DrawNames Alternatives: Secret Santa Apps Side by Side

DrawNames is a free Secret Santa app and website: you enter names, set exclusions, send invitations and draw, with no account needed to get started. If you are weighing it against other apps, the right choice depends on how your group joins, who should see the pairings, and whether you want an app you keep using after the holidays.

This guide covers four apps worth considering plus the no-app option, with what each is actually good at and a comparison table you can scan in a minute.

What should you look for in a DrawNames alternative?

Start with how your group really runs its exchange, not with feature lists. These are the questions that decide it:

• Will everyone make an account? If some relatives will only tap a link and never sign up, a no-account draw matters more than any other feature.
• Do you need exclusions? Couples, siblings who swap anyway, and last year's pairs are common examples. Check how each app handles them.
• Who should know the pairings? Some organizers want to see everything so they can nudge late shoppers. Others want to take part and be surprised too.
• Are kids involved? Children need a wishlist and a fair place in the draw too.
• Is this only for Christmas? A family that also buys birthday gifts gets more from an app it keeps open all year.
• What does it cost to host? Most of these are free downloads, but check what the organizer gets before setting up several groups.

DrawNames alternatives at a glance

As of October 1, 2026, based on each app's App Store listing (and website, where it loaded):

1. Giv-able: the draw plus the people behind it

We make Giv-able, so weigh this section accordingly. It runs Secret Santa with an automatic name draw and exclusion rules, so you can, for example, stop couples from drawing each other. You share one invite link; new people sign up, you approve them, and they join the draw. It works on iPhone, Android and the web with the same account.

Here is what comes with it:

• Kids in the draw. The host can add their own kids through parent-managed profiles, and givers can see the child's wishlist and gift preferences. Whoever draws a child sees the child's photo, age and top wishes alongside the match.
• Profiles, not only lists. Each person can keep a profile with interests and gift preferences, a wishlist with up to three items marked Most Wanted, and a dream board for bigger wishes. When someone's list is short, their profile still gives you something to go on.
• Bring an existing list. Paste the link to a wishlist from Amazon or Elfster and Giv-able imports it. Check the items once, since some lists import more cleanly than others.
• Birthdays and gift history. Birthday reminders, private gift ideas about the people you shop for, and a log of gifts given and received keep it useful year-round.

Worth knowing before you choose it:

• Everyone who wants to see their match in the app needs an account. If your group values drawing without sign-ups, that favors DrawNames.
• The host can see every pairing. If the organizer wants to be surprised too, Giftster's approach fits better.
• For an adult, the match in the app shows their name. You then open their profile or a wishlist link they shared to see what they want.
• The free tier hosts three events per year. Hosting more needs Givable Pro, which is $3.99 a month or $39.99 a year in the US. Joining someone else's exchange is free.

Best for: families who buy for the same people at Christmas and on birthdays, especially with young kids in the mix.

2. Elfster: a free exchange with detailed exclusions

Elfster is a Secret Santa app with wishlists, and its App Store listing describes it as free with no subscriptions or premium upgrades. Exclusion options include keeping couples apart, keeping kids from being paired with adults, and skipping last year's matches, for groups from three people up to several hundred. Organizers add a budget and an event date, invite people by text, email or social media, and participants build wishlists by pasting a product link from any online store. Givers can mark items as purchased.

Best for: groups that want a free app with detailed pairing rules.

3. Giftster: family wishlists that last for years

Giftster centers on a private family group in which everyone keeps a wishlist from any store. Items marked as purchased stay hidden from the person whose list it is, and you can set up child accounts for kids and pets and invite others to help manage them. A name draw can be added to any group of three or more, and its listing says picks stay secret for everyone, the organizer included. Exclusions and reusing a previous draw are available on giftster.com.

Best for: extended families who want one shared set of lists for every occasion, with an organizer who also wants to play.

4. Giftful: a wishlist first

Giftful is a universal wishlist app. You save products from almost any online store, organize separate lists for holidays, hobbies or your kids, compare prices, and share lists with friends and family, who can claim gifts privately so the recipient isn't spoiled.

Best for: people who mainly want one good wishlist to share.

5. Drawing names from a hat

If everyone is in the same room, paper slips still do the job. It costs nothing and takes two minutes. The catches: someone may pull their own name, exclusions need a redraw or a trusted helper, and wishlists end up scattered across text threads. For a small group that is together, it is a perfectly good choice.

Which DrawNames alternative fits your group?

• You want to keep things free and set detailed exclusions: Elfster.
• Your family wants shared wishlists all year and an organizer who is surprised too: Giftster.
• You only need a wishlist that works with any store: Giftful.
• You want the draw, kids, profiles and birthday reminders together: Giv-able.
• You're all together and the group is small: a hat.
• Nobody will make an account: staying with DrawNames makes sense.

How do you set up any Secret Santa so you don't have to redo it?

Whichever app you use, a draw sometimes has to be redone because the group changed after names went out. No app fixes that for you; it comes down to setup. These steps help:

1. Confirm the final list first. Message everyone, set a reply deadline, and only draw once you know who is in, including plus-ones and kids.
2. Write the exclusions down. List every pair that shouldn't match and check it with one other person before you enter it.
3. Set the budget and date before the draw. A single number, such as $30, is easier to shop for than a range.
4. Ask for wishlists within a week. Five items per person gives givers real choices. Our guide to running Secret Santa online walks through the whole setup.
5. Plan for latecomers. If someone joins after the draw, pair them with the organizer as a two-person swap instead of redrawing the whole group.

How do you switch apps without confusing everyone?

Moving to a new app works best before names are drawn:

1. Announce one date when the group moves, and send a single invite link in the family chat.
2. Carry the lists over. Giv-able imports wishlists by link from Amazon and Elfster, plus one registry site. Lists kept in other apps, including DrawNames, need to be re-added by hand, so ask everyone to do that before the draw.
3. Re-enter exclusions from your written list so nothing changes by accident.
4. Leave the old group alone until gifts are opened, in case anyone already shopped from it.

Need gift ideas once names are drawn? Browse our gifting tips, have the group take the gift personality quiz, or, if your family plays white elephant instead, start with white elephant gifts under $25. Comparing more options? Our Elfster alternatives roundup covers the same ground from the other side.