In this article, we will compare Dosh vs Ebates which are cashback programs that pay you to shop through them. Ebates is considerably older than Dosh, having been in existence since 1998, while Dosh is only a few years older. What does Dosh have to offer that wasn’t already available through Ebates?
Dosh only operates via a mobile app, so if you really prefer using your PC for online shopping, you may not care for this new platform. If, however, like many people, you are on your smartphone all the time and do more shopping there than in brick and mortar stores, Dosh might be a great pick for you. Dosh works in brick and mortars too, via the linked credit card, and has an especially wide array of dining establishments.
If you are ok with using your smartphone, and like an easy to use cashback at brick and mortars like restaurants, you may find Dosh a little easier to use, since cashback is integrated with a linked credit card and automatically applied.
For those who love coupons, Ebates may be more appealing, since it offers lots of coupon deals throughout the shopping experience. Since Dosh is automatically linked to your credit card, there are fewer opportunities to offer coupon deals.
What are cashback sites?
Cashback sites work by paying their customers to shop through them. Why? Because the merchants that the customers buy from will pay the cashback site a proportion of the amount that the customer spends, so the cashback site has reason to motivate the customer to shop with them.
It is worth it to the merchant to pay the cashback site since they get business through the site that they may otherwise not have gotten. Merchants can be exposed to a client base that they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to market to, and depending on the cashback site, merchants can also further incentivize customers to shop with them by offering coupons or other deals. Some cashback sites even offer merchants the opportunity to pay the cashback site and customers for completing surveys or other useful tasks for the merchant.
Customers won’t lose any money than they otherwise would have spent as long as they don’t buy things they wouldn’t have otherwise, and they can make a significant percent back on purchases they would have made anyways, making cashback sites a valuable option or many people.
How does Dosh work?
Dosh works by taking the advertising budget of a brand and paying it back directly to consumers, building brand loyalty. It doesn’t offer a lot of coupons or other offers. Instead, a credit card, or all of your credit cards, are linked directly, making the process of shopping through Dosh almost effortless.
Unlike other cashback sites which focus primarily on purchases made through online markets, Dosh focuses more on eating out, booking hotels and other travel expenses, and going to local attractions. Once you have a linked credit card, you can see all of the offers around you or where you want to go. If you don’t want to bother with looking for offers, don’t. As long as you use a linked card, cashback will automatically be applied at participating restaurants whenever you eat out.
In order for Dosh to be effective for hotels you will need to use the Dosh app to book. The app is easy to use and offers lower rates than competing apps like Expedia for most hotels.
How does Ebates work?
Ebates lets you get cash back at over 2000 merchants, both online and in person. They are paid by the merchant when you buy something after clicking a link on their app or use their web browser plugin, then they share their earnings with you every three months.
Ebates can link to your credit card so that you get cash back whenever you use the card at participating merchants, or you can sign up for Ebates own Visa card which gives you 3% back on qualifying purchases and 1% on everything that isn’t a qualifying purchase.
Reputation and reviews comparison
Ebates has very good ratings from the Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot. They are an older company which has had time to establish itself and gain respect in the community for good customer service. Since you will never interact with customer service with a cashback site unless something has gone wrong, this good report is impressive.
With the Better Business Bureau Ebates received an A+ rating and 4 ½ stars from their 326 reviews. This is an excellent rating which reflects their high level of commitment for following up on customer complaints and inquiries.
On Trustpilot, Ebates got great reviews, with 87% of reviewers saying they are an excellent customer and 5% thinking they were great. Only 5% of the 825 reviewers thought that Ebates was a bad company. Some of these individuals reported that Ebates deleted their account and refused to pay out on legitimately earned cash, but these reports are very rare and generally well followed up on.
Dosh had an A rating with the Better Business Bureau, which isn’t terrible, but because the business is so young there aren’t many reviews. The 12 customer reviews gave a rating of nearly three out of five stars. Negative reviews stated that Dosh refused to pay what they promised, were difficult to get in touch with, or made termination of the account difficult.
On Trustpilot, Dosh had an excellent rating overall, with 79% of users finding them to be an excellent company and 17% saying they are great. 3% believed Dosh to be average, and only 2% thought the company was either poor or bad. These are quite good ratings from 917 reviews in the company’s short life.
Features and benefits of each company
Similar to BeFrugal Ebates offers cash back deals at nearly every merchant you are likely to use, as well as some lesser-known merchants that offer huge percentages back, as high as 40%. Coupons are provided as well, and Ebates makes it easy to shop using the app, browser extensions, Ebates Visa, or linked credit card at any brick and mortar.
Dosh provides great cash back and savings for people who travel and eat out frequently. They make it extremely easy to earn your cashback just by linking and using one or more credit cards. You can choose to actively search out the best deals or let cash back rack up as you shop.
What stores are on Ebates?
Over 2000 stores have joined with Ebates, including many general good stores such as Walmart, where you can buy practically everything that you need and get cash back for all of it. Most of the stores available at Ebates sell physical goods that you will buy through an online store or with a linked credit card or the Ebate credit card at brick and mortar stores.
Join Ebates today and get $10.
What stores are on Dosh?
Dosh has wide network of merchants available, primarily in local businesses like restaurants and travel industries like hotels and attractions. You can search for the best offers in your area, or just live your life using the linked card and let Dosh take off cash back when you happen to choose one of their linked merchants.
How much can you earn?
You will only earn a fraction of what you spend with any cashback site, but since you can tie all of your credit cards to Dosh if you like you can end up getting cash back for practically everything that you buy. For those who actively pursue the best deals on Dosh and frequent participating restaurants, airlines, etc. the savings can be significant. Since you don’t need to be tempted by offers if you don’t want to be, you can end up saving without actually spending more because of the app.
Ebates offers significant cash back at a very large number of stores, as well as constantly changing offers and coupons that can provide even more savings. For those who shop frequently and enjoy pursuing savings, Ebates can offer significant savings.
Either site can save you hundreds or thousands a month, depending on how you use it.
Start Ebates today and start saving money!
The cost
Both Ebates and Dosh are free to sign up for and use. In fact, both will pay you for joining their program. Ebates offers a $10 sign on bonus as long as you spend $25 in the first 90 days. Dosh offers a $5 bonus for signing up.
Sign up for Ebates today for free!
Refer a friend bonus
Ebates offers different amounts for referring friends depending on the promotional period, so make sure the incentive is good before telling your friends to join up. Dosh pays a flat $5 for every referral.
Customer Support
Ebates is well-known, having been established for many years, and they have developed an effective customer support network that does a good job of communicating with customers and solving customer complaints. Their excellent ratings on BBB and Trustpilot are indicative of their trustworthy customer service reputation.
Dosh, as a newer company, has had less time to establish a good reputation, and may also have fewer resources to devote to customer service. Users often found that they had trouble communicating with customer support at Dosh. Often issues seem to resolve themselves as the app works out payment slowly sometimes, but users were frustrated at not being able to talk to someone about their complaints.
Bottom Line
Ebates is the better and more established company. With Ebates you will have more to work with. I encourage you to join Ebates for free today and start saving.