8 Best Shopping Apps to Save Money and Time

When you’re gearing up for holiday shopping, anything that can help you save time and money is a gift. With so many shopping apps available, you can get cash back, earn rewards, find exclusive deals and more. Read on for some of the best shopping apps for this holiday season and beyond. 

Quick Look at the Top 8 Shopping Apps

• Best for Online Coupons: RetailMeNot
• Best for Amazon Deals: Honey x PayPal
• Best for Rewards on Every Receipt: Fetch Rewards
• Best for Cashback Rewards: Rakuten
• Best for Simple Rewards: Receipt Hog
• Best for Survey Rewards: Swagbucks
• Best for In-Store Rewards: Shopkick
• Best for Grocery Store Cashback: Ibotta

What Are the Best Shopping Apps?

The best shopping apps below offer a balance of rewards and a friendly user interface. Make your shopping experience faster and easier than ever as one more strategy for clever ways to save money, including the services of the apps below. 

1. Best for Online Coupons: RetailMeNot

RetailMeNot was originally a site to search for coupon codes. Since those early days, it expanded to offer a browser extension and a mobile app. You can use it to search through more than 200,000 money-saving offers and find current coupons at most major stores. Find coupons for in-store purchases, restaurants and more.

2. Best for Amazon Deals: Honey x PayPal

Paypal’s online shopping discount app is called Honey. Honey automatically searches coupon codes, and you’ll get an alert if an item on Amazon is cheaper from a different seller. With Honey, you can add items to a drop list and get a notification if the price drops. You can also earn PayPal Rewards that you can redeem for cash on certain items.

3. Best for Rewards on Every Receipt: Fetch

The Fetch Rewards app is extremely simple to use. You can earn points from every receipt by taking a photo. You’ll earn a minimum of 25 points per receipt, while you’ll earn more on qualifying items listed in the app.

You can redeem points for a gift card from dozens of retailers or get a Visa gift card. Points required to redeem for a gift card vary, but usually, 5,000 points equals a dollar. 

4. Best for Cash Back Rewards: Rakuten

Rakuten is one of the most popular cash-back apps and industry leaders. Originally known as Ebates, Rakuten offers cash back at over 2,000 large retailers. You can also get in-store coupons and app cash-back options. You’ll have the choice between a check or PayPal for cash back. 

5. Best for Simple Rewards: Receipt Hog

Receipt Hog will give you rewards for every receipt you upload. You can take a picture of your receipt, rate your visit or take surveys to earn additional coins. You can take a picture of any receipt within two weeks, and you’ll get an account credit. One thousand coins equals $5 that you can redeem for a gift card or to be deposited into your PayPal account. With higher amounts, you’ll get extra rewards. For example, 6,500 coins are worth $40.

6. Best for Survey Rewards: Swagbucks

Swagbucks is a free app where you earn points for answering surveys, shopping online, watching videos and more. To date, it has awarded nearly $600 million to members. Redeem points for gift cards at over 100 major retailers, including Walmart, Amazon, Target, PayPal and others. You can save Swagbucks to use for holiday shopping or other big purchases.

7. Best for In-Store Rewards: Shopkick

Shopkick rewards you with points — the company calls them kicks — you can redeem for gift cards at many stores, including Amazon, Apple, Best Buy, Disney and Starbucks. You can earn rewards by entering stores, scanning items and making purchases.

8. Best for Grocery Store Cashback: Ibotta

Ibotta started as an app to find in-store rebates and now offers cash back for online shopping. Offers from over 2,000 retailers include grocery stores, travel providers, specialty shops and more. You can also upload receipts to claim rebates.

How Shopping Apps Work

Shopping apps work differently, but the basics are the same. You can earn rewards for shopping online or in-store through the app. While these apps can drive customers to websites, they can also help customers save up to 40%. 

Different Types of Shopping Apps

Different types of shopping apps offer different rewards. In addition to the cash-back or rewards apps above, you can find everything from shopping apps like eBay and Etsy to grocery store or department store rewards. 

Marketplace Apps

Marketplace apps include Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Etsy and more. These apps allow individual sellers to list items they make, own or source. 

Brand Apps

Brand rewards apps are options offered by individual companies like Target, Walgreens, Kroger, Walmart and Kohl’s. These allow customers to earn more rewards and loyalty bonuses, plus access to special coupons and incentives. 

Multibrand Retail Apps

Multibrand retail apps offer the option to earn more rewards from everyday purchases. Multibrand retail apps, like those offered by major department stores, are an example of ways consumers can save more. Consider major department retailers like Macy’s and Nordstrom to other offerings like the cash-back apps above. 

Grocery Apps

Grocery apps allow customers to find the latest coupons, redeem rewards, find recipes and more. Kroger’s app is particularly robust, but you can find apps for most major grocery store chains. 

Buy and Sell Apps

Buy and sell apps cross over with marketplace apps and allow users to sell items to other users. Poshmark, eBay, Mercari, 5miles, Letgo and Decluttr offer practical ways to sell items you no longer need and make some extra money. 

Coupons, Deals and Cashback Apps

Coupons, deals and cashback apps like those listed above allow you to earn more on every purchase. These flexible rewards can help you save on purchases or earn rewards to buy more.

Pros and Cons of Using Shopping Apps

Normally, shopping apps offer a lot of advantages and a few disadvantages. Here is an overview of the pros and cons.

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Earn rewards
• More easily buy and sell items
• Find more coupons
• Save more on everyday purchases

Cons:

• You might be tempted to make more purchases to earn rewards
• Not all apps offer web-based options or extensions
• In some apps, you have to upload receipts or search for coupons to get rewards

How to Save Money with Shopping Apps

To save money with shopping apps, ensure that you only use them on purchases you'd make anyway, such as groceries, gas or other everyday expenses. Avoid spending extra to earn rewards. You can also sync your credit cards or bank accounts with budgeting apps to ensure you're saving more. Finally, you can set up alerts for items you need to buy within a month to ensure you get the best prices. 

How to Save More with Shopping Apps

Shopping apps can make it easier to earn more on everyday purchases. Choose from store apps, cash-back rewards, marketplaces or apps to sell unused items and buy used items for less. Whenever you use shopping apps, remember to stick with your budget, track your expenses and shop around to save more. Ready to find other great apps to maximize your finances? Find the best coupon apps or the best credit cards for online shopping. 

Frequently Asked Questions