Top cashback sites

Tracking problems can occur when using cashback sites. There are times when you'll expect to be paid but won't be.

However, problems don't only arise with tracking. Cashback sites get the  money they pass on to you from retailers and service providers. Disputes in this area are common, so sometimes the cashback site doesn't get the cash – and therefore can't pay it to you.

You've few rights to claim unpaid cashback. The best way to approach this is to consider cashback as a bonus if you get it, but not to let it drive your purchasing decisions.

If you do have problems, remember you need to contact the cashback site directly, not MSE – we just tell you what the top-paying sites are.

When eyeing up the rates offered by the top-paying sites before buying something, it's easy to think of the cashback as being as good as yours already. Yet as well as not being guaranteed, earning cashback is rarely a quick process.

This is because once you've made a purchase through a cashback site, it needs to be tracked by the site from the retailer or service provider back to your cashback account. According to the top sites, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a week in most cases.

And that's the (relatively) speedy part. Once your purchase has been tracked by the site, it needs to be approved by the retailer or service provider before it's payable, which can take anywhere between a few days and a few months.

Unfortunately this isn't something cashback sites have a lot of control over – for example, MSE Liv waited for cashback to be approved for over a year, after the cashback site in question said it was waiting on the retailer she purchased from before it could pay her.

For more specific info on how long it takes the top sites to pay out, head over to the Topcashback FAQ section, Quidco help centre and KidStart FAQs (under the 'Earning KidStarts savings' heading).

Never count on the cashback as being yours until it's in your bank account. This isn't just because of tracking and processing issues. Cashback sites are easy to set up and many are small companies which can go bust (and some have done just that).

If it happens, you've little protection. You may count as a creditor to the company but in all likelihood, your money will be gone.

It's easy to be seduced by £50 cashback for buying an insurance policy or a 7% discount when shopping for clothes. Yet never let the cashback tail wag the purchase dog. Not because of the warnings above, but simply because it may not actually be the cheapest option.

Regardless of the cashback, you want to get the best deal possible. If you've chosen something purely because of the cashback on offer, and the cashback doesn't happen, you could find you've dug yourself a hole.

Example 1: You want a new telly. A cashback site brings up Korma Electrical World, offering 5% cashback, which means a £20 discount on a £399 TV. Yet two minutes using a price comparison site would've found you the same TV on sale at £299.

Example 2: Your car insurance is up for renewal. You spot the Commodore Insurance £100 cashback offer on a cashback website, so grab its £540 policy via the site. Yet if you'd used car insurance comparison websites, you'd have found an equivalent policy from Chamberlain Insurance for £370. As Chamberlain is also on a cashback site, you could've got a further £25 off, saving £95 in total.

This is especially important for bigger transactions, as making the wrong purchase could cost far more than any cashback earned. Check out your options using our relevant guides first, such as Best bank accounts, Cheap breakdown cover, Cheap broadband, How to get car insurance, Cheap flights, Cheap home insurance, Cheap hotels and Cheap mobiles.

Cashback sites track your visits by putting cookies (little bits of info that identify you) on to your computer, tablet or smartphone. Many other sites, like comparison sites, also use cookies.

So when making your purchase, make sure you click through from the cashback site and not from anywhere else, as the general rule's 'the last cookie wins'.

To be doubly safe, especially if you're expecting a lot of cashback, clear your computer's cookies first to ensure the cashback is tracked. Learn more about controlling and deleting cookies at AboutCookies.org.

In 2005, Quidco launched the first 100% cashback site. On the surface, the system doesn't seem sustainable, yet actually it's a very clever way to work. It's earned Quidco, and fellow 100% operator Topcashback, a massive share of the cashback market.

These sites do exactly what they say on the tin. They give you 100% or more of the cashback allocated to you, meaning you get a bigger payout. It's been hugely profitable for many customers, but that doesn't mean these sites don't generate income.

• They may keep a fiver or up to £12 a year. If you join their 'premium schemes', some retain £5 of your cashback earnings each year, while others keep £1 of your cashback earnings per month that you're active. There's nothing wrong with this – it's far better than charging a membership fee upfront. And of course, it means £5 a year or £12 a year from every active member, which helps sustain the sites.

• They get 'bonuses'. Let's say a retailer pays a cashback site 5% of every transaction. While that money is passed on to customers, many retailers will also pay affiliates bonuses – for example, if they generate £10,000 of sales, they get a bonus. These aren't and can't be allocated to customers, which is how 100% cashback sites earn a living.

You can get money back on in-store spending at a few different retailers with KidStart and occasionally with Topcashback, although there are far less of these offers than there once were:

• KidStart. By registering a debit or credit card to your account, you can earn in-store cashback. You'll get an email confirming the cashback a couple of days after you use that card to make an eligible purchase.
  
  There aren't as many offers available through this method as there once were though – when we checked in April 2025, there were only seven listed, and three of those were for brands KidStart no longer appears to offer cashback for and two for brands no longer listed.
  

• Topcashback. It offered in-store cashback until 31 October 2024, when it was removed so the site can focus on "providing you the best online cashback experience in 2025". Any in-store cashback activated and redeemed by that date should proceed to payable as normal.
  
  Topcashback occasionally offers 'Snap & Save' offers on in-store grocery shopping (and sometimes on fuel), with deals on specific items. You unlock these offers using the site or Topcashback app*, then scan the barcode of the product and/or upload a photo of the receipt to get the cashback approved.
  
  Topcashback tells us these are only "seasonal and special one-off promotions" but when they're available to all members they'll be "prominent" on the website and app. For full info, see Topcashback's Snap and Save* section.
  

• Quidco. It previously offered in-store cashback, but doesn't any longer. It also used to let you earn cashback on in-store grocery shopping via ClickSnap, but that closed in December 2022.

You don't have to buy anything to earn cash via cashback sites – you can earn cash just for clicking links. Cashback websites give you a share of their ad revenue, and sometimes get paid just for generating traffic.

For example, when we checked in April 2025, Topcashback paid £9 just for setting up a free Experian account. Its free cashback* section lists all the current offers, although be careful as most aren't truly free.

While Quidco also offers free cashback, such as paying just £1.50 for setting up a free Experian account, it no longer has a dedicated free cashback page, which makes tracking down these kind of offers tricky.

Topcashback and Quidco have guarantees that mean they'll at least match other UK cashback sites if you find a higher rate on the same product or service elsewhere.

Topcashback will beat the competing rate by an additional 1%, eg it would offer 10.1% on a 10% rate, £50.50 on a £50 offer. You have to submit a claim within 14 days of your cashback tracking, and the transaction must have tracked at no less than 1p.

Quidco will beat the competing rate by 2% for basic members or those who upgraded to Premium before 13 November 2019, and pay double the difference to newer Premium members. It employs a more strict 72-hour policy for submitting claims after the original purchase.

Other restrictions and limitations apply, so check all the T&Cs before making a purchase on which you're planning to claim.

Some companies pay more cashback than the product itself costs. In the past, cashback sites paid up to £25 for Cahoot savings account applications, even though these could be opened with just £1.

There are two warnings to heed with this type of cashback though. First, be careful when applying for financial products, especially bank accounts, credit cards and loans. Applications usually add a search to your credit file, which can potentially diminish your credit score.

Secondly, each cashback site has its own rules. They may ban you if they think you're abusing the scheme, because if too many people do this, they'll lose their links as they're not generating enough money.

On a similar theme, it's possible to earn £100s a year without any special skill or talent by stashing cash from filling in online surveys.

You can earn cash or Amazon vouchers by taking part, and surveys are often short enough to fill in during breaks at work. For a full how-to, see the Top 22 online survey sites guide.