Short · checked 29 September 2026
The coupon button that PayPal bought for $4 billion.
A Pasadena browser extension listed in June 2014 with a million installs, bought by PayPal for about $4 billion in 2019, then reported to have lost millions of Chrome users after creators accused it of taking their affiliate credit.
Honey's June 2014 listing described something small and specific: a free browser extension that "automatically finds and applies coupon codes for online shoppers during checkout." The Pasadena company said the extension had grown "organically" to a million installs since its launch in November 2012. The screenshot it uploaded shows the pitch as shoppers saw it: "Sweet savings, automatically," a big Install for Chrome button, and a grid of discounted products.
Five years later, on 20 November 2019, PayPal announced that it would buy Honey for about $4 billion. The release named co-founders George Ruan and Ryan Hudson and put Honey at about 17 million monthly active users. PayPal completed the deal on 6 January 2020, with the founders staying on to run Honey inside its consumer business.
The extension is still offered at joinhoney.com, which now describes Honey as part of the PayPal family.
The extension has since lost users. At the end of 2025, 9to5Google reported that Honey's Chrome extension had fallen from 20 million to 12 million users over about a year, after a video by MegaLag alleged that it claimed affiliate credit that should have gone to the creators who sent shoppers to a store. Those are allegations, as reported by 9to5Google, not findings.