Cheap Coin Machine Near Me

Coinstar is the world leader in coin counting machines. Coinstar machines exchange your loose change for cash, eGift Cards, charity donations, or Bitcoin. You can find a Coinstar near me, avoid the fee, and essentially use the service for free if you exchange your coins for an eGift Card or give the coins as a donation.

What You Need to Know

You can find a ‘Coinstar near me’ and avoid the fee. Here is how: 1. Locate a Coinstar kiosk (enter your zip code below for machines in your area) 2. Select your choice of payment – if you select cash you will NOT get free use but rather pay the 11.9% processing fee > Payment options are cash, eGift Card, donate, Amazon credit, or Bitcoin 3. Dump in your coins 4. Take your receipt to use for a tax-deduction 5. Take your payment voucher 6. Redeem it If you have any trouble completing your transaction, customer service can be reached at  800-928-2274 seven days a week. The hours of availability are 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. PT.

NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. Read the disclosure for details.

If you did an internet search for “Coinstar near me” and would like to avoid the Coinstar fee, you’re in the right place!

You may be eager to exchange all of those loose coins for some quick cash in your pocket since the recent coin shortage in the United States has left many with few options. But, when it comes to exchanging them, where can you go without having to spend hours rolling them in coin wrappers?

Coinstar is one option that will get the job done for you!

Your closest Coinstar kiosk is likely your best option if you aren’t a local credit union member or don’t have access to a bank that accepts coin deposits or loose change.

You probably have one just up the road from you at an office supply store or one of the retail stores that allow these machines in their building.

Find a Coin Machine Near Me

Enter your zip code in the labeled box then click the button that says ‘Find Coinstar Near Me.’

If the map doesn’t open in another window, be sure your browser popups are not blocked.

How does Coinstar work?

For those of you who are unfamiliar with what a Coinstar is, let me explain.

Coinstar kiosks are self-serve machines typically found in CVS, Walmart, Albertsons, and similar chain stores.

These huge green coin machines look kind of like a giant box with a screen and buttons. You have probably walked right by one many times since they can usually be found at the front of the store close to the customer service department.

You might have even seen kids crawling around with their eyes peeled to the floor and wiggling their fingers under the edges feeling for stray coins!

When you locate your ‘Coinstar near me’ machine, this is how it works:

Once you have emptied your piggy bank and scoured under the couch cushions for spare change, haul it into the store where Coinstar is located and dump it into the machine. These coin counting machines will then go to work with their coin sorting and do the rest of the work for you.

It separates the coins, totals up the amount of money you dumped in, then spits out a voucher showing the dollar amount of coins counted. This magical machine even shows you the number of coins you dropped into the machine!

You can immediately exchange the voucher for cash at a cash register or service desk in the retail store.

Another option for exchange is an eGift Card from a long list of retailers including food places, games, clothing stores, travel, and more (below is a complete list of participating retailers.)

Donating your money is also an option. Keep reading to find out how to help out a charity with 10 options to choose from and the complete list of Coinstar’s charity donation partners.

If you prefer to trade your coins for Bitcoin, this is also an option.

Keep in mind that not every option is available at every kiosk.

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How to Use Coinstar

I located a Coinstar near me to show you how it works. The following quick video will show you how to use Coinstar:

How much does Coinstar charge?

The Coinstar processing fee is one of the higher ones in the industry of coin counting.

If you choose the cash option, Coinstar charges 11.9% of the total amount of the loose change you dropped in. However, this charge can vary.

For example, you’ll get $22.02 in cash if you drop in $25 of your own coins.

How much does Coinstar charge for $20?

It depends on the charge at your location. However, with the typical charge of 11.9%, the total charge would be $2.38.

How much does Coinstar charge for $10?

Again, depending on the fee at your location, the charges can vary. With the typical charge of 11.9%, the total charge would be $1.19.

Wondering how to convert your yearly salary into how much you make per hour? Get the details using our free Yearly to Hourly Wage Calculator!

How do I avoid Coinstar fees?

Is it possible to find a Coinstar near me, avoid the fee, and not have to pay anything to use it?

Yes, there is a way that is completely legitimate if you’re looking for a free coin-counting machine.

Choose the Option for an eGift Card

Choose the option to exchange your coins for an eGift Card or make a donation to a charity and you will avoid the Coinstar fee and get to keep all of your money!

Coinstar eGift Card Choices

Would you like to attract more money into your life? Here is your golden ticket to bring your financial goals to reality: 265 Money Affirmations to Bring Wealth into Your Life Today

Make a Charity Donation

Another way to avoid the fee to save money is to use your coin exchange to make a donation to a charity.

The following list is current at the time of posting for Coinstar’s charity donation partners, including the contact information for each:

Coinstar Charity Donation Options

If you Want a Specific eGift Card or Donation Option, Check Before You Go

IMPORTANT: Each location has different options for the eGift Cards available. If you have a specific store you want, there is a way to find out which stores offer which eGift Cards.

Here is how:

1. Go to find a kiosk on the Coinstar official website
2. Enter your zip code
3. Select a location and click on ‘Details’
4. Read the dropdown

Here is a quick walk-through video showing the process, starting at step 2:

Is Coinstar free at Walmart?

It is possible to get lucky and your local Walmart will pick up the Coinstar processing fee for using the Coinstar in their store. However, this is fairly uncommon, so don’t dump in your coins without asking first!

However, the following scenario is more likely to happen: If you live in a smaller city and use their Coinstar, it is not unheard of for a local Walmart to exchange a cash voucher for a Walmart Gift Card and add the fee amount back onto the card.

The benefit to them is they know you will be spending the gift card balance in their store.

In most cases, you will have to request this option or you won’t be told it is possible (if the store offers it.)

Looking for a simple budgeting system to track your finances? Check out our top 10 budget planners, updated for this year!

Coin Machine Near Me

Coinstar machines are typically located inside the following stores.

However, they are not in every store location.

For example, in my area, there are 3 Walmarts and only one has a Coinstar machine.

Is there an alternative to Coinstar?

If you don’t have access to Coinstar or prefer not to use a coin machine, another option is to roll your coins since most financial institutions will not accept a large number of loose coins.

On a positive note, local branch banks and credit unions will give you paper coin wrappers for free.

How do coin wrappers work?

You manually add coins into a paper cylinder.

This task is time-consuming so if you have a lot of coins you may not want to sit and stuff them into wrappers.

Each wrapper will hold 40 to 50 coins in the roll for quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies. Although wrappers are available for 50-cent and one-dollar coins, they are not typically needed and may be harder to find.

Members typically have no fee for this option, and non-members are charged a small fee for the exchange.

Where can I cash in coins without a fee?

There are banks that will make the exchange for free even if you are not a customer (don’t have an account with the bank or credit union.) Here are a few commonly recognized institutions:

• Chase
• Wells Fargo
• TCF

Some financial institutions, like Chase, will put a limit on the amount of change you can exchange at one time. However, this limit applies in each branch so if you have more than the limit and there is more than one branch in your area, simply go to as many branches as necessary.

What banks have free coin counting machines?

There are other coin-counting machine options besides Coinstar.

However, most banks that accept coins or have coin machines in their lobby only allow use by their account holders, and still often charge a processing fee.

The best option is to call banks and credit unions in your area before you hop in your vehicle and start driving from location to location. You can also ask friends and family if any of their financial institutions have a coin counter machine in the lobby.

Here is a list of banks that have counting machines, and some we know that don’t to save you time calling:

Banks & Credit Unions with Counting Machines

Consider using them to start a budget once you get all your coin sorted out and cashed in!

Starting a budget will make a huge difference no matter how much money you make.

If you feel like your financial goals are going in the right direction and don’t have a budget, that’s great!

However, just think about how much a budget could put even more of your hard-earned money back into your pocket!

The free Budgeting Basics eBook is the perfect resource to get your money under control or fine-tune it in a specific area.

If you need ideas for creating your budget, hop over to 20 free printable budget templates to get you started

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Sources used in this post

• Coinstar official site
• Find a kiosk

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