How To Use the Shopmium App (It's Like Ibotta But With Venmo!)

If you're an avid couponer, you've likely heard about the Ibotta and Checkout51 rebate apps. With these apps, you clip a rebate, do your regular shopping, scan your receipt, and then get rewarded with extra cashola. But there's another rebate app that's getting lots of buzz lately: the Shopmium app.

While Shopmium isn't entirely "new" — the European app was ranked #1 in France's app store last year and has been around since 2011— it's new to the U.S. as of fall 2022. The U.S. version of the Shopmium app doesn't have quite as many features as the European version, but I'm here to show you why the Shopmium app might still be worth a download.

Just like the other cash-back rebate apps and grocery rebate apps we know and love, Shopmium can put money back in your pocket. And with Shopmium, you'll get a free item just for signing up! Here's everything you need to know before you jump on the Shopmium train.

Download the KCL app to save on all your grocery trips, or text HACKS to 57299 so we can send you more money-saving tips and tricks.

1. Just like other cash back and rebate apps, the Shopmium app is free to download.

After you download the Shopmium app, you'll select where you live. Be sure to select the United States so you get the version with the U.S. deals.

Next, you'll sign up with either your email address, Facebook account, or Apple account. You'll be asked for your ZIP code, and then you're ready to get started.

TIP: Shopmium disappeared for a while and merged into Coupons.com. But since Coupons.com sold, the parent company relaunched Shopmium in the U.S. in late 2022.

2. Make sure you claim your welcome gift — I got free break-and-bake Pillsbury cookies!

Once you're signed in, you'll automatically get taken to the "All Deals" page in the Shopmium app. At the top of the page, there should be a pink box advertising a welcome offer for 100% off a single product. You're gonna wanna click on that.

If a friend referred you, enter their referral code. If they didn't (which they probably didn't because your friend would have to be European — we'll get into that later), you can still claim a gift by using the second button.

Your offer may vary, but mine was for free break-and-bake Pillsbury cookie dough (worth $3.68 at my Walmart).

3. Browse the offers by category and activate the ones you like.

Now it's time to start perusing the rest of the deals for your favorites. There's an "All Deals" page you can browse, or you can hunt for deals by category.

To activate a deal in the Shopmium app, you just click the "+" button. You can also scan product barcodes using the app to pull up related offers. To do that, just click the "scan" button, which will open up the camera.

TIP: Shopmium doesn't show the rebate value until you actually click on the item. So if you wanna know if it's worth the savings, be sure to do this step. I found $5 – $10 off fancy electric toothbrushes this way. Not bad!

4. Use the Shopmium app to take a picture of your shopping receipt.

Once you've activated all the deals you'll be shopping for in the Shopmium app, it's time to go to the store and actually buy the things. With your receipt in hand, you're gonna click the piggy bank icon in the app to upload your receipt.

5. Scan your items' barcodes to verify that you made the purchase.

Once you have the receipt uploaded, Shopmium will ask you to scan the item's barcode. This is the one extra step you have to do with Shopmium compared to other rebate apps like Ibotta.

Even if you scanned the barcode to locate the offer in the first place, you'll have to scan it again to verify that you actually made the purchase.

TIP: In the U.S. version of Shopmium, you can't yet link your store loyalty accounts to automatically add receipts. But you can manually submit digital receipts — just click the "upload" option and follow the steps.

6. Get your cash money within 48 hours — either through Venmo or PayPal.

You did it! Now all that's left to do is wait for your money. Shopmium will credit your account within about 48 hours.

Once you earn $20 in your Shopmium account, you can cash out. Shopmium is super cool because they let you turn that money into cold, hard cash instead of just gift cards. Click the piggy bank icon to initiate the transfer to your Venmo or PayPal account.

7. Remember that you can't stack Shopmium rebates with manufacturer offers.

It's the biggest of bummers. If you use a manufacturer coupon (like the coupons on KCL) or a rebate on an item, you won't be able to claim a Shopmium rebate for the same item. It really is an either/or kind of thing, so you'll want to compare your offers wisely.

8. Not all offers are available at all stores, so check the fine print.

Be careful! Just because a rebate is listed in the Shopmium app doesn't necessarily mean you can use it at every store. For example, I wouldn't have been able to claim the OFF rebate pictured above if I were shopping at Meijer, according to the offer restrictions.

To find out if there are store restrictions, actually click on the offer. Don't just press "+" and be done with it. Once the rebate page is pulled up, there will be a black bar at the bottom denoting off-limits stores, if any such restrictions exist.

Related: We can help you learn how to understand the fine print on coupons.

9. Stacking Shopmium offers with other rebate apps is a no-no.

You're not supposed to stack manufacturer rebates with Shopmium. And technically, when you use Ibotta, Fetch, or another rebate app, you're claiming a manufacturer rebate. So that means you'll need to choose to use either Shopmium OR Ibotta, Shopmium OR Fetch, etc.

If you do stack Shopmium offers with Ibotta and Fetch and Shopmium finds out, you could lose your rebate money. Their policy just doesn't allow stacking.

Related: The Ultimate Ibotta FAQ

10. Shopmium's referral program is not in the U.S. — yet.

In Europe, Shopmium has a loyalty program called the Shopmium Club that can get you even more savings. They also have a referral program that gives you the equivalent of about $3.75 when your friend uses your referral code to sign up.

But neither program is available in the U.S. At least not yet. We're hoping to see more of these features rolled out over here across the pond as time goes on.