Ibotta vs Honey: Which Cash Back App Will Save You The Most Money? 

There are so many financial apps and extensions on the market today, it’s difficult to figure out which ones are really worth your time. Read on to learn which will save you the most money – Ibotta or Honey.

Ibotta vs Honey – both apps, and browser extensions, designed to optimize your shopping experience. Whether you are looking to save money through online coupons or to earn money through cashback offers, Ibotta and Honey are in the top charts for shopping apps available through the app store. Let’s break each app down.

Honey Review 

Honey is a free browser extension and app that you can download to access coupons on most of your favorite websites and online stores.  

How exactly does Honey work? Once you’ve downloaded Honey, an icon will appear in the top right corner of your browser. Shop your favorite site and add items to your shopping cart the same way you normally would. Before you complete the process, select the Honey icon at the top of your browser. Click “Apply Coupons.” Honey will then begin searching for coupons on the items you’ve selected to purchase.  

Sometimes, Honey will give you a message indicating that it may be unlikely to find coupons. You can select “Try Anyway” to force Honey to search for coupons. It may take several minutes to find coupons and discount codes. When Honey finishes this process, it will automatically apply any coupons it’s found and will show you the amount of money you saved on your purchase.  

Some sites have partnered with Honey for their Honey Gold program where you can earn daily reward rates through the extension. Some popular stores that participate in the Honey Gold program include Walmart, Apple, The Home Depot, HBO Max, Tripadvisor, and more.  

Not only can you save money with coupons, but you can also earn cashback from some sites that participate in the Gold program. Honey earns a commission from sales and in turn, Honey gives registered users a portion of the commission through the Gold program.  

Perhaps the most important question, is Honey reliable? Yes, Honey is safe and reliable. Like all extensions, there is the potential for abuse and malware, but from what we’ve gathered, Honey is secure and vows not to send your private data or information to third parties.  

Honey Benefits  

Ibotta Review 

Now let’s dive into Ibotta. Ibotta was founded in 2012 and began as a simple receipt scanning rewards app. Ibotta has now evolved into a payment app and offers a browser extension, where you can earn cashback rewards as you shop at no additional cost. Additionally, Ibotta still offers a receipt scan feature. Since their founding, they’ve paid out over $1 billion in cash rewards to more than 35 million users.  

Ibotta is different from Honey in that it is strictly a free online rewards program, there are no coupons or discount codes involved. Ibotta works with an extensive list of over 1,500 retailers and brands, including Amazon, Walmart, Sephora, Target, Starbucks, and much more. However, Ibotta is especially great for earning cash back on grocery and pharmacy purchases.  

In order to earn rewards through Ibotta, you can go the old-fashioned route by uploading receipts from your daily purchases. Or, you can make in-app purchases or app-to-app purchases. For example, say you want to make a purchase from Amazon, You can open the Ibotta app, select Amazon, and then make your purchase through the Amazon app. That’s it! You’ve earned cash back on that purchase. 

If you want to earn cashback instantly, you can purchase gift cards through Ibotta to some of your most frequented stores. If you already anticipate spending the money at the store, and you don’t want the hassle of waiting for your rewards to accumulate, this is a great option. Ibotta also offers the ability to link your loyalty accounts from your favorite stores.  Read more about Ibotta in our in-depth Ibotta Review. 

Ibotta Benefits 

Ibotta vs Honey: Popularity  

Based on what we’ve learned, Ibotta and Honey are ranked pretty high in the shopping category on the app store.  

Ibotta has a 4.8-star rating based on 1.3 million reviews and is ranked #37 in the app store’s top charts in the shopping category. Ibotta has been around for about 17 years. Meanwhile, Honey has rated 4.1 stars based on 2,000 reviews and is ranked #58 in the app store’s top charts in the shopping category. Honey has been around for about 4 years.  

If popularity is important to you, you may want to select Ibotta based on its top-tier ranking. Honey is a younger software and has a ways to go in order to catch up with Ibotta’s popularity rankings.  If you’re wondering how Ibotta keeps up with its popularity and how it makes money? Check out “How Does Ibotta Make Money” and learn more about the company.

Ibotta vs Honey Cash Out Options 

Now let’s break down the cash-out options for Ibotta and Honey. Which app has the best reward cash-out options?  

As we mentioned before, Honey not only finds you coupons and discounts but also offers cash back rewards from select stores that participate in the Honey Gold program. You can participate in this program and earn rewards by first registering and creating a free account.  

Next, start shopping and earning Gold on eligible purchases. You can then cash in your rewards for gift cards to popular retailers like Nordstrom, Sephora, eBay, and more. You’ll need to rack up 1,000 points in rewards to cash in for a $10 gift card.  

With Ibotta’s rewards system, instead of earning reward points, you’ll be able to see exactly how much cash you are earning as you go. This means you won’t have to accrue any sort of reward points. However, you’ll need to earn a little more money in rewards to redeem your rewards though. With Ibotta, you’ll need to accrue $20 worth of rewards before you can redeem your cash.  

You can either redeem your Ibotta rewards through a PayPal account deposit, a direct bank deposit, or through gift cards. With Honey, your cashback rewards are limited to gift cards. If you don’t like the idea of redeeming your rewards for gift cards, then you might want to go with Ibotta. Some people prefer to have actual cash in their pockets rather than a gift card – it completely depends on your personal preference.  

Ibotta Referral vs Honey Referral  

We failed to mention Honey’s referral program in our initial review. The way their referral program works is you share your referral link with a friend via Facebook, Twitter, or email. You can also use the “share via email” button and enter your friend’s email address to send them an automatic invitation. Once your friend signs up through your link, earns Honey Gold through their first purchase, and the Gold is confirmed and posted to their account, you both will earn a 500 Honey Gold referral bonus.  

Now, as far as Ibotta’s referral program goes, their rewards are not based on a points system like Honey. Through the Ibotta referral program, you earn $10 for every new user that signs up with your referral code and redeems an offer. An offer can include any brand purchase, any receipt, and any item. If your friends sign up with your Ibotta referral code, they get $20 as a sign-up bonus. Read more about the Ibotta referral program in our Ibotta referral article and you are free to use our Ibotta referral code too.

Keep in mind that you have to receive 1,000 Honey Gold points in order to cash in for a $10 gift card, which means you’d need to make two referrals. With Ibotta, each referral you make earns you $10. So, technically you will make more money through the Ibotta referral program than the Honey referral program.  

Which Cash Back App Will Save You The Most Money?

When it comes down to which app will save you the most money, it truly depends on how you intend to utilize each one.  

Ibotta can’t actually offer you coupons or discounts the way that Honey can, but in the same breath, Ibotta works with thousands of retailers to provide you with cash back rewards on your purchases. While Honey does offer cashback options, Ibotta is the household name for cashback rewards, especially considering that you can make real, stone-cold cash rather than just receiving your rewards in gift cards.  If you’re looking to simplify your coupon and discount hunting, you might lean more towards Honey. But personally, we find that Ibotta offers a fuller range of rewards, more cash-out options, the popularity and trust of millions of users, and a more favorable referral program that can really earn you extra money.  

But, don’t take our word for it. Sign up for Ibotta for free today.  

If you are wondering how Ibotta compares with other similar platforms other than Honey, check out Ibotta vs Rakuten and Ibotta vs Swagbucks and see who’s the winner.