Now that Halloween has come and gone, it’s time to switch gears and prepare for Thanksgiving and what comes after all that turkey—Black Friday shopping.  Why wait in a mile long line if you’re not even getting the best price?  What if the other store down the street has a shorter wait?  Arm yourself with these free apps to give yourself the edge on the Black Friday battlefield.

1.    Black Friday Deal Finder (FatWallet.com)
This app has an easy to navigate and its sleek interface allows you to search by store or category.  You can scan an ad, save favorite deals, see the most popular items, and most recently added.  The advanced search allows you to narrow your search to specific products, brands, locations, prices, and even occasion (black Friday, thanksgiving, rebates, free shipping, door busters, or weekly deals).  The app’s blog also offers insight into certain deals with details and suggestions about deals they feature.  Currently 1,267 deals listed.

2.    Google Shopper
This is a great app for any time of the year.  Sign in with your Google account to compare prices online and nearby, read product reviews, browse popular products, check out weekly sales at featured local stores and online retailers, scan items to see local prices, and create shopping lists.  You can do an image search for books, CDs, video games and DVDs by their cover art.

3.    BFAds
This one seems to have the most ads listed with 9,150 items currently listed.  You can search by keyword or store, see the most recent listings and add to your shopping list.  Adjust keyword search to sort by price or category, as well as filter your search to a specific price and/or category.

4.    Localmind
Want to know if there’s still a line around the block at the apple store?  Post a question on the location of the store on Localmind to see if anyone already there can give you a real-time update, and answer other people’s questions to help them out, too!

5.    Zaarly
Interested in helping out your community this year?  Zaarly specializes in finding local small businesses.  Browse local listings, place orders and even message the seller.  Additionally, sellers can modify the price via Zaarly to fit your needs.  Sometimes, you can also find postings from people asking for help with a service if you’re looking to make an extra buck.

6.    ShopSavvy
Scan product barcode to see online price listings, local store listings, and reviews.  Search for a “random” deal and then find local or online prices for it, along with reviews. See deals, search, and save them.

7.    Amazon
For a lot of products, Amazon is probably the best place to find reviews, which can always be helpful when making a purchasing decision.  With this app you can search, compare prices, and check availability by product name, taking a picture of it, or scanning the barcode.  Create a wish list and view others’, see today’s deals, recommendations for you based on past searches and purchases.

8.    GoodGuide
Want to buy products that don’t harm the environment or you and your family’s health?  GoodGuide rates products based on safety, health, and social responsibility.  Find the scores for over 170,000 products by scanning it.  You can also personalize the app to display categories that are most important to you, like nutritional value, animal welfare, human rights, climate change, energy efficiency, etc.

9.    Coupon Sherpa
Coupon Sherpa offers in-store coupons on your iPhone or iPod touch.  In addition to searching online coupons per store, you can access coupons exclusive to Coupon Sherpa users.

10.    Shopkick
Shopkick allows you to find the lowest prices, but it gives you something a little more, too.  You get points for just walking into stores, scanning products, and entering prices.  Build up points to get “kicks” which are discounts and gift cards to participating stores like Starbucks and iTunes.

These apps can help you get the best deals faster, but there are tons of shopping apps popping up these days.  Do you have any favorites that we didn’t list?