Note: We may earn a commission from affiliate links on this page. These do not affect our ratings or recommendations.
Rakuten Review At a Glance
- We believe Rakuten is legit. We gave it a trust rating of 5/5. View reasoning.
- Based on our combined research and user reviews, Rakuten seems to be an okay earning/saving opportunity for Members. It has an overall earner score of 3.3/5. View our research or read the user reviews.
What Is Rakuten?
Rakuten (previously Ebates) is a mobile rewards platform where members can earn cashback on online and in-store purchases, save money with coupons, and find deals. Founded in 1998, Rakuten has partnered with over 3,500 stores and is one of the most well-known cashback platforms on the web.
General Details 📜
| Status: | Active, Legit |
|---|---|
| Helps You: | Make Money Save Money |
| Platform Type: | Rewards |
| Opportunities: | Cashback In-Store Savings Online Shopping Savings Promo Code Savings Refer-a-Friend |
Contact Info ☎️
| Socials: | LinkedIn • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • YouTube • Pinterest |
|---|---|
| Emails: | memberservices@rakuten.com (for general support) • socialhelp@rakuten.com (for account or app issues-related inquiries) |
| Phone: | (415) 908-2200 |
| Support Pages: | Help Center |
Company Details 🏢
| Founded: | 1998 |
|---|---|
| Legal Name: | Ebates Performance Marketing, Inc. |
| Also Known As: | Ebates (previous name), Rakuten Rewards |
| Parent Company: | Rakuten Group |
| Founders: | Alessandro Isolani • Paul Wasserman |
| Headquarters: | San Mateo, California, United States |
Who Is Rakuten For?
Rakuten is for anyone looking to save some extra money on their shopping trips. It's not going to eliminate your bills completely, but it can get you a little bit of money back or find you a nice coupon code for some extra savings.
Requirements 🔎
| Minimum Age: | 18 years old |
|---|---|
| Supported Locations: | Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Spain |
| Supported Languages: | Deutsch, English, Español, Français, 日本語 |
| Supported Devices: | Android Phone, Android Tablet, Computer Browser, iPad, iPhone Rakuten can be accessed via web browser on any device (user experience may vary) or via the apps available on the Apple App and Google Play store. |
| Other: | Must provide your mailing address to get your cashback earnings. Must have a verified PayPal account. |
How Does Rakuten Work?
There's 1 type of user on Rakuten:
- Members
Here's how Rakuten works for them:
How Rakuten Works For Members
Rakuten members can earn cashback shopping online and in-store, save money with coupons, and earn money by referring new members. After accumulating at least $5.01, earnings can be cashed out via PayPal or check.
Key Points 🔑
| Work Type: | Casual |
|---|---|
| Income Type: | Active, Semi-Passive If you have the Rakuten cashback extension, earning money from your shopping trips is pretty passive. |
| Work Schedule: | Flexible |
| Workplace: | Remote |
| Minimum Payout: | $5.01 |
| Payout Options: | Charity Donations Check PayPal |
| Payout Speed: | 45-137 days Rakuten sends out payments every three months based on a specific schedule: Earnings posted between Jan 1 - Mar 31 are sent by May 15. Earnings posted between Apr 1 - June 30 are sent by Aug 15. Earnings posted between July 1 - Sept 30 are sent by Nov 15. Earnings posted between Oct 1 - Dec 31 are sent by Feb 15. |
| Sign Up Bonus: | $10-$30. To qualify, make a cashback purchase of at least $25 within 90 days of signing up as a Rakuten member. Sign up here. |
| Pros: |
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| Cons: |
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| Tips: |
Pros, cons, and tips are based on real Rakuten Member reviews. |
Getting Started 🔢
To become a Rakuten member, head over to the platform's website or download the app to create an account. You can do this by signing in via Google, Facebook, or Apple, or you can sign up via email.
Sign up bonus: $10-$30. To qualify, make a cashback purchase of at least $25 within 90 days of signing up as a Rakuten member. Sign up here.
Earning and Saving Money 💵
The primary way to earn/save money with Rakuten is through the platform's shopping rewards and coupons. These are available for both online and in-store shopping.
- Online shopping: Simply access cashback-enabled stores through Rakuten, make your purchase, and wait for the cashback to credit. You can also browse Rakuten for online promo codes for things like discounts, free shipping, and more.
- In-store shopping. If you're shopping in-store, you need to link your credit or debit card to Rakuten and add in-store cashback offers to your account before you shop. Then, just pay using your linked card and you're good to go. If you're paying with a debit card, just note that you have to run it as credit and sign your receipt instead of entering your PIN so your cashback is successfully tracked.
If you don't want to have to access Rakuten to search for cashback stores and coupons every time you shop, you can also download the Rakuten browser extension. This won't help with in-store cashback, but it will alert you of online deals and cashback opportunities as you browse the web.
Besides shopping for cashback, you can also earn money on Rakuten via referrals:
- Referrals. Share your referral link to earn $30 when your referral makes qualifying purchase(s) worth a total of $30 within 90 days. Your referral gets a bonus as well (up to $30)!
Cashing Out 💰
Once you have at least $5.01 in your balance, you can cash out your Rakuten earnings via Charity Donations, Check or PayPal.
After cashing out, you can expect to receive your Rakuten payout in 45-137 days. (Rakuten sends out payments every three months based on a specific schedule: Earnings posted between Jan 1 - Mar 31 are sent by May 15. Earnings posted between Apr 1 - June 30 are sent by Aug 15. Earnings posted between July 1 - Sept 30 are sent by Nov 15. Earnings posted between Oct 1 - Dec 31 are sent by Feb 15.)
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For Members
Our Editorial Rakuten Review
Is Rakuten Legit?
We believe Rakuten is legit. It was founded in 1998, is owned and operated by Rakuten Group (a large global business based in Tokyo and founded in 1997), and it has plenty of positive reviews across the web. We couldn't find any red flags to suggest Rakuten could be a scam.
Green flags:
- Founded in 1998.
- Owned and operated by Rakuten Group, which acquired the platform (then known as Ebates) in 2014. Rakuten Group is based in Tokyo, Japan, and was founded in 1997. The company is a large global brand and has raised over $4B in funding.
- Backed and invested by Canaan Partners, Foundation Capital, August Capital, Rembrandt Venture Partners, and Founders Circle Capital.
- Rakuten has acquired 8 organizations: ShopStyle, Cartera Commerce, Shopular, Extrabux, Pushpins, BFads, fatwallet, and AnyCoupons.
- Has many positive reviews across the web.
- Has over 17 million registered Rakuten members.
- Has a well-designed website with transparent information about how the platform works and what users can expect before joining.
- Has an active social media presence.
Note: All research is done independently and could be wrong or change as new information is gathered. Please do your own due diligence.
Is Rakuten Worth It for Members? Is It a Good Way to Make Money?
Our editorial earner review is currently incomplete. Showing what we have so far...
Rakuten Statistics
General Platform Statistics
#549
Global Site Rank
99.4M
Avg. Monthly Site Visitors
10M+
Total App Downloads
17M+
Total # of Registered Users
3B+
Total # of Shopping Trips
$3.7B+
Total Amount of Cash Back Given
3,500+
Total # of Retailers
$2.2B
Total Paid Out (Since 1999)
$63.50
Avg. Cashback per Member (2020)
Data as of June 14, 2023 • Sources: Similarweb, AppBrain, Rakuten
Member Earnings/Savings Statistics
Based on real data from our 3 Rakuten Member reviews.
Help make this data more accurate by writing a review!
Rakuten Reviews From Members
Average Scores
Reviewer Recommendation
😁 100%Rating Breakdown
Reviews By Total Earnings/Savings
- Unknown (0%)
- Less than $100 (33.33%)
- $100-$999 (33.33%)
- $1,000-$9,999 (33.33%)
- $10,000-$49,999 (0%)
- $50,000-$99,999 (0%)
- $100,000+ (0%)
Reviews By Age Range
- Unknown (0%)
- 13-17 (0%)
- 18-24 (33.33%)
- 25-34 (66.67%)
- 35-44 (0%)
- 45-54 (0%)
- 55-64 (0%)
- 65+ (0%)
Reviews By Length of Use
- < 1 month (0%)
- 1-3 months (0%)
- 3-6 months (0%)
- 6-12 months (33.33%)
- 1-2 years (33.33%)
- 2-3 years (0%)
- 3-5 years (0%)
- 5+ years (33.33%)
I would highly recommend Rakuten for anyone who frequently shops online
Overall, I have referred so many of my friends to Rakuten. All of us have been able to save a lot of money and have especially reaped the rewards for our holiday purchases.
- The site and the app are very reliable.
- The majority of well-known retailers are partnered with Rakuten.
- Rakuten constantly features double cash back incentives for certain retailers. Frequently checking the app will also show what retailers have temporarily increased their cash back percentage for the day.
- Rakuten lets the user know when cash back will approximately post to your account.
- Rewards users for referring their friends.
- Sometimes you will not earn cash back for a qualifying purchase.
- Missing cash back is not always credited to your account.
- The website version does not follow the format of the app where it shows the percentage of cash back ""locked in"". Should your browser unexpectedly crash, you risk the loss of the cash back you locked in once, then if you attempt to reactivate it.
- Always use Rakuten's search function to locate a retailer.
- Next, save your favorite retailers so those are front and center when you open the app or website.
- Keep track of emails from Rakuten for emails promoting double cash days
- Earning is not only online. If you are comfortable, link a debit card to your Rakuten account to utilize the cash back function for when you are shopping at the brick and mortar store.
It's free money
Rakuten is a very good and interesting way to earn money. No real task is done here but stores list some products that when you buy them you get your cash back
- Their website is Very easy to use.
- They give absolutely free money and no work is done just purchasing
- Not all production the stores listed here are legible for cashback
- They pay once every 3 months
- This is a passive way of earning income, whenever you want to buy a product, purchase it using Rakuten
- Refer others to the platform
An extra income earning method
It is a very legit earning site that litteraly gives you free money after purchasing their products.
- No real task being done so it is an easy way of making money
- You must purchase their products in order to get the money
- Ensure you enter all the codes are entered before any purchase
- I used to request friends and family members to let me buy the goods for them and then i earn the points
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