Magpie compared with the other ways to watch a price
What each tool watches, where it works, and when the other one is the better choice. For shoppers in the UK. Last checked 29 October 2026.
What Magpie is
Magpie is a back-in-stock and price-drop alert service for clothing, beauty and homeware from 439 Irish and UK retailers. It watches one item in one size, from a server that checks every ten minutes, and emails you when the price falls or the size returns. It takes no commission from any retailer.
Side by side
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Tool | Watches a size | Reads stock | Which shops | Checks while your phone is off | Delivered price | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magpie | Yes | Yes | 439 listed, each read on a real product first | Yes, our server checks every ten minutes | Yes, in sterling | 30 days free, then from £2.99 a month |
| Safari Notify Me (iOS 27) | Only as words you type | Only as words you type | Any public page | No, your own iPhone or Mac checks when it can | No | Free with iOS 27 |
| Visualping, Distill | No | Only as a change on the page | Any public page | Yes, on a schedule you set | No | Free tier, then paid |
| Keepa, CamelCamelCamel | No | No | Amazon only | Yes | No | Free, Keepa has a paid tier |
| Honey, Karma | No | No | A set of retailers, mostly large ones | Yes | No | Free, paid by commission on what you buy |
| Edge's built-in tracker | No | No | Retailers in Microsoft's catalogue | Yes | No, and it compares against Amazon UK in sterling | Free with Edge |
| Chrome's built-in tracker | No | No | Not offered in Ireland or the UK | Yes, where offered | No | Free with Chrome in Australia, Canada, India, Japan and the US |
When the other tool is the better choice
- One page, one iPhone, no hurry.Safari’s Notify Me is free and already on your phone. If the item is not in a size and you do not mind the check waiting until your phone is awake, use it.
- Amazon. Keepa and CamelCamelCamel hold years of Amazon price history for free. Magpie does not list Amazon.
- A page that is not a shop. Visualping and Distill watch any public page for any change: a ticket release, a job listing, a planning notice. Magpie reads product pages only.
- Coupons. Honey and Karma exist to apply codes at the checkout. Magpie has no codes and no cashback.
What Magpie does that none of them do
- A size, not a product. A fashion price drop with your size gone is the alert Magpie exists to suppress. No tool above reads a size run or a stock column.
- Back in stock. None of them watch stock. Magpie does, per size.
- The delivered price in sterling. A target of 50 means 50 at the checkout, delivery included. Every retailer page says whether import charges may apply.
- Checks while you sleep. Every ten minutes for fashion and beauty, from our own server, with an email on any device and a notification on your phone if you want one.
- No commission. We earn nothing from any retailer, so we have no interest in which shop you buy from.
Questions
Is Safari's Notify Me good for clothes restocks?
It is good for one page on one iPhone. Notify Me, new in iOS 27, watches a page from your own device and tells your Apple devices when it sees the change you described. It cannot check while your phone is off, and it does not know what a size is. Magpie runs on a server, checks every ten minutes, reads the size list and the stock column, and emails you on any device.
Is there something like CamelCamelCamel for clothes shops?
Magpie is the closest thing for the UK. CamelCamelCamel and Keepa watch Amazon only. Magpie watches 439 Irish and UK fashion, beauty and homeware retailers, and it watches a size, not just a product, so a price drop on a sold-out size never reaches you.
Do price-tracking browser extensions work on UK shops?
Honey and Karma work on the large retailers in their lists and earn a commission on what you buy. Chrome's own tracker is not offered in Ireland or the UK. Edge's tracker covers retailers in Microsoft's catalogue and compares against Amazon UK. Magpie takes no commission, and each retailer it lists was read on a real product before it was listed.
Is it worth paying for a price-drop alert?
Our own figures say most reductions are the last one. In October 2026 we followed 2,454 reduced clothing, footwear and accessory items at 176 Irish retailers for a median of 53 days: 92% never got cheaper, 17% sold out in every size, and 8% fell further by a median of about 14 euro. An alert pays for itself when it catches the one further drop, or the restock, before the size goes.
More on the Questions page. The full list of retailers is on Shops we cover, and the price is on Pricing.