With food prices skyrocketing in Canada, reaching for every possible way to save at the grocery store becomes a necessity. Thankfully, a vast selection of grocery apps is available to help you cut down on your grocery bill. These apps offer a variety of features, including cash-back programs, digital coupons, and flyer comparisons, making them valuable tools for the budget-conscious shopper.
This article explores 15 of the best grocery apps in Canada, categorized for easier navigation based on their functionalities.
Types of Grocery Apps
There are three main categories of grocery apps:
- Grocery Cashback Apps: These apps reward you with a small percentage of cash back on purchases made at specific retailers or anywhere Mastercard/Visa is accepted.
- Grocery Coupon Apps: These apps provide access to digital coupons and discounts you can redeem at participating stores, eliminating the need for physical flyers.
- Grocery Flyer and Price Comparison Apps: These apps help you compare grocery prices across multiple stores, ensuring you find the best deals.
Grocery Cash Back Apps
KOHO
KOHO is a reloadable prepaid Mastercard that comes with a built-in budgeting app. It’s a top choice for earning cash back on all purchases, including groceries, because it’s widely accepted (anywhere Mastercard is). KOHO offers a baseline of 1% cash back on grocery purchases, with the potential to earn up to 50% cash back at select stores.
Additionally, you can earn interest on your balance. Signing up comes with a free* reloadable prepaid card (a regular $4 fee is waived if you set up a recurring direct deposit). Plus, you can score a $20 bonus with the referral code CASHBACK after your first purchase.
Rakuten
Formerly known as Ebates, Rakuten is an online cash-back shopping portal offering discounts at thousands of retailers, including grocery stores. Depending on your online purchases, Rakuten can help you save on various items like groceries, electronics, fashion, entertainment, and more. After creating a Rakuten account, visit the platform before shopping at your favorite retailer’s online store.
You’ll see the discount or cash-back rate offered (ranging from 0% to as high as 35%). Click to visit the retailer, and after shopping, cash back earned is credited to your Rakuten account. You can redeem earnings every quarter using PayPal, cheque, or Amazon gift cards, with a minimum payout threshold of $5.01.
Grocery Coupon Apps
PC Optimum
PC Optimum is a top loyalty program for Canadian grocery shoppers, particularly those who frequent Real Canadian Superstore and other Loblaws stores. With a free PC Optimum account, you receive weekly offers with opportunities to save money.
When you scan your PC Optimum card or PC Financial Credit Card at checkout, you also earn points at Shoppers Drug Mart and Esso/Mobil stations across Canada. Accumulate 10,000 PC Optimum points to redeem them for $10 worth of groceries.
Swagbucks
Swagbucks is a GPT (get-paid-to) app that rewards users for completing simple tasks, including surveys, watching videos, and shopping online. Swagbucks has a shopping portal where you can find grocery deals and discounts. Visit the retailer through Swagbucks, and cash back earned is automatically added to your balance. You can redeem your earnings using PayPal or a gift card.
Caddle
Caddle is a popular grocery coupon app with over 100,000 downloads on the Google Play store alone. New offers are added weekly, covering various grocery items. Click on each offer to see the specific requirements to redeem it.
After making a purchase, take a photo of your receipt and upload it to the app to claim your cash back. You can cash out for a cheque when your balance reaches $20. Caddle users can also earn cashback by completing short surveys and watching video ads.
Grocery Flyer and Price Comparison Apps
Flashfood
Flashfood is a grocery app that helps you find significant discounts on groceries at participating stores like Real Canadian Superstore, No Frills, Provigo, Zehrs, Wholesale Club, Maxi, and Your Independent Grocer. The app plays a role in reducing food waste by offering discounts of up to 50% on food close to its best-before date.
MyPoints
Similar to Rakuten, MyPoints is another grocery app owned by the same company that operates Swagbucks. Creating an account allows you to shop at your favorite stores on the platform, including Walmart, Home Depot, Amazon, and Best Buy. Each purchase earns you points that can be redeemed for gift cards. New users also get a $10 Amazon or Visa gift card after spending $20 or more onpen_sparktunesharemore_vert