If you’ve ever felt like you were duped by overpaying for something that was advertised as a “great deal,” you’re in the right place. It’s easy to get caught up in frenzied online shopping holidays like Black Friday or Prime Day—especially when retailers are known for sneaking price hikes before major “sales” or deceiving shoppers with tricks to spend more than you intended to.
Figuring out the best time to buy something requires constant watch over ever-fluctuating online prices and some knowledge of how prices have changed in the past. As a shopping and deal writer, that is what I do for a living, and I know how time-consuming it can be. Luckily, you don’t have to figure it all out yourself: Here are the best websites and extensions I’ve been using for years to check price history and track prices so that you can be sure you’re getting the best deal possible.
The best Amazon price tracker: Camelcamelcamel
Credit: Camelcamelcamel.com
CamelCamelCamel is among the best ways to track prices on Amazon products. You can install the browser extension (on Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Safari) to get access to the site’s features without leaving Amazon, or you can just copy and paste an Amazon link or product name to the website’s search bar. CamelCamelCamel shows you how the price of the item has gone up or down over time, how prices have changed through Amazon directly, and the fluctuations from third-party Amazon sellers who list new and used items.
If you sign up for a free account, you can set up alerts so the site can notify you by email when the price of an item drops below a certain amount, if you can get it used for a given price, or if it’s at an all-time low and now is a good time to buy. You can even see previous historic highs and lows and try to map out the best time to strike.
The best price tracker for most online retailers and to compare prices: Honey
Credit: Honey.com
You’ve probably already heard of the Honey influencer scam that blew up in December of 2024. Essentially, Honey hijacked affiliate links from influencers who were sponsoring them. Also, in many instances, they deliberately chose not to give the best coupons to users who used the extension (going completely against their business model). Honey is not alone in this behavior. Many coupon aggregator companies hijack affiliate links; Honey just happens to be in the spotlight because they’re the biggest one. Use your own judgment if you choose to use any of their services.
The bad news for those looking for a price-tracking tool that can be used for most online retailers is that Honey is the only option. The good news is that Honey’s price-tracking tool can’t scam you or give you subpar coupons. The Honey browser extension compares prices from a whole bunch of retailers, not just Amazon. You can create a Droplist, which notifies you if the prices drop for an item on your list if you’re willing to wait for a deal. Here is what creating a Droplist can do for you:
First, it’ll keep the items you want to keep tabs on organized and easily accessible. Second, it’ll track the prices of those products and alert you when they go on sale at any major retailer. You can see how much those prices cost leading up to the sale to see if they are, in fact, good deals or a trick from retailers to take advantage of you, and even compare them with other major retailers to see who has the best deal. You can see how to set up your droplist here.
As long as you don’t buy the products using a Honey link, you won’t be giving money to the service. You can still use their tool to your advantage without giving them any of the affiliate revenue. Until there’s a better alternative, Honey is the only option that can instantly pull up price histories and track prices for multiple retailers with a browser extension (for now).
Credit: Amazon.com
Capital One Shopping, previously known as Wikibuy, compares prices from other sellers when you shop on Amazon. The browser extension will notify you if a product you are looking at is cheaper somewhere else, and offers a summary of pricing history, estimated delivery time, and total price, including tax and shipping. If you can apply a coupon, it’ll add that as well. When the price drops for a product you’ve viewed, Capital One Shopping will notify you. When you shop, you can earn credits for your purchases at some websites, like Walmart and eBay, that Capital One Shopping has partnered with. You can trade that credit for gift cards or put it toward purchases through Capital One Shopping’s site.
The extension is available for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari, and an iOS app allows you to scan barcodes and search products to do price comparisons from your phone.
What do you think so far?