With inflation at its highest level in four decades, saving money by any means necessary is a high priority. Coupon apps are one way to ensure you are getting the best deal on every shopping trip, whether online or in-store.
No matter what products you are buying, there is often a coupon available to help you hold on to your hard-earned dollars.
Even better, gone are the days of clipping paper coupons and dragging them with you from store to store. With a smartphone in your pocket, there’s an app (or apps) for that!
Here are some of the best coupon apps available to help you save money when you need it most.
You might also be interested in: 4 Grandparents’ Lessons for Today’s Cost of Living Crisis
The Best Coupon Apps
While there are dozens of coupon apps out there, some are better than others, and some only work for certain types of shopping.
For example, some apps work exclusively at grocery stores, while others offer coupons for a wide array of retailers. In addition, some apps are set-and-forget apps, while with others, you have to browse and select coupon offers before shopping.
While you won’t be bringing in a windfall every month with these apps, you can realistically expect to save several hundred dollars over the course of the year.
Before we get into the details, here are some of our top picks for various categories.
- Best Grocery Coupon App: Ibotta
- Best for Online Shopping: Rakuten
- Best for Restaurants: Dosh
- Best App for Printable Coupons: Coupons.com
- Best Automated Savings App: Honey
1. Rakuten
Rakuten is one of the oldest, largest, and best cash back apps, having paid out more than $2 billion to its 15 million members since 1999.
Rakuten allows you to earn up to 40% cash back on purchases at thousands of retailers, although the typical savings are 1-3%. They partner with many well-known brands such as Target, Lowe’s, Kohl’s, Best Buy, and many more.
Sound too good to be true? Rakuten earns a commission for sending business to these retailers, and in return, they offer their members a portion of that as cash back. Once per quarter, Rakuten issues you a “Big Fat Check” via Paypal or paper check in the mail with your earnings.
How It Works: Download the Rakuten app and create a free account. When you shop through the app or use the Rakuten browser extension, you will be rewarded with cash back in your Rakuten account whenever you purchase with one of their many retailers.
How to Cash Out: Rakuten makes it easy to collect your earnings. You get paid via check or Paypal once per quarter and can check your balance and watch it grow.
2. Honey
Honey is a browser extension for Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Opera that automatically scours the web for the best coupon codes available to apply to your shopping cart.
Honey is a substantial time-saver over the traditional route of tediously searching for coupon codes online, only to type them in and find out they are expired or do not work.
According to their website, Honey members save an average of $126 per year at 30,000+ participating merchants. This app is a no-brainer if you do any online shopping at all, as it works in the background to save you money without needing any input from you.
How It Works: Install the Honey browser extension, sit back, and save money. Honey will automatically alert you to promo codes at the checkout page and apply them to your cart for instant savings.
How to Cash Out: Since the browser extension searches for and applies coupon codes, there is no balance to track or points to redeem. You save money on each order you place where Honey finds a valid coupon code.
3. Dosh
The Dosh app offers over 10,000 places to get cashback and is one of the easiest apps to use. There are no receipts to scan or digital coupons to clip.
Connect your credit or debit card to the app and shop your favorite stores and restaurants. You can earn up to 10% cashback, deposited directly into your Dosh wallet.
Unlike many of the apps on the list, Dosh offers rebates at many local restaurants. There is even a map inside the Dosh app that shows you nearby locations that offer cashback. If you shop online, things aren’t quite as automatic. Just remember to start in the Dosh app and click through to the retailer to get the cashback amount offered.
How It Works: Download the app, connect a credit or debit card, and Dosh does the rest. Shop in-store and eat at local restaurants and get automatic cash back deposited into your Dosh wallet when using your connected payment method.
How to Cash Out: After accumulating $25, you can cash out via bank transfer, Paypal, or Venmo.
4. Ibotta
While Ibotta has expanded into other ways to earn cashback, its claim to fame is offering virtual coupons on groceries. Since its founding in 2012, Ibotta has paid over $1 billion in cash rewards to its 35 million users.
You can browse digital coupons for hundreds of grocery staples and save money on every purchase with the app.
One of my favorite things about Ibotta is they even offer coupons for unbranded products, such as 25 cents off any brand of milk or 50 cents off any meat purchase.
They even offer coupons just for scanning a receipt. Ibotta is also one of the best sign-up bonus apps, offering a generous $20 just for creating an account and redeeming offers.
Ibotta has also branched out into grocery delivery and has exclusive offers with brands such as Walmart and Shipt.
How It Works: Download the app, select your store, then add coupon offers for products you plan to buy. Once you have finished your shopping, take a picture of your receipt in the app, and the cashback will be automatically applied.
How to Cash Out: Once you have at least a $20 balance, you can redeem your cashback savings through Paypal, gift cards, or a transfer straight to your bank account.
Best Coupon Apps – The Final Word
If the idea of “clipping coupons” sends shivers down your spine, these seven apps can help give you all the benefits of coupons without spending a Sunday afternoon with a pair of scissors and the newspaper.
While these coupon apps won’t make you an overnight millionaire, they can be a practical side job from home, helping you put extra money back in your pocket each month.
More Articles From Mama Say What?!
This post originally appeared on Hello Sensible.
Featured image credit: Shutterstock
