Controversy Explained: Is the Honey Plugin Scamming You?

The Honey plugin promises to find you the biggest deals on over 30,000 websites. It sounds too good to be true, right? Unfortunately, it is. YouTuber MegaLag has accused it of acting against the best interests of the consumers who use it and the influencers who promote it. If he’s right, what does that mean for you?

What Is the Honey Browser Extension?

The Honey plugin is a free browser extension that finds and applies coupon codes on over 30,000 popular websites. Once you reach the checkout page, it searches for working codes. Honey says it will apply “the one with the biggest savings” to your cart. It only takes a single click — no more scouring the internet for working discounts or promotions. 

This browser extension sounds incredibly helpful. Instead of wasting time plugging in inactive promotions, you hit one button at checkout and it does all the work. Honey claims it’ll save you $126 every year on average, which is nothing to scoff at. But how does Honey make money? Why is it free? What’s the catch? The YouTuber MegaLag has just answered those questions.

The Honey Plugin Controversy Explained

YouTuber MegaLag makes investigation, technology, deep dive and exposé videos, which have gained him nearly 900,000 followers to date. In December 2024, he released a video titled “Exposing the Honey Influencer Scam.” In it, he accuses the well-known browser extension of being an affiliate marketing scam promoted by some of the platform’s biggest influencers. 

Honey makes money by earning a commission for every purchase you make when using it. The catch is that it likes to steal that commission from others by replacing their affiliate link — the unique URL that lets influencers earn a portion of the sale when they refer a product or service. As if that weren’t enough, it doesn’t even show you the best deals. 

The Three Ways Honey Is Scamming You

Here are three ways PayPal Honey may be scamming you.

Honey Steals Affiliate Commissions 

Last-click attribution is a marketing model that gives all the credit to the last touch point you use before converting. Say you click on an influencer’s link to buy a virtual private network (VPN) subscription but don’t check out. Later, a YouTuber’s recommendation finally convinces you. You use their affiliate link to check out, overriding the first person’s link.

Thanks to last-click attribution, Honey can steal the commission from a sale if you use it. But how will it do that if you’re already at the checkout page, you ask? Good question. If you click “apply discounts” to search for coupon codes, it briefly opens a new tab that acts as a simulated referral click. It doesn’t promote the product or get you to convert, but it gets the commission.

Honey Does Not Have the Best Deals

PayPal Honey’s business partners — the companies that pay it a commission — control the deals it displays, meaning it doesn’t actually find you the biggest savings. On the partner’s FAQ page, it says they can “choose which coupons” they want to “make available” or “remove from the Honey system.”

This screams scam. It’s a sneaky way to get you to check out without searching for better deals. After all, Honey promises to find you the biggest savings. Plus, if you find a discount Honey doesn’t have, it will promise to share that code with the community once they review it. However, if a brand has already removed it from the database, it won’t get added. 

PayPal Rewards Takes Most Revenue

PayPal Rewards — formerly Honey Gold — is set up like a rewards program but returns very little revenue. The YouTuber MegaLag signed up for NordVPN’s affiliate program because it partners with PayPal Rewards. This let him see how much money the Honey plugin was taking. Usually, NordVPN offers a 40% commission upon each successful referral. 

When MegaLag bought a NordVPN subscription without PayPal Rewards activated, he earned a $35.60 affiliate commission. When it was activated, he received 89 points — the equivalent of just $0.89, which is a mere 2.5% of what he could’ve made. One point is typically equal to one cent, according to PayPal. This means Honey took 97.5% of the money. 

Why The Honey Controversy Is a Problem

The Honey plugin used to have an excellent reputation. In 2021, we even named it the best money-saving app and extension. We said you can “feel confident that there’s not a better option available” because that is Honey’s whole thing. It promises to find the best coupon codes. If you’ve ever heard YouTubers promote it, they say a similar line. 

Don’t feel bad if you trusted those claims. I even fell for them. Years ago, I was convinced to get the Honey browser extension. Try as I might, I barely found any coupon codes with it. While there were websites promising discounts and promotions for the online stores I was using, I figured they were scams because Honey promises to scour the internet to find every deal. 

In reality, Honey was lying. What makes the whole thing especially outrageous is that Honey will still show up when it knows it has nothing to offer. A small pop-up appears to tell you it didn’t find any deals. If you click the “got it” button to close the window, it will open up the tab that acts as a simulated referral click. Despite not saving you a single penny, it takes the commission.

Also, if you click on the Honey pop-up offering to let you pay with PayPal — even if it is already an option at checkout — it takes the sale. Since this browser extension is meant to be used at the end of the customer journey, it is almost guaranteed to get the last click. How much money has it taken from influencers? How many times has it hidden better coupon codes from you?

Even Honey Admits It Breaks Its Promises

Honey’s terms of use agreement says it tries to find you “the best available discounts and coupons” but “may not always find you the best deal.” Also, PayPal does not “promise or guarantee” that the prices it shows are the lowest rates available. These statements seem to directly contradict its promise of finding you the coupon code “with the biggest savings.”

This browser extension’s claim to fame is that it automatically searches its database for the best deals available. In reality, its business partners can hide the bigger discounts from you, saving you less than you would’ve if you had searched yourself. 

In the end, Honey is more of a money-making marketing tool than a consumer-friendly plugin. Its main goal seems to be discouraging people from leaving the checkout page. According to PayPal, almost 80% of online shoppers abandon their carts before checking out. Everything from the Honey Codes to the carefully worded pop-ups was crafted to lower this figure.

How to Uninstall Honey in Just 4 Steps 

Should you uninstall Honey? Even though it engages in some less-than-savory business practices, it still has a large database of coupon codes. Sometimes, it finds great deals. If you never click on affiliate links and always double-check better discounts aren’t available elsewhere, there’s no harm in keeping it. However, you can uninstall it if you want. 

Start by opening Google Chrome. Click the puzzle piece icon next to your extensions and hit Manage Extensions. Alternatively, you can select the three vertical dots in the top right corner, hover over Extensions and click Manage Extensions. To uninstall Honey, hit the Remove button right next to it.

3 Alternatives to the Honey Extension

There are several alternatives to the Honey extension. While we can’t guarantee they don’t engage in similar sneaky practices, we want to give you some options. 

Google 

Sites like RetailMeNot, Coupon Follow and Coupons.com will give you working coupon codes for a wide array of products. Simply search “coupon code” paired with whatever you’re trying to buy to find good deals via Google.

CamelCamelCamel

CamelCamelCamel is an excellent alternative to Honey’s price drop tool. It tracks Amazon products, provides price history charts and alerts you to price drops. It also highlights great deals on dozens of popular products. 

PriceLasso

PriceLasso is a great Honey alternative. It shows price history charts and creates price alerts based on products you frequently engage with. Unlike CamelCamelCamel, it isn’t exclusive to Amazon. You can use it with popular online stores like Walmart.

Expect to Hear More About Honey Soon

In short, Honey appeals to you by promising to get you the best deals possible while also appealing to businesses by letting them choose which deals you see. It isn’t a win-win situation. While you might save money with the app, you could also lose out on better savings. 

As if these revelations weren’t enough, the YouTuber who exposed this so-called scam is planning to release another video on the topic. The second part of his investigation will apparently cover an entirely new group of victims. Keep an eye out for the video.