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Rakuten vs. Honey vs. Capital One Shopping – Comparing the Top Shopping Rewards Extensions
December 12, 2024
If you shop online (and who doesn’t these days?), you’ve probably heard of Rakuten, Honey, or Capital One Shopping. These three are among the most popular browser tools to help you save money or earn cashback while shopping. But they each work a bit differently: one might focus on coupon codes, another on cashback, another on price comparison. You might be wondering, which one is right for me? Should I use one or multiple? In this comprehensive comparison, we’ll break down Rakuten vs Honey vs Capital One Shopping, looking at their features, how they save you money, and the pros and cons of each. By the end, you’ll know exactly which tool (or combination of tools) will maximize your savings on every online purchase – and we’ll even show how you can stack them with Kudos to earn 2-3x more rewards on top!
Overview of Each Tool
Let’s start with a quick intro to each service:
- Rakuten (formerly Ebates): A cashback website and extension. Rakuten gives you a percentage of your purchase back as cash when you shop through its links at thousands of retailers. It’s essentially a rebates program (hence the old Ebates name). You get paid via check or PayPal, typically on a quarterly schedule. It boasts partnerships with over 3,500 stores and often has some of the highest cashback rates. Example: 5% back at Macy’s, 10% at Nike during a promo, etc.
- Honey (PayPal Honey): A browser extension known for automatically finding and applying coupon codes at checkout. Honey scans a database of promo codes and tries them in seconds, saving you the hassle of searching for coupons. It also has a rewards component: Honey Gold, where you earn points (Gold) on purchases at certain stores, which can be redeemed for gift cards (effectively a cashback system, though in gift card form). Honey is owned by PayPal and has millions of users (over 17 million as of late 2024).
- Capital One Shopping (formerly Wikibuy): A browser extension and site that helps find better prices and coupon codes. When you’re on a product page (like Amazon), it will check if the item is available cheaper elsewhere. It also automatically applies coupons at checkout similar to Honey. Instead of cashback, it offers loyalty credits (shopping credits) when you shop at participating retailers; these credits can be redeemed for gift cards (so, like Honey Gold, not direct cash). It’s free for everyone, not just Capital One bank customers.
All three have the same goal: help you save money while shopping online – either by reducing the price you pay or by giving you something back after purchase.
Now let’s compare them on key factors:
Saving Method: Coupons vs Cashback vs Price Comparison
- Rakuten: Primarily cashback. You get a percentage back, but you must remember to start your shopping via Rakuten (either clicking through their site or activating the extension before checkout). It does not provide coupon codes, so it won’t lower the price upfront – it gives you money later. Think of it as a rebate on your purchase. Good for consistent, predictable savings (especially during “Double Cash Back” promotions or holidays where Rakuten might bump up rates).
- Honey: Primarily coupons. Honey shines at checkout by trying promo codes to lower the price immediately. Savings can vary – sometimes you might save 20% with a found code, other times no code works. Honey also has Honey Gold (their rewards program) which can act like cashback, but the selection of stores that give Gold is somewhat limited compared to Rakuten, and redemption is via gift cards. Honey Gold typically equates to around 1-5% reward (varies by store), and 1,000 Gold = $10 gift card.
- Capital One Shopping: Mixed approach – it tries coupon codes like Honey, and also does price comparison. If you’re on Amazon, it might pop up “We found this item for $5 less on Walmart.com” for example. If you click, it directs you to the other site. So it helps ensure you’re buying at the lowest price available. For rewards, it has Shopping Credits for certain merchants (like if you buy from a partner store through its links, you earn credits). But the emphasis is on finding deals and savings up front. One thing to note: Capital One Shopping’s credits redeem to gift cards as well, similar to Honey.
Verdict on method: If you prefer instant savings at checkout -> Honey or Capital One Shopping (coupon focus) have the edge. If you like straight cash back deposited to you later -> Rakuten is king. Ideally, you can use a combination: e.g., use Rakuten for cashback and still apply a coupon (via manual search or Honey) if possible – but more on stacking later.
Cashback/Rewards Rates and Coverage
Rakuten: Generally offers the highest cashback rates among the three because that’s its main thing. Thousands of stores, with rates anywhere from 1% to 15% (special promos). It often increases rates during holidays. It covers a wide range of categories (clothing, travel booking, electronics, etc.). It also has a large sign-up bonus (around $30) for new users after their first purchase, which is a nice perk. However, Rakuten won’t help if your goal is finding a coupon code – it assumes you pay full price and then get cash back.
Honey: For coupons, coverage is broad – it works on thousands of sites. For Honey Gold, the number of stores that give Gold is smaller than Rakuten’s store list, and the rates might be a bit lower on average (e.g., 1-5%). Honey’s value is more in the convenience of coupon finding. Sometimes you get both: a coupon Honey finds might lower your cost AND you might earn some Gold on that purchase. But Honey Gold accrual is slower and the redemption (gift cards) a bit less flexible than Rakuten’s cash.
Capital One Shopping: It has quite a few stores where it offers credits, but again not as many as Rakuten’s network. The credit rates are often competitive though. On coupons, like Honey, it’s broad (any site where people share codes, it will try them). On price comparison, it mostly shines for products that multiple retailers carry (particularly useful on Amazon vs other retailers). It might not catch every deal, but when it does, it’s valuable.
One limitation: Rakuten and Capital One Shopping can’t usually both be used on the exact same purchase – since both function as the “affiliate” that wants credit for the sale. If you activate Rakuten cashback, and also try to use Capital One Shopping’s coupon feature that might redirect or such, one could invalidate the other. Honey is more coupon-focused, and often you can use Honey for coupons while still getting Rakuten cashback, as long as the coupon doesn’t disqualify cashback (some coupons can – usually codes that aren’t listed on Rakuten might void the cashback). It can be a bit of a juggling act to stack.
Verdict on rates: Rakuten tends to give the highest reward percentages (cashback) on a widest array of stores. Honey and CapOne give smaller rewards (Gold/credits) but offer other ways to save (coupons/price drops).
Payout and Redemption
- Rakuten: Pays cash (or Amex Membership Rewards points if you choose) on a quarterly basis. They have set “Big Fat Check” days each quarter. You need at least $5.01 earned to get a payout, otherwise it rolls over. The payouts can be via a mailed check or PayPal deposit. Cash is as flexible as it gets – spend it anywhere or bank it.
- Honey: Honey Gold can be redeemed for gift cards (choices include Amazon, Target, etc.). There’s a redemption threshold (usually 1,000 Gold = $10 gift card is the minimum). There’s no option to get actual cash or PayPal, since Honey is not directly giving you cash – they operate via these gift card redemptions for their rewards. However, saving via coupons is immediate and in dollars off your purchase, which is effectively instant money saved.
- Capital One Shopping: Shopping Credits redeem to gift cards as well (for example, you might redeem for a $10 Walmart or $25 Uber Eats gift card once you have enough credits). They also sometimes have exclusive discounts when redeeming (like you might use fewer credits if you redeem for a certain retailer’s card). No direct cash option here either.
So Rakuten is the only one that literally puts money in your pocket (or bank). The others give you savings or gift cards which are almost as good, but some people prefer actual cash.
Notable Features
- Rakuten: Refer-a-friend bonuses (often $30 each), the ability to earn American Express points instead of cash (for those who prefer travel points), and in-store cashback (you can link a credit card to Rakuten for certain in-store offers at physical retailers, though this is less popular than the online component).
- Honey: Besides coupons and Gold, Honey has a feature called Droplist – you can add items and Honey will notify you if the price drops to a desired level. Nice for price tracking on specific products. Honey also integrates with Amazon to show price history of items (via a little graph icon) and whether the current price is high/low relative to historical pricing.
- Capital One Shopping: Has a similar watchlist/price drop feature. It also will show you a price history and compare sellers on Amazon listings (very handy if you want to see if there’s a better deal new or used). Another feature: store-specific credits and rewards offers – sometimes they have deals like bonus gift cards (e.g., “buy from Walmart through Capital One Shopping, get a $5 bonus gift card”).
One downside reported for Honey and others: If a coupon code is found by the extension, sometimes it might interfere with affiliate tracking for Rakuten. For example, if Rakuten is activated and then Honey applies a random coupon that isn’t approved, Rakuten’s cashback might be canceled for that order. It’s a bit of a dance – advanced users often decide case-by-case: “Is the coupon saving me more or is the cashback bigger?” and choose accordingly.
Privacy and Trust Considerations
All these extensions require certain browser permissions since they detect when you’re on a shopping site. Honey and Capital One Shopping have had some controversy:
- In late 2024, Honey was accused by some of redirecting affiliate commissions and a YouTuber’s video went viral claiming Honey was essentially a “scam” to content creators. It lost some users due to that, but for the average user, Honey still provides value – the issue was more about business practices behind the scenes, not that it steals from users. PayPal (owner of Honey) defended its practices. Honey has over 17 million users even after that, indicating many still find it trustworthy for savings.
- Capital One Shopping is backed by Capital One, a major bank, which adds a layer of credibility. They do collect data on shopping for their functionality (which is true for all three).
- Rakuten is a publicly traded company and generally very transparent – it’s essentially an affiliate marketing model shared with users. Fewer controversies there.
In terms of safety, all three are safe to use in that they don’t collect your passwords or payment info (Kudos, by contrast, is explicitly for payment info and does so securely by design). They mainly look at the sites you visit to know when to activate. They may collect anonymized purchase info to improve deals.
From a user perspective, it’s fine to install all three extensions; they usually coexist, but avoid running Rakuten and Honey coupon at the same exact time on a checkout to prevent any conflict in who gets credit. You can enable/disable as needed.
Which One Should You Use?
It depends on your priorities:
- If you want straight cash in hand and consistently great deals across many stores, Rakuten is a must. It’s the best for cashback lovers. For example, Rakuten often offers deals like 10% cash back during holidays at major retailers, which is huge. Plus, the big sign-up bonus and the quarterly payout feels like a nice “cashback payday.”
- If you love the thrill of finding coupon codes and getting an instant discount, Honey is fantastic. It requires no effort at checkout – one click and it might find a code that saves $20. It’s especially useful for stores that don’t have cashback but do have coupons (or can be combined with cashback if the code is just a free shipping code etc. that doesn’t cancel cashback).
- If you want to ensure you’re paying the lowest price and also get some coupons, Capital One Shopping is great, particularly for Amazon and large retailers where price matching is possible. It’s like a shopping assistant that says “hey, you could get this cheaper over here.”
Many savvy shoppers use a combination: For instance, use Rakuten for cashback most of the time (activate it at the start of shopping), and also have Honey ready to try coupons at checkout. If Honey finds a coupon that saves more than the cash back would have been, use it (noting it might void cashback). If not, stick with Rakuten’s cashback. Meanwhile, keep Capital One Shopping installed for when you’re on Amazon to catch better prices elsewhere or additional coupons.
The good news is these extensions are all free, so you don’t have to pick just one. It’s more about how to use them together wisely:
- Rakuten + Honey combo: Often recommended. Rakuten for cash back, Honey for coupons. Just be mindful of potential conflict – best practice is to let Honey run first to test coupons (some might actually be listed on Rakuten’s site too – if Honey finds one that works, you can see if Rakuten had that coupon in its terms; if yes, you might still get cashback). If Honey finds a big coupon that saves more than cash back, take it and accept no cash back. If Honey finds nothing or trivial savings, and Rakuten was activated, you’ll get the cash back.
- Capital One Shopping on Amazon: Use it when browsing products to catch price differences. If it offers a coupon code on a site, you can compare that savings to Rakuten’s offer for that site similarly to Honey’s approach.
And of course, layer Kudos on top – whichever method you use to get a discount, Kudos will ensure you’re using the optimal credit card to pay. For example, if Rakuten gives you 5% back and Kudos reminds you to use your 5% online shopping card, that’s double win. Or if Honey found a coupon for 20% off, you’ll save that and Kudos might say “use your XYZ card for extended warranty on this electronics purchase” or for rewards. Kudos doesn’t conflict with these; it complements them by boosting your credit card rewards. As financebuzz aptly summarized, using these apps together means “you can’t go wrong… why not use the tool that will save you the most money?”
FAQs: Rakuten vs Honey vs Capital One Shopping
Which is better for saving money, Rakuten or Honey?
They’re good at different things. Rakuten is better for earning cash back on purchases – it’s straightforward and often has higher reward rates (and pays you actual cash via PayPal or check). Honey is better for finding coupon codes to get an instant discount on your order. If a store has a big cashback offer on Rakuten and no known huge coupon codes, Rakuten will likely save you more (e.g., 10% cash back on a $200 purchase = $20 back). If a store has a big promo code (say 20% off) and Honey can apply it, that might save more (e.g., $40 off $200 right away). Ideally, you can use both: try Honey for coupons, and if none apply, make sure Rakuten is activated for cash back. If a great coupon is found, use it and be aware you might not get Rakuten cash on that purchase. In summary, use Rakuten for guaranteed cash back on a wide range of stores; use Honey to catch any available coupons for immediate savings. Many shoppers install both because they serve complementary roles.
Can I use Rakuten and Honey at the same time for the same purchase?
Yes and no. You can have both extensions installed and even active, but when it comes to the moment of checkout, you typically have to choose which benefit to take for that transaction. For example, if you activate Rakuten cash back for a retailer and then Honey finds a coupon code and applies it, one of two things can happen: (1) If the coupon code is accepted by the retailer and was not listed on Rakuten’s site, it might void your Rakuten cash back (because retailers often only pay cash back if certain codes are used). Or (2) sometimes the coupon is fine and you’ll still get cash back. There’s some risk of not getting Rakuten cash if using external coupons. A safe approach is to check Rakuten’s page for that store – if the coupon Honey found is listed there or if Rakuten explicitly says “no cash back if other coupons are used,” that gives guidance. Practically, many users do this: activate Rakuten, run Honey – if Honey finds, say, a 15% off code, that’s probably worth more than, say, 5% Rakuten cash, so go with the coupon (Rakuten might track but later deny – you won’t be worse off because you got 15% off upfront). If Honey finds nothing useful, then you rely on Rakuten for the 5%. So, you can use them on the same site visit, but the final savings usually comes from one or the other. They won’t “stack” (e.g., you can’t count on 10% off via coupon and 10% cash back unless explicitly allowed). So it’s about maximizing either immediate savings or post-purchase cash.
Does Capital One Shopping give you actual cash back?
Not exactly. Capital One Shopping rewards you with “Shopping Credits” for purchases at certain retailers (when you shop through a link it provides or when it auto-detects an eligible site). These credits accumulate in your Capital One Shopping account. Once you have enough, you can redeem them for gift cards to various merchants. It’s effectively like cash back, but the redemption is in gift cards (popular options include Amazon, Walmart, etc., so it’s almost as good as cash if you shop at those places). There’s no direct deposit or check option. Also, Capital One Shopping’s primary function is helping you save money at point of purchase (through coupons or finding lower prices), whereas Rakuten’s primary function is giving cash back after purchase. So if “actual cash back” is what you want, Rakuten is the better choice. But if you don’t mind gift card rewards and you value coupons/price comparisons, Cap One Shopping is a strong tool. Remember, the extension is free and open to anyone – you don’t need a Capital One card or account to use it.
Are these extensions safe to use and do they slow down my browser?
Yes, they are safe and generally lightweight. All three (Rakuten, Honey, Capital One Shopping) are legit, widely-used extensions from reputable companies. They do need permissions to read and change data on shopping sites, but that’s necessary for them to function (e.g., to detect you’re on a partner store to activate cash back or test coupon codes in form fields). They are not viruses or malware. They don’t collect sensitive personal info like your credit card numbers or passwords – they focus on shopping-related data. In terms of performance, you might notice a small banner or pop-up when on certain sites which is the extension doing its job. They have minimal impact on browsing speed in modern browsers. If you install all three, you have three extensions running, but they mostly lie dormant until you hit a shopping site, so any slowdown is usually negligible. If you ever find them intrusive (like too many pop-ups), you can easily enable/disable them per site or overall via your browser’s extension settings. Millions of people use these daily without issue. As a best practice, only get them from the official Chrome Web Store or Firefox Add-ons site to ensure you have the legitimate version.
Can I use these tools on mobile or just desktop?
Historically, these have been browser extensions for desktop (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari). However, there are some mobile options:
- Rakuten: Rakuten has a mobile app. If you shop through the Rakuten app or mobile site, you can still get cash back. Some retailers also allow linking your account for in-store cash back via credit card links. On mobile browsers, extensions generally don’t work (except maybe on Android with Firefox). So using the Rakuten app or Safari’s extension (Rakuten has an iPhone Safari extension now) is the way to get mobile cash back.
- Honey: Honey also has a mobile app and a browser extension for mobile Safari. The Honey app acts as a browser with Honey built in so you can use coupons and Honey Gold on mobile. Also, the PayPal app integrated some Honey features (since PayPal owns it). For example, in the PayPal app you can find deals and coupons via Honey.
- Capital One Shopping: They don’t have a dedicated shopping mobile app as of now, but they do have a mobile-friendly site and some workarounds. On Android, the Chrome extension might work in Kiwi browser. Capital One’s main banking app is separate; it doesn’t include the shopping tool for non-customers.
Using them on desktop is simplest. On mobile, you might have to use their dedicated apps or see if the mobile browser supports extensions. The landscape is improving as Safari on iOS now allows content-blocker extensions like Honey and Rakuten. Always check the provider’s site for mobile guidance. And don’t forget, mobile or desktop, Kudos has you covered with an iPhone app and Safari extension too, so you can maximize credit card rewards even when shopping on your phone!
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