Sites Like TopCashback: Every Alternative Compared (Rakuten, EverUp, JamDoughnut & More)

Last verified: 8 September 2026 · By The Cashback Chap

I've earned £1,636 on TopCashback, so you'd expect me to tell you nothing else is worth having. Wrong — I keep a Quidco account open, I've seen Rakuten beat both on a Temu order, and the instant-cashback apps do something TopCashback structurally can't. Here's every serious alternative compared against TopCashback directly, with the specific situation where each one wins.

Disclosure: TopCashback links are my referral links (you get a £10 bonus). No relationship with any alternative listed.

Why look beyond TopCashback at all?

Three honest reasons: rates flip per retailer per week (so a second account catches the weeks TopCashback isn't top); it's slow — 4 days to 26 weeks to payout in my experience — while instant apps pay in seconds; and it's online- first, whereas gift-card and card-linked apps earn on your coffee and supermarket runs. Nothing below replaces it as a primary; several complement it.

TopCashback vs Quidco

The genuine rival: 5,000+ retailers, same click-through model, owned by the Moneysupermarket group. Quidco wins when its rate for your retailer is higher that week, when it lists a merchant TopCashback has dropped (WorldRemit, in my account), and for heavy monthly earners via Premium (£1/month only in months you earn, +10% top-up). TopCashback wins on breadth (5,500+), on MSE's rate checks (top in 70%+), and — for me — on a three-year payout record. Full head-to-head: Quidco vs TopCashback.

TopCashback vs Rakuten

Rakuten UK covers roughly 500 stores versus TopCashback's 5,500+, but leans into big brands with high headline rates (I saw 16–19% on some fashion/tech lines) and runs periodic "10% extra cashback, up to £40" promotions. It was the site that beat both TopCashback and Quidco on a Temu order for me. Rakuten wins for a specific big brand during one of its boosts. TopCashback wins on everything else — coverage, bounties, 100% offers, Compare — and Rakuten's smaller catalogue means it can't be a primary. Check its payout schedule before relying on it; I haven't been through Rakuten's payout process myself.

TopCashback vs EverUp

Different sport. EverUp sells gift cards for UK brands and pays in Cashback Points and coins (up to 20%) that convert to rewards, with a gamified prize-draw element. EverUp wins if you routinely buy supermarket gift cards and enjoy the game. TopCashback wins for anyone who wants cash, not points with odds, and for the entire online-shopping, switching and subscription world EverUp doesn't touch. So: is EverUp better than TopCashback? For supermarket gift cards, arguably; as a cashback site, no — it isn't really the same product.

TopCashback vs JamDoughnut

JamDoughnut is the instant-cashback app: buy a gift card in-app, cashback lands in seconds (Costa 10%, Body Shop 9%, Moss 8%, B&Q 5.5%, up to 20% on promos), spend it in store or online, plus a £5 first-purchase bonus. JamDoughnut wins on speed and on in-store spending, where TopCashback's click-through model is weak. TopCashback wins on rates for online shopping, on bounties (£120 switches don't exist in a gift-card app) and on not having to pre-load money. Researched, not personally used.

TopCashback vs Cheddar

Same instant gift-card mechanism, built around Tesco (up to 5%) and 100–200+ retailers, "up to 15%" headline, cash out to bank from £5 with no fees, and — unusually — FCA-regulated. Cheddar wins for supermarket and everyday in-store spend, and for people who want a regulated app holding their pre-loaded balance. TopCashback wins everywhere online. The two aren't really competing; they're the classic primary-plus-instant pairing. Researched only.

TopCashback vs Airtime Rewards

Airtime Rewards is card-linked: link your bank cards, spend at partner retailers, rewards accrue automatically and pay out as credit off your mobile bill. Airtime wins on effort — there is none — and on catching in-store spend you'd never click through for. TopCashback wins on rates, breadth and paying actual cash. Run both; they never conflict. Researched only.

A word on Swagbucks and survey-style sites

Save the Student's list includes Swagbucks, which mixes cashback with paid surveys and tasks. It can pay, but it's a different trade — time for points — and outside the scope of pure cashback. I'd exhaust the sites above first.

The verdict: build a stack, not a replacement

Job	Use
Primary for online shopping, switches, bounties, 100% offers	TopCashback (join, £10 bonus)
Rate-check before any purchase over ~£100	Quidco
A specific big brand during a boost	Rakuten
Coffee, DIY, fashion in store — instant	JamDoughnut or Cheddar
Supermarket gift cards (and you like a prize draw)	EverUp
Zero-effort layer on everyday card spend	Airtime Rewards

Every alternative above is best understood as a layer on top of TopCashback, not a swap for it. The full ranking with payout evidence is in best cashback sites UK.

FAQ — real questions people ask Google

Is EverUp better than TopCashback? Only for one thing: buying supermarket gift cards, where its points-and-coins rates can be strong. As a general cashback site it isn't comparable — it doesn't cover online shopping, switching bounties or subscriptions, and it pays in points rather than cash.

Which is better, Rakuten or TopCashback? TopCashback for almost everyone: ten times the retailers, bounties, 100% offers and a Compare service. Rakuten wins for specific big brands during its boosts — it beat TopCashback on a Temu order for me — so treat it as a rate-check for those, not a primary.

Which is the best cashback site in the UK? TopCashback, by MoneySavingExpert's rate checks (top in over 70%) and by my own account (£1,547 withdrawn, no genuine purchase ever missed), with Quidco as the essential second account.

What are Martin Lewis' best cashback sites? MoneySavingExpert names TopCashback and Quidco as the two main sites and recommends checking both rather than committing to one; its guide also covers in-store cashback and cashback credit cards as extra layers.

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TopCashback figures are from my own account (screenshot shown), verified 8 September 2026. Alternatives' rates and features were checked on their sites the same day and rotate — verify before relying on them. Sources: MoneySavingExpert · Rakuten UK · everup · JamDoughnut · Cheddar · Save the Student · Scrimpr.