# Caramel > Caramel is a free, open-source, privacy-first browser extension that finds and > applies coupon codes automatically at checkout. It does not sell browsing data > and does not overwrite creators' affiliate commissions. This is the full-length version of https://grabcaramel.com/llms.txt. ## What Caramel is - A browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari. - Free to use, with no paid tier and no account required to install. - Open source (AGPL-3.0) under the DevinoSolutions organization: https://github.com/DevinoSolutions/caramel - Built and maintained by Devino Solutions (https://devino.ca) together with community contributors. - Positioned as an alternative to Honey for shoppers who care about privacy and about not hijacking creator commissions. ## How it works 1. You shop normally; Caramel detects a supported store's checkout page. 2. It looks up known coupon codes for that store from its own catalog. 3. It tries the codes at checkout and keeps the one with the best discount. 4. It reports whether a code worked so the catalog's rankings stay accurate. ## Browsers and install links - Chrome — Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/caramel-trusted-honey-alt/gaimofgglbackoimfjopicmbmnlccfoe - Firefox — Firefox Add-ons: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/grabcaramel/ - Microsoft Edge — Edge Add-ons: https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/detail/caramel/leodahchedhnenmiengkfpmmcdendnof - Safari — App Store: https://apps.apple.com/ke/app/caramel/id6741873881 ## Frequently asked questions ### Does Caramel replace or hijack creator affiliate links? No. The Caramel coupon extension never replaces, overrides, or injects affiliate links — there is no affiliate code anywhere in the extension, and because it is open source you can verify that yourself. Creators keep 100% of their commissions when you shop with Caramel installed. ### Is Caramel really free? Yes. Caramel is free forever — there is no premium tier, no hidden fees, and no credit card required. The project is open source and maintained by Devino Solutions together with community contributors. ### What data does the Caramel extension collect? The extension never sells your personal information and shares it only with the service providers named in our privacy policy, and it contains no ads and no third-party trackers. To do its job it talks to Caramel's own servers: as you browse, it asks whether Caramel has codes for the current site's domain so the toolbar badge can show a count; when you reach checkout on a supported store it fetches those codes, sends the page and cart context (page title and item names — never payment details) so the right category of codes is chosen, and reports whether a code worked (linked to your account only if you're signed in) so rankings stay accurate for everyone. If you're signed in and you agree to the extension's own prompt, or switch on the extension setting "Share codes I enter at checkout" (it is off by default), it also sends a code you typed yourself once the store accepts it, with the store and your account, and never your cart, order or payment details; shared codes appear to other shoppers without your name, and you can turn the setting off at any time. Your settings and optional sign-in are kept in your browser's extension storage. ### Is Caramel the same as Honey? No. Caramel is an independent coupon extension, not affiliated with Honey or PayPal. Like Honey, it looks up coupon codes for the store you are checking out on and applies the best one; unlike Honey, its extension and web app are open source, it contains no affiliate code, and it leaves creators' affiliate links untouched. ### How is Caramel different from Honey? Honey has been publicly documented replacing creators' affiliate links with its own, and its code is closed source, so its behavior can't be independently audited. Caramel is the opposite by design: fully open source under the AGPL-3.0 license, it never touches affiliate links, and it is free with no premium tier. ### How is Caramel different from SimplyCodes? SimplyCodes does not publish its source code, so what its extension does with your data and with affiliate links can only be taken on trust. Caramel's extension and web app are published under the AGPL-3.0 license for anyone to audit, it contains no affiliate code at all, and it works without an account. ### Which browsers does Caramel support? Caramel is available for Chrome on the Chrome Web Store, for Firefox on Firefox Add-ons, for Microsoft Edge on Edge Add-ons, and for Safari through the App Store. ### Is there a Caramel coupon extension for Safari? Yes. Caramel ships as a Safari extension through the App Store for Mac (macOS) and for iPhone and iPad (iOS), and it is free there like every other version — the same open-source coupon extension as the Chrome, Firefox and Edge builds. ### How many coupon codes does Caramel have? Caramel's catalog holds over 100,000 coupon codes across more than 4,000 online stores, and it is refreshed continuously as new codes are found and dead ones are retired. ### Do I need an account to use Caramel? No. You can install Caramel and let it apply coupons at checkout without creating an account. Signing in is optional. ### Can I share a coupon code with Caramel? Yes. Sign in, open the store's page on Caramel and use Add a code — it shows to other shoppers as Unverified until someone reports it worked. The extension can also share a code for you, but only if you agree: this is off by default, and it turns on only when you accept the extension's own prompt or switch on the extension setting "Share codes I enter at checkout". Once it is on, it sends a code you typed yourself once the store accepts it, and you can turn that off at any time in the extension's settings. Either way we store only the code, the store, and your account (to limit abuse), never your cart, order or payment details, and shared codes appear to other shoppers without your name. ## Coupon extensions compared Checked on September 26, 2026. The page, with numbered sources: https://grabcaramel.com/compare/coupon-extensions Every coupon extension compared here is free to install. What differs is how each makes money, what it asks of you, and whether you can check what it does. Honey, Capital One Shopping, Rakuten and Coupert each say stores may pay them commissions when you shop with them, and share part of that back as rewards; SimplyCodes says it may earn a commission when you buy through its links. Caramel contains no affiliate code, has no rewards program, and publishes its source code; we found no published source code for the others. - Caramel (Devino (open source)). Price: Free, no paid tier. How it makes money: No affiliate commissions: the extension contains no affiliate code. Rewards: None. Account, per its own guide: Not needed. Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari. Source code: Published (AGPL-3.0). - Honey (PayPal). Price: Free. How it makes money: Says merchants may pay it affiliate commissions. Rewards: PayPal Rewards points. Account, per its own guide: Signing up is the first step in its help guide. Browsers: Chrome, Edge, Safari, Opera; Firefox listing last updated February 2021. Source code: None found. - Capital One Shopping (Capital One). Price: Free; no Capital One bank account needed. How it makes money: Affiliate commissions from merchants, shared as rewards. Rewards: Capital One Shopping Rewards. Account, per its own guide: Its promo-code steps include creating an account. Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari. Source code: None found. - SimplyCodes (Demand.io). Price: Free. How it makes money: Says it may earn a commission when you buy through its links. Rewards: Tokens and prize bags, removed in August 2026. Account, per its own guide: Not stated in its store listings. Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari. Source code: None found. - Rakuten (Rakuten). Price: Free. How it makes money: Store commissions, part shared as Cash Back. Rewards: Rakuten Cash Back. Account, per its own guide: Cash Back is tracked in your Rakuten account. Browsers: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari (as Rakuten lists them). Source code: None found. - Coupert (Coupert). Price: Free; Coupert Pure is a separate paid version with a 3-day free trial. How it makes money: Free extension: affiliate commissions from stores, shared as Cash Back. Coupert Pure says it has no merchant ties. Rewards: Cash Back. Account, per its own guide: Firefox and Safari how-tos have you sign up or log in; on Chrome, signing in is for tracking and withdrawing Cash Back. Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari. Source code: None found. ### What happened with Honey - December 21, 2024: YouTuber MegaLag publishes "Exposing the Honey Influencer Scam", alleging that Honey replaced creators' affiliate links with its own and showed shoppers limited coupon options at partner stores. PayPal responded that "Honey follows industry rules and practices, including last-click attribution," and told USA TODAY that merchants ultimately decide which coupons are offered through Honey. - March 11, 2025: Google announces a Chrome Web Store policy: an extension may add an affiliate link, code or cookie only when it gives the user a direct, transparent benefit, and only after a related user action. Google said enforcement would begin on June 10, 2025. - March 12, 2025: By this date Honey's Chrome Web Store listing carries the disclosure "When you use PayPal Honey, merchants may pay us affiliate commissions." It is still there in September 2026. - November 21, 2025: In a proposed class action brought by creators against PayPal over Honey (Wendover Productions v. PayPal, N.D. Cal., case 5:24-cv-09470), the court dismisses the first amended complaint with leave to amend, because it did not plausibly show an injury traceable to PayPal. - June 22, 2026: The same court denies PayPal's motion to dismiss the second amended complaint, so the creators' claims go forward. This is a ruling on the pleadings, not a finding that PayPal did anything wrong. - September 26, 2026: Honey is still a live PayPal product: its Chrome Web Store listing shows 13,000,000 users and an update on September 8, 2026. ### What is the best coupon extension? It depends on what you want in return. For cash back, Rakuten and Coupert pay Cash Back, and Capital One Shopping and Honey give rewards you redeem later. For an extension that needs no account and whose behavior you can check yourself, Caramel publishes its source code and contains no affiliate code. ### SimplyCodes vs Honey: which is better? Both are free and both surface coupon codes at checkout: Honey says it looks for and applies them automatically, while SimplyCodes shows verified codes and leaves you in control. Both say they may earn commissions. Honey pays PayPal Rewards points; SimplyCodes removed its token rewards in August 2026, saying they never made the codes better. Honey is also far larger, with 13,000,000 Chrome Web Store users against SimplyCodes' 90,000 (September 26, 2026). We found no published source code for either. ### Do coupon extensions make money from affiliate links? Most do. Honey, Capital One Shopping, Rakuten and the free Coupert extension each say on their own site or store listing that stores may pay them commissions when you shop with them, and SimplyCodes says it may earn a commission when you buy through its links. The exceptions here are Caramel, whose extension contains no affiliate code, and Coupert's paid Coupert Pure, which says it has no merchant ties. ### Is there an alternative to Capital One Shopping that needs no account? Yes. Caramel finds and applies coupon codes with no account at all. Capital One Shopping's own promo-code steps include creating an account (you don't need to be a Capital One bank customer), and it pays its rewards as Capital One Shopping Rewards. ### Is Honey still available in 2026? Yes. PayPal Honey is still on the Chrome Web Store, where its listing showed 13,000,000 users and a September 8, 2026 update when checked on September 26, 2026. It is also listed for Edge and Safari; its Firefox add-on was last updated in February 2021. ### Is there an open-source coupon extension? Yes. Caramel's extension and website are open source under the AGPL-3.0 license and published on GitHub, so anyone can check what the extension sends and that it contains no affiliate code. We found no published source code for the other extensions compared here. ### Sources for this comparison - Caramel source code (AGPL-3.0), GitHub: https://github.com/DevinoSolutions/caramel - Get to know the Honey browser extension, PayPal Honey Help Center: https://help.joinhoney.com/article/39-what-is-the-honey-extension-and-how-do-i-get-it - How does Honey make money?, PayPal Honey Help Center: https://help.joinhoney.com/article/30-how-does-honey-make-money - Honey: Automated Coupons & Rewards, Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/bmnlcjabgnpnenekpadlanbbkooimhnj - Honey, Firefox Add-ons: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/honey/ - Help Center, Capital One Shopping: https://capitaloneshopping.com/help - Capital One Shopping, Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/nenlahapcbofgnanklpelkaejcehkggg - SimplyCodes, Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/gfkpklgmocbcbdabfellcnikamdaeajd - SimplyCodes version history (release notes for 2.10.0, August 3, 2026), Firefox Add-ons: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/simplycodes/versions/ - SimplyCodes: Coupons & Rewards, Mac App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/simplycodes-coupons-rewards/id1538885494 - How Does Rakuten Work?, Rakuten: https://www.rakuten.com/help/article/how-does-rakuten-work-360002117047 - What Is the Rakuten Browser Extension and How Does It Work?, Rakuten: https://www.rakuten.com/blog/rakuten-browser-extension-explained/ - Is Coupert free to use?, Coupert Help Center: https://help.coupert.com/platform-products/coupert-extension-faq/is-coupert-free-to-use/ - How Coupert Makes Money?, Coupert Help Center: https://help.coupert.com/platform-products/coupert-extension-faq/how-coupert-makes-money/ - Coupert, Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/mfidniedemcgceagapgdekdbmanojomk - Coupert, Firefox Add-ons: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/coupert/ - Coupert: Automatic Coupons, Mac App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/coupert-automatic-coupons/id1531442936 - Coupert Pure, Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/gdhpobnkinppekiaabcndnleaejeddod - Honey controversy, explained: Why a YouTuber claims coupon-finder is 'exploiting' influencers, USA TODAY (via Yahoo News), December 27, 2024: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/honey-controversy-explained-why-youtuber-233401909.html - Is Honey a scam? Money-saving browser extension accused of ripping off customers, influencers, Fortune, December 23, 2024: https://fortune.com/2024/12/23/honey-extension-scam-drama/ - Chrome Web Store policy updates: Strengthening our policies on affiliate programs in Chrome Extensions, Chrome for Developers, March 11, 2025: https://developer.chrome.com/blog/cws-policy-update-affiliate-ads-2025 - Affiliate Ads (Chrome Web Store program policies), Chrome for Developers: https://developer.chrome.com/docs/webstore/program-policies/affiliate-ads - Honey adds affiliate disclosure to its Chrome listing, 9to5Google, March 12, 2025: https://9to5google.com/2025/03/12/honey-affiliate-disclosure-google-chrome-listing/ - Wendover Productions v. PayPal: order granting motion to dismiss first amended complaint (Doc. 237), U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal., case 5:24-cv-09470, November 21, 2025: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.441974/gov.uscourts.cand.441974.237.0.pdf - Wendover Productions v. PayPal: order denying motion to dismiss second amended complaint (Doc. 277), U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal., case 5:24-cv-09470, June 22, 2026: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.441974/gov.uscourts.cand.441974.277.0.pdf ## The Honey extension, explained The page, with numbered sources: https://grabcaramel.com/honey-extension Honey is a free browser extension from PayPal that looks for coupon codes at checkout and applies them for you. It is still available in 2026. It says merchants may pay it affiliate commissions when you use it, and it gives PayPal Rewards points. Since December 2024 it has faced allegations that it replaced creators' affiliate links with its own, and a proposed class action brought by creators over Honey is going forward in a U.S. federal court. ### What is the Honey extension? Honey is a free browser extension made by PayPal. When you reach a store's checkout, it looks for coupon codes and applies them automatically. Its rewards are PayPal Rewards points. ### How does the Honey extension make money? Honey says merchants may pay it affiliate commissions when you use it. Its Chrome Web Store listing has carried the line "When you use PayPal Honey, merchants may pay us affiliate commissions." since at least March 12, 2025. ### What are the concerns about the Honey extension? In December 2024 a YouTuber alleged that Honey replaced creators' affiliate links with its own and showed shoppers limited coupon options at partner stores. PayPal said Honey follows industry rules, including last-click attribution. A proposed class action brought by creators over this survived a motion to dismiss on June 22, 2026; that is a ruling on the pleadings, not a finding that PayPal did anything wrong. ### Is Honey still available in 2026? Yes. PayPal Honey is still on the Chrome Web Store, where its listing showed 13,000,000 users and a September 8, 2026 update when checked on September 26, 2026. It is also listed for Edge and Safari; its Firefox add-on was last updated in February 2021. ### Do you need an account to use Honey? Signing up is the first step in Honey's own help guide for getting the extension. Caramel, by comparison, needs no account at all. ### Is Honey available for Firefox? Honey has a Firefox add-on, but its listing on Firefox Add-ons was last updated in February 2021, while its Chrome Web Store listing was updated on September 8, 2026. Caramel ships the same extension for Firefox as for Chrome, Edge and Safari. ### How is Caramel different from Honey? Both find and apply coupon codes at checkout. Caramel contains no affiliate code, so it never adds or replaces a referral link or cookie; it has no rewards program, needs no account, and publishes its source code under the AGPL-3.0 license so anyone can check what it does. It runs on Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari. ## Key pages - [Home](https://grabcaramel.com/): what Caramel is and how it works. - [Pricing](https://grabcaramel.com/pricing): the plan structure — Caramel is free. - [Coupon extensions compared](https://grabcaramel.com/compare/coupon-extensions): Caramel next to Honey, Capital One Shopping, SimplyCodes, Rakuten and Coupert. - [The Honey extension, explained](https://grabcaramel.com/honey-extension): what PayPal Honey does, how it makes money, the controversy and lawsuit, and how Caramel differs. - [Coupons](https://grabcaramel.com/coupons): browse the full coupon catalog. - [Store coupon pages](https://grabcaramel.com/coupons/amazon.com): per-store codes, one page per store domain, e.g. /coupons/amazon.com or /coupons/nike.com. - [Supported stores](https://grabcaramel.com/supported-stores): which stores Caramel can auto-apply codes on. - [Sources](https://grabcaramel.com/sources): the transparency page listing where Caramel's coupon codes come from. - [Privacy policy](https://grabcaramel.com/privacy): what data Caramel does and does not collect. - [Support](https://grabcaramel.com/support): contact the team. ## Privacy summary Caramel never sells personal information and shares it only with the service providers named in its privacy policy, and ships no ads and no third-party trackers. The extension talks only to Caramel's own servers: at checkout on a supported store it fetches coupon codes for that store's domain, sends page and cart context (page title and item names — never payment details) so the right category of codes is chosen, and reports whether a code worked. Settings and the optional sign-in are kept in the browser's extension storage. The full policy is at https://grabcaramel.com/privacy. ## Community - GitHub: https://github.com/DevinoSolutions/caramel - Discord: https://discord.gg/2vVVrQ5CEB