TechJunkie Expert Recommendations
Paying full price for things sucks. Whether it is groceries, video games, cosmetics and anything in between, looking for deals is always a good idea. Unfortunately, finding these deals often isn’t that easy. However, there are people out there who pride themselves on their ability to save tons of money with coupons.
However, in a traditional sense, couponing is hard work. It often requires a big folder or binder of coupons from dozens of stores and can take hours and hours of time to find some quality coupons for things you want. For extreme couponers that might be okay, but for those of us regular shoppers, this simply isn’t viable. However, technology has changed the game when it comes to saving money at the store.
If you simply search the word “coupon” in the App Store, you will be greeted with dozens of different apps that can help you find and use coupons from hundreds of different stores. However, not all of these coupon apps are created equal, and many won’t be any help to you at all in your journey to save money. In order to help show you some that are worth a download, we have created an article full of great options. Note that while using these apps are helpful, it doesn’t mean that you should completely disregard paper coupons as they can also still be great.
Compatible With
With so many great apps out there to help you save money at the store, it was rather difficult to choose a winner. However, after much deliberation, we have decided that Ibotta deserves the top spot in this category. It is an app that can save you a ton of money no matter where you shop. Whether you are looking for groceries, buying new clothing or even ordering food from a restaurant, this app can help save you some money.
At its core, this app is basically an instant rebate machine. The app features a ton of offers from a ton of different retailers, which makes it among the most popular apps in this space with millions of users. The way it works is also quite innovative and different, which helps to attract so many users to the platform. Sometimes being unique is enough to stand out enough to attract a bunch of users.
Instead of simply providing a list of a few coupons like many apps will do, Ibotta takes a different approach. You start off by browsing the various merchants around you until you find something you are interested in purchasing. After that, the app will then ask you to complete a short task such as taking a survey, answering some questions or watching a video. Once you have completed that task (which likely won’t take very much time at all), your rebate will be unlocked. While some people might not like having to do a task at all, your few seconds of work will be rewarded with some pretty great deals. Some of these rebates will be fairly generic, while some may be brand specific. For example, some might tell you to purchase a certain item there (no matter the brand), while some will tell you to get a certain item of a certain brand. The payouts will differ a bit throughout the app, but are generally anywhere from 25 cents up to a few dollars per item.
Next, you will go and actually purchase the product. Once you have bought the item, you can scan or take a picture of your receipt to prove that you indeed made the purchase. Here you want to make sure the entire receipt is pictured (including the store name) and after a few hours, the money will appear in your account. But before that, you have a few different options as to how you want to receive those sweet rebates. You can either get the rebate in the form of various different gift cards or even in cold hard cash if that’s what you prefer. This sort of personalization also sets the app apart as it doesn’t just send you some general coupons or deals here and there like most couponing apps are known for doing. It really makes it feel like the app is working with you to save money at any opportunity.
It is this choice of payout options that make this among the most popular apps in this space. Instead of just giving you a few dollars off a certain product or a few dollars towards purchases at a certain store, you can make real cash quickly with this app. Collectively, users of this app have saved over $150,000,000! While this app isn’t going to make you a ton of cash (none of these couponing apps will), it can be a great way to make a few extra dollars here and there without much extra effort on your part. Another reason why so many people use this app is because of the quality of stores that offer rebates on Ibotta. These stores include places like Best Buy, Target, Walgreens and many more of the most popular stores that we all often visit. You can even get rebates from apps like Groupon, Boxed and Hotels.com, which is not something that all of these couponing apps will offer.
In addition to the app serving its purpose incredibly well, it is also quite simple to use and navigate. The menus are easy to follow and everything is laid out in a way that makes sense. The design of the app is also top notch as it is attractive, without taking away from the actual experience of the app. So not only do you get an app that can save you a lot of money in a short amount of time, but it also looks good doing it.
The app also uses your GPS to ensure you are getting the correct in-store offers at the right time and location, which is a fairly nice feature to have. Another nice feature is just how easy the app is to navigate and use. It uses a very pleasing color scheme and design, while not have too many distractions. It is not a boring or plain design, but also not one that will overpower the use of this app at all. You will never find yourself lost in the app and you will always know where to go whether you want to browse the current offers, or go to your profile to see how much you have earned.
With this app on your device, you always know you will have your shopping sidekick with you. You will be able to quickly discover deals from over 750,000 different stores and can even invite friends to the app to get cool and exclusive bonuses. All in all, there are very few complaints most people will have about this app and it is truly one of the best and easiest ways to save some cash at the store. While the coupons/rebates may not come quite as easy as other apps, the little bit of leg work you need to do in this app definitely pays off. Best of all, the fact that an app as helpful and great as this is completely free is just the cherry on top.
Compatible With
Just like choosing the winner of this category was tough, so was choosing the runner-up. With so many apps in this space being able to save you money at the store, the choice wasn’t easy. In the end, however, we decided to award Checkout 51 the distinction. The reason is that it is largely quite similar to Ibotta, with only a few things differentiating the two apps.
Checkout 51 is a free app that looks to save you money and time by eliminating the need to coupon hunt, while still putting extra money in your wallet. The app works in a way similar to Ibotta, but I will walk you through it now as there are a few differences between the two, even though both are great options and will save you money without too much effort on your end.
The first step to making some money with Checkout 51 is to browse their available offers. You can browse by product or store, which is very helpful, and many popular places such as Walmart and Whole Foods often have offers listed on Checkout 51. Once you have selected the offer item and store you want to make your purchase from, go and buy the item. The offers available on this app are also updated every single week, so there are always new things to browse, purchase and save money on. Also, if you see something you like, but aren’t going shopping right now and can’t keep the app open, there is also a handy way to “star” your favorite offers so you will always be able to find them later on.
Once you have made your purchase, take a photo of the receipt and redeem your offer. This will earn you cash back, and once you earn $20 on this app, they will mail you out a check. So while Ibotta lets you use Paypal, Venmo or other services to transfer money, Checkout 51 sends you out a check. Whichever method you prefer, both are great at stuffing your pockets with cash that would have normally ended up in the cash register at the store.
This app is great if you want to save some money buying things you were likely going to purchase already. While you do need to scan or take a picture of your receipt, this is a small task to do in order to save some money every trip to the store. If you are looking for a way to save some money at the store without spending hours a week clipping coupons, this could be the option for you. Even if you download it and don’t enjoy it, it doesn’t cost you a thing, so it’s worth a try at the very least.
Compatible With
When most people thing about a coupon app to save money, many will think of Groupon first. The app is incredibly popular and even those who aren’t into extreme couponing or saving will likely know about it or at least recognize the name. Groupon is a great way to save money on a number of different items and experiences.
Groupon offers a number of deals and discounts at all times and there is certain to be a deal for something that you would enjoy doing. Groupon often works as the middle man between you and a local company. The local company will offer a deal and if enough people on Groupon commit to purchase the experience or item, then the deal will go through.
The app is completely free to use, and the discounts on the app can be massive, as many of the deals will save you over 50%! This app will not only save you money, but will also get you out there to experience more cool things in your local area.
Compatible With
This app is definitely one of the most popular and great options for a couponing app. This app has a ton of coupons and deals from various different stores such as Walmart, Forever 21, Starbucks, Best Buy and more, you can
In addition to these markdowns and drills, you can also get access to some free samples, which is a great perk. This app also gives you some extras like cheaper gas and the ability to share coupons with your friends. Also, you don’t ever need to worry about this app feeding you the same old coupons all the time as they refresh each and every day.
Like many of the apps in this list, The Coupons App is free to download and use. The app itself is also designed very attractively and the user interface is incredibly simple to use and get the hang of quickly, which makes it not only a helpful app, but one that is not going to confuse you in the slightest.
Compatible With
RetailMeNot is an award-winning app that brings you thousands and thousands of different deals right to your phone. These deals are from all of your favorite stores and restaurants, so you won’t have to go far out of your way to take advantage of them. In fact, they offer deals from more than 50,000 retail locations so wherever you shop, there is a very good chance that they will have deals from that store.
The app is also great because they allow you to either just use your phone to get the deals, or they even offer you the option to print off their deals and coupons if you prefer that. They also offer many different kinds of deals. Whereas one app may only offer you cash rebates and others may only offer you a certain percentage off of a product, this app offers both those options and more.
The app also includes a very handy savings map that will show you a live map of all the savings near you. So if you are in a mall, for instance, this app will show you all the various deals you could find throughout the mall, which can help make shopping cheaper and easier. The app also has a good notification system that allows you to get notified when there are deals. All in all, definitely one of the best options in this category.
Compatible With
Slickdeals is amongst one of the biggest deal-sharing services out there and millions of people use it. Not only do people find deals and coupons here, but they also rate and share the deals with others, so you always know how good a deal is and where to find it. Thankfully, this app features deals from a ton of stores including Walmart, Macy’s and many more of your favorites.
There are plenty of deals to be found and many ways to find them from the front page, to the popular deals and the featured deals. The app also updates deals every day and has the ability for you to be alerted when deals go up, to make sure that you always know when and where the deals are at.
But perhaps the coolest and most unique feature of this app is its community. There is a forum on the app where people go to help each other find the best deals and exchange feedback about the various different deals they have taken advantage of.
Compatible With
SnipSnap is among the most popular and plentiful coupon apps on the planet. Coupons come from some of your favorite retailers and there is a Discover screen to see what friends and families have used, and this screen also allows you to search through SnipSnap’s massive database of coupons.
There is also a helpful feature called Scout. Your Scout will help find a coupon that works with what you want. Simply snap a photo of the product, and the scout will be able to help you to locate a deal on that item. This saves you the time you would spend manually searching through their giant database.
So while this app may sound like your run-of-the-mill couponing app for the most part, there is one massive difference. In addition to being able to search coupons and such on this app, you can also transfer paper coupons into this app. All you have to do is snap a picture of the printed offer and the app will convert the offer to one that can be used right from your phone. While this doesn’t work for each and every coupon you might have lying around, it is still a very good feature.
Compatible With
This is one of the few apps that seem to get the idea of customized couponing right. Most of the time, there are simply a few one size fits all coupons available. While you can definitely make use of that coupon and save money, it may not be actually getting something you want.
This app allows you to make a customized request and then search the database to see if anything matches your request. For example, if you are looking to fix the brakes on your car, the app will search to see if any coupons match your request. Also, while many of these apps will simply help you at the grocery store, that isn’t the case with this one.
This app has a wide variety of coupons available from stores of all different kinds. All you have to do is show the coupon on your phone at the checkout and you will save money, wherever you like to shop. You can even share the coupons you find with family and friends if you think they will enjoy them as well.
Compatible With
If you have been couponing by hand for years, there is a new option in town and its name is the Krazy Coupon Lady. This app features thousands of different coupons and dozens of new deals are being loaded onto the app each and every day. You can even search through the deals of other apps on this one. Think of it like a large aggregate for the deals of various different couponing apps.
You can create a shopping list, sync with other devices as well as take advantage of a number of other great features. After saving money with this app, you can also head over to the forums and share your experiences with the community of the app. In addition to all of this, the app also looks quite good and is very easy to navigate.
Whether you are new to couponing or have been doing it for years or decades, this app is perfect for you. It is a good choice for beginners especially, though, as it offers in-app tutorials as well as videos which can both help you become incredibly good at couponing and saving money at the store each and every trip.
Compatible With
This app is simply among one of the best shopping companion apps on the market today. Think of it like an online coupon and flyer for almost any store you can think of. This app allows you to quickly and easily search items by brand, store or category and see what sorts of deals are available.
In addition to that, the app has a number of other helpful features for the store. One such feature is the ability for the app to help you create lists to make sure you are always prepared for your trip to the store. You can even add your loyalty card or points card to your account to take advantage of even more savings and deals.
The reminder system in this app is also top notch as it allows you to be notified whenever a deal is expiring, whenever a new one has been created, and even get updates from your favorite local retailers. It is a free app and is a great option for you to download and try.
Copyright @2024 TechJunkie
Copyright @2024 TechJunkie
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