This app/website lets you earn real cash rewards for your receipts. It is probably best known for its appearance on Shark Tank, though it has also picked up a lot of mainstream appeal since then. Can you really make money with CoinOut?
We’ve decided to do a deep-dive to see if you can.
Making Money With CoinOut
Before we get too far into CoinOut itself, let’s talk about this concept for a moment. The idea of scanning receipts and getting cash back is not a new one. We’ve tested at least half-a-dozen of these types of apps, like GetUpside and Receipt Hog,… with surprising results.
In a lot of cases, cash-back apps based on scanning or photographing receipts are pretty easy to use, time-efficient, and actually offer the potential for a bit of money to be made with little extra effort.
The main downside? They don’t tend to pay out extremely well. Sure, you generally make a few cents per receipt. But when you look at how many receipts you go through in a month, it is quite possible that you’ll realize that the potential to earn a meaningful amount of cash each month just isn’t there.
But is this true with CoinOut?
The thing about receipt scanning is that it only takes a few moments. You can scan an entire stack of receipts at one sitting without putting a bunch of effort into changing your spending habits.
And if you make a few bucks from it, that is even better… because it is virtually free money. All it takes to earn it to sign up for whatever app you plan to use, and to scan the receipts into it.
So does CoinOut stack up in this regard? Is this app/website any different from the others we’ve reviewed? It has enjoyed some prominence since airing center-stage on Shark Tank, where Robert Herjavec made a $250,000 investment for 15% equity in the company to help propel the app into the limelight.
It is now insanely popular as far as these apps go… with rave positive reviews making it sound even better than the alternatives that came before it.
Is this the new best cash back app? Can you really make money by scanning your receipts? Is this the miracle cash app that the media proclaims it to be?
Let’s find out.
The Basics: What Is CoinOut?
CoinOut gives you the ability to earn “cash back anywhere.” It also says that you can earn “real cash for your receipts, from virtually any retailer for any product or purchase.”
On the official product website, they do a pretty good job of describing exactly how the app works. You basically take photos of your receipts after purchase… but this is where the app gets different.
Here is what they say.
“You take photos of your receipts after you purchase. We give you randomized rewards. That’s it! We use the purchasing data to show you more relevant offers in the app and chances to earn through partners, feedback forms and other ways. We NEVER sell your information.”
In other words, they give you randomized rewards in exchange for your purchasing data… and that is the entire basis for the app.
It isn’t necessarily about giving you cash-back on certain items for coupons or specials. It is about trading your purchasing data for randomized rewards.
In fact, they tell you that you will earn a random reward for every receipt you upload!
You can also, however, earn by shopping through the app at online merchants… so there are actually multiple ways to earn with it.
This was honestly kind of a unique take on the cash-back app. We haven’t really seen an app that worked exactly like this before. So it left us intrigued.
Next, I was curious about how much money you could actually make with it. So I did some digging around. Here is what I found.
How Much Can You Earn With CoinOut?
One very cool thing about this app is that it is 100% free to use… so it literally won’t cost you anything to try it out.
The only bad news is that the app doesn’t pay out huge amounts every time you scan a receipt.
Many users have reported making between one and seven cents per scanned receipt… which honestly isn’t that much.
On a monthly basis, we have heard of users earning about $6 if they really work hard, scan all of their receipts, and shop through the app… but honestly, it takes real work and effort to make even that much.
The app certainly pays, and you have the option to cash out using either PayPal or a gift card. You can even have the money withdrawn and sent right to your bank account.
Is CoinOut It Worth The Time?
Alright, this is where things start to get a little bit difficult. And the only real, true answer to this question is probably it depends.
It depends on how much you value your time, how many receipts you go through in a month, and on how much a few dollars here and there might mean to you.
The good thing about this app is that it is super easy to use. It is also free. This means that you could use it to earn money every month without going to any real difficulty.
Need a few extra bucks every month? If that would help you, this app is probably an easy way to get it.
But with that being said… there is also an argument to be made that it is, perhaps, a bit of a waste of time.
Even if you only worked 1 hour a month at minimum wage, you would still earn more than you would probably make with this app.
Are you going to spend more than an hour scanning receipts each month, just to earn 6 or 7 dollars?
It may depend on your phone and how fast it is. But if you are going to be scanning enough receipts to make it worth your time, you may end up working for more than an hour or two.
And at that point, you may end up being further-ahead if you were to take up a part-time job, or sell things online.
But then again, there is a convenience factor to take into account here. CoinOut makes earning extra money super convenient, because it is literally accessible to anyone.
So you don’t have to go out and find another job, you don’t have to spend time trying to sell things, you don’t have to buy anything extra to make more money, etc.
So, the convenience of the app does add value to the overall value of the idea. It is just a question of whether or not it is worth it to you.
My Personal Feelings About The CoinOut App
The CoinOut app is probably the most hyped-up receipt cash-back app of all time. I’ve never seen so much hype built up around an app in this category, and the fact that it was on Shark Tank only adds to this.
But do I see it as being worth the time?
Here is what I think. I think that if you have any other viable means of earning some extra money, you should probably pursue that instead.
Even working one extra hour at your job each month would probably pay better than using this app would.
But then again, with that being said, there is also something to be said for how accessible the app is… and if you feel that it would actually benefit you to make use of all those receipts you end up with, then this is actually a pretty cool app to use.
And to be quite honest, the app works even better if you shop through it. Because then, you aren’t really putting any extra time or effort into it, but are still earning the cash-back.
So that offers some extra value that you may be able to take advantage of.
All things considered, I like apps like this a lot better than I like survey apps. Survey apps truly seem to be a waste of time in most cases. But I would not call CoinOut a waste of time.
I would say that CoinOut is probably not worth the time it would take to scan the receipts in most cases. But every situation is unique… and for some people, it is very possible that it could be quite beneficial.
You certainly won’t get rich using this app. Even if you scan the receipts for everyone in your household, you will likely not get rich using CoinOut!
But it can make you a bit of extra money. And that is a cool thing!
Our Final Opinion Of CoinOut
Should you download CoinOut and try to make some extra money scanning receipts?
There are a lot of ways to make money online. Some are good, some not, but ALL of them are still just trading hours for dollars.
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