Disclosure: PricePing makes this page, and PricePing is one of the options in it. For many items the store’s own button or a free tool is enough, and we say when. Facts about other tools come from their own websites, blogs and App Store listings (see Sources).
The short answer
Start with the store: if the sold-out product or size has a Notify me button, use it. If it doesn’t, a free web page monitor such as Distill or Visualping can watch the sold-out text and alert you when it changes. For Amazon, Keepa’s free app has back-in-stock alerts. To keep a list across stores on iPhone, PricePing, the iPhone price tracker app, has Stock alerts, on by default, that ping you when a tracked product sells out and when it comes back. None of these is fast enough for a hype restock that sells out in minutes.
Your options compared
| Stores | How fast | Cost | The catch | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The store's own Notify me button | That store, where it offers one | When the store sends it | Free | Only some stores and items have one; you may not be the first to hear |
| Distill | Any page you can open | Free cloud checks at most every 6 hours; faster from your own browser while it is open | Free plan; paid plans check faster | You pick the stock text to watch; any change to it alerts you |
| Visualping | Any page you can open | Depends on plan; the free plan is 150 checks a month across 5 pages | Free plan; paid plans | Same as Distill: it watches the page, not the stock status |
| Keepa | Amazon only (11 marketplaces) | Keepa's own schedule | Free app | No other stores |
| PricePing | Almost any online store whose page says when it is sold out | At least once a day (servers aim for every 12 to 24 hours; the phone can check more often) | Subscription, 7-day free trial on monthly plans | Too slow for drops that sell out in minutes |
1. The store’s own Notify me button
Many stores put a Notify me, Email me when available or Coming soon option next to a sold-out product or size. Independent shops often add one with a back-in-stock app from the Shopify App Store. It is free, it usually knows about your exact size, and the store knows about a restock before anyone else. The catches: only some stores and items have one, the store decides when to send it and to how many people at once, and some sign-ups expire. Visualping’s guide to Zara restocks, for example, describes Zara’s “coming soon” email sign-up as lasting up to 15 days.
2. A free web page monitor
Distill and Visualping watch a part of any page and alert you when it changes. They don’t know what stock is; you point them at the words that say it. Distill’s own guide sets it up like this:
- Open the product page with the Distill browser extension installed.
- Choose to monitor parts of the page and select the sold-out message or button.
- Set how often to check and where alerts go (email, push or SMS, depending on the plan).
- When “Sold out” changes to “Add to cart”, you get the alert.
On Distill’s free plan, monitors in its cloud check at most every 6 hours; monitors running in your own browser can check far more often, but only while the browser is open. Visualping’s free plan is 150 checks a month across 5 pages. Select an area that stays on the page when the item restocks, such as the whole buy-button area, so the change is caught rather than lost.
3. Keepa, for Amazon
Keepa’s free iPhone and Android apps alert you when an Amazon product’s price drops or when it comes back in stock, across 11 Amazon marketplaces. If the item is on Amazon, start there. It does not cover other stores.
4. PricePing’s Stock alerts, across stores
If you already watch prices with PricePing, you don’t need a separate restock tool for the same list:
- Open the product in Safari or the store’s app, tap Share and choose PricePing, or paste the link. For some stores PricePing asks which size or colour you want and watches that option.
- Leave Stock alerts on (it is on by default for every product). You can switch it off per product.
- When a check finds the product sold out, you get a ping; when a later check finds it back in stock, you get another. Alerts arrive as push notifications, and by email too if your account has an email address.
Each change alerts once, for each store you track the product at. If it comes back at a price that also matches your price alert, you get one message about both. You can add a product that is already sold out, as long as its page still shows a price.
The limits matter here. PricePing knows a product is sold out only when the store’s page says so in a way it can read; where a page doesn’t, it can’t alert on stock. It has read prices from Amazon, Nike, Zara, Uniqlo, Lululemon, Allbirds, Gymshark, Gorman, Noon, Namshi and many other stores. And it checks at least once a day, often more (its servers aim for every 12 to 24 hours; the phone can check more often), so it is for the jacket that comes back next week, not the console that sells out in four minutes.
PricePing’s US prices: Personal (20 products) $4.99/month or $39.99/year; Power (50) $7.99/month or $59.99/year. 7-day free trial on monthly plans. US prices. The App Store shows your local price.
Hype restocks: what none of these catch
Consoles, graphics cards, trading cards, sneaker drops and collectible toys can sell out within minutes of a restock. A check every few hours, or once a day, will nearly always arrive after it is gone. For those, turn on notifications in the store’s own app, follow the store’s announced release times, and look at paid monitors that check every minute or two. Be wary of anything that asks for your account password to buy on your behalf.
PricePing’s limits, honestly
- It is a subscription with no free tier. Monthly plans start with a 7-day free trial; yearly plans don’t have one.
- It is iPhone only for now. Android is in testing.
- Price history starts when you add a product. It can’t show what the price was last year.
- Prices are checked at least once a day, not every second, so alerts are not instant.
Questions
Is there an app that tells you when something is back in stock?
Yes. Keepa does it for Amazon, web page monitors such as Distill and Visualping can watch the stock text on any page, and PricePing, the iPhone price tracker app, has Stock alerts that ping you when a tracked product sells out and when it comes back in stock, at almost any online store. Many stores also have their own Notify me button.
How do I get notified when something is back in stock for free?
Use the store's own Notify me or email-me button if the product page has one. If it doesn't, a free web page monitor such as Distill or Visualping can watch the sold-out text on the page and alert you when it changes. For Amazon, Keepa's free app alerts you when a product is back in stock.
How do PricePing's Stock alerts work?
Each product has a Stock alerts switch, on by default. When a check finds that a product has sold out, and again when it is back in stock, PricePing sends a push notification, plus an email if your account has an email address. It alerts once per change, for each store you track the product at. If the product comes back at a price that also matches your price alert, you get one message about both.
Can a back-in-stock app catch a restock that sells out in minutes?
Not a slow one. Hype releases such as consoles, trading cards and collectible toys can sell out within minutes of a restock. PricePing checks at least once a day and free page monitors check every few hours at best, so they will usually be too late. For those, the store's own app and notifications and fast paid monitors are the realistic options.
Can I add a product to PricePing while it is sold out?
Yes, if its page still shows a price. PricePing marks it out of stock from the start and alerts you when it comes back. If a sold-out page shows no price at all, PricePing may not be able to add it.
More guides: how to get notified when something goes on sale, how to get notified when a price drops, a price tracker for any website, Black Friday price tracking, a wishlist app that tracks prices, price tracking in the UAE and the Amazon price tracker app guide. Comparing apps? See the best price tracker app for iPhone, the Keepa alternative, the camelcamelcamel alternative, PricePing vs Keepa, PricePing vs camelcamelcamel and PricePing vs PayPal Honey. All guides are in PricePing guides.
Sources
- Distill, “Back in Stock Alerts” guide (setting up a stock monitor)
- Distill pricing (free plan: cloud interval, local monitors)
- Visualping pricing (free plan)
- Visualping, “Zara Restock Alerts” (Zara’s coming-soon sign-up, updated July 2024)
- Keepa · Price Tracker, App Store listing (back-in-stock alerts, 11 marketplaces)
- Shopify App Store, back-in-stock apps for stores
- PricePing: Price Tracker, App Store listing
Try PricePing on iPhone. Share a product link from almost any store and get a ping when the price drops. Monthly plans start with a 7-day free trial.
