Disclosure: PricePing makes this guide. Google’s price tracking is free and does some things PricePing doesn’t, and we say where. Everything about Google here comes from its own Google Shopping, Chrome and Merchant Center help pages, checked on October 20, 2026 (see Sources). Google says it is rolling out updates, so check those pages too.
The short answer
Google offers Track price on product cards in Google Search and the Google app, and price tracking in Chrome. Both are free and send alerts when a price drops, but only if you live in a country Google supports (the US, Canada, Australia, Japan or India; Chrome on iPhone is US only), you are signed in, and Google recognises the product as trackable. If it isn’t working, it is usually one of those. If you need it to work outside those countries, or for a store Google can’t track, PricePing, the price tracker app for iPhone and Android, tracks a product from almost any store’s product page you can share.
How Google’s price tracking works
Track price in Google Search and the Google app
Search for a product, open its product card and tap Track price. You can pick options such as size or colour, and optionally set a target price. Google then sends push notifications through the Google app and emails about price drops. Google says you need to be signed in with notifications turned on, and that features may not be available on every device. In certain cases a “Buy for me” option can buy a tracked product for you with Google Pay when it reaches your price, after you approve the details.
Price tracking and Shopping Insights in Chrome
- On a computer: bookmark a product page and Chrome saves trackable products to a Shopping list folder with tracking on. The Shopping Insights panel shows a price history and the typical price range across the web. Email notifications can be turned on or off in Chrome’s settings.
- On Android: from a product page, tap More, then Track prices. Tabs also show a badge when Chrome detects a price drop.
- On iPhone and iPad: from a product page, tap More, then Track Price, and allow notifications. Chrome also badges open tabs whose price dropped, but Google notes that when you close a product’s tab, Chrome stops tracking it from there.
What Google does well
- It is free and already on many phones and computers.
- Shopping Insights shows a price history and the typical price range across stores, which is a quick way to judge a deal. Google’s Merchant Center help describes that chart as covering the past 90 days.
- It looks across sellers: Chrome says its price tracking notifications include multiple sellers.
- You can set a target price on Google’s Track price card.
Google price tracking not showing? Check these
- Your country
- Track price on Google and Chrome on a computer or Android need you to live in the US, Canada, Australia, Japan or India. Chrome on iPhone and iPad needs you to live in the US.
- Signed in, with sync
- Chrome needs you signed in with your Google Account, syncing your history (and tabs, on a computer or Android), with “Make searches and browsing better” turned on. Track price on Google needs you signed in with notifications on.
- A trackable product
- Google says price tracking only works on pages with a trackable product, and that some sites have products that can’t be tracked. On Google Search it starts from a product card, and not every search shows one.
- iOS version
- Chrome’s price tracking on iPhone and iPad needs iOS 15 or later.
- Notifications
- On iPhone, if you don’t allow Chrome’s Track Price notifications, you won’t get alerts about price changes.
Google’s own fix for “price tracking stopped working” is the same list: make sure you still meet the requirements and that the product is still trackable.
Google and PricePing side by side
| Google (Search and Chrome) | PricePing | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it works | Google Search on the web and in the Google app, and Chrome. Requires living in the US, Canada, Australia, Japan or India (Chrome on iPhone: US only) | iPhone and Android apps; you can also view your list on price-ping.com if your account has an email or Apple/Google sign-in |
| What you can track | Products Google can identify as trackable, from a product card or a product page | Almost any online store’s product page you share or paste, including Amazon, Zara, Nike, Uniqlo, Noon and Namshi |
| Alerts | Push and email on price drops; an optional target price on Google | Push per product: any drop, below a price, or a percentage drop; plus stock alerts when it sells out or comes back |
| Price history | Shopping Insights shows a price history and a typical price range across stores | Every price PricePing has recorded since you added the product |
| Across sellers | Yes: Chrome says its price tracking notifications include multiple sellers | No: it watches the store you shared it from |
| Price | Free | 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 PricePing’s price in your local currency.
When PricePing is the better fit
- You live outside Google’s countries, for example in the UAE, where PricePing reads prices from stores such as Amazon, Noon and Namshi in each store’s own currency.
- Google can’t track the product. PricePing works from the product page itself, so it can track almost any store’s product page you can share (some stores block checks).
- You want a rule per product: a sofa that waits for 25% off, trainers that ping on any drop.
- You shop in apps. Share straight from the Zara, Nike or Amazon app; you don’t need to open the page in a browser.
Stay with Google if it works where you live, the products you want are trackable, and you want to compare prices across many sellers for free.
How PricePing works on iPhone
- Open the product in Safari or any store’s app.
- Tap Share and choose PricePing, or paste the link in the app.
- Choose an alert: Any drop, Below a price, or % drop.
- Get a ping when a check finds a drop that matches. PricePing checks at least once a day; the product’s price history builds from the day you add it.
More on alerts in how to get notified when a price drops.
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.
- 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
Why is Google price tracking not working for me?
The usual reasons, from Google's own help pages: you live outside the countries it supports (the US, Canada, Australia, Japan or India; only the US for Chrome on iPhone), you are not signed in or not syncing your history in Chrome, Make searches and browsing better is off, notifications are off, or the product isn't one Google can track.
Does Google price tracking work on iPhone?
Yes, in the US. Track price works in the Google app, and Chrome for iPhone and iPad has price tracking if you live in the US, are signed in, sync your history, turn on Make searches and browsing better, and run iOS 15 or later.
Is Google price tracking free?
Yes. Track price on Google and Chrome's price tracking are free. PricePing is a subscription with no free tier: monthly plans start with a 7-day free trial; yearly plans don't have one. In the US, Personal (20 products) is $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year, and Power (50 products) is $7.99 a month or $59.99 a year. The App Store shows your local price.
What is a good alternative to Google price tracking?
If Google's tracking isn't available where you live, or can't track the product you want, PricePing, the price tracker app for iPhone and Android, is an alternative: share a product page from almost any online store, pick an alert, and get a push notification when a check finds a drop. If Google's tracking works for you and you want prices across many sellers, it is free and worth keeping.
How often does PricePing check prices?
At least once a day. PricePing's servers aim to check every 12 to 24 hours and your phone can check more often, so alerts are not instant.
More comparisons and guides: a price tracker for any website, how to get notified when a price drops, the best price tracker apps for iPhone, the Keepa alternative for iPhone, the camelcamelcamel alternative for iPhone, PricePing vs Keepa, PricePing vs camelcamelcamel, PricePing vs PayPal Honey, the Amazon price tracker app guide, how to spot a fake discount, the Uniqlo price tracker, the Uniqlo price adjustment policy and does lululemon do price adjustments?. All guides are in PricePing guides.
Sources
All checked on October 20, 2026.
- Google Shopping Help: About price tracking on Google (countries, Track price, target price, push and email, Buy for me)
- Google Chrome Help: Shopping insights and price tracking in Chrome, Computer
- Google Chrome Help: Shopping insights and price tracking in Chrome, Android
- Google Chrome Help: Shopping insights and price tracking in Chrome, iPhone & iPad (US only, iOS 15, troubleshooting)
- Google Merchant Center Help: About Shopping Insights notifications on Chrome (90-day price history)
- PricePing: Price Tracker, App Store listing
Try PricePing on iPhone or Android. 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.
