Capital One Shopping vs. Honey: Browser Extensions and Online Shopping Tools

Several browser extensions can help you to get great shopping deals. The two most popular options are Honey and Capital One Shopping. Choosing between them can be a tricky proposition because these programs can both help you to save money.  We tend to prefer Capital One Shopping for a few reasons covered below, but both are excellent options. 

Capital One Shopping vs. Honey Overview

The main difference between Capital One Shopping and Honey is that Honey is mainly focused on Amazon, while Capital One Shopping offers more features for a broader shopping experience. Capital One Shopping includes features for in-store shopping, while Honey is mostly for online shopping. 

Both Capital One Shopping and Honey work to help you save money, but they go about it in slightly different ways. This article covers the similarities and differences so you can see which one is best for you.

The Capital One Shopping Basics

The Capital One Shopping extension searches for offers from alternate sellers as you browse Amazon products or search with them directly. You’ll be notified if Capital One Shopping finds a better deal on the same product. This program also alerts you if there are coupon codes when you’re shopping with participating retailers, such as Target, Walmart, Overstock, Ulta Beauty, and more. 

The Capital One browser extension is owned by Capital One and it will only work with stores in the U.S. This extension works with Chrome, Google, Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge and there’s a mobile app. The extension searches for better deals when you shop online and any coupon codes for items in your cart. Price comparisons are made from participating retailers, and eligible in-store and online offer rewards.

Users can track a specific product that’s sold by a participating retailer on the Capital One Shopping Watchlist. If the price of that product changes or an offer appears, you’ll get an alert.

It’s free to set up and use a Capital One Shopping account, and there are no drawbacks to consider. The app is partnered with hundreds of different stores and the potential for savings on popular brands is considerable. Any Shopping Credits you earn from a purchase can be redeemed as free gift cards for popular retailers, such as eBay, Walmart, GameStop, and more.

The Honey Basics

Honey is a free browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera that can help you save money when you shop online. PayPal owns Honey, and its original purpose was to test coupon offers. Honey will still automatically send coupon codes for retail partners, but the functionality has been expanded.

The Honey browser extension now has a number of features that are specifically designed to save you money when you shop with Amazon. A select number of shopping sites are supported in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Australia. 

Honey will search for coupons you can use at checkout, and it will show the price history of each product. There are “Honey Gold” reward offers on certain eligible purchases, and products can be saved to the “Honey Drop List”. The user can use this feature can track product prices and send a handy notification if the price drops.

Although it’s mostly focused on Amazon, Honey does work outside Amazon with retailers including Target, Walmart, and more.

When you’ve earned enough “Honey Gold” from eligible purchases you’ve made, you can redeem it for a free gift card or a PayPal payment. There are many free gift card options, including Google Play, iTunes, Nike, DoorDash, and more.

Platform Similarities

Capital One Shopping and Honey are packed with valuable features to help you save more money. This is especially true if you shop online frequently. There are four key features that make them an attractive option for shoppers.

The Saving Opportunities

Both apps and browser extensions give the user multiple ways to save money when they shop online. They both find relevant coupons that you can use when you shop, and they can track the prices of specific products. They both give the user the option to earn rewards when specific products are purchased.

Free and Easy to Use

Capital One Shopping and Honey are free to download as apps and/or browser extensions. They both have clean and easy-to-use interfaces, and you can learn how to navigate them in next to no time. Many of the features are self-explanatory, such as browsing through offers with certain rewards for specific products.

Reward Programs

Honey offers the charmingly named Honey Gold when users make eligible purchases. Capital One Shopping offers the less romantically named Capital One Shopping credits when the user purchases at a participating store.

Although these reward programs have different names, they work in a very similar way. When you make a qualifying purchase, you earn a reward. When you have sufficient rewards, you can redeem them.

The Redemption Options

The redemption options for both programs are simple to understand. The earned reward points can be redeemed for free gift cards that can be used with a wide variety of participating stores and brands.

Both give the user a great way to save money when they shop online and the capability to earn extra rewards towards future purchases. Honey does have a PayPal cashout option too, which is understandable when you know that PayPal owns Honey. 

Capital One Shopping vs Honey: Rewards 

Capital One Shopping and Honey are regarded as two of the best cashback shopping apps. But, the structure of these cash-back offers is different. To get the best out of your shopping experience, it’s a good idea to understand these differences.

Rewards from Capital One Shopping

The Capital One Shopping app and browser extension rewards are known as Capital One Shopping Credits. They are recorded as a simple cash value rather than a points system to make the process easier to understand. But, the value in your balance cannot be redeemed as cash, and redemption must be in the form of a gift card.

The gift card minimum cashout value will differ depending on the specific gift card you choose. For example: At the time of writing this review a Lowe’s gift card can only be redeemed for $5 or more credits, while a Walmart cashout may be only $0.01.

There are two main ways to earn Capital One Shopping Credits. First, you can shop with a partner store online, and the shopping extension will seek permission to activate. This appears at the top right of the window, and after activation, any purchase will earn you credits.

The second option is to earn credits with purchases made on linked cards. Your card can be linked to Capital One Shopping, and then you can browse the local deals with the mobile app or desktop browser extension. When you find an offer, click the button to get a percentage back, and you will earn credits.

At this time, Amazon is not partnered with Capital One, but other popular retailers include Kohl’s. Groupon, Walmart, and many others. 

As a new Capital One Shopping user, you could earn an extra $10 when you complete your first purchase of $25 or more with a partner retailer within 30 days of joining the program.

Rewards from Honey

The Honey app and browser extension track rewards in the form of points, which are known as Honey Gold. This Gold can be redeemed for gift cards at a rate of $10 for 1,000 Gold. The Honey Gold points are earned similarly to the Capital One Shopping Credits.

One frustrating drawback is that the cash back range is variable. If you want to redeem as a cash out to PayPal, you’re never entirely sure what the actual cash value will be. As an example: you could shop for an item of clothing, and Honey may tell you that you could get between 5% and 8% cashback. 

This is a stark contrast to Capital One Shopping which clearly states a single set value so you know what you’re going to get. In many cases, Capital One offers a higher percentage than Honey too. Capital One Shopping offers more and higher returns to earn credits, but Honey has more redemption options, including PayPal cashouts and gift cards for Amazon and Target.

Shopping Deals

Some reviews of Capital One Shopping and Honey make simple comparisons between their deals. They would state that Honey is Amazon only and that Capital One can offer a wider range of deals with multiple partner retailers. This is broadly correct, but for some users, good deals on Amazon Prime will meet virtually all their needs.

Let’s take a closer look at how Capital One and Honey handle shopping deals in more detail.

Deals with Capital One Shopping

All the deals can be seen on Capital One Shopping. You can search for specific products or browse through the trending deals. This is a helpful feature because you can see every price in a single location, saving you a lot of time searching multiple sites and stores.

That said, there are times when incorrect deals are displayed, and it’s essential to check the impact of shipping and tax on any given deal. If the same product comes with free shipping on Amazon, this may negate any potential savings elsewhere.

When you find a product deal, check with the retailer to ensure you know about the shipping options and taxes before making a purchase. There may even be better offers from other retailers on Capital One Shopping too.

Deals with Honey

Honey examines the price history data to present the top forty daily deals from various stores. Some deals may be similar to those found on Capital One Shopping, but many Honey deals are simple links to the sale page. With a little effort, you could source these deals yourself anyway.

Honey compares Amazon prices only, but if you’re searching for products through the JoinHoney.com website, you can see comparable deals from other retailers. But, there’s no way to organize the deals you see, making using Honey a less user-friendly option than Capital One Shopping.

Between Capital One Shopping and Honey, the former offers a superior user experience. But, any deals should be double-checked because there can be hidden costs with tax and shipping that could degrade the deal’s value.

Price Checking

Both Honey and Capital One Shopping give pricing information for products sold online to help you make informed purchasing decisions. But which is the most useful for you may vary depending on the type of information you need.

Price Comparisons with Capital One Shopping

This app makes direct price comparisons on different retail websites simple. You can search for the same product on Amazon, Staples, eBay, and other platforms simultaneously. The price comparison tool usually includes important tax and shipping information and any coupons or special offers that can be applied. 

If you shop in-store, you can scan the barcodes of products that interest you with the Capital One Shopping app. This will show you if there is a better price online that you could take advantage of. Of course, if you have the product in your hand to scan it, you would need a free shipping option to make it worth your while in most cases. 

Price Comparisons with Honey

The Honey app will not compare prices within stores, but the price history can be checked. This will give you a rough idea of how the price for that specific item fluctuates. This can help you to choose between waiting for a price drop or making a purchase now. The only direct price comparisons that Honey can make are between different Amazon sellers, which limits its flexibility.

Referrals

One of the easiest ways to earn rewards with shopping apps is referral bonuses. 

Capital One Shopping Referrals

Capital One Shopping has a unique referral code that you can find in the account settings. Simply send this to your friends and family, and you can earn a reward when they make an eligible purchase using your unique link. 

But, you don’t get a reward when people sign up for the program unless they make an eligible purchase. Occasionally, the app may offer certain referral bonuses, so it’s a good idea to take advantage of them if you see them.

Honey Referrals

Honey has a referral bonus system that pays you 500 Gold for every friend that signs up for the program using your Honey referral link to make an eligible purchase. 

Platform Apps

Both programs offer dedicated apps that you can use when you shop, and they have the same feature set as the browser extensions. But they work in slightly different ways, which may affect your decision to use them.

Capital One Shopping App

The standout feature of the Capital One Shopping mobile app is the capability to scan items’ barcodes to compare them to potentially better offers online. It’s also easy to find local deals and activate them to save money on an in-store purchase.

Honey App

The Honey Smart Shopping Assistance app has the same basic feature set as the browser extensions. You can find deals, shop and check out within the app, which is convenient. 

Capital One Shopping edges out Honey here because scanning barcodes and comparing deals really is a great time saver.

In-Store Rewards

These apps are primarily focused on saving you money when you shop online. But Capital One Shopping does offer rewards when you’re in-store shopping with participating stores. Simply check the Local Offers with the Capital One mobile app, and you can find nearby offers that can earn you Shopping Credits.

An eligible credit or debit card can be linked to your Capital One Shopping account to pay for purchases in-store. This will earn you a percentage of an eligible purchase through Shopping Credits. At this time, Honey offers none of these in-store offers, and it can only be used to make online purchases.

Platform Security

Both Capital One Shopping and Honey take online security and privacy seriously. They have never shared or sold personal data to third-party affiliates for marketing, to our knowledge. So, when you use either platform, you won’t get unsolicited emails from third parties with offers.

But, both platforms track user activity on the retail sites they use to provide personalized offers and identify the relevant coupon codes and product discounts. This browsing data is aggregated from the user base and helps the platforms understand how users use their apps and browser extensions. This data can be used to improve the services and the user experience.

Capital One Shopping and Honey have excellent Trustpilot ratings earned by protecting users from scammers.

Capital One Shopping vs. Honey: Conclusion

Both platforms can help you save money while shopping with the app or browser extension. But Capital One Shopping offers a better experience because deals can be tracked across several retailers at the same time. This information is presented in an easy-to-understand chart format, and you can use Capital One in-store too.

Honey can give you up to a six-month price history on products, but it’s limited to Amazon, which limits the utility. Capital One Shopping is a more versatile option unless you only want to shop online with Amazon.