Capital One Shopping vs. Honey: Which One Saves You More Money?

Capital One Shopping and Honey helps online shoppers find deals and save money while making everyday purchases. But knowing which ones offer more value can be difficult because they look quite similar.

I’ve looked deeply into both products to help you understand how they work and where each product excels. Since they’re both free to use, you can’t go wrong with either, but why not use the tool that will save you the most money?

Online vs. in-store	Online only	Online only
Application type	Mobile app (iOS and Android devices) and browser extension	Mobile app (iOS and Android devices) and browser extension
Recovery options	Gift cards	Gift cards, cash, or PayPal shopping credits
Minimum cash withdrawal	$0.01 minimum shopping credits	You can cash out once you have earned enough PayPal Rewards for a gift card of your choice (1,000 points equals a $10 gift card)
Rewards expire	Capital One shopping credits do not expire	PayPal Rewards do not expire as long as your account is active for 12 months
Best for…	Shoppers who prefer gift cards to redeem for cash back rewards	You like to view products and wait for the best prices
	He learns more	He learns more

Similarities between Capital One and Honey

Capital One Shopping and Honey are very similar in that they are both free browser extensions with a mobile app to help you save money when shopping online. Here’s how they are similar:

• Free browser extension: Both are 100% free and easy to use. Once you download the extension, it does the work for you when you shop as you normally would on your favorite sites. If there is a deal available, it will be posted automatically.
• Savings opportunities: Both offer multiple ways to save money including finding coupons, tracking product prices, and paying rewards.
• Free mobile app: Both offer free mobile apps to help you find deals on the go. You can either shop through the app directly or use the free Safari browser extension as you would on your desktop computer.
• Reward Programs: Capital One Shopping offers Capital One Shopping Credits when you make qualifying online purchases, while Honey offers PayPal Rewards for qualifying purchases. These bonuses may have different names, but they work similarly. If you make a qualifying purchase, you can earn rewards. Once you have enough rewards, you can use them in the available redemption options.
• Compare Amazon sellers: Both instantly compare options from different Amazon sellers when you browse Amazon. This makes it easy to make sure you’re getting a deal.

While Capital One Shopping and Honey are very similar, there are some differences that make Capital One Shopping a better choice:

• Greater product selection: If you want to search for a specific product across multiple retailers, Capital One Shopping offers a larger selection. For example, when searching for a specific pair of shoes I was interested in, I was quickly able to find eight savings options on Capital One’s website, while Honey said it couldn’t find the product.
• Store Comparisons: If Capital One Shopping finds a better deal at other retailers while you’re shopping, it will inform you of those deals. Honey only lets you know about the deals at that store unless you search directly on their website.
• Shows better options on Amazon: If you shop on Amazon, Capital One Shopping instantly displays better deals at other stores, when they’re available. Honey only shows the price history, which is useful, but it doesn’t save you money right away.

Try Capital One for shopping

There are some situations that make Honey a better choice than Capital One Shopping, including:

• Recovery options: Honey offers several redemption options including cash back, gift cards, and PayPal shopping credits, while Capital One Shopping only offers gift cards. If you’re looking for extra money to fill up your gas tank or buy groceries, a cash back option may be your best bet.
• Price history: If price history is something you track, honey will be your best bet. It’s one of the first features to appear, letting you see price history over the last 30, 60 or 120 days. For example, I searched for a pair of Converse shoes whose prices hadn’t changed in the last 120 days, which made me feel better about paying full price, and I was able to activate cash back.
• Dropdown menu: If you have an item you’re interested in but want a better price, you can add it to the dropdown list on Honey and get instant notifications when the price changes. This is a great way to save money and make sure you don’t miss out on a great deal that may sell out quickly.
• Referral bonus: Honey pays 500 PayPal Rewards points for each friend who signs up using your link and makes a qualifying purchase through Honey. Capital One Shopping has referral links but only for specific users and they do not mention how much they pay for referrals.

Which money saving app should you choose?

The best money saving app between Capital One Shopping and Honey is the app that can help you achieve your financial goals. Both apps have the same end goal of saving money, but they achieve it in slightly different ways.

The biggest difference is the recovery options. If you don’t mind gift cards, Capital One Shopping offers some additional options when searching for individual products, versus just getting deals for the specific location you’re on.

If you prefer cash back, honey is the best option. It is also best that you like to look at the price history to determine if the price of the product may decrease in the future. Additionally, it has a drop-down menu you can add products to so you can be instantly alerted when your desired price becomes available.

Frequently asked questions

Bottom line

There’s no overall winner between Capital One Shopping and Honey, but you can see that both shopping tools have pros and cons. To select the best option, you can search for a product on Capital One Shopping and Honey, but you can only end up getting the deal from one or the other.

However, you can double the amount by using one of the best cash back credit cards to make your purchases. This way you’ll combine credit card rewards with rewards from money saving apps.