Find The Best Cashback Site
Not sure which is the UK's best cashback site? You've come to the right place.
Here's our comparison, some essential info, and a recommendation on which site (sites!) to sign-up to.
We've carried out some more detailed comparisons on a selection of key retailers. Click on their name to see more!
TopCashback v Quidco v KidStart
TopCashback
Quidco
KidStartAll facts were accurate on 16th April 2020
What Do We compare?
Average cashback amount
There's no right or wrong calculation here, just one based on fact.
Because payout rates change frequently and differ by purchase type, the number of permutations is almost infinite. So, to help you compare, we take a 'typical' annual spend on a selection of the UK's biggest retailers, and work out where you'd earn the best cashback amount, then express that as an overall percentage:
| Retailer | Purchase Type | Annual Spend | TopCashback Plus | Quidco Premium | KidStart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | Any existing customer | £1000 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| ASOS | Any existing customer | £400 | £8.40 | £8 | £8 |
| Argos | Any existing customer | £100 | £0 | £0 | £1 |
| Currys PC World | Washing machine, fridge freezer | £700 | £17.50 | £35 | £7 |
| Debenhams | Beauty | £200 | £8 | £8 | £4 |
| Expedia | Flight and hotel | £1200 | £48 | £42 | £24 |
| John Lewis | Any existing customer | £1000 | £20 | £0 | £15 |
| M&S | Any existing customer clothing | £100 | £3 | £1 | £2.50 |
| O2 | New £45 a month phone contract | £540 | £105 | £105 | £65 |
| Plusnet | Unlimited fibre broadband & line rental | £294 | £70 | £70 | £23 |
| Sainsburys | Existing customer, 50 grocery orders | £5000 | £52.50 | £50 | £40 |
| USwitch | Dual fuel switch | £500 | £30 | £28 | £10 |
| TOTAL | £11034 | £362.40 (3.28%) | £347 (3.14%) | £200 (1.80%) |
All calculations are in British pounds sterling and were accurate as of 25th Sep 2019
*TopCashback are only able to pay John Lewis cashback in the form of Avios points
Trustpilot Rating
Born in Denmark in 2007, Trustpilot has grown to become the world's leading impartial online review community.
Customers can submit reviews (both a star rating and comments). Trustpilot's secret algorithm then calculates and scores (scores) sites by category. As well as the more visible five-star rating, Trustpilot provides a 'Trust Score' (out of 10). We show you that site's score out of 10. Trustpilot is a great way to quickly check the reputation of a company, heck, CashbackChoice.co.uk is even on there 🙂
As with any review site, be careful to take the good and the bad with a pinch of salt.
Number of Retailers
The number of retailers a site has is a useful indicator for a couple of things:
- The more retailers the site has, the greater the choice you have.
- Having more retailers could be used as an indicator of better supplier relationships/processes, something that might translate into better, more reliable cashback. Cashback sites with fewer retailers may argue it's down to less rigorous partner checks, which in turn could translate into negatives for us as customers. However, we can't say we have any evidence of this being the case.
That said, we'd always recommend checking the cashback amount on all sites before you purchase.
Although site coverage tends to be similar, they all have different strengths, and often unique deals with the retailers.
Despite having significantly fewer retailers than Topcashback and Quidco, KidStart's unique consistent ability to offer cashback on ASOS, John Lewis, and ebay purchases is a testament to this.
Best Rate Guarantee
Some sites offer a 'best cashback guarantee', whereby they will match the cashback amount/rate offered by another site, should you retrospectively see a better cashback offer elsewhere.
In a lot of cases, the top sites will offer the same rate, so you won't need to claim regularly. Here at CashbackChoice.co.uk, we'd always recommend checking the cashback amount across all sites before you purchase, to avoid the minor hassle of a post-purchase claim.
Premium Membership
Quidco's Premium offering and TopCashback Plus both cost £5 a year, offering great value to anyone who shops online regularly.
Minimum Payout
This is the amount of cashback you need to earn before you can request a withdrawal. The smaller the better!
Bank Transfer Payout
The most basic payout option is a direct bank transfer to your designated account.
KidStart has a nuance here - you must specify a child that will benefit from the cashback. You don't have to pay it directly into their bank account though, you can specify your own.
Gift Card Payout Boosts
Some sites offer the ability to withdraw your earnings as gift cards, often offering small bonuses to do so.
What Don't We Compare?
The best decisions are simple ones. We could compare numerous other features, but we felt it might cloud your judgement. So we've deliberately left out a number of features in our comparison. A few key ones include
Browser Plugins
All three sites offer an internet browser add-on that you can install on your PC, and it'll alert you when you're shopping online and could (should) be earning cashback.
iOS and Android Apps
Whilst all three sites have mobile apps to help you earn more cashback when shopping on your phone, we've not included the details here.
Debit Card Linking
Some of the sites allow you to link your debit card to their service, automatically claiming cashback on eligible purchases. Whilst it's definitely useful, there aren't a huge amount of cases where it applies, so check before signing up.
Which Is The Best Cashback Site?
Bonus points if you've already figured this out...
There is no single best cashback site; there's one for every occasion.
For most people, we'd recommend:
- Sign up for all three sites. They are all free, easy to sign-up to, and each has different strengths.
- Check all three cashback sites every time you shop online. Choose the one that's best for your purchase. You'll notice that TopCashback and Quidco tend to have similar offerings, you'll win out when one has negotiated an exclusive cashback rate with a retailer.
- You'll probably settle on a favourite site over time. This should be the one you should initially continue your Premium membership with (often, you'll need to opt-out). It won't take an abnormal amount of spending to recoup the £5 annual fee.
If you don't purchase much online, we'd recommend:
- Sign-up for all three sites. They are all free, and quick to register with.
- Have a play around with TopCashback and Quidco, and decide which you prefer, sampling a few cashback rates for your most-used retailers.
- Opt for the one you prefer and make that your default. TopCashback and Quidco tend to have a very similar offering; you're unlikely to see a huge difference if you aren't shopping online regularly or making large purchases.
- Use KidStart for cashback on retailers not regularly covered by TopCashback or Quidco, such as John Lewis.
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