The Best Browser Extensions That’ll Save You Money

You probably do most of your shopping online these days, so the right browser extension can be a killer way to save a few bucks. There are a ton out there, though, and not all of them deliver on what they promise. Here are the best extensions that help you save money, and the ones you’re better off skipping.

CouponCabin Sidekick

The Sidekick extension from the folks at CouponCabin (Free for IE,Chrome, Safari, and Firefox) will help you save money via coupons as well as get cash back at over 1800 retail web sites including Amazon, Kohl’s, Best Buy, and Target. When you shop at a web site eligible for cash back, the extension will notify you of the percentage available directly above the store logo, along with any available coupons you can use. You’ll need a CouponCabin account to get cash back, but everyone has access to thecoupons.

Also, the extension does a great job displaying relevant cash-back offers and coupon information directly in your Google search results. This can be pretty handy when deciding which store to shop at. This extension is worth having because of the large number of stores and couponsavailable, plus they hand-test their coupons and guarantee them to work. It’s also very unobtrusive with no pop-ups or annoying ads. The only feature that would make it better is if the coupons available were displayed within the extension and didn’t require you to travel to the CouponCabin web site to see them.

Coupons at Checkout

CouponFollow has a popular browser extension called Coupons at Checkout (Free for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox) that makes it easy to plug coupon codes into the appropriate box when checking out from over 100,000 online stores including JCPenney, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, and Sports Authority. Once you install the extension, you’re not required to register to get access to the coupons. When checking out from an online store, the coupon code box will automatically be highlighted in red. All you have to do is click on the red coupon box to get access to a drop-down menu of all the current codes, at which point you click the coupon you want to use and it gets added to the box.

While the extension doesn’t have the cash-back piece tied to it like CouponCabin, it’s a great add-on for any coupon user thanks to its ease of use and the sheer number of working coupons in their database. I tested the extension at twenty online retailers, both popular and obscure, and found working coupons available at each.

Honey

The Honey extension (Free for Chrome and Firefox), like Coupons at Checkout, shows you all available coupons when shopping online at over a thousand stores. Unfortunately, Honey doesn’t publish an exact number of online stores that they partner with. But rest assured, it’s a pretty darn big number and covers all the big players. They also keep their coupon database up-to-date with new offers ensuring you’ll have access to all available coupon codes.

However, while not a big deal, Honey’s a little more intrusive as a slide-in box appears on the right side of your browser window when you reach a retailer’s checkout page, showing available coupon codes. Once you see the slide-in box, all you have to do is click “Try Codes” and Honey automatically plugs in all of the available coupons and uses the one that provides the most savings. Honey also makes it easier to see if couponsare available before you shop: upon visiting a retailer’s web site, Honey’s extension icon will change from grayscale to orange when coupons are available, along with a small number indicating the number of potential offers. If the icon doesn’t change to orange, you may want to considershopping at another store.

InvisibleHand

The cool thing about the InvisibleHand extension (Free for Chrome,Firefox, and Safari) is that it tracks prices while you shop and informs you of where on the web you can find the best price. For example, I was recently shopping for a Keurig coffee maker on Amazon and once I reached the product page a small window appeared at the top of the webpage informing me of a better price on the same model at Overstock.com. It will also tell you if the retailer you’re shopping at has any current coupons you can take advantage of. While the number of retailers offering coupon codes compares well to Honey and Coupons at Checkout, you’ll have to enter them manually.

It doesn’t just work when shopping for physical goods, either. InvisibleHand will also help you when searching for travel deals like flights, hotel rooms, and rental cars. When you shop on services like Expedia, Traveolocity, or Orbitz, the InvisibleHand extension will simultaneously search airlines, hotels, and rental car companies directly to find the best deal and notifies you if they do. Also, it’s worth noting that the extension doesn’t require you to register to take advantage of the service, which is a nice plus.

The Camelizer

The Camelizer extension (Free for Firefox, Safari) is a must-have for any Amazon, NewEgg, or Best Buy shopper. The extension lets you track the price history of products as well as set price drop alerts so you can buy only when the price is right. Once you have alerts in place, you’ll be notified via email once a price drop occurs. You don’t have to register an account to track prices, but if you do, you’ll get rid of the advertisements, which is worth the trouble. The extension was removed from the ChromeWeb Store in late March with no explanation given. Hopefully it will return soon.

The Extensions Not Worth Your Time

Unfortunately, not all extensions do what they claim. The ones listed below either have limited coupons available, limited participating online retailers, or simply waste your time by making you jump through a bunch of hoops to collect your savings.

PriceBlink

The PriceBlink extension (Free for Chrome, Firefox, Safari) works well as a price comparison tool, but the coupon aspect makes it a no-go when compared to other, better options. When installing a browser extension like this, it’s smart to use one that does both things well to maximize your savings and avoid frustration. When shopping on a retailer’s web site that has coupons available, the PriceBlink extension won’t actually show you the coupon code. Instead, you have to pick your coupon from a dropdown menu, get redirected to the PriceBlink web site, and click “Reveal” to gain access to the code. This ensures they get credit for the sale and receive a commission via the cookie that is placed on your computer when you click “Reveal”. For someone who wants to quickly find a coupon and move on with life, it’s a total pain in the ass and not worth the effort when there are simpler options available.

PoachIt

PoachIt has a browser extension they term a “Button” (Free for Chrome) that provides online coupons and tracks the price of products from hundreds of popular stores. You pick items to track and they’ll send you an email when the item goes on sale. While the extension is visually appealing, and works fairly well as a price tracking service, the coupon aspect is less than overwhelming. I visited five web sites who currently have multiple coupons available (Old Navy, JCPenney, Kohl’s, All Posters, and Shoebuy.com), and in every case, the PoachIt extension said “Sorry, no coupons found today”. They simply don’t keep their coupon database updated well enough to make it worth your time. Sure, you could use PoachIt for the price tracking service, but you’d be better off using InvisibleHand as it does both things well.

PriceKart

The PriceKart extension (Free for Chrome) provides coupons and price comparisons to thousands of online stores. That sounds good in theory...until you actually try it. I visited several popular online retailers, all of whom had current coupon codes available, and the extension failed to inform me about any of them. Also, when testing out the price comparison aspect of the extension, I was actually told about retailers who had prices higher than the site I was currently on. This extension is a headache waiting to happen and should be avoided.

Some of these extensions are clearly better than others. The good ones keep their coupon database up to date and make it easy for you to collect your savings. They also have price comparison tools that are intuitive and easy to use. I’d recommend combining a coupon driven extension, like the CouponCabin Sidekick or Coupons at Checkout, with the Invisible Hand price comparison tool to cover all your bases and maximize your savings.

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