Ever added something to your cart, then wondered if that little coupon pop-up was actually doing anything?

If you’re wondering if Honey is legit, you’re in the right place.

Honey, the free browser extension owned by PayPal, went from beloved shopping sidekick to the center of major internet backlash almost overnight in late 2024, when a viral investigation accused it of quietly taking credit for affiliate sales that creators said should have gone to them. A prominent YouTuber even sued PayPal over the extension, and the lawsuits haven’t stopped since.

So let’s cut through the noise. Here’s what Honey is, how it works, what the controversy actually means for your wallet and whether it’s still worth installing in 2026. If it’s cash back you’re really after, we’ll also look at how Honey stacks up against the best cash back apps out there, including KashKick.

What is Honey?

Honey is a free browser extension and mobile app that hunts for coupon codes and applies them at checkout. It also tracks price drops and compares prices on Amazon.

PayPal bought Honey for roughly $4 billion in a deal that closed in 2020, and it’s now often branded as PayPal Honey. It’s a legitimate company with a real product, available on Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari and as an iOS and Android app.

Here’s the part that trips people up: Honey is free because online stores pay it a commission when it sends them a sale. That’s a normal business model. The trouble started when people learned how Honey was earning those commissions behind the scenes.

So, is Honey legit? The Short Answer

Yes, Honey is legit in the ways that matter most to a shopper. There’s no sign Honey is malware or some kind of identity-stealing scam. It’s a genuine PayPal product, and by all public accounts your data hasn’t been breached.

But “legit” and “worth your trust” aren’t quite the same thing. Honey got hit with serious accusations about what it was doing on the back end, and that’s why so many people are asking whether it’s a scam. The honest verdict: It’s a real tool with a real credibility problem. Keep reading and you can decide for yourself.

How Honey Works

Once you install it, Honey mostly runs in the background until you’re ready to buy. Here’s the basic flow:

1. Add the Honey extension to your browser or download the app.

2. Shop like you normally would at supported online stores.

3. At checkout, Honey pops up and offers to test available coupon codes for you.

4. It applies whatever working code it finds so you don’t have to copy and paste a dozen expired ones.

5. On eligible purchases, you can rack up PayPal Rewards points (formerly Honey Gold), then redeem them for gift cards, a credit at PayPal checkout or a charity donation.

That’s the pitch, and when it works, it’s genuinely handy. The catch is that coupons don’t exist for every store, so plenty of the time Honey pops up and finds nothing.

The Honey Controversy, Explained

In December 2024, a YouTuber known as MegaLag published an investigation that racked up millions of views. The video made two main accusations.

First, that Honey was hijacking affiliate commissions. When you click a creator’s affiliate link and then use Honey at checkout, critics say the extension swapped in its own tracking code, so the retailer paid the commission to Honey instead of the creator who actually sent you there. In other words, the creator did the work, then Honey allegedly took the credit and the cash.

Second, that Honey didn’t always surface the best coupon available. Instead of digging up the deepest discount, critics claimed it sometimes showed codes tied to its retail partners.

Following these accusations, content creators filed a class action accusing PayPal of siphoning off their earnings. Shoppers filed their own suits. Some merchants and affiliate networks cut ties with Honey.

Where do things stand in 2026? It’s split. The shopper-focused claims—that Honey failed to find the “best” coupons—were dismissed by a federal judge and are now on appeal. But the creator lawsuit over stolen affiliate commissions was allowed to move forward and is grinding through discovery. PayPal denies wrongdoing and says Honey follows standard industry practices like last-click attribution.

For you as a shopper, the takeaway is simple: The drama is mostly about who gets paid behind the curtain, not about your safety.

Is Honey safe to use?

Is Honey safe from a security standpoint? Largely, yes. It’s published under PayPal’s verified developer accounts, it uses encrypted connections, and there haven’t been public reports of a data breach. PayPal also says Honey doesn’t sell your personal information.

That said, Honey has to watch your shopping to do its job. PayPal’s own materials confirm the extension uses trackers to monitor the sites you visit and your purchase activity. That’s how it knows when to pop up. If that makes you uneasy, the FTC recommends checking any shopping app’s privacy policy to see exactly what data it collects before you install it.

Is Honey worth it? The Pros and Cons

Let’s weigh it out honestly.

Pros:

• It’s completely free.
• It’s backed by PayPal, a real publicly traded company.
• It automatically tests coupon codes so you don’t have to hunt them down.
• Price tracking and Amazon price comparison are genuinely useful extras.
• You can earn PayPal Rewards points on some purchases.

Cons:

• Coupons aren’t available at every store.
• The affiliate controversy tanked its reputation, and the creator lawsuit is still active.
• Rewards points can be slow or confusing to redeem, and they’re less flexible than they used to be. As of August 2026, PayPal ended the option to redeem points for cash, so you’re now limited to gift cards, a PayPal checkout credit or a donation. Reviews on Trustpilot also include complaints about points expiring and redemptions getting flagged as “ineligible.”
• It tracks your browsing and shopping to function.
• Any savings are hit or miss, never guaranteed.

Bottom line: Honey can save you some money when the stars align, but it’s no longer the slam dunk it was marketed as.

A Better Way To Earn Cash Back

Here’s the thing the Honey saga really exposed: A coupon extension can earn a commission on your purchase and still leave you with nothing, especially on the many trips where it doesn’t turn up a working code. Cash back tools earn commissions, too, and some share a piece of that money with you as actual cash. And with Honey specifically, the rewards you do earn now top out at gift cards or a PayPal checkout credit, since the cash-redemption option went away in 2026.

If you’d rather pocket real cash, a rewards platform is a different kind of tool.

That’s where KashKick comes in. It pays you directly, in real cash, for playing games, taking surveys and grabbing deals, and you can stack cash back on your shopping too through the KashBack browser extension.

A few reasons KashKick stands out:

• You earn real dollars, not points. $1 in your account equals $1 USD, no confusing conversions.
• The cash out minimum is just $10, and PayPal or Venmo payouts land in 1-3 business days.
• You get a bonus just for finishing your profile survey.
• In 2025 alone, KashKick paid out $33 million to members (offer amounts are subject to change).

KashKick also holds a 4.7-star rating on the App Store, and members regularly report earning real extra cash over time. Read more KashKick reviews from real members to see how it plays out.

None of this makes you rich, and we won’t pretend otherwise. But it’s a straightforward way to give your free time a raise, without wondering who’s really cashing in. If you want to compare your options, our roundup of cash back on your online shopping and guides to apps like Rakuten are good next reads.

Sign up for KashKick and start earning cash for what you already do online.

The Bottom Line on Honey

So, is Honey legit? Yes. It’s a real PayPal product, and there’s no sign it’s malware or a security scam. But the trust it built over the years took a real hit, and the questions about how it earns its money haven’t fully gone away.

If a free coupon-tester is all you want, Honey is fine to try, just keep your expectations low. If you’d rather be the one getting paid, go with a tool that puts the cash in your hands. And whenever you’re sizing up any money app, it pays to do a little homework first, the same way you’d want to avoid financial scams or track down where to find free coupons on your own terms.