Do you want to save money at the store but hate clipping coupons? Thankfully, this practice is not necessary to cut costs. Instead, you can use coupon apps to spend less when shopping online or in store.
Thanks to these platforms, you can find instant discounts on groceries and other items. Some even offer printable coupons for extra savings.
If you want to lower your monthly bills, here are the best coupon sites.
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What Are the Top Coupon Apps?
Reducing spending is on the mind of a lot of Americans. Soaring costs can take a big bite out of an already stressed budget, but money-saving apps and websites can help reduce strain.
In some cases, you can even earn cash back or free gift cards for items on your shopping list. Here are the best coupon apps to save money.
1. Capital One Shopping
Formerly known as Wikibuy, Capital One Shopping applies discount codes at checkout to save you money. You can download the mobile app for Android and iOS devices or use the browser extension for Chrome or Safari.
This shopping app scans the internet for active coupon codes on the items you want. It also offers a price comparison tool that evaluates pricing at over 30,000 retailers, including Amazon.
This means you can see if buying directly from Amazon or a third-party seller is cheaper. If you’re not ready to purchase your item immediately, you can get price drop alerts to potentially score a better deal.
When you buy online, you can earn loyalty credits that are redeemable for gift cards at participating retailers. You can also earn credits via in-store shopping and paying with a linked credit or debit card.
Gift card rewards start at $5.
Unfortunately, Capital One Shopping doesn’t offer coupons that help you save money in the grocery store. However, you can earn shopping credits from your online purchases and spend less when you buy merchandise.
Read our Capital One Shopping review to learn more.
2. Swagbucks
Swagbucks is one of the most exciting deal websites because it offers multiple money-saving opportunities.
First, you can activate digital grocery coupons in the Swagbucks app for specific stores. You won’t get an upfront discount, but you can earn points by scanning a picture of your receipt via the Magic Receipts program.
A few of their coupon categories include:
- Baby items
- Food
- Pet care
- Travel
Coupons to popular brands like Colgate, Clorox, Pop-Tarts, and Energizer are available through the site. You can also earn rewards on select generic items like eggs or bread.
To the dismay of long-time members, this coupon website no longer offers printable coupons.
Another way to save money is by using the online shopping portal to earn points at thousands of merchants. The portal may also include online discount codes you can use for extra savings when you make a purchase.
In addition to earning points by shopping, you receive rewards for taking online surveys, signing up for product offers, and playing games.
All of these activities give you points to earn free gift cards. Amazon gift code redemptions start at $1. Standard gift card and PayPal payouts start at $5.
Consult our Swagbucks review to learn more.
3. PayPal Honey
Do you frequently search for sales and other ways to save money shopping online? If so, PayPal Honey (previously Honey) is a helpful browser extension that applies coupon codes.
Honey is one of the best coupon websites to help you save money when shopping at over 30,000 online stores. A mobile app and browser extension are also available with money-saving features.
It’s possible to save at all your favorite stores, including:
- Adidas
- Best Buy
- Domino’s
- Lands’ End
- Sephora
- Target
- Walmart
You can even use the extension to find free pizza delivery or other significant discounts to save money. However, there are limited local deals and grocery store offers.
When you make purchases online, the app will save promo codes and apply them before you pay to reduce your order total. You can effortlessly receive savings for online merchandise or site-to-store pickups.
This feature is also helpful when doing back-to-school shopping and you have multiple items to purchase.
Additionally, the tool compares prices at Amazon and sends you deal alerts for items that are on your wish list.
Related: Read our comparison of Honey vs. Capital One Shopping to learn how they stack up.
The PayPal Rewards feature (previously Honey Gold) lets you get up to 20 percent back at over 4,500 online stores. This rewards program also includes daily deals and exclusive discounts for additional savings power.
You can start redeeming your points for the following rewards starting with a $10 balance (1,000 points):
- Gift cards
- PayPal Cash
- PayPal shopping credits
If you choose the cash back redemption, you will transfer your rewards balance to your PayPal account. In addition, you won’t need a PayPal account to redeem gift cards.
Read our review of the Honey Extension to learn more.
4. Rakuten
Rakuten (formerly Ebates) offers coupons and cash shopping rewards for over 2,500 popular online retailers. In-store cash back is also available at select department stores and restaurants.
Some of the popular online retailers that offer cash back rewards include:
- Amazon
- Best Buy
- Dell
- JC Penney
- Sephora
- Target
- Walmart
You can shop online through the site to utilize coupons or download the shopping extension for Chrome or other web browsers to activate available offers. This usually occurs when you visit a site with a deal.
The cash rewards you earn will automatically credit to your account after checkout. Rakuten will even apply discount codes to try and save you extra money.
Customers can be paid by check, free PayPal money, or a gift card with a minimum $5.01 balance. Select gift card payments qualify for a redemption bonus to earn more cash.
Getting cash back on your purchases is the best reason to use Rakuten, but you can also compare prices and cashback offers by retailer in the search bar.
Once you create an account, you can receive an automatic $10 signup bonus after your first online purchase of at least $25.
Additionally, you can earn cash for referring friends. For each friend who joins and spends at least $25, you receive $25.
Read our Rakuten review to learn more.
5. Fetch Rewards
Fetch Rewards is one of the best apps for shopping in-store when you buy groceries. You don’t have to clip coupons or activate offers before checking out.
Instead, you buy participating name brands, scan your receipt, and let the app match your purchases with current offers. Most qualifying products earn ten points per dollar, but special deals earn 300 to 3,500 points.
Some offers are store-specific, but many can be purchased at any retailer. While you pay full price for groceries, you can earn points even when you redeem manufacturers’ coupons or store coupons.
Merchandise receipts and online purchases can receive points as well.
You can start redeeming your points for restaurant and retail gift cards with a minimum balance of 5,000 points ($5 face value).
Check out our guide on top receipt scanning apps to identify choices to receive cash back on purchases if you prefer money to gift cards.
Read our Fetch Rewards review for more.
6. Entertainment Coupon Book
The Entertainment Coupon Book has helped families save money for over 60 years. If you want to find the best website for coupons, this platform provides a digital coupon book for your local metro area.
Annual and monthly memberships are available in over 75 metro areas throughout the United States and Canada.
Some of the local purchases you can save up to 50 percent on include:
- Entertainment and attractions
- Florists
- Home Repairs
- Oil Changes
- Restaurants
- Shoes
In addition to saving money nearby, you get over 75,000 digital coupons. You can redeem these coupons online or with your phone. It’s possible to save money on hotels, rental cars, and retail stores.
This coupon app is a great resource for leisure and entertainment purchases vs. essential spending.
Additionally, you must decide if the potential savings are worth more than the $24.99 annual fee (after a 30-day free trial) or paying $2.99 month-to-month.
7. Groupon
Almost everyone has heard of Groupon. While you won’t save money on groceries, it is one of the best coupon apps for experiences.
The top discounts let you save up to 70 percent. Some of the most popular categories are:
- Beauty
- Entertainment
- Health and Fitness
- Restaurants
After finding an offer, you pay a lower price and can receive a digital or printable coupon to redeem at the merchant.
You can also use the rebate site to save money on travel instantly. Simply go to the Groupon website or app and type in the name of your preferred city to locate deals.
The platform offers a coupons section as well. These include discounts to physical and online retailers. If you’ve searched for ‘cheap vets near me,’ you may find specials for animal care through this service.
Read our guide on sites like Groupon to identify similar resources to save on items in your community.
8. Amazon Coupons
Amazon Coupons allows you to save money on a variety of products this popular retailer sells. The possibilities include:
- Baby gear
- Electronics
- Groceries
- Personal care
- Pet supplies
- Smart home
Depending on the promotion, offers are either a percentage or a dollar amount off of the purchase price. You can search for offers by brand when you use the coupon search engine.
This money-saving website is a great resource to pair with an Amazon Prime membership if you frequently shop on the site. In fact, some of the best discounts are exclusively for Prime members.
Make sure to keep an eye on expiration dates since Amazon has the right to modify or cancel coupons at any time. The coupon may also only be good for certain product sizes or require a Subscribe & Save membership.
It only takes a few minutes to browse the coupons section and search for online deals. Amazon does a great job of letting customers know how many items are eligible.
You can see the discount details by clicking on the product listing.
9. RetailMeNot
RetailMeNot offers discounts for online and in-store merchandise purchases. For online shopping trips, you can enter discount codes to receive instant savings.
Many stores offer up to ten percent cash back via PayPal or Venmo.
Exclusive offers from merchants can also help you pay the best price. These special discounts may apply site-wide or for specific categories.
You can even save money at grocery stores by redeeming discount codes. However, you won’t see printable coupons on specific items.
Better yet, it’s possible to save up to 85 percent on medical prescriptions with RetailMeNot.
10. Slickdeals
Slickdeals lets you find some of the best online shopping deals. You will find deals at your favorite retailers as well as discount sites you’ve never used before.
You can find BOGO (buy one get one) deals and bundle discounts. For example, a three-for-$20 deal is common on the site.
Additionally, there are digital discount codes that you can redeem at checkout. Deal hunters may like being able to read forums to find other savings that Slickdeals doesn’t show on their homepage.
This service makes it easy to sift through daily deals and the best online coupons. The deal-finding site also offers cash back on purchases at over 150 online stores.
You can redeem your rewards for PayPal credits, gift cards, and other rewards through the Slickdeals Cashback Rewards platform.
11. Coupons.com
Coupons.com is one of the best grocery coupon websites because you can save on many different household items. Shoppers can find free printable coupons for food, household, and personal care.
Digital coupons are also easy to find through the website or mobile app. You can filter by a specific brand or locate special deals in your area.
Online promo codes are available at participating merchants like Adidas, Chewy, and Kohl’s to save on clothing, electronics, and merchandise.
12. DontPayFull
DontPayFull is one of the best coupon apps to save money at retail stores. You will find the top sales and discount codes for online stores and services.
Using the website is easy. To find savings, search for your favorite store, select your preferred coupon, and apply it at checkout. You can copy and paste the code to save time.
It’s also possible to view the best deals for a particular store. Clicking on the deal takes you directly to the product listing to explore the offer in-depth.
Be sure to check out the DontPayFull search engine for Amazon product prices. You can filter results by the discount amount and potential shipping costs.
Deal hunters should also visit the blog, which posts many articles about the best sales and occupation-based discounts.
Two drawbacks of this platform are that it doesn’t offer paper coupons or grocery savings.
13. Brad’s Deals
For online shopping discounts, try Brad’s Deals. You will see current promotions from well-known retail stores and small online merchants.
There are also digital coupons for online retailers. Some of the stores include:
- Amazon
- Best Buy
- Kohl’s
- Target
- Walmart
You can have Brad’s Deals email you discount alerts or view them in the mobile app. Unfortunately, there are no printable coupons or grocery store savings.
14. DealNews
DealNews lists the best shopping deals for clothing, electronics, and home goods from various online stores. Many of the discounts that populate on the site are from Amazon. You can browse by category or store name.
The DealNews mobile app has a coupon search engine and allows you to track online deals. It’s important to note that no coupons on the app or website are printable.
This app lets you personalize the coupon offers that you see when you choose your favorite deals in the “My Interests” section.
15. Hip2Save
Save time finding the best deals for fashion, toys, and small appliances through Hip2Save. The online coupon site highlights personally-tested deals, team favorites, and those worth the splurge for high-quality products.
Users can find offers for freebies and samples in addition to restaurant coupons and savings tips. This platform doesn’t provide supermarket savings, but you can get free recipes to compile your weekly grocery list.
How Do Coupon Sites Work?
The savings opportunities vary by platform. True coupon apps like Coupons.com offer instant savings when buying participating grocery brands.
However, most services are cash back apps that issue rewards points that you can redeem for cash back, gift cards, or PayPal shopping credits.
While you pay in full, you can use promo codes and store coupons to cut back on costs.
Coupons vs. Cashback
Digital and paper coupons help you spend less when it’s time to pay. Cash back offers a rebate in the form of a percentage of your purchase, but you must wait to redeem your rewards.
It’s possible to redeem coupons and earn cash back on many offers, but make sure you read the terms and conditions first. For instance, you want to avoid anything that has an account maintenance fee.
Both options help you save money on purchases, but the potential savings can vary. Additionally, coupons usually require you to buy specific products.
Where Can I Find Legit Coupons?
All of the options on our list provide legit digital coupons and money-saving opportunities, including rewards programs and price comparison tools to help you find a better deal.
Certain rewards sites only include discounts directly from the store or manufacturer.
However, some services allow user-submitted offers that may sound too good to be true. If so, it’s potentially a scam, and you should report it to verify its authenticity.
Are Coupon Code Sites Safe?
Typically, coupon sites are safe and protect your personal data. Nevertheless, it’s smart to use a second email address to receive deal alerts since these platforms send multiple offers per day with the latest opportunities.
These sites make money when companies send sponsored emails advertising a discounted product or service. They can also earn income when you make a purchase after activating a shopping session.
Bottom Line
Using coupon apps makes it easy to spend less on essential and optional purchases. Some savings are larger than others, but you can find great deals without putting in too much time or effort.
If staying within your budget is challenging, the best couponing sites can help. You might even opt to use some of these sites weekly to save on your regular household purchases.
How else do you save money on your shopping needs?
*Capital One Shopping compensates us when you sign up for Capital One Shopping using the links provided.
I’m John Schmoll, a former stockbroker, MBA-grad, published finance writer, and founder of Frugal Rules.
As a veteran of the financial services industry, I’ve worked as a mutual fund administrator, banker, and stockbroker and was Series 7 and 63-licensed, but I left all that behind in 2012 to help people learn how to manage their money.
My goal is to help you gain the knowledge you need to become financially independent with personally-tested financial tools and money-saving solutions.
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