from selected grocery stores and then you send in a copy of your receipt. You’ll then receive cashback, sometimes up to 100% of the item’s value.

You only need one thing to get started – a smartphone. Then, download the apps below to your mobile device and get started. A PayPal account is needed for some apps, but others can send vouchers as payment.

How do receipt scanning apps make money?

You may be thinking, why would a company pay for photos of your receipts? You don’t get something for nothing in this world.

But information is king. The receipt scanning companies collect information about what you buy and when. They can then collate this data and sell it to retailers.

The good thing for us is that plenty of different companies collect this data so that we can earn multiple times from the same receipt.

The cashback apps earn simply by promoting products. They hope that by encouraging you to try a new product and a bargain price, you’ll be a customer for life.

How much can you earn?

This is a tough one as it depends on how much you shop. However, there’s no reason why the average household can’t make more than £150 per year just from scanning receipts. With the cashback apps also thrown in, you could possibly make double.

Are receipt apps safe?

The fact is, these apps generally take very few personal details and some will work with just your email address. Some may reward you with extra points if you allow them access to your Amazon or email account, but it’s up to you if you allow that.

Receipts themselves contain little or no personal information. And if you pay by debit or credit card, the full card details are never shown on the receipt.

Another benefit to receipt scanner apps

If none of the above has convinced you to start scanning your receipts, how about the fact that it’s a handy place to store all your purchases? So, if you have a problem with an item and need to return it, instead of rooting through all of your drawers, your receipt will be on your phone.

Which apps pay you for receipts?

Below is a list of all the best receipt apps to earn money. Please note that many apps only take on a certain number of customers. In some cases, you may be able to join a waiting list. Otherwise, you’ll have to keep trying.

Shoppix

Take a photo of your receipt with Shoppix to earn 25 points and an extra 5 if you take the photo on the same day. 3,200 points will earn you £5 in Amazon gift cards or PayPal cash. There are opportunities to earn extra by completing surveys which also reward you with scratch cards for the chance of even more points.

You can also earn extra by referring your friends.

Pros: Will accept most receipts, easy to use and gain extra points from referrals.

Cons: Takes a while to reach the payment threshold.

Download from the Apple app store

Download from the Google Play Store

Shoppix referral code:

My Shoppix code is no longer valid but will update here if I’m given a new one.

Amazon Shopper Panel

As if Amazon didn’t have its fingers in enough pies, it has now entered the receipt scanning market. Each month, upload photos of 10 receipts and you’ll earn £5 worth of Amazon vouchers which are paid straight into your Amazon account. Occasionally, you’ll also be sent short surveys, which can help to boost your earnings.

Pros: Accepts most receipts and pays well

Cons: A shame that you can only scan 10 receipts per month.

ySense

ySense is a Get Paid To (GPT) site rather than a dedicated receipt app. You can earn money from all kinds of tasks, such as completing surveys, playing games and, of course, scanning receipts. ySense only accepts receipts from major supermarkets but will pay $0.02 for each submission. Not much, but worth doing if you’re scanning receipts anyway.

SnapMyEats

As it sounds, this receipt app wants to know what you eat and drink. For every 5 photos you take, you earn a £1 voucher, with a maximum of £5 per month. However, you can only withdraw in £10 multiples, so you will have to wait every 2 months. It’s not restricted to restaurants; you can take photos of any receipt with food or drink items.

Vouchers can be exchanged at Amazon, Caffè Nero, Great British Pub, Harvester, iTunes UK, M&S and Pizza Express.

Pros: Well paid compared to the other apps.

Cons: The £5 monthly limit can be frustrating.

Storewards

Storewards is the successor to Receipt Hog, which is no longer available in the UK (good, because it was a terrible app). Earn points with Storewards for snapping receipts, which will move you up levels and earn you even more points. Plus, you can earn extra for logging in each day.

You can withdraw with Amazon vouchers or through PayPal

Pros: Low minimum cashout of £2

Cons. PayPal costs more points compared to Amazon. Storewards don’t always accept the image of the receipt and you can’t appeal.

ZipZero

This is slightly different to the other shop and scan receipt apps on this list. Instead of earning vouchers or PayPal, anything you make from ZipZero can be paid straight towards a utility bill of your choosing. This includes council tax, energy accounts and your phone bill.

You’ll earn 0.5% from the value of your receipt. So, scan a receipt worth £100 and you’ll get 50 pence towards your chosen bill.

Pros: Very few restrictions on the receipts you can scan.

Cons: It would be nice to be able to withdraw your money to your bank account, sometimes struggles to recognise certain receipts.

ShopandScan

ShopandScan doesn’t come with an app for your phone… it’s available for Windows computers only. When you become a member, you’ll be sent a scanning device. When you complete a shopping trip, you’ll need to scan the barcodes of everything you buy and transmit them to ShopandScan. You’ll also earn bonus points for uploading photos of till receipts.

Pros: You can earn more compared to the other apps.

Cons: Requires more effort and you will need a Windows computer to take part.

Save money on your supermarket shopping

But that’s not all folks…

There are several receipt scanning apps that work slightly differently from those above. Instead of receiving money for any old receipt, you earn money back when you buy certain items. But why would you do that? Because you can get some brilliant deals and sometimes items for free.

These apps are used to promote new products. They hope that you’ll be a customer for life if you try and like an item.

Snap & Save

Snap & Save is brought to you by TopCashback, one of the biggest cashback sites in the world. It used to have its own dedicated app years ago but has since been scrapped.

However, you can still find some offers on the TopCashback website. Although the items you can earn cashback from are a little limited compared to the apps below, you have a bit more freedom. For example, the pancake mix below wasn’t just for a specific brand and TopCashback would accept receipts from most major supermarkets.

Plus, if money from scanning your old receipts isn’t enough, TopCashback has some great deals from a whole host of stores.

Swagbucks

Swagbucks is the only company that pays you for scanning receipts and gives you cashback on selected items. In all honesty, it’s not worth scanning simple receipts as you’ll only be given 2 Swagbucks for your time (700 will earn you a £5 gift card). But you can earn 400+ Swagbucks when you buy certain items and send in a copy of your receipt – also known as a Magic Receipt. You’ll find that the offers are similar to CheckoutSmart.

But the benefit to Swagbucks over all these other apps is there are plenty of other ways to make money.

Pros: Some good cashback offers, plus you can make extra from surveys.

Cons: 2 Swagbucks for simple receipts is a terrible return.

CheckoutSmart

Probably my favourite, mainly due to their discounts on alcohol. However, they also have plenty of offers for 100% cashback. Even if it’s not usually something you buy, why not try some new food for free? Any money you earn is paid to you via PayPal, although there is a 5% for withdrawals under £20. And any day you upload a receipt, you can win £10.

Pros: Lots of offers and some great deals.

Cons: You need to wait until you reach £20 so you don’t lose money.

Shopmium

Shopmium doesn’t have quite so many offers compared to CheckoutSmart but it’s still worth joining. Plus, you get a gift for joining and they send any cashback you earn straight to your PayPal account with no fees.

Apple users can download here or Android users can download here.

Use the referral code AMUAFFUR for a special offer when you join.

Pros: Generous referral scheme.

Cons: Not as many offers as the alternatives.

GreenJinn

GreenJinn has plenty of offers from Tesco, Waitrose, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, plus a limited amount from other stores like Asda, Co-op and Boots. This app allows you to personalise your offers and the money you earn can be paid into your bank account or to PayPal.

Pros: Low threshold of £1 to withdraw.

Cons: Limited stores compared to the other apps.

Apple users can download here

Android users can download here

Jisp

Jisp works a little differently from the rest of the apps on this list, but it still gets you money off groceries. Rather than having to scan a receipt, you’ll need to scan a barcode of certain items when you’re in store. This will instantly give you a voucher which you show at the checkout.

The stores are mainly local convenience shops, but the app is still worth checking out (so to speak).

Use the code 7FTCEA when you join for a 50 pence bonus.

Which is the best receipt app for UK customers?

In all honesty, each app has its plus and minus points and I would suggest joining them all. But Amazon Shopper pays the most… as long as they have enough space to allow you to join.

If you decide to join all the receipt scanning apps, there’s no reason why you can’t earn over £200 per year from them. And it shouldn’t take you more than a couple of minutes per day to scan them all.

Apps no longer with us:

Receipt Hog – taken from us back in 2019. No great loss as it paid poorly.

Shopprize – this was an Android-only app that closed in September 2022. A shame as it was quite good.

ClickSnap – a supermarket cashback app from Quidco, which was withdrawn in January 2023.

HuYu – an app that paid for supermarket receipts. It didn’t pay much but was easy to use. Withdrawn February 2023.

FAQs