Rebates vs Kickbacks.
Both pay you to show sponsored lines in Claude Code and Codex. The difference is what happens to your code. Rebates never reads it in the default flow, redacts any opt-in context on your machine, and turns off in one command — with a byte-for-byte restore.
The comparison, honestly.
Every Rebates row is a claim we stand behind. Every Kickbacks row is either what their site says or a plain “Not stated” where it is silent — we do not mark them down for what they simply have not published.
| Feature | Rebates | Kickbacks |
|---|---|---|
| Where the line shows | Sponsored footer in Claude Code + Codex | Ads in editor / CLI loading spinners |
| Supported tools | Claude Code, Codex (Cursor + Gemini CLI coming) | Claude Code, Codex (extension + terminal) |
| How you earn | 90% revenue share on impressions, capped at $1/day | 50% revenue share, plus clicks (50× impression rate) |
| Reads your code? | No — the default flow never reads code, files, or transcripts | Not stated on kickbacks.ai |
| On-device redaction | Secrets, emails, paths, URLs, code stripped before any opt-in summary | Not stated on kickbacks.ai |
| Contextual ads | Opt-in and disclosed — decline and still earn | Not stated on kickbacks.ai |
| Turn it off | `rebate off` restores settings byte-for-byte | Not stated on kickbacks.ai |
| Install | One-command installer (asks consent, backs up settings) | Download + install a VSIX extension |
Compared against kickbacks.ai as of July 2026. Both products are new and change often — check their site for the latest, and always read a terminal tool’s own docs before you install it.
Privacy and control, on by default.
The three things developers ask first about any terminal-ad tool — and where Rebates gives a straight answer.
It never reads your code
The default sponsored footer needs nothing about what you are writing. No uploads, no filesystem scans.
Off in one command
`rebate off` disables the integration and restores your Claude Code and Codex settings byte-for-byte.
Paid 90% per impression
Every visible impression pays you 90% of what it earned — no click-chasing, capped at $1 a day during the beta.
Questions people ask before switching.
Is Kickbacks legit?
Yes. Kickbacks is a real product that pays developers a 50% revenue share, plus per-click bonuses, for ads shown in editor and CLI loading states in Claude Code and Codex. Whether Kickbacks is right for a given developer comes down to what that developer is comfortable running in a terminal. The useful approach is to check three things about any terminal-ad tool before installing it: how the tool handles your code, what the tool discloses about contextual sharing, and how the tool is turned off. As of July 2026 the kickbacks.ai site does not publish statements on all three. That is an absence of published information rather than evidence of bad behaviour.
What is the difference between Rebates and Kickbacks?
Both products pay developers to show sponsored lines in Claude Code and Codex. The difference is emphasis. Rebates leads with privacy and control: the default flow never reads code, any opt-in contextual summary is redacted on the developer machine, and the integration turns off in one command with a byte-for-byte settings restore. Rebates also pays a larger share, 90% of impression revenue with nothing riding on clicks, but caps each account at $1 per day during the beta. Kickbacks pays a 50% revenue share plus per-click bonuses and sets no such ceiling, so an exceptional month can still pay more there. As of July 2026 the kickbacks.ai site does not publish a code-privacy or uninstall statement, so a developer who weighs those heavily has less published information to work from.
Which one pays more?
On the same impression, Rebates. Rebates passes back 90% of the ad revenue an impression generates, where Kickbacks pays a 50% revenue share plus per-click bonuses, quoted on kickbacks.ai at 50 times the impression rate for a click. Rebates therefore hands back a larger share of the same delivery, and no part of a Rebates payout waits on somebody choosing to click. The honest caveat is the beta cap: Rebates pays at most $1 per account per day, so a heavy day is bounded and a heavy month lands near $30. A developer whose sessions would clear that ceiling, or who expects strong click-through, could earn more on the Kickbacks model despite the smaller share.
Can I switch from Kickbacks to Rebates?
Yes. Run the Rebates installer, then use "rebate plan" to preview every change before it is applied. Remove Kickbacks separately, following the uninstall instructions Kickbacks publishes, because Kickbacks installs as an editor extension rather than through the Rebate CLI. Order matters: removing the old tool first avoids two sponsored footers rendering in the same session and two tools writing the same agent settings. Rebates backs up Claude Code and Codex settings byte-for-byte during install, and running "rebate off" restores that backup exactly, so returning to the original configuration is always available.
Try the privacy-first one.
Install in one command, preview with rebate plan, and keep your code to yourself.
curl -fsSL https://rebates.ai/install | bash