Dosh vs Rakuten: Which Cashback App is Better in 2023?

Chef TastyDecember 25th, 2023

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Table of Contents

What is Dosh?
How Does it Work?
Dosh Referral Program
What is Rakuten?
How Does it Work?
Rakuten Referral Program
Which is Better – Dosh or Rakuten?
Final Thoughts
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If you shop (who doesn’t) you should be using a cashback app or two. Many cashback apps make it easy to earn money doing what you normally do – shopping for things you need and want. Dosh and Rakuten are two of the most popular cashback apps. Both offer the opportunity to earn money from shopping, but which app is better?

Check out our review on Dosh vs Rakuten below.

What is Dosh?

Dosh is a digital cashback app that pays you for your purchases. You shop like you normally do and you’ll earn cash in your Dosh app as you do. You don’t have to clip coupons, activate codes, or upload receives. Dosh does everything for you.

How Does it Work?

To earn money back from Dosh, you must link your credit or debit (only used as credit) to your Dosh account. When you make purchases using the linked card, Dosh credits you for the qualifying purchases you make.

The rewards are usually 2% – 5% of the purchase amount, but some go as high as 10%. If you make a qualifying purchase, Dosh puts the money in your Dosh account. Once you reach $25 in earnings, you can cash out. You can redeem your cash via PayPal, Venmo, or direct deposit. You can also choose to give the money to your favorite charity. Read more about Dosh in this Dosh Review.

Dosh works at most of the major retailers and restaurants you likely shop at including:

Costco
Walmart
Office Depot
Petsmart
eBay
DoorDash
Uber
Home Depot

You can also book your hotel stays through Dosh and earn up to 40% back per night. Again, you must use your linked credit or debit card to earn the cashback.

Pros and Cons of Dosh

Pros	Cons
It’s easy to earn cashback – You don’t have to take the time to activate offers or upload receipts. As long as you use your linked credit or debit card, you’ll get credit for your purchase. You can earn money by referring friends and family – Dosh pays you to refer friends and family when they set up their accounts and link their credit cards. It’s another way to have your earnings add up in Dosh. You can earn a high percentage of your earnings – Dosh partners pay a decent percentage back when you shop through Dosh. You can earn up to 10% on retail and restaurant purchases and up to 40% on hotel stays.	You have to link your credit card – Not everyone is willing to link their credit card to an app, even if it will pay them cashback. You can’t pay with cash – You don’t get credit for your purchases if you pay with cash or even if you use a different credit card. If you have a specific credit card you use for certain purchases, you won’t get credit for them unless it’s linked to Dosh.

Pros

Cons

It’s easy to earn cashback – You don’t have to take the time to activate offers or upload receipts. As long as you use your linked credit or debit card, you’ll get credit for your purchase.
You can earn money by referring friends and family – Dosh pays you to refer friends and family when they set up their accounts and link their credit cards. It’s another way to have your earnings add up in Dosh.
You can earn a high percentage of your earnings – Dosh partners pay a decent percentage back when you shop through Dosh. You can earn up to 10% on retail and restaurant purchases and up to 40% on hotel stays.

You have to link your credit card – Not everyone is willing to link their credit card to an app, even if it will pay them cashback.
You can’t pay with cash – You don’t get credit for your purchases if you pay with cash or even if you use a different credit card. If you have a specific credit card you use for certain purchases, you won’t get credit for them unless it’s linked to Dosh.

Dosh Referral Program

Dosh has one of the easiest referral programs out of all cashback apps. You earn $5 for every person who uses your Dosh referral code, sets up their account, and links their credit card to their account. Ready to share your Dosh referral code?

Just head to your dashboard and look for Dosh referral codes. You can send them right from your dashboard to your friends and family. You can also add them to your Instagram and Facebook pages. If you refer businesses to Dosh, you earn 20% of their Dosh fees for the first two years. Learn more information about the Dosh referral program here.

What is Rakuten?

Rakuten is another cashback app, aka affiliate marketer. Rakuten has been around for over 20 years and works with thousands of retailers. Rakuten refers its shoppers (you) to its partner websites. When you make a purchase, the retailer pays Rakuten a portion of its earnings, and Rakuten shares the proceeds with you.

How Does it Work?

We love how easy it is to use Rakuten. You sign up for an account and shop through the platform online. Before you click through to go to the store, you’ll see how much cash back you’ll earn with your purchase. If you like the rebate, you click the link and shop through Rakuten.

It takes Rakuten approximately 48 hours to credit your account. Some stores may take a little longer and Rakuten says in its agreement that it could take up to 30 days to verify a purchase.

Watch the fine print on Rakuten, though. Some cashback offers are only on certain size purchases or certain types of purchases. Typically, they all offer a small amount of cashback on all purchases, but then an inflated amount on a special category, such as women’s clothes, or home goods. Read more about Rakuten in this Rakuten Review.

Pros and Cons of Rakuten

Pros	Cons
It’s easy to shop online and earn cashback – You don’t have to expend too much energy figuring out how to earn cashback on Rakuten. As long as you shop through their platform on your phone or computer before making a purchase, you’ll get the allowed cashback. It’s free – You don’t have to pay anything to use the Rakuten app. Instead, they pay you for using the app because you earn them money every time you make a purchase. You may even save money shopping through Rakuten as they sometimes have special offers exclusively for Rakuten members. You can earn money by referring friends and family – You can earn $5 every time you refer friends and family use your link to sign up for Rakuten and make a purchase.	It takes a while to get paid – Rakuten pays four times a year (quarterly). At the end of the quarter, they tally up your earnings and send a check the following month. You can’t cancel orders – If you place an order via Rakuten, you can’t change your mind. You must accept the order and then return it directly to the store. (You forfeit your cashback if you return it).

Pros

Cons

It’s easy to shop online and earn cashback – You don’t have to expend too much energy figuring out how to earn cashback on Rakuten. As long as you shop through their platform on your phone or computer before making a purchase, you’ll get the allowed cashback.
It’s free – You don’t have to pay anything to use the Rakuten app. Instead, they pay you for using the app because you earn them money every time you make a purchase. You may even save money shopping through Rakuten as they sometimes have special offers exclusively for Rakuten members.
You can earn money by referring friends and family – You can earn $5 every time you refer friends and family use your link to sign up for Rakuten and make a purchase.

It takes a while to get paid – Rakuten pays four times a year (quarterly). At the end of the quarter, they tally up your earnings and send a check the following month.
You can’t cancel orders – If you place an order via Rakuten, you can’t change your mind. You must accept the order and then return it directly to the store. (You forfeit your cashback if you return it).

Rakuten Referral Program

Rakuten’s Referral Program changes frequently. On their referral page, you can see the latest promotion. For example, right now if you refer a friend and your friend spends at least $30 using the Rakuten app, you both earn $30.

Always read the fine print of the offers to see what your referrals must do for you (and them) to earn the reward. To refer your friends or family to Rakuten share your unique Rakuten link or the email you used to sign up for your account. Typically, your friends or family have 90 days to meet the purchase requirements to qualify you for a referral bonus. If you’re looking for a Rakuten referral link, check out our Rakuten referral article for the guidelines on how to use our Rakuten referral link and get $30 for FREE.

Which is Better – Dosh or Rakuten?

You are probably asking yourself, which is better Dosh or Rakuten? They are both great cashback apps that pay you to shop and offer great referral bonuses. So which one is right for you?

Ask yourself the following questions:

Do you want to shop through a specific portal or do you do more shopping in-person? If you’re an online shopper and don’t mind shopping through another app, Rakuten is a great option. You’ll know exactly how much cash back you’ll earn with each purchase. If you are an in-store shopper, you would make more money with Dosh. You can earn cashback at any of their partner stores, restaurants, or even hotels. As long as you use your registered credit card, you’ll earn money back.
Can you wait for quarterly checks? Rakuten sends what they call ‘big fat checks’ quarterly. The checks are ‘big and fat’ because the money accumulates all quarter. They only pay 4 times a year. If you like receiving that big check, Rakuten may be best for you. If you’d rather see ‘quick wins’ and cash out when you reach $25, Dosh may be better. While they have a threshold you must meet, it’s not hard to hit $25 cashback when you’re earning 10% back on purchases and 40% on hotels.
Do you like to be in control of your cashback? With the Dosh app, you don’t have to track where you spend, Dosh automatically credits you for eligible purchases. If you are more of a ‘Type A’ person, you may want to know when you’re getting cash back. With Rakuten, you must shop through the app, so you know when you’re getting cashback and exactly how much you’d get.

Final Thoughts

So is Dosh or Rakuten better? They are both great apps that offer many benefits. They offer you the opportunity to earn cash back on your purchases. Both apps offer referral bonuses which make it even easier to increase your cashback. Whether you use one app or both, you’ll earn money back on your purchases. While it’s not enough to cover your bills, any extra money you can earn can help your income streams.

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