I recently wrote a post about the Grocery Game. I was impressed with everything I read about this popular method of saving money on grocery purchases and even decided to risk one whole U.S. dollar on the trial membership so I could try it out for myself.

We’re two weeks into the Grocery Game. That really isn’t enough time to assess its overall value, as coupon accumulation can take awhile, etc. Remember, one of its tenets is using the right coupons at the right time, which means it may take awhile for that perfect moment to emerge.

So far, I’m still optimistic about the whole thing.

As I researched it, however, I learned about its #1 challenger, Coupon Mom.

It seems like the two services are often mentioned in the same breath, so I decided I should probably take a look at Coupon Mom.

I love the fact that Coupon Mom is free. Free is good. And joining was a quick process. However, I was forced to click through (and decline) a series of “special offers” as part of the sign up procedure. These ran the gamut from getting auto insurance quotes to “reading emails for cash”. I can’t begin to explain how much I dislike the whole “read emails for cash” industry, so that was a turn off. Nonetheless, Coupon Mom has to make money somehow, so I didn’t let it drag down my opinion of the site.

I will say this. Saving $5 over Grocery Game is nice, but it isn’t a huge deal for me. I’m interested in the bottom line. Thus, if Grocery Game is worth $6 more than Coupon Mom, the “free” thing is essentially meaningless to me. Still, it’s nice.

I took a look at what Coupon Mom had to offer in terms of savings information for my area. Unfortunately, they only cover one store in my immediate vicinity. Grocery Game covers all three of my local chain grocery stores.

The list of bargains itself is presented intuitively and the “free” stuff his highlighted for quick discovery. It’s not quite on par with Grocery Game’s color-coding system, but that’s not a big deal. It’s usable.

I pulled the Grocery Game list for the same store and compared it to Coupon Mom’s. Much of the data was, of course, on both reports. The differences in calculations, etc. were generally negligible. I did find a few coupon-driven savings opportunities on the Grocery Game list that didn’t make the Coupon Mom version, however.

Coupon Mom does have one thing really going for it, though, if you plan on being a hardcore saver. Their forums are active and seemingly filled with very helpful people who are serious about saving money on groceries. If you’re interested in really becoming “involved” with the process and uncovering savings opportunities you might otherwise miss, this is a huge mark in CM’s favor.

After looking at both options, I’m coming down on the side of Grocery Game, but not be a wide margin. The price difference between $5 and free is negligible and in my case, GG covers my area better. If Coupon Mom was on top of my other local chain stores, I might break in the other direction. As it is, though, I’m going to end up more than $5 ahead with GG.

Overall, I’m impressed with Coupon Mom. For those in the right places who don’t mind working just a little harder to get things done–or those who are ready to get serious about saving and will use the forums, it’s a great choice, too.