Disclosure: PricePing makes this guide, and PricePing is one of the tools in it. The steps work with any price tracker. Facts about other tools come from their own websites and help pages (see Sources).
The short answer
Put the product in a price tracker and set an alert at the price you would pay. The tracker checks the price for you and notifies you when it drops. On iPhone, PricePing, the iPhone price tracker app, works at almost any online store: tap Share on the product page, choose PricePing, pick an alert. For free, Google’s Track price covers products listed in Google Shopping, and Keepa and camelcamelcamel cover Amazon.
Step by step, with any tool
- Decide what a sale means to you. Write down the price you would actually pay, or the discount that would make you buy, such as under $90 or 20% off. An alert is only useful if it fires at a price you will act on.
- Pick a tool that covers the store. Amazon-only trackers such as Keepa and camelcamelcamel cover Amazon. Google's Track price covers products in Google Shopping in five countries. For other stores, use a price tracker that takes any product link, or a web page monitor.
- Add the product page, not the search results. Open the exact product, in the size or colour you want if the store gives it its own page, and add that link to the tool. A category or search page changes all the time and makes a poor alert.
- Set the alert at your number. Use a target price or a percentage drop rather than every change, so small wobbles stay quiet and a real markdown gets through.
- Turn on notifications. Allow push notifications for the app, or check that alert emails are not landing in spam. Most missed sales are missed alerts.
- Check the price history before you buy. When the alert comes, compare the new price with the lowest price the tracker has seen, not with the store's crossed-out price. Then buy from the store as usual.
Your options, from free to paid
Google’s Track price (free)
Search for the product on Google, open its product card and tap Track price. You can pick the size or colour and set a target price. When it drops below your target, Google sends a push notification through the Google app and an email. Google says price tracking is available in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and India, and it only covers products Google lists.
Amazon-only trackers (free)
Keepa and camelcamelcamel watch Amazon prices and alert you when a price reaches your target. They also show years of Amazon price history, which is the best way to judge whether a sale is real. They don’t cover any other store.
PayPal Honey’s Droplist (free)
On a product page, click Honey’s button and add the item to Droplist with the price you want. Honey emails you when it detects a drop, and its mobile app (for US members) can send a push notification. Honey says Droplist is not available on every site, and in the app you watch an item for 30 to 120 days.
A web page monitor (free plans)
Visualping and Distill watch any page and alert you when the part you select changes. Select only the price. They are not price-aware, so a new label in the same spot also triggers an alert. Visualping’s free plan is 150 checks a month across 5 pages; Distill’s free plan has 25 monitors, 5 of them in its cloud.
A price tracker app for almost any store (PricePing, paid)
- Open the product in Safari or the store’s app, such as Zara, Nike, Amazon or Uniqlo.
- Tap Share and choose PricePing, or paste the link in the app.
- Choose Any drop, Below a price or % drop. Each product keeps its own alert.
- Get a push notification when a check finds a drop that matches.
If the item is sold out, PricePing’s Stock alerts, on by default, also ping you when it comes back in stock. See back-in-stock alerts for how that works and its limits.
PricePing has read prices from Amazon, Nike, Zara, Uniqlo, Lululemon, Allbirds, Gymshark, Gorman, Noon, Namshi and many other stores. Its 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.
Mistakes that make you miss a sale
- Alerting on every change. A $1 wobble every few days teaches you to ignore the alerts. Set a target price.
- Trusting the crossed-out price. A “was” price is the store’s claim. The tracker’s own history tells you whether today is actually low.
- Notifications switched off. Check the app’s notification setting on your phone once, right after you set it up.
- Waiting for one exact size. A tracker watches the page it was given. If your size has its own page or link, track that one.
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 notifies you when something goes on sale?
Yes. A price tracker app watches a product's price and notifies you when it drops. PricePing, the iPhone price tracker app, works with almost any online store: you share the product page to it and choose an alert. Keepa and camelcamelcamel do the same for Amazon only, and Google's Track price does it for products in Google Shopping in the US, Canada, Australia, Japan and India.
Can I get notified when something goes on sale for free?
Yes, with limits. Google's Track price, PayPal Honey's Droplist, Keepa and camelcamelcamel are free, and Visualping and Distill have free plans that watch any page for changes. Each covers only some stores or a small number of pages, so check that yours is covered.
Will the store tell me when an item goes on sale?
Sometimes. Many stores send sale emails or app notifications, and some let you save items to a wishlist. Whether you hear about a specific item dropping in price depends on the store, so a price tracker is the reliable way to be told about one product.
Do price alerts include discount codes or shipping?
Usually not. Price trackers read the price on the product page. A code you enter at checkout, shipping and tax are not part of it.
How fast will I hear about a sale?
It depends on how often the tool checks. PricePing checks each product at least once a day, so a flash sale that lasts an hour can come and go between checks. Web page monitors on free plans check less often than paid ones.
More guides: how to get notified when a price drops (choosing an alert, in detail), 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. Sold out? See how to get a back-in-stock alert. 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
- About price tracking on Google, Google Shopping Help (how to track, countries, notifications)
- What is Droplist?, Honey help center
- Droplist on our Mobile App, Honey help center (US members, 30 to 120 days)
- Keepa · Price Tracker, App Store listing
- The Camelizer, camelcamelcamel’s browser extension page
- Visualping pricing (free plan)
- Distill pricing (free plan)
- 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.
