In the world of cashback reward apps, there are generally two different types of apps.
Some apps, like Ibotta or Fetch Rewards, pay shoppers for buying sponsored products and uploading a receipt as proof of purchase.
On the other hand, you have apps like Drop or Dosh, that pay you in bits of passive income for connecting a credit card and shopping at various retailers.
Regardless of the cashback platform, one of the main limitations is often the type of retailers that are actually eligible for cashback. You shop, diligently upload receipt, and nothing seems to credit.
That’s why when I heard about CoinOut, a receipt scanning apps that states it lets you earn cashback from anywhere, I had to investigate.
If you’re wondering how this Shark Tank featured reward app works, be sure to read this CoinOut review until the end to see if it’s worth your time.
If you want even more options to make extra money with your phone or computer, you can checkout:
- Survey Junkie – I don’t like online surveys, but if you use a GPT site, Survey Junkie only has a $5 redemption threshold which is a bit better.
- Mistplay – Earn free gift cards for trying and playing mobile games.
- Drop – One of my favorite cashback apps that makes it easy to earn free gift cards for shopping.
- Dosh – An easy way to automatically earn cashback at thousands of retailers. Completely passive!
What Is CoinOut?
CoinOut is a free app for IOS and Android devices that lets users earn cashback for uploading their receipts.
If you’ve ever used receipt scanning apps like Receipt Hog, Receipt Pal, or Checkout 51, you’ll know exactly what to expect.
But, in case you haven’t, the idea is pretty simple: all you have to do is shop, snap a photo of your receipt, and upload it through the CoinOut app to earn cashback.
The app also functions as a digital wallet, and this is actually the foundation of CoinOut. The app really aims to tackle the idea that people aren’t willing to put in the effort to keep and track their loose change.
CoinOut was actually featured on Shark Tank back in February of 2018. Since then, the app has grown to the point of over 3 million receipts per month.
CoinOut founder Jeffrey Witten pitched the Shark Tank, asking for $250,000 in exchange for 7.5% of CoinOut. Witten’s pitch was largely based on this idea of fixing the loose change problem.
After a lot of back and forth, multiple offers, and scorn from Mark Cuban, Witten ended up securing a $250,000 deal with Robert Herjavec for 15% of the company.
Since then, CoinOut has gone on to partner with Epson, a POS provider, grow its userbase, and find its way in the saturated mobile reward app market.
The question is, how does this app work and is it worth the install?
How Does CoinOut Work?
Getting started with CoinOut is pretty simple, and there’s really 3 steps to start using this app.
1. Download & Signup
Once you download the CoinOut app, you have to register by providng your phone number. Note that CoinOut only works in the United States.
CoinOut will text you a verification code, and there’s no way to bypass this. I don’t recommend trying to use VOIP phones or anything sketchy since your account might just get banned down the line.
2. Shop & Scan Receipts
Once you’ve registered with CoinOut, you can start using the app to earn cashback for your in-store and online receipts.
There are some nuances here which we’ll cover a bit later in this CoinOut review. However, the process is fairly simple.
To upload receipts to CoinOut, you just need to scan the receipt using the CoinOut app and submit the photo.
Note that receipts can’t be older than 2 weeks in order to credit. Once you upload a receipt, you earn cashback in your CoinOut wallet.
3. Redeem Cashback
Currently, CoinOut offers the following reward options:
- Direct deposit.
- PayPal cash.
- Amazon gift cards.
However, one of the best features of the CoinOut app is that there is no minimum requirement to cashout via direct deposit or Amazon gift cards.
Frankly. this is by far the coolest feature of CoinOut. You can actually benefit from uploading receipts with this app without having to wait agonizing weeks or months to reach a certain threshold.
Unfortunately, cashing out via PayPal requires a minimum of $10 in your CoinOut wallet.
So, there’s the gist of the app! But, there are still a few important details regarding receipt types and overall earning potential.
What Types Of Receipts Work With CoinOut?
According to CoinOut, any receipt from a regular retailer is eligible for cashback, provided it has the following information:
- Transaction date.
- Store name.
- Transaction total.
- All receipt line items with individual prices.
If you attempt to upload the same receipt twice or use multiple accounts, you might get banned, so be careful with tracking your uploads!
What Receipts Don’t Work With CoinOut?
The following receipts don’t qualify for cashback:
- ATM receipts.
- Lotto tickets.
- Credit card slips.
- Money orders.
- Coupons.
- Non-English receipts.
- Receipts you didn’t purchase.
Additionally, if a receipt is difficult to read or missing information that’s required for eligibility, you won’t earn cashback.
How Much Can You Make With CoinOut?
Unlike many other receipt scanning apps, CoinOut doesn’t care about your transaction total when determing how much to pay you.
CoinOut states that they “set a range each day of a minimum and maximum amount you can earn from a receipt. The amount you receive is randomized and is not based on the type of receipt or amount spent.”
So, how much money should you expect to make with CoinOut?
Well, as you can see from different Reddit threads, the answer is not that much:
As this user states, CoinOut pays anywhere from 1 to 15 cents per receipt, but the average is pretty low.
Another user shares a similar result:
Earning anywhere from $0.01 to $0.15 per receipt isn’t that great. However, this is the general world of receipt scanning apps.
Other Ways To Make Money With CoinOut
Thankfully, there are several other ways to make money with the CoinOut app that can help boost your earnings!
1. Upload E-Receipts
CoinOut recently started accepting electronic receipts, providing another way to earn cashback.
When you get a receipt, simply forward it to receipts@coinout.com. You must send receipts the same day as your purchase, and CoinOut only accepts up to 8 receipts per day.
Edit: CoinOut has changed how their online cashback portal works.
Now, retailers like Walmart and eBay pay you automatic cashback thanks to CoinOut’s new partner market, which is basically a network of cashback offers.
This isn’t the most robust cashback platform out there, and I stick with Rakuten, but it’s nice new features are getting added.
2. Use Homepage Badges
The CoinOut app homepage contains a number of badges, which are partner offers and rotating bonus offers that you can use to earn extra cashback.
Popular examples of CoinOut badges include:
- Cashback Partner Offers – Earn cashback for shopping through the CoinOut app at a variety of merchants. This is super similar to the Drop App.
- Limited-Time Offers – Unlock some hefty rebates for signing up for recommended products or services. Again, this is very similar to apps like Drop or Ibotta. Many of the offers are for different gig economy apps or financial services, so it’s worth checking out.
- VIP Badges – These unlock things like unlimited receipt uploads per week or at least a few extra uploads per week.
- Bonus Badges – Some badges unlock perks like 2x cashback on your next receipt or for a certain number of future receipt uploads.
The real cashback comes from CoinOut badges.
Really, CoinOut is just an affiliate partner similar to Rakuten or Drop. But, if you were going to buy a recommended CoinOut badge anyway, you might as well earn some cashback for your efforts.
3. Enter Sweepstakes
CoinOut regularly runs shopping contests and sweepstakes for sponsored partners that award members for buying specific products.
There’s also prizes for members who end up shopping the most for a specific brand:
If you already shop for a certain brand or product that just so happens to be part of a CoinOut sweepstake, you might as well upload your receipts for a chance to win!
4. Refer Friends
Another way to make money with CoinOut is to refer some friends.
CoinOut states that referral amounts change, but historically, you can expect to earn around $0.50 to $0.75 for each verified referral.
This is honestly much worse than a lot of other referral programs, but hey, it’s still free money.
5. Signup For The CoinOut Newsletter
Another way to stay in the loop of existing sweepstakes and to even make some money with trivia is to signup for the CoinOut newsletter.
This newsletter sends out weekly cashback offers from CoinOut partners. It also keeps you in the loop when special events are going on, which usually includes some new sweepstake or even trivia games.
You can also find this information by following CoinOut’s Facebook page:
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re still scratching your head about this app or some commonly asked questions, it’s time to put those questions to rest!
1. Is CoinOut Legit?
CoinOut pays users and has plenty of positive reviews on both the Android and IOS store.
The main takeaway with any of these sorts of apps is to have realistic expectations. CoinOut receipts don’t pay that much, and the real money comes from completing badges.
CoinOut makes up for this in my opinion by having no minimum withdraw amount for Amazon gift cards or direct deposit. However, it’s not a very lucrative app overall.
2. Is CointOut Safe?
I was actually surprised by this, but CoinOut is FDIC insured and uses the same level of encryption as plenty of other FinTech apps.
As long as you read the privacy policy and are comfortable with selling your data (which is amalgamated and anonymous), this app is completely safe to use.
3. Are There Earning Limits
According to the Terms and Services, there are several earning limits:
- Minimum Limits – Users can earn as little as $0.01 (lol).
- Daily Limits – Cannot exceed $50 in a given day.
- Mothly Limits – Cannot exceed $250 in a given month.
- Transfer Limits – Cannot exceed $500 in a single transfer. Additionally, you can only transfer cashback to your bank account no more than once per week.
These limits really won’t apply to 99% of users, but keep them in mind if you want to go on a shopping spree within the CoinOut app.
Pros & Cons
Time to wrap up this CoinOut app review with a few of the pros and cons!
CoinOut Pros
This app isn’t a heavy-hitter in terms of earnings, but there are still some nifty perks:
- No Withdrawl Limit – CoinOut is the only app I’ve seen that lets you cashout to Amazon or direct deposit anytime you want.
- Receipt Eligiblity – Almost any receipt is eligible for cashback, regardless of merchant or transaction total.
- Multiple Ways to Earn – Like Drop or Fetch Rewards, CoinOut offers plenty of ways to earn cashback if you put in some effort.
CoinOut Cons
I’m honestly not a massive fan of this app, and it boils down to these main drawbacks:
- Low Earning Potential – If you only upload receipts, CoinOut is a brutal earner.
- Mediocre Referral Program – Other reward apps pay upwards of $5 to $10 for referring new users, making CoinOut fall short in this category.
- Limited Gift Cards – While the lack of a withdrawl limit is awesome, apps like Fetch Rewards or Ibotta have CoinOut beat in terms of reward variety.
Apps Like CoinOut
If you like the concept of scanning your receipts for cash and want some CoinOut app alternatives, you can consider:
- Checkout 51.
- ReceiptPal.
- Receipt Hog.
- GetUpside (for gas cashback).
- Drop.
- SavingStar.
- Caddle (for Canadians).
- Ibotta.
- Ampli (a more passive app and also for Canadians).
Ultimately, apps like CoinOut aren’t going to transform your personal finances.
However, for some free cash and gift cards, they’re a reliable option and can be fun!
Extra Reading – The 8 Best Apps Like Fetch Rewards.
Final Thoughts
When CoinOut first came out, this app had a tonne of splash.
It was a Shark Tank pitch that actually got a deal. That doesn’t happen everyday, least of all in the world of FinTech apps.
I think CoinOut is doing some pretty cool things, and the thing I love most about this app is that you can actually cashout anytime to benefit from being a user…I know plenty of other apps or survey websites have ridiculous cashout limits that basically make them a scam.
But I will say, CoinOut won’t make anyone rich…or even close to that.
In fact, if you want to make the most out of your shopping receipts, you’ll probably have to install and use multiple receipt scanning apps:
Frankly, this is way too much work…even for me, the guy who used to get excited about my phone farm earnings. This is what ultimately makes this app a non-keeper for me.
Plus, when you look at badge offers, they’re really no different than the sorts of cashback rewards you’ll find on apps like Drop.
So, at the end of the day, you need to decide how much effort you want to put into saving money and which apps are worth installing.
As I’ve mentioned before, here is my current setup:
- UpVoice – Probably $50-$60 per year (I won’t answer surveys).
- MobileXpression – It’s finally working on my phone again, so maybe $30-$40 per year.
- Embee Meter – $36.50 per year.
- S`more App – $36.50 per year.
- Honey Browser Extension – I have a tonne of referrals so it’s kinda cheating, but I’ve saved about $20-$30 outside of referrals from this money saving browser extension.
- Rakuten – Again, I have over $300 in referrals from Rakuten, but it’s still an easy way to earn cashback whenever you shop online.
If you use just a few of these free apps and extensions, you’ll save even more money when shopping online and also turn your phone into a mini passive income machine!
So, while I love what CoinOut is doing right now, I’m personally going to give this app a bit of time to wait and see what new features are added.
If you use this app, I definitely recommend stacking your receipts with other popular receipt scanning apps to maximize your earnings.
Thanks so much for reading! I hope this CoinOut app review has helped highlight the pros and cons of this Shark Tank featured app.
If you’ve used CoinOut before, I’d love to hear what you think about the app.
Catch you guys in the next one.
Tom is a 23 year old recent college graduate from Canada with a passion for side hustling, passive income, and marketing. This Online World is all about providing people with honest ways to make and save more money by using technology. To learn more about Tom, read his About Page!
If you’re interested in freelance writing services or want to partner with This Online World, please visit Tom Blake Digital to get in touch!
