Technologies

21 browser extensions and apps that’ll save you money this holiday season

From the Honey extension to OctoShop, these tools will slash your online shopping bills.

The dust and pixels from Black Friday and Cyber Monday have settled (though many of the best deals are still good). And we’re now in the thick of the holiday shopping season. Is your wallet ready?

According to a recent survey from the National Retail Federation, people plan to spend almost $1,000 on gifts, holiday items and non-gift purchases this year despite supply chain issues. If reading that number awakens your inner Scrooge, we found 11 apps and browser extensions to make sure you don’t start the new year with an empty bank account.

Read more: Browser extensions for free books, better privacy and less distraction

A quick privacy note: The extensions on this list work by scanning every site you visit for potential coupons, which could potentially expose you to some security issues. Before installing any of them, it’s worth your while to check out its privacy policy.

Honey

Honey compares prices between Amazon, Amazon’s third-party sellers and other online retailers, factoring in estimated shipping costs and Prime status to find the best deal.

Once you install the browser extension (on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera or Edge) and navigate to a product page on Amazon, you’ll see the «h» icon appear over the product photo. Clicking it takes you to the Drop List feature, which shows the product’s price history and lets you set an alert for drops. If you see a tag that says «Best deal,» you can be confident that no other Amazon seller offers a lower price.

You can also search for products through the extension or on Honey’s website to see current and historical pricing, coupons and availability on a range of e-commerce sites such as Walmart, JCPenney and Home Depot.

PriceBlink

PriceBlink also offers price comparisons and coupons, but with a slightly different interface. Once installed (on Chrome or Firefox), when you navigate to an online shopping site, a yellow bar will appear at the top of the screen. It will alert you to any available deals and coupons on the site, and if a better price is available elsewhere.

When you navigate to an item on Amazon, click «Compare prices» on the bar at the top to see where else it’s available, along with the base price, shipping costs and total price. If Amazon has the best price, the bar will say «Next best price.» If it doesn’t, it will say «Savings found! Buy this for less» and list the amount and the other site.

PriceBlink also lets you track pricing over time and add items to your wish list, as well as find coupons on its website.

InvisibleHand

InvisibleHand is a browser extension that looks for the lowest prices on rental cars, hotels and flights in addition to coupons and deals from online retailers. That way traveling across the country to see your in-laws won’t break the bank (just your spirits).

Pricescout

Similar to both Honey and PriceBlink, Pricescout can find coupon codes for you, while also comparing prices across different retailers. While you’re shopping, it scans the sites of over 21,000 retailers and will pop up with better prices.

Capital One Shopping

Capital One Shopping is a free browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari. Once installed, the extension will instantly apply the best available coupons and discounts codes to your purchase at checkout.

The expansion does price comparison among other retailers and sellers across Amazon as well, so you can find the best deal possible without having to research it yourself. The extension says it even offers rewards while you shop that can be redeemed as gift cards.

Rakuten

Rakuten, formerly known as Ebates, is an e-commerce site that gives customers cash-back for shopping. Former CNET editor Rick Broida described it as «easy to use and comes with no strings attached.» Rakuten, however, does collect data about where you shop and what you buy.

Available for Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari, the Rakuten browser extension alerts you when cash-back savings are available and saves you the detour to Rakuten’s site when actively purchasing. It sometimes finds coupon codes for you as well.

Octoshop

The OctoShop browser extension compares prices across retailers, but it also has the ability to notify you when a product, like the Xbox Series X, Playstation 5 or Nintendo Switch OLED, restocks. You can set restock notifications for different retailers as well as price drop alerts. It also compares shipping speeds so you aren’t waiting until next year for your order.

OctoShop is available on Chrome, Edge and Firefox.

RetailMeNot

RetailMeNot’s Deal Finder browser extension automatically applies the best available discount codes and cash-back options at checkout. The extension is supported by more than 20,000 retailers, including Target, Macy’s, Lenovo and DoorDash. CNET has been singing the tool’s praises since 2010 for making online coupon hunting less annoying.

Piggy

Piggy finds the lowest prices available and automatically applies coupon slides and cash-back options at checkout. The extension works at over 6,000 online stores including Amazon and eBay. According to Piggy, the extension can save you up to 55% on select hotels as well.

Slickdeals

Like many other browser extensions on this list, Slickdeals shows customers the best deals, coupons and cash-back options available at the time of purchase from the online retailers that support it.

Cently for Chrome

Cently, formerly known as Coupons at Checkout, is a Chrome extension that finds coupon codes for thousands of online retailers and shows you the best ones at checkout. Cently also has a feature called Amazon Best Price which tells you when a product is cheaper from another Amazon seller.

Amazon Assistant for Chrome

If you’re an Amazon fanatic, you’ll love this extension. The Amazon Assistant for Chrome is Amazon’s official browser extension. It finds you the Deal of the Day, offers product and price comparisons and saves products from any website to your Amazon wish list.

The Camelizer from Camelcamelcamel

Most savvy shoppers know that shopping at certain times can snag you the best deals. The Camelizer is an extension that shows you the price history of an item you’re browsing on Amazon to help you decide whether to buy now or wait for a better deal. It will also send you price drop alerts via email or Twitter, and you can import your Amazon wish list so that you’ll know when your heart’s desire goes on sale.

Pro tip: If The Camelizer graph looks a little funny, right-click it and open it in a new tab.

Offers.com

Offers.com is a place to check for special deals such as free shipping, buy-one-get-one-free and other perks that can save you money when shopping online. This Firefox extension also finds coupon codes. When it finds a code, it saves it for you and adds it to your shopping cart. The extension also opens another browser page and displays all of the sales for the site you’re viewing, so you never miss a great deal.

Fakespot

User reviews give you an idea of the quality of a product before you buy. The problem is, many companies hire people to post good reviews for bad products on sites like Amazon. Fakespot is an extension that analyzes reviews to see which ones are baloney and which you can trust so you’re less likely to waste your money on a dud.

CouponCabin

CouponCabin is different from other money-saving browser extensions because it gives you little tips every time you do a search on Google, whether you’re wanting to buy or not. Say you’re Googling information on the latest Stephen King book. CouponCabin will give you a little alert in your search results that it’s on sale. You can also earn 10% cash back by using this extension.

ShopSavvy

The ShopSavvy app uses your phone’s camera to scan barcodes to find the best price from physical and digital retailers. Its website also offers «Best Time to Buy» guides, which chart price fluctuations on products like computers, cameras and televisions over the past 90 days.

ShopSavvy is free to download in the App Store and the Play store.

Affirm

Affirm helps you pay off more expensive purchases — like the Apple Watch Series 7 or a new gaming console — in smaller installments. Affirm offers financing plans that range between three months to two years, with interest rates between zero and 30%. There are no late fees, but missing payments could hurt your credit score. Not all retailers accept Affirm, but Amazon and more than 11,000 other online retailers do.

Affirm is free to download in the App Store and the Play store.

AfterPay

AfterPay is another buy now, pay later option. While other apps might let you make smaller payments over a longer period of time, with AfterPay you only make four payments. The first payment is due upon checkout, and usually the other payments are due every other week. There’s also an option to make payments once a month. As long as you make your payments, you won’t be charged any late fees or interest. If you miss a payment, you’re charged $10, and if you don’t make the payment within seven days, you’re charged another $7. AfterPay isn’t accepted at Amazon, but it is accepted by more than 85,000 online retailers.

AfterPay is free to download in the App Store and the Play store.

Splitwise

Splitwise is an app that makes splitting any bills over the holidays easy. The app lets you create groups and add people by name or email. Enter the price of a group dinner or a hotel room and then split the cost among the group members. You can split the cost evenly or you can enter different amounts for people in your group. Splitwise Pro can also scan receipts and recognize different items on the receipt so they can be assigned to members of your group. The Pro version can also convert bills using exchange rates on international trips. One downside to Splitwise is you can’t settle up in the app. You either pay in cash or use another app like Venmo.

Splitwise is free to download in the App Store and the Play store. Splitwise Pro costs $3 a month or $30 annually.

Venmo

The Venmo app makes it easy to give cash for the holidays, and who doesn’t like cash? The app also lets you split bills from retailers that accept Venmo as payment. Otherwise, you have to do the math and request money from people through the app. Using Venmo in conjunction with Splitwise could help alleviate that stress.

Venmo is free to download in the App Store and the Play store.

Looking for more deals? Check out how to take advantage of Amazon Warehouse Deals, the best budget app for 2021, some TikTok money-saving tips, how to make your budget recession-proof and all of the deals we collect daily on CNET. We also have a list of ways to save money every day on things around your home and streaming services, as well as gas, electric and water bills.

Technologies

The Duskbloods Is New FromSoftware Gaming Action Coming to Switch 2 in 2026

Talk about a surprise for the new Switch.

FromSoftware had a big day with the Switch 2 Direct. The company revealed a new game called The Duskbloods and confirmed that its smash-hit action RPG Elden Ring is coming to the new console, which launches on June 5 for $450.

The Duskbloods is exclusive to the Switch 2, which was a surprise announcement during the Switch 2 Direct. According to FromSoftware, the game is a player vs. player vs. enemy, or PvPvE, online multiplayer game similar to the developer’s upcoming Elden Ring: Nightreign.

Players will be part of the Bloodsworn, which is a group that has «transcended human strength thanks to their special blood.» Each individual will be playing against each other as well as taking on other foes.

The game features some mainstays for FromSoftware games, with a gothic tone and a focus on gore, like its popular Bloodborne game for the PS4. It does appear that characters have a few more abilities than seen in previous games from the cult developer.

The Duskbloods will release sometime in It will be released in 2026.

The Switch 2 will launch on June 5 and preorders will start on April 9 at retailers. The new console will feature plenty of third-party support, with major games like Borderlands 4, Madden and Civilization 7 coming from other publishers.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, April 3

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 3.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword has two similar clues, 5-Across and 6-Across. They both play off the same idea — using the first part of two words to make one, all food-related. I didn’t get that at first, so I struggled with those two clues. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Hit the ___ (go to bed)
Answer: SACK

5A clue: Misleading name for a sub/shish kebab restaurant?
Answer: SUSHI

6A clue: Misleading name for a taco/pasta restaurant?
Answer: TAPAS

7A clue: Certain sports bets
Answer: OVERS

8A clue: Cooped (up)
Answer: PENT

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Almost *too* sophisticated and charming
Answer: SUAVE

2D clue: Upscale Colorado skiing destination
Answer: ASPEN

3D clue: Word after bar or pie
Answer: CHART

4D clue: Smooch
Answer: KISS

5D clue: Word on an eight-sided traffic sign
Answer: STOP

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Nintendo Switch 2: Everything We Know About the Console, New Games, Release Date

The $450 console will get Mario Kart World at launch, 4K gaming when docked, Switch 2 Edition game enhancements and new mouse controls.

The Nintendo Switch 2 console’s biggest reveal yet arrived Wednesday morning as part of the company’s Nintendo Direct event. This teed up a day of Switch 2 reveals that include its June 5 release date, a $450 price, its specs, and its initial game lineup that extends from launch into 2026.

The console will be further buoyed by having Mario Kart World as a launch title, which will go on sale in either a $500 bundle with the Switch 2 or on its own for $80 — making the open-world racing game one of Nintendo’s most expensive yet. Other games announced, such as Donkey Kong Bananza, are being priced around $70, which matches the cost of 2023’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. That Zelda game and Breath of the Wild are among the original Switch titles that will get enhanced Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrades, a premium upgrade allowing players to get new features, modes and graphical enhancements that take advantage of the newer system’s capabilities.

Here are the top highlights from Nintendo’s console event, all of the games we’ve heard about so far (including new titles, Nintendo Switch 2 Edition titles and GameCube games coming to Nintendo Switch Online) and all of our coverage so far. You can also check out our Nintendo Switch 2 live blog for even more updates about the Switch 2 as we learn them.

Nintendo Switch 2 console

The Nintendo Switch 2’s specs saw a noticeable technical bump over the Switch. The Nintendo Switch 2 has a 7.9-inch, 1080p resolution LCD that supports a 120Hz refresh rate — matching what we now see on most Android phones. When the Switch 2 is docked, compatible games can run in 4K resolution. The new dock also includes a cooling fan.

The Switch 2 comes with 256GB of internal storage, and the new Switch 2 Game Cards will load games faster. For digital libraries, however, the Switch 2 will only work with microSD Express cards, which are different from the microSD cards that are compatible with the prior Nintendo Switch. Nintendo will have a Software Transfer feature available to help move games and data from the original Switch to the Switch 2.

The new Joy-Con for the controllers will support mouse controls, and a new C button will be part of a new GameChat communication feature that allows both voice and video chat. There’s also a Nintendo Switch 2 Camera, allowing players to see each other.

The Switch 2 also adds a second USB-C port to the top of the system, which Nintendo says can help connect its new camera accessory or charge the console when playing in tabletop mode. Nintendo also revealed a new Switch 2 Pro Controller with the C button and customizable GL and GR buttons on the back.

Following the presentation, Nintendo unveiled the system’s price of $450 in the US. It will also sell the Switch 2 bundled with a digital version of Mario Kart World for $500.

Mario Kart World

Mario Kart World removes its traditional boundaries and lets drivers roam freely across an entire world of race courses. The game will get its own Nintendo Direct later this month, where we’ll see additional details, but we already know it’ll include traditional races and a Free Roam mode, much like in the Forza Horizon series.

Getting the game bundled for an extra $50 on the cost of the Switch 2 might be the move if you are interested in the game, because Nintendo announced on its website that standalone copies of Mario Kart World will cost $80.

Joy-Con 2 C button and GameChat

Nintendo’s rolling out its new C button across several new Switch 2 controllers. The button will be used for the new GameChat communication features without a headset. The button will be used alongside a microphone on the console itself, which Nintendo says can be used whether it’s docked to a TV or in handheld mode.

In its teaser video, Nintendo promises the microphone will be able to cancel out loud background noises. GameChat will also work with a Nintendo Switch 2 Camera, allowing video chat and various camera-based game modes in supported titles. GameChat will be free at launch through March 31, 2026.

Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games upgrade titles

The Nintendo Switch 2 will play three types of games: original Switch games, Switch 2 games and Switch 2 Edition games that will receive substantial enhancements. For many of these Switch 2 Edition games, you’ll need to buy an upgrade pack if you own the original for Switch. Many of them will get more than just enhanced graphics in the upgrade; for example, Super Mario Party Jamboree will get new games that support the new Joy-Cons’ mouse controls, audio recognition and video camera gameplay options through the Switch 2 Camera.

Other Nintendo Switch games that are getting Switch 2 Edition options include The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Metroid Prime 4 Beyond and Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Enhancements vary: The Zelda games will start working with a companion phone app for maps and sending schematics to friends, while Kirby will get a new story that’s exclusive to the Switch 2 Edition. On the third-party side, Civilization 7 will get mouse controls.

Nintendo did not announce what upgrade packs will cost. However, some Switch games will get free updates that will improve performance or enhance features when playing them on the Switch 2. The Switch games getting these updates include:

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a new game set in the world of Zelda that tells the story that leads into The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. This appears to be similar to how Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity told the story of a war that led to the events of Breath of the Wild. The teaser shows Zelda discovering that she’s arrived in the past of Hyrule, and the game will expand on how she gets involved in the corresponding Imprisonment War.

Nintendo Switch 2 games

Several other first- and third-party games were spotlighted during the Switch 2 Direct. These include Donkey Bananza, one of the first 3D platforming games featuring DK since 1999’s Donkey Kong 64. Kirby will also return to the racing genre in Kirby Air Riders, which comes more than 20 years after the GameCube racer Kirby’s Air Ride. DragXDrive will use mouse controls to control a futuristic wheelchair basketball game in which players will simulate push and pull motions to control their character.

An onslaught of Switch 2 third-party games were quickly shuffled through during the Direct, which I list below. An unnamed James Bond game is in development at Hitman studio IO Interactive, as is a darker title from Elden Ring creator FromSoftware called The Duskbloods, which will be exclusive to the Switch 2.

The full list of announced Nintendo Switch 2 games includes:

Borderlands 4
Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion
Deltarune
Donkey Kong Bananza
Drag x Drive
EA Sports FC
EA Sports Madden NFL
Elden Ring Tarnished Edition
Enter the Gungeon 2
Fast Fusion
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade
Fortnite
Hades 2
Hitman World of Assassination — Signature Edition
Hogwarts Legacy
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
Kirby Air Riders
Kirby and the Forgotten Land — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and Star-Crossed World
Kunitsu-Gai: Path of the Goddess
Mario Kart World
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
NBA 2K
Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour
Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening Complete Edition
Pokemon Legends: Z-A — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Project 007
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Split Fiction
Star Wars Outlaws
Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions
Street Fighter 6
Super Mario Party Jamboree — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and Jamboree TV
Survival Kids
The Duskbloods
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4
WWE 2K
Yakuza 0 Definitive Edition

Among these titles, you can see the full list of June 5 Switch 2 launch day games here.

Nintendo GameCube library coming to Switch 2

The Nintendo Switch Online game library will add GameCube games to the Switch 2. On launch day, these games will initially include The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, SoulCalibur 2 and F-Zero GX, with each game getting enhanced graphics. Online multiplayer will also be added to certain titles. Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Strikers and Luigi’s Mansion are among the games set to arrive later. At launch, Nintendo will also sell a GameCube controller, which will be wireless and include a C button for GameChat.