Capital One Shopping Review [2024]: How Does It Work?

MANAGE MONEY - SAVE MONEY
If you shop online, Capital One Shopping can help you save money on your purchases. Here's how.
Updated March 25, 2024
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Capital One Shopping is a free mobile app and browser extension that we recommend using when shopping online. It can help you earn rewards on your purchases and improve online shopping by automatically searching for and applying relevant coupon codes at checkout.

We like that Capital One Shopping also helps you track an item's price and alerts you when it drops. However, the platform has a few downsides. some users find the rewards redemption options limited, and others worry about privacy due to the tracking functions.

In this Capital One Shopping review, you’ll learn what Capital One Shopping is, how it works, and how to get started.

Quick Summary

Stop overpaying when you shop online.

  • Capital One Shopping searches thousands of merchants to see if you're getting a great deal.
  • Search and apply coupon codes automatically.
  • Custom price drop alerts for products you've viewed or purchased.
In this Capital One Shopping review

Key takeaways

  • Capital One Shopping automates the search for coupon codes, if they’re available, across tens of thousands of retailer websites. This can help users find and apply discounts effortlessly during online shopping.
  • Capital One Shopping offers a price tracking feature at certain retailers that can notify you when the price of a product drops.
  • The browser extension displays a friendly pop-up when it discovers coupons or rewards when they’re available for the website or item you’re viewing. This makes it easy for you to view your potential savings.
  • While Capital One Shopping works on tens of thousands of retailer websites, it might not always find applicable coupons for every transaction and might not work on every website.
  • The Capital One Shopping browser extension is available for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari. The Capital One Shopping app is available for iOS and Android devices.

Capital One Shopping: Is it worth it?

Pros
  • Automatically discovers coupon codes when available
  • Lets you know if you can earn rewards while you’re shopping
  • Helps you compare prices between supported merchants
Cons
  • Only allows redeeming rewards for gift cards
  • May collect personal data to correctly function

Our verdict: We recommend using Capital One Shopping for anyone who shops online. It's a free tool, so there's no cost to worry about, and it can help you find deals for your online purchases. We like that it helps you locate coupon codes and earn rewards when available. It also tracks prices and sends notifications of price drops at certain merchants. However, it may not find coupons for every transaction and may not work on all websites.

What is Capital One Shopping?

Capital One Shopping is a free browser extension and mobile app focused on the online shopping industry. It was initially launched as Wikibuy in 2014 with a vision to help people make better financial decisions and save money, and that vision still holds true today.

As a free tool, Capital One Shopping has attracted millions of users for its ability to find deals online. The Capital One Shopping browser extension is highly rated on Trustpilot, with more than 2,200 reviews.

Overall, Capital One Shopping is a great option for learning how to save money because it’s free and straightforward to use.

Can it actually save you money?

Whether directly or indirectly, Capital One Shopping can absolutely save you money. The extension and mobile app will automatically apply available coupon codes to your cart to ensure you have the lowest price. Indirectly, you will earn shopping rewards as a percentage of each purchase you make.

For example, I was shopping for a new Roomba vacuum cleaner. The Roomba was already on sale at Kohl's, marked down from $689.99 to $499.99. I added it to my cart, and the Capital One Shopping extension automatically applied the best coupon code available, taking an additional $75 off. On top of that, I received 0.5% back in shopping rewards to use later.

Roomba savings with Capital One Shopping tool

How do Capital One Shopping rewards work?

You can begin using Capital One Shopping right after successfully creating an account. It works with thousands of online stores.

To find a deal on Capital One Shopping, simply go to the Capital One Shopping website or mobile app and browse their featured offers. If you visit a participating store’s website, Capital One Shopping will automatically identify any potential savings for you.

Capital One Shopping stores

You can also get started by downloading the Capital One Shopping mobile app on Android or iOS. 

Top features of Capital One Shopping

Here are some of the features Capital One Shopping offers and how it works:

1. Price comparison tool

Many online shoppers use Amazon.com to browse for everything from apparel to groceries to electronics and more. If you’re an Amazon shopper, you’re in luck because Capital One Shopping can seamlessly work in the background as you’re browsing Amazon products online.

Capital One Shopping price comparison tool

Capital One Shopping automatically searches for lower prices on other websites when you select a product and its options. If it doesn’t find a better deal than Amazon, it informs you. You typically receive the search results within 10 to 15 seconds, and you can click on the Capital One Shopping pop-up to see additional information.

We like this feature because you can still shop on Amazon, which is convenient, but get alerted if you might find a better deal elsewhere.

2. Coupons

Capital One Shopping coupons

Capital One Shopping can test available coupon codes at participating online retailers with just the push of a button. When you’re on a website that works with Capital One Shopping, click the “try codes” button while checking out. This will prompt Capital One Shopping to apply any codes it has found and potentially save you some money.

Many online stores offer coupons, but it’s not always the easiest to find them. The Capital One Shopping Coupons feature is an excellent way to save yourself the time and hassle of searching for coupons. With just the click of a button, Capital One Shopping will apply the available codes, and you might be in for a nice discount on your shopping trip.

We like this feature because it’s much faster than finding and entering coupon codes yourself.

3. Capital One Shopping Credits

Capital One Shopping partners with select online stores to offer you a percentage of your money back from any eligible online purchase you make. You receive this money back as Capital One Shopping Credits, which can be redeemed for gift cards to popular retailers through Capital One Shopping. 

Shopping on KitchenAid website

We like this feature because it makes it easy to get rewarded for shopping you do anyway.

4. Watchlist

Are you constantly checking the prices of specific items and hoping the price drops enough for you to make a purchase? If so, Capital One Shopping’s Watchlist feature can really improve your process and save you loads of time and money.

Capital One Shopping watchlist

Just add the items you want to monitor into Watchlist, and Capital One Shopping will track their prices for you. You’ll be able to see the latest prices of each item and the last price you saw on the item. This makes it easy to see if the price has gone down, up, or stayed the same.

5. Universal product search engine

Capital One Shopping also has its own search engine, which makes it easy to view prices across multiple sites.

For example, when I searched for “KitchenAid mixer”, it displayed 16 stores with coupons or rewards and over 13,254 product results.

Store results

Product results

The downside we found to the search engine is that you can’t see what site the products are from until you click through to the next page. For example, I didn’t know the KitchenAid mixer I was looking at was from eBay until I clicked through to the next page.

Page with website

6. Featured offers

While you’re searching on Capital One Shopping, you can also check out its featured offers. Its offers typically include shopping rewards (either a percentage of your purchase or a flat dollar amount), and many also offer a discount.

We think this feature is worth checking out because the featured offers often include popular brands which might align with your shopping.

Example featured offers

7. Hotels, events, and travel experiences

Capital One Shopping offers a great way to earn hefty shopping rewards while booking your travel. Its hotel search tool allows you to easily compare the best nightly offers aggregated from various sources. Plus, it automatically shows you how much you'll receive in Capital One shopping rewards after your stay. The rewards percentage varies by hotel, so keep that in mind when you're making your selection. 

Capital One Shopping hotel search tool

This tool also allows you to search and compare prices for events and experiences through partners like StubHub, Viator, and Hertz. Basically, you can plan your entire trip (accommodations, car rental, and activities) through Capital One Shopping, all while receiving shopping rewards back for each purchase!

Keep in mind, it's still important to shop around for the best deal. During our search, some competitors like Google Hotels did show cheaper nightly rates than Capital One Shopping, even after the rewards were applied. 

Capital One Shopping mobile app

The Capital One Shopping app is available from the Apple App or Google Play stores. The main difference between the app and the extension is that you need to shop through the app to find savings, while the desktop extension will show you deals even if you don’t start your shopping through the Capital One app. You can scan barcodes in the app or use its search engine.

Screenshot of Capital One mobile app

With the app, you can find coupons and personalized deals. The app doesn’t have as many features as the browser extension, but it could be helpful if you do most of your online shopping by phone.

You can get started by searching the mobile app for specific stores or products. You can see the amount of potential cash back and savings, then click to activate your cashback offer and start shopping. 

Capital One Shopping mobile app screenshot

Capital One Shopping mobile app screenshot

If you're shopping at a store for deals, you can click the bottom of your screen to see the various deals that Capital One Shopping has found at that store. It will also check for coupons when you check out. 

Capital One Shopping mobile app screenshot

Capital One Shopping drawbacks

Although Capital One Shopping can save you money, it’s important to understand it has a few drawbacks.

1. Browser speed slowdown

Like any browser extension and add-on, Capital One Shopping may slow your browsing speed. While we did not see a noticeable difference in browsing, some users may.

2. Data collection and privacy concerns

In order to provide relevant offers and the best prices for you, Capital One Shopping collects the personal information you provide when signing up. This can include your name, email address, site credentials, and even your billing information.

It also collects your browsing history, location data, relevant site interaction, pricing details, and coupons you use. It uses this information to inform other Capital One Shopping users of trending coupon codes and provide a more unique experience for you. Ultimately, this data collection is designed to help save you money, but some users may not feel comfortable exposing this information.

3. Better offers may be available elsewhere

Although Capital One Shopping collects millions of coupons and analyzes the lowest prices for top retail sites, it cannot cover the entire internet. Especially when making high-dollar purchases, you should do your own homework to ensure you’re finding the lowest price.

How to get started with Capital One Shopping

To get started with Capital One Shopping, follow these simple steps:

1. Head to CapitalOneShopping.com and you'll see a button you can click to add the extension to your browser.

Capital One Shopping extension

2. When you click this button, it will direct you to your browser's web store. If you're using Chrome, click on the “Add to Chrome” button and “Add extension.” You’ll have to create a Capital One Shopping account if you haven’t already or sign in with your existing account.

Capital One Shopping Google Chrome extension

Alternatively, you can head to the Google Play or Apple App stores and download the mobile app. 

Who can use Capital One Shopping?

Anyone who has a compatible browser can get the Capital One Shopping browser extension. However, you must be 18 years or older to enroll and use Capital One Shopping’s services.

You can create a free Capital One Shopping account with your name and email address or sign in with a Google or Facebook account. 

The Capital One Shopping extension is available on the following web browsers:

  • Google Chrome
  • Firefox
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Safari

Capital One Shopping also offers a mobile app for Android and iOS.

Capital One Shopping alternatives

If Capital One Shopping doesn’t seem like the right choice to help you save money shopping online, consider trying other shopping apps like Honey, Rakuten, and Fetch. You can actually download all four and compare the best offer from each. It could help you get one step closer to finding the best buys and meeting your personal finance goals.

Capital One Shopping

Capital One Shopping

Honey

Honey

Rakuten

Rakuten

Fetch Rewards

Fetch

Online vs. in-store Online and in-store Online only Online and in-store Online and in-store
Type of app Mobile app (iOS and Android devices) and browser extension Mobile app (iOS and Android devices) and browser extension Mobile app (iOS and Android devices) and browser extension Mobile app (iOS and Android devices)
Redemption options Gift cards Gift cards or cash out with PayPal Cash out with PayPal or mailed check Gift cards
Minimum cash out $0.01 minimum of Shopping Credits 1,000 Honey Gold (equal to a $10 gift card) minimum $5.01 minimum 3,000 points (equal to a $3 gift card) minimum
Rewards expiration Capital One Shopping Credits don’t expire Honey Gold only expire if you haven’t earned at least 10 Gold within a consecutive 12-month period Rewards don’t expire, but they’re subject to account maintenance fees after 12 months of inactivity Points expire if your account has been inactive for 90 days
Best for... Those who shop online and in-store Dedicated online shoppers Those who shop online and in-store and want cash back Those who shop online and in-store and can keep their receipts
Learn more Learn more Learn more Learn more

Capital One Shopping vs. Honey

Honey is similar to Capital One Shopping, and available promo codes can be applied automatically at online checkout. Also, the free Honey Gold loyalty program offers you rewards when you shop at participating retailers. 

Unlike Capital One Shopping, Honey only works online and cannot be used in-store. It also requires a minimum of 1,000 Honey Gold points before a user can cash out, while Capital One Shopping only requires $0.01 in order to use the shopping rewards. However, Honey users can use their points for cash back, shopping credit, or gift cards.

Capital One Shopping vs. Rakuten

Rakuten is another browser extension and mobile app that helps you compare prices and automatically apply coupon codes both in-store and online. 

Unlike Capital One Shopping, Rakuten rewards can be redeemed for actual Cash Back, versus shopping credits. Plus, Rakuten offers a $10 Cash Back reward simply by signing up. You can receive your cash via quarterly PayPal withdrawals or donate it to one of their many nonprofit partners.

Capital One Shopping vs. Fetch

Fetch is different from Capital One Shopping, Honey, and Rakuten. With Fetch, you scan receipt barcodes from your purchases in the Fetch app, which is available for iPhone and Android.

You can earn Fetch Rewards on virtually every type of receipt, so it’s easy to load up on rewards from everyday purchases. Rewards can be redeemed for gift cards from popular retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Starbucks.

Capital One Shopping FAQ

Is Capital One Shopping legit?

Capital One Shopping is a legitimate and trustworthy company designed to save people money on purchases they make regularly. Capital One Shopping has millions of customers using its services on a frequent basis.

Is Capital One Shopping safe?

Although Capital One Shopping collects your data to provide a personal shopping experience, it is committed to protecting your information.

Capital One Shopping uses stringent data protection protocols based upon internationally recognized security standards, regulations, and industry-based best practices. Plus, it uses customer authentication procedures to protect against identity theft.

Is Capital One Shopping free?

The Capital One Shopping browser add-on is completely free to use. You’ll need to enroll as a Capital One Shopping member to use its services, but membership is also free.

Is Capital One Shopping worth it?

Yes, Capital One Shopping is worth it. Within the last year, Capital One Shopping saved its customers more than $70 million on the purchases they made. Whether you’re focused on how to manage money or save more money, Capital One Shopping is a great tool to add to your arsenal.

How do you download Capital One Shopping?

The Capital One Shopping extension is available on multiple web browsers, including Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari.

The Capital One Shopping mobile app is available for Android and iOS phones. Download it in the Apple App and Google Play stores.

Can you stack Capital One Offers with Capital One Shopping?

Unfortunately, no you cannot stack Capital One Offers with Capital One Shopping. These are two different tools and did not operate in the same manner.

Capital One Offers are available to Capital One cardholders only. These offers are found within the cardholder's account.

Capital One Shopping is available to everyone 18 years and older, regardless if they hold a Capital One credit card.

Capital One Shopping review: bottom line

Keep in mind that Capital One Shopping may slow down your browsing speed, like with any browser extension. You also need to be comfortable with it collecting and storing your information. 

Ultimately, Capital One Shopping is a valuable resource for those looking to save money on their online and in-store purchases. Both the browser extension and mobile app are free and make it super easy to compare prices around the internet, plus utilize any available coupons, to get the best deal.

Capital One Shopping Benefits

  • Capital One Shopping searches thousands of merchants to see if you're getting a great deal
  • Don't miss out on a better price
  • Search and apply coupon codes automatically
  • Custom price drop alerts for products you've viewed or purchased

Author Details

Ben Walker, CEPF, CFEI® Ben Walker, CEPF, CFEI®, is a Senior Credit Cards Writer at FinanceBuzz. For over a decade, he's leveraged credit card points and miles to travel the world. His expertise extends to other areas of personal finance — including loans, insurance, investing, and real estate — and you can find his insights on The Washington Post, Debt.com, Yahoo! Finance, and Fox Business.

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