As I mention on my about me page, my interest in cashback started growing properly when I discovered Quidco back in 2015. And I’ll be honest, the concept immediately appealed to me. Getting something back on purchases I was already planning to make? Felt like money for nothing. Of course, as with everything, there’s a bit more to it than that, but ten years and over £2,700 in cashback later, I’m still using it. So here’s my full take.
What Is Quidco?
Quidco is a cashback website that lets you earn money back on purchases you make through their platform. The basic idea is simple: instead of going directly to a retailer’s website, you click through to them via Quidco. The retailer pays Quidco a commission, and Quidco shares a chunk of that with you. No gimmicks, no complicated points systems; just actual money back on spending you were going to do anyway.
How Does Quidco Work?
There are a few different ways to use it, which is one of the reasons I like it and you can pick whatever method works for you.
Via Your Web Browser (Manual)
- Open Quidco and search for the retailer you want to buy from.
- If they’re listed, click through to the retailer via the Quidco link.
- Complete your purchase as normal; the transaction tracks automatically and once validated, the cashback is paid.
Browser Extension
Quidco offer a browser extension for your computer that pops up automatically when you land on a site where cashback is available. It’s a handy way to make sure you don’t forget to click through which, speaking from experience, does happen.
Via the App
Quidco have an app for both iPhone and Android. The process is the same as the browser approach: find the retailer, click through, make your purchase. One important watch-out here though: many cashback deals specifically exclude purchases made through a retailer’s own app. If you’re on your phone, make sure you’re buying through your mobile browser, not through a retailer’s app you’ve got installed.
What Can You Actually Earn Cashback On?
Quidco has expanded quite a bit over the years. Here’s a breakdown of what they cover:
1. Online Shopping Cashback
This is the core offering and the one I use most. Thousands of retailers are listed, and the rates vary quite a bit depending on the shop and the category.
2. Insurance & Financial Comparison
This is honestly where I’ve made most of my money over the years. Quidco operate as a price comparison site and pay out cashback when you take out a new policy through them. Here are the rates available as of May 2026:
| Category | Cashback |
|---|---|
| Car Insurance | £45 |
| Home Insurance | £34 |
| Bike Insurance | £23 |
| Pet Insurance | Up to £27 |
| Van Insurance | £37 |
| Travel Insurance | Up to £45 |
| Energy | Up to £30 |
| Home Broadband | Up to £171 |
| Mobile Broadband | £20 |
Worth noting that there are other categories too including mobiles, loans and various other insurance types. Fairly comprehensive.
One word of caution though: when you visit a comparison site via Quidco, you can sometimes get slightly different quotes than if you went direct. It doesn’t always happen, but it’s worth double-checking that the deal you’re looking at is genuinely competitive before assuming the cashback makes it the best option.
3. In-Store Cashback
This works by registering your debit or credit card, and then when you make purchases in participating shops, the cashback is automatically applied. I’ll be honest, I don’t currently use this feature through Quidco as I tend to do my in-store cashback through a different app. That said, while writing this review I noticed they’ve added John Lewis at 3% and Currys at 3.4%, so that might be worth a closer look.
4. Gift Cards
Quidco also sell gift cards with cashback attached. To give you a sense of how their rates compare, here’s a quick snapshot from May 2026:
| Retailer | Quidco Rate | Everup Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Starbucks | 7.5% | 10.6% plus coins |
| Primark | 5% | 6.2% plus coins |
For gift cards specifically, I tend to use Everup as I find their rates are generally a bit better and I’ve written a full review of Everup if you want to compare the two.
What’s the Catch? The Honest Bit
It wouldn’t be a proper Sensible Spender review without covering the things to watch out for.
Cashback Isn’t Guaranteed
This is the big one. The vast majority of my cashback has been paid out, but it doesn’t always happen. Transactions can fail to track, or you might not quite meet the terms and conditions. So when you’re making a purchasing decision, factor this in. If Quidco is offering 20% cashback but the retailer’s own site has 10% off as an immediate discount, you need to weigh up whether the potential extra 10% is worth the risk of it not tracking.
Read the Terms and Conditions
Always worth a quick check before you purchase. Common restrictions include cashback only being available to new customers, or it being invalidated if you use a voucher code at checkout. My general approach: if I can find a voucher code that gives me an immediate discount of a similar amount, I’ll take that over the cashback. A guaranteed saving beats a potential one.
Failed Tracking
Separate to the above, sometimes purchases just don’t track even when they should. You can raise a missing cashback claim, but it’s a bit of a process. Not a dealbreaker, but worth knowing.
Watch Out for App Purchases on Your Phone
As I mentioned above most deals exclude purchases made through a retailer’s own mobile app. If you’re buying on your phone, use the browser, not the retailer’s app.
How Do You Actually Get Your Money?
Once your cashback has been validated, you’ve got two options:
Cash transfer. Quidco will send the money straight to your bank account, free of charge.
Gift voucher. This is often the better value option. You can convert your cashback into a gift voucher, and Quidco typically adds a bonus on top. For example, at the time of writing, taking your cashback as a Marks & Spencer voucher gives you an extra 6% added to the voucher value. A nice little extra on top of what you’ve already earned.
Is Quidco Worth Using? My Verdict
Having earned £2,788.02 since I joined, I think the answer speaks for itself. But the key point is that this only works if you’re disciplined about it. The whole point is earning back money on spending you were going to do anyway. Don’t let the cashback rates tempt you into spending more than you planned.
To show how the savings can stack up, here’s a simple example:
| Saving | Amount |
|---|---|
| £100 purchase at 6% Quidco cashback | £6.00 |
| 1% cashback credit card | £1.00 |
| Take Quidco payout as M&S voucher (6% top-up) | £0.36 |
| Total back | £7.36 |
A 7.36% effective discount on something you were buying anyway. That’s the kind of stacking I enjoy.
Worth mentioning too: I also use TopCashback, a similar platform, when their rates are better than Quidco’s. There’s no loyalty needed here as it is always worth checking both before you click through.
Want to Sign Up to Quidco?
If you’d like to sign up, I’ve included a referral link below. Full transparency: if you sign up via this link, I earn a small reward, and you’ll get a little bonus to get you started. If you’d rather go directly to their site, that’s completely fine too:
Sign up to Quidco via my referral link
For a full guide to cashback sites and apps, including how Quidco compares to Everup and TopCashback, take a look at my cashback apps guide.