Capital One Shopping Vs. Honey | Which Plugin Saves You More Money?
Capital One Shopping and Honey are free browser extensions that help find you better prices and automatic discounts whenever you shop online. If you find yourself comparing Capital One Shopping Vs. Honey, keep reading for details on each shopping extension.
How are they different? Which one will save you more time and money? And which one ultimately gets our vote? We’ll cover all of that, and more, in this comparison article.
Start Using Capital One Shopping: Our #1 Choice
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What is Capital One Shopping?
Capital One Shopping is a shopping browser extension that gives readers a few different ways to save money when shopping online. Capital One Shopping finds coupon codes for online shoppers, helps customers save money by providing a price comparison tool, gives customers shopping rewards, and allows customers to find the lowest prices on their favorite products on tens of thousands of websites.
Capital One Shopping can also alert customers of price drops, which is a great feature if you're not in a rush to purchase.The Capital One Shopping extension is an excellent way for customers to compare prices and save money, and it's one of the most reliable and popular shopping browser extensions out there. Another browser extension that's pretty popular is called Honey.
What is Honey?
Honey is another free shopping browser extension that many people use to save money when shopping online. Honey helps customers save money by searching for the best deals available on the products they need. Honey automatically searches for, finds, and applies coupon codes to purchases made. Online shoppers can also use the Honey Gold rewards program to earn shopping rewards when they use Honey. Shoppers can then apply their rewards, or Honey gold, to receive gift cards from select retailers. Honey, like Capital One shopping, helps shoppers by comparing prices to help customers find the best prices on products. Here’s a little more information on how each of these shopping browser extensions can help customers save money.
How Do Capital One Shopping and Honey Work?
Capital One Shopping and Honey are similar in many ways, and in their overall purpose. Essentially, they are both online shopping assistants that work in your browser to find better deals and automatically apply coupon codes before you make a purchase. The Capital One Shopping extension is easily added to your browser, and so is Honey. This makes it easier to shop online with your favorite online retailers.
With both Capital One Shopping and Honey, you’ll earn credits when you shop that can be turned into gift cards for a wide range of retailers, such as eBay and Macy’s. You’ll also be able to create lists of products that you’re interested in, and you’ll get an alert when there’s been a price drop.
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| Free browser extension |
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| Searches for better deals |
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(only on Amazon)
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| Coupons automatically applied |
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| Earn credits for purchases |
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| Price drop alerts |
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| Works with Amazon and eBay |
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| Mobile app available |
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| Wide range of gift card options |
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| Finds local in-store offers |
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| Works with non-U.S. websites |
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| Earn credits for referrals |
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| Start Using Capital One Shopping | Start Using Honey | |
| Start Using Capital One Shopping Start Using Honey | ||
How Can Capital One Shopping and Honey Help You Save?
Capital One Shopping and Honey are very popular with their millions of users, and both have overwhelmingly positive ratings on the Google Chrome Store.
Capital One Shopping found its users over $70 million in savings last year alone, while Honey users have collectively saved over $1 billion since Honey launched in 2012.
Capital One Shopping and the Honey Gold Rewards program both offer shopping rewards to their users, and customers can easily earn shopping rewards online.
Capital One Shopping and Honey provide unbiased advice and price alerts that are based on the online shopping experiences of millions of other users. Crowdsourcing is also how Capital One Shopping and Honey are able to find so many promo codes to apply to your shopping cart.
Price Comparisons in Your Browser
If you use Honey, Honey’s savings finder can help you find deals on items you’d like to purchase. You can do the same with your Capital One Shopping account and extension browser.
After adding Capital One Shopping to your browser, you’ll notice a little alert whenever you’re viewing a product online and a better price has been found at another retailer. For example, if you’re looking at a video game on the Target website, and there’s a better price for the same product at eBay, you’ll see a helpful popup alerting you to the lower price, with links to the alternative shopping options. Capital One Shopping automatically calculates tax and shipping costs, and takes that into account when making recommendations about better offers.
Honey has a similar feature, but it only works when you’re shopping on Amazon. With Capital One Shopping, you’ll see recommendations for better deals when you’re shopping on the websites of many other major retailers, such as Target and Best Buy.
Occasionally, you may be directed to a deal that has expired or is out of stock. In these cases, you’ll be able to alert Capital One Shopping or Honey in just a few clicks, so that other users aren’t directed to the same link. And it works both ways -- the input of other users helps to ensure that the vast majority of offers you see are available and up-to-date.
Price Comparisons in Your Browser
Who does it better? Capital One Shopping!
Capital One Shopping provides recommendations for better deals when you shop with numerous retailers. Honey can only do this when you shop on Amazon.
Coupon Codes Automatically Applied
One of the most popular features of both Capital One Shopping and Honey is their ability to find available coupon codes and apply them to your shopping cart. This eliminates the frustrating, time-consuming process of manually searching for promo codes before making a purchase, only to find out that they are invalid or expired.
Capital One Shopping and Honey will automatically test the entire list of potential coupon codes, and the best available discount will be applied to your purchase.
Coupon Codes Automatically Applied
Who does it better? It’s a tie!
When you shop with thousands of online retailers, both Honey and Capital One Shopping will automatically test coupon codes before checkout, in order to find you good discounts.
Earn Credits for Your Purchases
Capital One Shopping and Honey are well known for their ability to find coupon codes that actually work. But that’s not the only way they can help users save money. There are thousands of retailers that offer loyalty credits when you use Capital One Shopping or Honey to make a purchase.
These credits (known as Capital One Shopping Credits and Honey Gold) can range from 1% to 20% of the purchase amount, depending on the retailer. Over time, these credits can add up to a considerable amount of money, which users can turn into online gift cards for a range of stores.
Currently, Capital One Shopping offers a much wider range of gift card opportunities than Honey, although these retail partners are constantly changing and being updated. However, Honey Gold can also be donated through CharityChoice, or redeemed with merchants in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and the European Union, whereas Capital One Shopping is limited to the United States.
Earn gift cards to these U.S. retailers with Capital One Shopping Credits:
eBay, Lowe's, Macy's, Kohl's, Nordstrom Rack, Bed Bath & Beyond, GameStop, Groupon, Bass Pro Shops, Petco, Barnes & Noble, American Eagle, JCPenney, Fandango, Hulu, Cabela's, Safeway, Staples, Express, L.L. Bean, Office Depot, Columbia, Belk, StubHub, Land's End, Lane Bryant, Chico's, Ray-Ban, Global Hotel Card, 1-800-Flowers, Redbox, Advance Auto Parts, Catherines, Boscov's
Earn gift cards to these U.S. retailers with Honey Gold:
Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Target, Groupon, Nordstrom, Sephora, Macy's, Nike, Lowe's Google Play, App Store & iTunes, 1-800 Flowers, Lowe’s, Uber, Athleta, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Gap, Charity Choice
Earn Credits for Your Purchases
Who does it better? It’s a tie!
You’ll earn plenty of credits when you shop online with either Honey or Capital One Shopping, typically between 1% and 20% of the total purchase. Honey and Capital One Shopping tend to offer similar credit amounts. Capital One Shopping has the advantage in terms of the number of retailers with which you can redeem your credits for gift cards. Honey is better for non-U.S. shoppers who want gift cards for UK, Australian, Canadian, or European Union retailers, or who want to donate their credits to charity.
Price Drop Alerts
Capital One Shopping and Honey each have a useful way to monitor the products you're interested in for potential price drops. These tools are particularly convenient when you’re considering making a substantial purchase but aren’t under time pressure to immediately place your order.
By adding an item to your Watchlist (Capital One Shopping) or Droplist (Honey), the shopping assistants will let you know if the price of the item has dropped since you began tracking it.
Price Drop Alerts
Who does it better? It’s a tie!
The Watchlist and Droplist tools offered by Capital One Shopping and Honey work in very similar ways. You’ll be able to add items to your list while shopping, get alerts when prices drop, and view price history charts.
Local Offers
You can also earn 4% back in Capital One Shopping Credits when you link your debit or credit card to Capital One Shopping and use it to make purchases at restaurants or stores in your local area.
Currently, Honey does not offer any kind of reward for making purchases with local merchants.
Local Offers
Who does it better? Capital One Shopping!
Capital One Shopping gives users 4% back for purchases at local stores and restaurants. Honey does not have a comparable feature.
Referrals
Honey offers its users the opportunity to earn Honey Gold by referring friends. Both the original Honey user and the referred user will earn an additional 500 Honey Gold when the referred user makes his or her first purchase with Honey. Honey users can refer up to 200 friends to join Honey, for a potential maximum of 100,000 Honey Gold (to $1,000). Capital One Shopping does not currently have a referral program.
Referrals
Who does it better? Honey!
Honey users who refer a friend to the browser add-on will earn Honey Gold when that friend makes his or her first purchase. Capital One Shopping does not have a referral program.
Mobile App
Capital One Shopping and Honey both offer mobile apps with some of the same functions as their respective browser extensions.
- The Capital One Shopping mobile app can be used to search for products and compare prices, but it has limited functionality as it does not allow you to make purchases within the app. However, it could be a helpful tool if you want to browse products and add items to your Watchlist when you don’t have access to your computer.
- Like the Capital One Shopping app, the Honey Smart Shopping Assistant allows you to search for products within the app, so that you can compare prices from a variety of retailers. You can also add items to your Droplist and get alerts. However, the Honey app does allow you to apply coupon codes, make purchases, and earn Honey Gold, all within the app. Arguably its best feature is that you can combine items from multiple retailers into a single shopping cart. The biggest drawback of the Honey mobile app is that it doesn’t work with Amazon.
Unfortunately, neither of the mobile apps can replicate the seamless functionality of the browser extensions. Although the Honey mobile app could be useful for making occasional purchases while you’re on the go, to get the full benefits of Capital One Shopping and Honey, it’s best to use them in your browser.
Mobile App
Who does it better? Honey!
The Honey mobile app has significantly more functionality than the Capital One Shopping mobile app, and allows users to make purchases. The Capital One Shopping app mainly serves a price comparison tool.
Are They Really Free?
You’ll never have to pay to use either Capital One Shopping or Honey. There are no hidden fees or charges.
Capital One Shopping and Honey earn money from retailers whenever they help users make a purchase, so it’s entirely in their interest to point you in the direction of incredible deals on products you’re already planning to buy.
Are They Easy to Use?
Capital One Shopping and Honey are both incredibly user friendly, even for people who aren’t very tech-savvy. A shopping extension should have an easy-to-use and customer friendly installation process, and these shopping extensions both do.
You can start using Capital One Shopping or Honey in seconds. All you have to do is visit the Capital One Shopping website or the Honey website. Then click the link to add either Capital One Shopping or Honey to your browser. Capital One Shopping works with Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari, while Honey works with Google Chrome. Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari, and Opera.
Once you’ve added a few details, you can start shopping immediately.
Capital One Shopping and Honey won’t interfere with your usual online activity, and they won’t bombard you with popup ads or spam emails for products you’re not interested in. You’ll only see the little price comparison alerts when you’re looking at a product on a retailer’s website, and you’ll only receive an email if an item on your Watchlist or Droplist has dropped in price.
Removing the Capital One Shopping and Honey extensions from your browser is also incredibly quick and there are no cancellation fees.
How Do They Protect Your Privacy?
Online security and privacy are important to Capital One Shopping and Honey, and they have earned the trust of their users by never sharing or selling personal data to affiliates for marketing purposes. This means you’ll never get unwanted emails from third-parties as a result of using Capital One Shopping or Honey.
However, it’s important to be aware that both Capital One Shopping and Honey track users’ activity on retail websites, in order to provide personalized recommendations and to identify relevant discounts and coupon codes.
The aggregated browsing data from their millions of users allows Capital One Shopping and Honey to locate great deals and coupons across thousands of retailers. It also helps them to understand how the browser extensions are being used, and in what ways their services could be improved.
Both Capital One Shopping and Honey have high ratings on Trustpilot, which they have earned through their commitment to protecting credit card information and by ensuring that they never direct users to scams or untrustworthy websites.
You can read Capital One Shopping's Privacy Policy here and Honey’s Privacy Policy here. We also wrote in detail about Capital One Shopping's privacy here.
What Are the Main Differences?
Since Capital One Shopping and Honey are both entirely free to use, and they can be removed from your browser almost instantly, there’s no reason why you can’t use both of them at the same time. You may find that you prefer the user experience of one or the other, or you may decide that you want to keep them both!
Adding the Capital One Shopping and Honey extensions won’t slow down your browser, and there’s a good chance you’ll discover even better deals by having access to advice and alerts from two shopping assistants at the same time, which each rely on crowdsourced information from millions of users.
That being said, if you don’t want to add both Capital One Shopping and Honey, there are a few key differences that may help you decide between Capital One Shopping vs Honey.
- Capital One Shopping boasts a much longer list of retailers that offer gift cards in exchange for Capital One Shopping Credits. There is a fairly limited selection of retailers that offer gift cards in exchange for Honey Gold.
- Currently, Capital One Shopping Credits cannot be redeemed for Amazon, Target, or Walmart gift cards. Honey Gold can be redeemed for Amazon, Target, and Walmart gift cards.
- Capital One Shopping's Local Deals provide 4% back in credits when you shop with selected businesses in your local area. Honey does not have this feature.
- Capital One Shopping's automatic price comparison tool works on many different retailer websites, whereas Honey’s price comparison tool only works when you’re shopping on Amazon.
- Capital One Shopping only works in the United States, whereas Honey can be used internationally. You can earn and redeem Honey Gold with various online merchants if you’re based in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, or the European Union.
- You can donate your Honey Gold through CharityChoice by making a tax-deductible contribution to one of 50 charities. Capital One Shopping does not have a comparable option.
- Honey has a referral program that awards Honey Gold when a friend you’ve referred to the site makes his or her first qualifying purchase. Capital One Shopping does not have a referral program.
- Established in 2012, Honey has been around slightly longer than Capital One Shopping, which was founded in 2014. Honey also appears to have more users (17 million vs. 3 million).
- To use Honey, you don’t need to create an account or enter your email address to sign up, although it’s encouraged. You will need to enter this information to start using Capital One Shopping.
Why choose
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You want the largest selection of reward options
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You want automatic price comparison alerts across numerous sites, not just Amazon
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You want to earn loyalty credits by making purchases with local businesses
Why choose
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You want to earn Amazon or Target gift cards
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You want to donate your Honey Gold to charity
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You want to shop outside of the U.S.
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You want to shop using a mobile app
Other Money-Saving Shopping Apps
Capital One Shopping and Honey have earned their users millions of dollars in savings and loyalty credits, but they’re not the only useful apps and browser add-ons that can make a difference to your bank balance.
For savvy shoppers, the following money-saving tools are also worth a look:
- Drop
- Earny
- Cashback Monitor
- Ibotta
- Rakuten
- RetailMeNot
Getting Started with Capital One Shopping or Honey
Now that you know how Capital One Shopping and Honey can save you time and money with your favorite online retailers, you’re probably ready to give at least one of them a try.
If you’d like to start benefiting from these powerful online shopping tools, click the buttons below to add the free Capital One Shopping and Honey browser extensions and you can start saving right away.
FAQ
What is the purpose of Capital One Shopping?
The main function of Capital One Shopping is to streamline your online shopping by alerting you to price comparisons and finding the best coupons available as you browse different retail websites.
Can Capital One Shopping be trusted?
Capital One Shopping has established trust among its users by ensuring personal data is not shared or sold for marketing, prioritizing user privacy and security during online shopping activities.
Was Honey bought by Capital One?
The provided article does not indicate that Honey has been purchased by Capital One. Both companies were established independently, with Honey launching in 2012 and Capital One Shopping in 2014.
Does Honey work on Amazon?
Honey is particularly effective on Amazon, where its price comparison tool actively works to identify the best deals, helping users save money while shopping on the platform.
Which online shopping tool is easier to use?
Capital One Shopping and Honey are both similar in many ways, but they do have some key differences. Both shopping extensions make shopping online much easier. Honey allows customers to redeem gift cards at certain retailers, while Capital One Shopping offers more retailers than Honey. Depending on your shopping needs, each shopping extension offers its own set of benefits.
How can I know of a price drop?
If you’re using the Capital One Shopping extension, you need to add items to your Capital One Shopping Watchlist to receive a price drop alert from the shopping assistants. If you’re using Honey for shopping online, you will need to add items to the Droplist feature, and the shopping assistants will alert you of a drop in price on any of your items. These price drop alerts are useful in helping you save money, especially if you're not shopping in-store.
Where can I find a list of shopping partners for each shopping browser extension?
Capital One Shopping’s website separates its partners by category, so when you’re shopping for specific items, you can easily find retailers you love under the categories you’re shopping in. Honey’s website provides a list of shopping partners.
What are the benefits of having a shopping extension installed?
A shopping extension can help you earn rewards, collect online coupons, and save the most money on purchases you need to make anyway. If you enjoy shopping with online stores, these services mentioned can help you get a better deal. Whether you use a coupon code or the reward points system, save money and find a better deal when you use a shopping extension.
How can I use a shopping reward?
Some shopping sites will allow you to redeem a shopping reward, or loyalty credit, for gift cards. Both Honey and Capital One Shopping can offer credits that range from 1% to 20% of the purchase amount, depending on the retailer. Capital One Shopping's reward system offers a wider range of gift card opportunities, but Honey allows shoppers to donate through CharityChoice.
Is Capital One Shopping legit?
Capital One Shopping is legit and helps people save money when shopping online each and every day. Capital One Shopping has more than 9,000 reviews on the Google Chrome Store and has a five-star rating as well. Capital One Shopping also has millions of active users.
Is Capital One Shopping safe?
Capital One Shopping is safe. Capital One Shopping has a high rating on Trustpilot and is accredited by the Better Business Bureau with no BBB complaints.
How does Capital One Shopping make money?
Capital One Shopping partners with many retailers. When customers use the Capital One Shopping browser extension to shop with these retailers, Capital One Shopping makes a commission. They also advertise local stores and deals.
Does Capital One Shopping Work on Amazon?
Capital One Shopping works on Amazon. Capital One Shopping compares the prices from thousands of sellers to get customers the best price.
Is Honey extension legit?
The Honey extension is legit. Honey has millions of users, and it’s owned by Paypal, one of the world’s leading digital payments platforms.
Is Honey extension safe?
The Honey extension is safe to use. Honey does not sell personal information.
Is Honey a scam?
Honey is not a scam. Honey is a legitimate business located in downtown Los Angeles. It is owned by PayPal, and it does not sell personal information ever.
How does Honey make money?
Honey gets paid by the stores it partners with every time you purchase through Honey.
Is Honey or Capital One Shopping better?
Each of these browser extensions has its own benefits, so it really depends on what you need. The Honey mobile app has more features than the Capital One Shopping app, but the Capital One Shopping extension gives customers access to more retailers.
How Do I Install Capitalone Shopping on My Browser?
First, use a browser compatible with CapitalOne Shopping, which includes Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari. Once you've pulled up the right browser, navigate to the CapitalOne Shopping website.
If you're using Chrome and already signed into your account, you will see a button for direct download. If using a different browser, you must create an account or log in using CapitalOne, Google, or Facebook.
You will have to answer a few questions about your shopping habits and how you heard about CapitalOne Shopping before you can download it. Then, CapitalOne will show you how to activate the extension on your browser. The prompts will walk you through how to compare prices, use coupon codes, and earn rewards.
After this, click the button to download the extension in your browser. A new tab will open with a button to add the extension to your browser. Follow the prompts on your browser to complete the download and installation.
Now, you have successfully downloaded the CapitalOne shopping extension and are ready to start browsing for discounts and coupon codes.
How Do I Install Honey on My Browser?
Like CapitalOne shopping, your first step to downloading the Honey extension is ensuring you use a compatible browser, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari, and Opera. Then, go to the Honey website.
Click the free download button for your browser type. A tab will ask if you want to add the extension to your browser. Click the button to add.
To start using Honey, you will need to join the program by using your email address or logging in with Google, Facebook, PayPal, or Apple. Then, verify your information and agree with the company's E-Communication Delivery Policy, Terms of Service, and Privacy Policy. After verifying, click to agree and set up.
Honey will then ask which retailers you want to follow, which helps Honey customize the extension to your usage. Then, Honey will walk you through a few demo pages to show you how the extension works. When you finish the demo, you will land on Honey's exploration page, where you can start browsing through deals.
You are finished and ready to start earning rewards, discovering discounts, and applying coupon codes with Honey!
How Can I Watch an Item for Discounts with CapitalOne Shopping?
One of the great benefits of both CapitalOne Shopping and Honey is that they allow you to watch an item to see if the price will go down in the future. This feature is welcome for many savvy shoppers who are not ready to jump at an item listed at the first price they see. Retailers often mark down items after they have been on the market for a few days or weeks.
To add an item to your watch list in CaptialOne Shopping, navigate to the retailer's website and open the extension. Pro tip: some browsers will allow you to pin the extension to your browser window, so you can easily access it while shopping.
When you open the extension, you see a menu that shows a few things, including personalized offers and discounts. This menu has a button to add the item to your watchlist. Click that button, and you should now be able to watch this item for future price changes. If the price goes up or down in the future, you'll get a notification from the extension.
In addition, CapitalOne shopping lets you view an item's price fluctuations over time. You should see a button to view price history on the same menu where you can add an item to your watch list.
Click this button, and CapitalOne Shopping will show you the item's price history on the retailer's website you originally navigated from as well as its price on other retailers' websites. In this window or tab, CapitalOne shopping will offer you a recommendation on whether you should buy this item now and from which retailer you should buy it.
How Can I Watch an Item for Discounts with Honey?
Honey's feature to watch items for price changes is called Smart Droplist. To add items, open the item in your browser on your chosen retailer's website and open the Honey extension in your browser.
Once you open the extension, you will see a menu with coupons and automatic savings instructions. In the menu, you should see a button for Smart Droplist. Toggle this button to add the item to your list.
What makes Honey's watch list so smart? Honey follows your shopping habits and watches to see which items and retailers interest you most. Honey then notifies you of discounts, price changes, and new coupon codes for the items you have viewed. You will get notifications of price changes from Honey, even for items you have not yet added to your Smart Droplist.
