What Giving Assistant does

Giving Assistant (legal name Giving Assistant) is a coupon and promotional-code aggregation platform that curates deals and discount codes from a network of more than 3,000 retail brand partners spanning accessories, beauty, clothing, department stores, electronics, entertainment, food, furniture, gifts, home and garden, pets, services, and shoes. The platform targets online shoppers (B2C) and exposes them to offers via three primary surfaces: a category-organized website at givingassistant.org, an insights/blog content property at blog.givingassistant.org, and a browser extension that surfaces and applies coupon codes automatically at checkout on partner retailer sites. Revenue is generated on an affiliate-commission basis: when a user clicks through to a partner merchant and completes a purchase, Giving Assistant earns a referral fee from the merchant's affiliate program. The service is free to consumers and there is no disclosed pricing model beyond this monetization layer.

The company was founded in 2011 in San Francisco, originally with a charitable-giving overlay that redirected a portion of platform proceeds to nonprofits, and is reported to operate with 11-50 employees. In 2022, GivingAssistant.com was acquired by Upright Data, a holding/investment vehicle that has positioned the site as a flagship property within the Upright Data Network. Earlier disclosed funding activity includes a $1.34M round in November 2013, approximately $1.45M in November 2015, and an undisclosed 2018 round with First Ascent Associates listed among investors; no funding events are recorded since the 2022 ownership change.

Operationally, the product has remained a single unified coupon platform with no flagship enterprise or SaaS proposition. Distribution is grounded in long-tail SEO across thousands of brand-specific coupon pages, supplemented by an email newsletter and active social profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter/X, and Instagram. Geographic reach is described as global with explicit US, Canadian, and UK merchant participation. There are no public filings, no API offering, no mobile app, no AI/ML capabilities documented, and no patent portfolio disclosed; in the source material the underlying technology is characterized as a coupon aggregation and deal distribution platform with no proprietary features enumerated beyond the standard affiliate-link plumbing.

Name

Giving Assistant

Legal name

Giving Assistant

Website

https://givingassistant.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Giving Assistant is a San Francisco-based coupon and promotional-code aggregation platform that lets online shoppers browse and apply deals from 3,000+ retail brands and monetizes via affiliate referral commissions; since 2022 it has operated as a flagship property of Upright Data.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Coupon and Deals Aggregation

NAICS

General Merchandise Retailers (455)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Price Comparison, Deals, Cashback & Loyalty Shopping Platforms (BPAMAGAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Comparison Shopping & Price Discovery Portals (BPAMAAAJ), Price Comparison/Aggregator Generalist Marketplaces (CRAFAAAI)

Keywords

• Coupon code aggregation
• Online deals platform
• Affiliate marketing
• Promo codes
• Cashback savings

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Affiliate Marketing / Commission: Giving Assistant earns commissions when users click through to partner retailers and make purchases. The platform aggregates promo codes and deals from thousands of brands, driving traffic to merchant sites and earning a referral fee on completed transactions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Giving Assistant aggregates coupon codes and promotional deals from over 3,000 brand partners into a single online platform and a browser extension that automatically finds and applies the best codes at checkout. Consumers browse deals by category or merchant, copy codes, and apply them on partner retailer websites to receive discounts. The company monetizes by earning affiliate commissions from retailers when referred users complete purchases, and historically directed a portion of profits to charitable causes.

Product overview

Giving Assistant is a coupon code and deals aggregation platform that operates as a single unified product. The core platform aggregates promotional codes and discounts from over 3,000 brand partners across multiple retail categories including travel, clothing, electronics, beauty, home and garden, and more. Users browse deals by category or specific merchant, copy coupon codes, and apply them at checkout on partner retailer websites. The platform also features a blog and insights section. The company was founded in 2011 and acquired by Upright Data in 2022 as part of the Upright Data Network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Giving Assistant Coupon Platform A web-based coupon code and deals aggregation platform that curates promotional codes and discounts from over 3,000 brand partners across categories including clothing, electronics, beauty, home and garden, pets, travel, and more. Consumers browse deals by category or merchant, copy promo codes, and apply them at checkout on partner retailer websites to receive savings; some deals require no code at all. Free for consumers; monetized via affiliate commissions on referred purchases.
• Giving Assistant Browser Extension A browser extension that automatically finds and applies the best available coupon codes when users shop at partner retailer websites, eliminating the need to manually search for and test codes at checkout. Free to consumers and complementary to the core coupon platform.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Honey (PayPal): Browser extension that automatically finds and applies coupon codes at checkout, owned by PayPal. Closest direct competitor on the browser-extension coupon experience.
• Rakuten: Cashback and coupon platform operating in the US and globally with affiliate-driven revenue model. Comparable business model, audience (online shoppers seeking savings), and merchant breadth.
• RetailMeNot: One of the largest coupon and deal aggregator platforms, offering promo codes, cashback, and deals across thousands of retailers. Directly comparable to Giving Assistant in core functionality and audience.
• Slickdeals: Community-driven deals and coupon platform with large active user base. Comparable as a deal aggregator targeting value-seeking online shoppers, though with a more community-led curation model.
• Coupons.com (Quotient Technology / Neptune Retail Solutions): Long-standing digital coupon platform distributing manufacturer and retailer coupons. Comparable in core coupon aggregation and affiliate monetization, with deeper retailer integration.
• Capital One Shopping: Browser extension and web platform that finds coupons, compares prices, and earns rewards, owned by Capital One. Comparable as a free shopping assistant serving similar consumer use cases.
• CouponFollow: Coupon and promo code aggregator operating in similar niche, with browser extension and merchant partnerships. Direct competitor at similar scale and value proposition.

Broad incumbents

• Groupon: Public deals marketplace offering local experiences, goods, and travel deals via affiliate-like merchant partnerships. Broader incumbent with overlapping affiliate-driven deals model.

Emerging players

• DealSpot: Smaller coupon and deals aggregator. Comparable niche positioning with narrower merchant coverage.

Regional players

• CamelCamelCamel: Amazon-focused price tracking and alert platform. Partial overlap as a savings-discovery tool for online shoppers, though narrower in scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GivingAssistant
• Facebookfacebook.com/givingassistant
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/3337387
• Instagraminstagram.com/givingassistant
• Pinterestpinterest.com/givingassistant

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Giving Assistant