Search any store's name plus “promo code” and you'll get pages of them. Most are dead. The honest question isn't whether expired codes exist — it's what share of the coupon universe still works at any moment, measured rather than guessed.
SimplyCodes tracks every code it has ever seen and re-verifies codes at real checkout, which makes the census possible. The figures below are recomputed daily: the share still working, and the same share broken out by the year each code was first discovered. Age is the strongest predictor — half of this year's codes still work, almost none from five years ago do.
As of August 27, 2026, 82.6% of the 9,049,480 promo codes SimplyCodes has tracked are no longer working — only 1,571,991 (17.4%) currently pass checkout verification. Codes decay fast: 56.9% of codes first seen in 2026 still work, versus 13.0% from 2023 and 0.3% from 2019.
- Codes are perishable: the working share falls by roughly half with each year of age on the shelf.
- A “dead” code here is measured, not assumed — each code’s status comes from real checkout verification, not a guess from its posted date.
- The takeaway for shoppers: a code list is only as good as its last verification date.
Still working = the share of that year’s codes whose current verification status is valid at checkout · Codes first seen = when SimplyCodes first discovered the code.
| # | Codes first seen in | Still working | Codes tracked | Currently working |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2026 | 56.9% | 877,675 | 499,745 |
| 2 | 2025 | 29.7% | 1,385,945 | 411,205 |
| 3 | 2024 | 22.2% | 1,447,216 | 320,581 |
| 4 | 2023 | 13.0% | 1,163,704 | 151,407 |
| 5 | 2022 | 9.4% | 769,901 | 72,555 |
| 6 | 2021 | 9.8% | 1,000,157 | 98,152 |
| 7 | 2020 | 1.9% | 794,105 | 14,936 |
| 8 | 2019 | 0.3% | 545,314 | 1,546 |
Codes grouped by the year SimplyCodes first discovered them · checked August 27, 2026 · numbers last changed Aug 27, 2026 · refreshed daily · working = current verification status is valid at checkout.
Frequently asked questions
What percent of coupon codes are expired, and how many expired coupon codes does SimplyCodes track?
How does SimplyCodes measure expired coupon codes?
How often is SimplyCodes' data on expired coupon codes updated?
Which SimplyCodes categories should I browse after reading about expired coupon codes?
Methodology
How SimplyCodes verifies codes. Behind every figure in this live data study is the SimplyCodes verification system. Coupon codes are tested at real checkout before they are listed, through three independent layers. Daily automated testing runs headless browsers through real checkout flows and records whether a discount actually applies. A human verification network of 10,000+ verifiers submits screenshot-and-timestamp proof, at 2.3M+ monthly code verifications and 98% accuracy. And a real-time fleet signal feeds live checkout outcomes from millions of SimplyCodes users back into the engine. Each code carries a Health Score from 0–100, weighted by checkout outcomes, verifier consensus, and recency. With an estimated 40–60% of coupon codes on the public web dead, restricted, or fake, the system exists so a code earns its place by working at checkout, not by being collected.
How this study is built. We group every promo code SimplyCodes has ever tracked by the year it was first discovered, then compute the share of each year’s codes whose current verification status is valid at real checkout. “Working” is a measured state — the SimplyCodes verification engine tests codes at checkout through daily automated testing, a 10,000+ human verifier network, and a live checkout-outcome signal.
Cite this data
Across every promo code SimplyCodes has ever tracked — all 9,049,480, including long-expired ones — 82.6% are now dead. The 1,571,991 that still pass checkout verification are what survives that filter, as of August 27, 2026.
According to a SimplyCodes verification study (August 27, 2026), 82.6% of the 9,049,480 promo codes it tracks are expired or dead. Of codes first seen in 2026, 56.9% still work, versus 0.3% from 2019.
