Disclosure: PricePing makes this guide, and the steps use the PricePing app. The advice on choosing an alert works with any price tracker.
The short answer
Install a price tracker app, share the product page to it, and choose when you want to hear about it. With PricePing, the iPhone price tracker app: open the product in Safari or any shopping app, tap Share, choose PricePing, then pick Any drop, Below a price or % drop. You get a push notification when a check finds a drop that matches. It works at almost any online store, including Zara, Nike, Shopify stores and Amazon.
Step by step
- Install PricePing. Get PricePing, the iPhone price tracker app, from the App Store, and allow notifications when it asks so a price drop can reach you.
- Open the product page. Find the product in Safari, another browser, or the store's own app, such as Zara, Nike or Amazon.
- Share it to PricePing. Tap Share and choose PricePing. If it isn't in the row of apps, swipe to the end and tap More. The product goes into your Watching list. You can also copy the link and paste it in PricePing.
- Choose an alert. Pick Any drop, Below a price, or % drop for that product. Each product keeps its own alert.
- Wait for the ping. PricePing checks the price at least once a day and sends a push notification when a check finds a drop that matches your alert.
- Check the price history, then buy. Open the product to see every price PricePing has recorded since you added it, then buy from the store as usual.
Which alert to choose
- Below a price
- Best when you already know what you would pay. A $120 jacket you would buy at $90: set the alert below $90 and you hear nothing until it is worth it.
- % drop
- Best when you want a real sale rather than a small wobble. A 20% rule stays quiet through a $2 change and speaks up when a proper markdown lands.
- Any drop
- Best for something you will buy soon anyway and just want at its lowest. You hear about every cut, however small.
You can change a product’s alert at any time, and each product keeps its own, so a sofa can wait for 25% off while a pair of trainers pings on any drop.
Reading the price history
Every check adds a point to the product’s price history, starting on the day you add it. Before you buy, look at it: if today’s price is the lowest you have seen since you started watching, it is a good moment. If the price has been bouncing between two numbers, you can set a Below a price alert at the lower one and wait. PricePing also shows when a product sells out or comes back in stock.
It works at the stores you shop
Zara
Share a product from the Zara app or zara.com in Safari. PricePing shows the price in your Zara store’s currency, so a markdown in the sale shows up as a drop.
Nike
Share trainers or clothing from the Nike app or nike.com, and set a Below a price alert at what you would pay.
Shopify stores
Many independent brands run their own store on Shopify. Share the product page like any other; you don’t need an account with the store.
Amazon
Share from the Amazon app or Safari. PricePing works with Amazon stores in many countries, in each store’s own currency. See the Amazon price tracker app guide for the details.
The same goes for Uniqlo, Lululemon, Allbirds, Gymshark, Noon, Namshi and almost any other online store: if it has a product page you can share, you can track it.
How often prices are checked
PricePing checks every product at least once a day, even when the app is closed, and your phone can check more often. That is frequent enough to catch a sale, but it is not every second, so a flash sale that lasts an hour can come and go between checks.
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
How do I get an alert when a price drops on iPhone?
Use a price tracker app. With PricePing, the iPhone price tracker app, you open the product in Safari or any shopping app, tap Share, choose PricePing, and pick an alert: any drop, below a price, or a percentage drop. You get a push notification when a check finds a drop that matches.
Can I track prices at stores other than Amazon?
Yes. PricePing tracks almost any online store. It has read prices from Amazon, Nike, Zara, Uniqlo, Lululemon, Allbirds, Gymshark, Noon, Namshi and Shopify shops, in each store's own currency.
What is the difference between Below a price and % drop?
Below a price alerts you when the price falls under a number you choose, such as under $90. A % drop alerts you when the price falls by at least the percentage you choose compared with the last price PricePing saw, such as a 20% markdown. Any drop alerts you on every cut.
How quickly will I hear about a price drop?
PricePing checks every product at least once a day and sends the ping as soon as a check finds a drop that matches your alert. It does not check every second, so alerts are not instant.
Does PricePing show prices from before I added a product?
No. A product's price history starts on the day you add it and grows with every check.
What does PricePing cost?
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.
Choosing an app? See the best price tracker apps for iPhone, the camelcamelcamel alternative for iPhone, the Keepa alternative for iPhone, PricePing vs Keepa, PricePing vs camelcamelcamel and PricePing vs PayPal Honey. More guides are in PricePing guides.
Sources
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.
