At This Online World, I love finding easy ways to save money or earn passive income.
Recently, I’ve really gotten into using cashback programs and receipt scanning apps to save money on groceries and other items, and I’ve decided to expand my content on money saving tips and tricks.
I don’t think most passive income apps or shopping extensions will ever make or break someone’s finances, but I still think it is valuable for people to make the most of their hard earned money.
After all, even if a handful of programs can save someone $100-$200 a year, that can be the start of a modest investment portfolio or savings fund!
So, in this post, I want to look at some easy ways to save money when shopping online. If you’re a frequent online shopper, you need to use the following chrome shopping extensions to cut down on your bills!
1. Honey
When it comes to money saving chrome extensions, Honey is almost always a fan favorite, and that’s for good reason.
Honey automatically applies coupons before shoppers checkout, and this extension has saved users more than $170 million dollars since its inception.
If you’ve ever searched for coupon codes before purchasing something online, you’ll undoubtedly know how frustrating the experience is. Some coupon codes you find will have already expired, while others are simply invalid.
Honey automates this process to save time and money. While the Honey extension doesn’t always find coupons, it’s an easy way to save money and requires almost no effort.
However, what makes Honey one of the best money saving shopping extensions is that it has multiple ways to save.
Firstly, the Honey extension also works with Amazon, and can direct shoppers to cheaper Amazon suppliers or deals for the same product they are about to purchase.
The Honey app also has a program called Honey Gold, which is the cashback side of the extension. When you shop through the Honey Gold portal at select stores, you can earn cashback rewards.
Currently, these are the stores that are listed under my Honey Gold section:
As you shop with Honey Gold, you’ll earn coins (aptly named Honey Gold). Once you reach 1,000 coins, you can redeem a $10 gift card at stores like Amazon, Walmart, Ebay, Groupon, and more.
Personally, I’ve been using Honey for about 6 months, and so far, I’ve earned $50 in cashback/savings from using the app and referring my friends:
The Honey extension is also available on Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer in addition to Chrome.
Create an account with Honey and start saving today!
2. Rakuten (Ebates)
Rakuten is an online platform where users can receive cashback for shopping. Rakuten partners with merchants and is compensated whenever people shop through their links, and they split the revenue they generate with their users.
With the Rakuten browser extension, you will be notified whenever you are shopping with a partnered merchant so you don’t forget to use the portal to earn rewards.
The shopping extension simply turns red to catch your attention, and clicking the extension will reload the page you are on after being redirected from to qualify you for cashback.
A recent payment I received from Ebates, now known as Rakuten.
Signup for Rakuten and earn $10 when you spend $25 or more!
3. Invisible Hand
The Invisible Hand extension is another great shopping extension that is also very straightforward.
When you shop online, Invisible Hand will notify you if the product/service you are considering is currently available at a different retailer at a cheaper price. It’s really the most basic form of money-saving automation.
Invisible Hand draws data from hundreds of retailers, so you are bound to catch a price discrepancy if one is available.
Additionally, Invisible Hand also utilizes an extensive network of airline websites and trip planners to help users automatically find the best deals on flights, hotels, and rental cars.
According to their website, Invisible Hand has ‘found’ over $1 billion in savings since its inception, and the average user saves $7.55 when Invisible Hand spots a price discrepancy.
4. The Camelizer
If you are an Amazon fanatic, you are going to love the Camelizer browser extension.
The Camelizer is a shopping extension for Google Chrome or Firefox that is provided by CamelCamelCamel, a price tracking website for Amazon.
The Camelizer allows users to quickly view the historical prices for Amazon products as they are shopping. You don’t even have to leave Amazon’s website if you have the Camelizer browser extension; the historical data is displayed in a nifty chart that is easy to decipher.
While the Camelizer doesn’t automatically save users money, this is still one of the best chrome extensions for anyone who enjoys shopping on Amazon. If you find a product that is at peak pricing with the Camelizer, chances are, you can nab it at a lower price a few weeks later.
Additionally, you can also use the Camelizer extension with other browser extensions like Ebates to double-dip on some easy ways to save money.
5. Cently (Coupons At Checkout)
Cently is a money saving chrome extensions that was formerly known as Coupons at Checkout.
Cently automatically notifies users of available coupon codes before check out, which makes this extension incredibly similar to the Honey browser extension. I’ve only ever used Honey, but from some reviews I’ve read, people like Cently because it is less intrusive and promo-codes are also automatically applied.
However, some users seem to prefer Honey because it finds them discounts more frequently.
Whatever the case, you could theoretically use both shoppping extensions for a trial period to see which one save you the most money!
6. Gumdrop by Goodshop
Goodshop is a popular coupon search engine that helps users save money when shopping online. Nothing too revolutionary there!
However, Goodshop has also created a shopping browser extension called Gumdrop, and this extension saves users money while also donating part of their transactions to the charity of their choice.
Gumdrop partners with more than 100,000 nonprofit organizations, so can definitely support a cause you care about while saving money through Goodshop’s coupon engine.
The Gumdrop extension works with Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari. Additionally, Gumdrop can apply coupon codes at more than 45,000 stores, so you can use this extension to save money while doing a bit of good.
Additionally, you can check out this cool post from my friend Peter at Seller At Heart on nifty ways to donate to charity for free.
7. PriceBlink
If you install the PriceBlink browser extension, when you shop online, you’ll actually be comparing the same item on hundreds of other merchants to see if you can find the same product at a lower price.
All of this happens in the background, and PriceBlink will only notify you if it finds a better deal on another website.
Additionally, PriceBlink also checks for existing coupons from the merchant you are shopping from, making it a powerful money saving extension that serves multiple purposes.
The PriceBlink extension is available on Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.
8. WikiBuy
Wikibuy is a shopping browser extension from Capital One, and it’s an absolute must-have for any frequent online shopper, especially if you frequent Amazon.
Wikibuy allows users to gain loyalty rewards, cashback, and discounts from the merchants they shop at, and the data is pulled from a community of over 1 million users…if someone else finds a great deal or cashback offer somewhere, everyone is notified if they’re shopping for similar items.
If you shop on Amazon, Wikibuy is also capable of inserting it’s price box next to the item you are considering to notify you if there’s a better deal elsewhere. Plus, you can add any item to a Wikibuy Watchlist if you want to monitor the price and wait for a sale.
Finally, you can also link a credit or debit card to Wikibuy to earn credits, which can be redeemed for a variety of rewards.
9. Paribus
While Paribus isn’t exactly an extension, it’s still a great way to save money when shopping online without putting in any effort.
When you create an account with Paribus and connect the email when all of your online shopping receipts are sent, Paribus will start to monitor the prices of the items you purchase.
If Paribus detects a significant price drop from a merchant that offers price protection guarantees (many do), Paribus will work to secure your savings. Additionally, Paribus can also compensate users if packages are delivered delayed.
If you frequently shop online, you should definitely consider Paribus!
10. Qmee
Qmee is a comprehensive browser extension and platform that allows users to earn cash for shopping and searching.
The Qmee extension automatically applies coupons at checkout, as well as giving price match alerts to find better deals. Plus, certain Qmee offers or partners will offer additional cash back bonuses or rewards for shopping through their site.
Finally, Qmee also allows users to earn more money via paid surveys. This isn’t my cup of tea, but it’s an easy way to scrape together some extra cash without much effort.
11. CouponCabin Sidekick
CouponCabin Sidekick currently works with more than 1,800 retailers to find the best coupon offers and deals around. If you’re an avid online shopper, this is definitely a browser extension to consider.
Sidekick can also earn users cash back rewards, free shipping, or other perks for shopping through the platform.
CouponCabin also works with Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge.
Final Thoughts on Browser Extensions & Privacy
I hope this list of shopping browser extensions can help get you started with saving more money whenever you shop.
However, I also want to point out an important factor to consider: as the saying goes, if you’re not paying for it, you’re the product.
I believe the majority of these browser extensions and cash back apps make a great deal of their money by partnering with merchants to earn referral revenue. While there is nothing wrong with this, you also have to consider just how much data these companies are collecting on user shopping habits and preferences.
You can read privacy policy after privacy policy that state that none of these browser extensions or tools sell your data to third parties, but the fact remains, your data is always being collected.
It might be anonymous, never sold, or completely irrelevant to you. However, you need to do your due diligence and read privacy policies, terms of agreement, and decide what you are comfortable with.
Personally, I use Honey, Ebates, Paribus, Drop, and several receipt scanning apps right now. This is as much data as I am comfortable giving up, and I don’t feel the need to incorporate more apps into my life.
If you want to try out every single extension or app out there, just know what you are getting into and how you want to be compensated.
For more money saving tips, be sure to check out my post on money saving tips for college students for more nifty ways to save!
Catch you guys in the next post!
Tom is a 23 year old recent college graduate from Canada with a passion for side hustling, passive income, and marketing. This Online World is all about providing people with honest ways to make and save more money by using technology. To learn more about Tom, read his About Page!
If you’re interested in freelance writing services or want to partner with This Online World, please visit Tom Blake Digital to get in touch!
Great post as always Tom!
Might have to take a look at a few of these! I use Flubit, which works very similarly to Honey, but I’m always looking to save online.
My mom tried to do the Paribus thing, but apparently it only works with certain email providers. Since she (and me as well) have well-aged AOL emails, she couldn’t use it. I’m not sure which ones you can use, but she mentioned gmail was one of the options.
I am concerned whether the amount of cash we can save using those apps is worth compared to the fact that our data is collected?
Another one I like to use is called Compass, it works really well for finding the same products for cheaper on different websites. Here’s where you can install it, https://tinyurl.com/compassdownload