Honey refunds your own shopping. Frak pays you to bring in the next customer.
Both are free. One gives you passive savings at checkout, no matter who you are. The other pays you real cash when a friend buys because you told them about it.
TL;DR
- Honey refunds any purchase, yours or a repeat customer's. Frak only pays when you bring in someone new.
- With Frak, you and your friend both earn cash. With Honey, only the shopper earns points.
- Honey works at tens of thousands of stores. Frak works with brands running active campaigns.
- Honey is passive: coupons apply automatically. Frak pays you for actually recommending.
- Both are free. No contracts, no subscriptions.
How you get paid, compared
Honey and Frak both put money in your pocket, but for different reasons. Honey refunds you for shopping (any purchase, new or repeat). Frak pays you for bringing in a new customer, and pays that customer too.
| Frak | PayPal Honey | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | €0 — free to join, no subscription | Free — no cost to install or use |
| How the platform makes money | Brands pay 20% commission on campaign spend | Merchants pay affiliate commission; Honey shares it with shoppers |
| Who earns | The person who brought in the sale earns real cash per validated conversion | The buyer earns PayPal Rewards points |
| Buyer-side reward | Cashback on every purchase via a shared link | Coupon savings + points (100 points = $1) |
| Who can promote | Any Frak user — no follower minimum | Anyone can install the extension, but there is no sharing mechanism |
| E-commerce integration | SDK for Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Wix | Browser extension; Shopify integration for merchants |
| Contract | None — stop any time | None — uninstall anytime |
| Reward format | Real cash, withdrawable to a bank account | Points redeemable for gift cards or cash back |
Values marked with ≈ are estimates not confirmed by the vendor — see the pricing disclaimer below.
Cash beats coupons — the data says so
Honey pays in points (PayPal Rewards, redeemable for gift cards or cash back), and only to the shopper, regardless of who told them about the deal. Frak pays real, guaranteed cash straight to a bank account, split between the person who made the recommendation and the friend who bought: the two people actually responsible for the sale.
Across 500+ Shopify stores tracked from June 2025 to May 2026, cash, store-credit and commission reward programs were ≈2.2× more likely than coupon-only programs to turn referrals into a meaningful share of revenue — and ≈3.7× more likely to reach top-tier performance.
What you earn for bringing in a $100 sale
Honey refunds you for shopping: new customer or the hundredth time. Frak pays you for bringing someone new to the brand. Here is a worked example, every assumption listed so you can swap in your own numbers.
- 1 Assumption: you share a $100 product with a friend who buys it through your Frak link.
- 2 Assumption: the brand sets a $10 reward per sale. Frak takes 20% commission → $2 to Frak, $8 to you.
- 3 Assumption: your friend gets $5 cashback from the brand.
- 4 Honey comparison: your friend shops through Honey, gets a 10% coupon ($10) + 3% PayPal Rewards (300 points = $3). You earn $0 — Honey has no sharing mechanism.
Where Frak wins
Where PayPal Honey wins
Frequently asked questions
Is Frak free to use?
Yes. Frak is free to join, with no subscription, no setup fee, and no contract. You earn by actually bringing in a sale, not just by shopping.
Do I need a contract with Frak or Honey?
No. Both are free with no commitment. Stop using Frak or uninstall Honey anytime.
Is Frak better than Honey?
It depends on what you're being paid for. Honey refunds you a little on anything you buy yourself, whoever told you about it. Frak pays real cash, but only when you actually bring in a new customer, and pays your friend too. Want to earn by recommending? Frak. Want automatic savings on your own shopping? Honey.
How do I start earning with Frak vs Honey?
Frak: download the app, share product links, earn cash when your link brings in a validated sale. Honey: install the browser extension, shop as usual, earn points regardless of who referred you.
How do Honey rewards work?
Honey gives you PayPal Rewards points on eligible purchases, whether you found the deal yourself or came through someone else's link. Points redeem for gift cards (100 points = $1). How much you earn varies by merchant and offer.
Which stores does each work with?
Honey works at tens of thousands of stores through its browser extension. Frak works with the brands running Frak campaigns. Check the app for the current catalog, which grows with new brands.
Can I use both Frak and Honey?
Yes. Use Honey for automatic coupons on your own purchases. Use Frak to earn cash by actually bringing a friend to the brand. They reward different actions.
Start earning with Frak
Share products you love, earn cash, and your friends get cashback too.
Methodology, sources and disclaimers
- Honey's affiliate commission model was verified on Honey's official business FAQ and Chrome Web Store listing. Commission rates vary by merchant and may change.
- PayPal Rewards redemption rate (100 points = $1) was verified on PayPal's official rewards page. Rates may change.
- PayPal has folded the former Honey Gold programme into PayPal Rewards, so they are no longer two separate reward types. Honey's current listing refers only to generic rewards.
- Honey does not publish a consistent store count: its own help pages have carried both 30,000+ and 40,000+, and independent tracking put active merchant partnerships closer to 28,000 in August 2026. We say tens of thousands rather than pick one of those figures.
- The Honey controversy (affiliate overwrite allegations, class action lawsuits) is based on news reports. In June 2026 a federal court denied PayPal's motion to dismiss the consolidated creator class action, so those claims are proceeding to discovery. No court has ruled on the merits and the allegations remain unproven. Honey has since added affiliate disclosures to its Chrome listing.
Facts last verified on 2026-04-23. Pricing and promos change — always check the vendor's official site before deciding.