Which are the Best Coupon Apps to Help You Save Money?

The advent of the digital age, ushered in by the widespread use of everyone’s new best friend – the smartphone – has essentially done away with one of the time-honored traditions formerly used by families to save a few bucks here or there...coupon clipping. In its place is its far more efficient digital equivalent- coupon smartphone apps, and they’re quickly becoming one of the most downloaded for both Android and iPhone devices. But when ones are the best? Let’s take a look at a few of the more popular (and free!) ones on the market, all downloadable via Android Play and iTunes.

Coupons.com (Android, Apple)

Coupons.com is one of the big boys when it comes to offers for groceries and everyday items, and its app makes it easy to access the deals on the go. Coupon savings arrive in three ways: e-mail that’s printed from your computer, printed from your mobile device (works only with an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch and certain HP printers), or added to your store loyalty card to scan at checkout. It all depends on the deal. When shopping for items other than daily basics, users of Apple devices can browse digital coupons from retailers such as Old Navy and Petco, add coupons to their Passbook app (Apple’s mobile wallet that stores rewards cards and gift cards in one place), and show their phone at checkout to get the savings. Easy!

GroceryIQ (Android, Apple)

This app, also from Coupons.com, is best if you don’t tend to vary your shopping list from one week to the next. Start by making your list – which is automatically saved – and the app will match items with applicable coupons. Add items to your list in a number of ways: scroll through the master list, scan a bar code, or speak them. The coupons come from the same giant inventory that’s used with the Coupons.com app, and you get them in the same ways: by printout and loyalty card. But be warned that it takes a little time to set up.

SavingStar (Android, Apple)

This is a great app for providing users a hub for managing their various loyalty cards. Register your cards, then browse a list of exclusive offers. See something you want? Tap “I Want This!” then just scan your card at checkout. The app generally has about 30 deals available at any time and works with lots of grocery chains, including A&P, Kroger, and Pathmark, as well as with CVS and Rite Aid. “One or Many” deals let you buy items over multiple trips to hit the required quantities.

Best Coupon App (Android, Apple)

One of the newer releases on the market, this app – made available by “green” site YellowPagesGoesGreen.org – has an impressive set of features that makes it one of the best overall coupon apps on the market, mostly due to its impressive versatility when it comes to searching for, finding, and storing money-saving coupons for the businesses in your area. With its intuitive interface, the Best Coupon App not only allows you to search for any valid coupons (based on location search or your iPhone’s GPS system) and store them on your phone, it also allows you to take pictures of physical coupons with the iPhone’s camera, edit and store them for future use as well, eliminating the need to haul around mounds of paper coupons instead. From there, the app allows users to share their collected coupons with friends via email, text, and social media.