BuyPerUnit vs CamelCamelCamel: Which Finds Better Deals?

BuyPerUnit and CamelCamelCamel solve different problems. BuyPerUnit compares products by price per unit ($/GB for storage, $/page for ink) across Amazon, Best Buy, and Newegg to find the best value right now. CamelCamelCamel tracks Amazon price history over time to help shoppers decide if today's price is a good deal relative to past pricing. For finding the cheapest product per unit of capacity, BuyPerUnit is more useful. For deciding whether to buy now or wait for a price drop on a specific product, CamelCamelCamel is the better tool.

What BuyPerUnit Does

BuyPerUnit calculates cost per unit ($/GB for storage devices and $/page for printer ink) across Amazon, Best Buy, and Newegg. It ranks thousands of products daily so shoppers can instantly see which product delivers the most capacity or pages per dollar. BuyPerUnit answers the question: 'Which product gives me the best value right now?'

What CamelCamelCamel Does

CamelCamelCamel is an Amazon price tracker that charts historical pricing for any Amazon product. It shows whether today's price is near an all-time low, an all-time high, or somewhere in between. It also offers price drop alerts via email. CamelCamelCamel answers the question: 'Is this specific product at a good price today compared to its own history?'

Side-by-Side Comparison

BuyPerUnit Strengths

  • Compares across Amazon, Best Buy, and Newegg — not just Amazon
  • Ranks by $/GB and $/page to find the best value, not just lowest price
  • Purpose-built for storage and printer ink — deeper filtering and categorization

CamelCamelCamel Strengths

  • Years of Amazon price history data
  • Price drop email and browser extension alerts
  • Covers every Amazon product category, not just storage

When to Use BuyPerUnit Instead

If you have not yet decided which product to buy and want to compare different models by objective value (like $/GB), BuyPerUnit surfaces options you might never have considered. BuyPerUnit also compares across Best Buy and Newegg — CamelCamelCamel is Amazon-only.

When to Use CamelCamelCamel Instead

If you have already decided which product to buy and just want to know whether now is a good time to buy it, CamelCamelCamel's price history is invaluable. It has years of Amazon pricing data and its browser extension makes checking history effortless.

Can You Use Both?

Yes, and this is the recommended approach. Use BuyPerUnit to identify the top 2-3 products with the best $/GB or $/page. Then check CamelCamelCamel's history for each to see if the current price is near its historical low. This gives you both the best product and the best timing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does CamelCamelCamel show price per gigabyte?
No. CamelCamelCamel shows the total price history for individual products but does not calculate or rank by price per unit of capacity.
Does BuyPerUnit show price history?
BuyPerUnit shows per-product price history charts on individual product pages, but its primary focus is real-time $/GB and $/page rankings rather than historical trends.
Is CamelCamelCamel free?
Yes, CamelCamelCamel is free to use. It monetizes through Amazon affiliate links, similar to BuyPerUnit.
Can I set price alerts on BuyPerUnit?
Yes, BuyPerUnit offers price drop alerts for specific products. You can set a target price and receive an email when it drops below that threshold.