Elfster Alternatives: 5 Gift Exchange Apps Compared

Elfster is a Secret Santa app with name draws, exclusions and wishlists. It is not the only way to run a gift exchange, and the right app depends on what your group actually needs: a fast one-time draw, a family wishlist you use all year, or something that also remembers birthdays and the kids' sizes.

Below are four app alternatives plus the no-app option, what each one is genuinely good at, and a side-by-side table so you can pick in a couple of minutes.

What should you look for in an Elfster alternative?

Before comparing apps, decide which of these matter to your group. Most people care about four or five of them.

• A fair name draw with exclusions. Couples shouldn't draw each other, and many families also want to keep kids paired with kids or avoid repeating last year's match.
• Easy access to wishlists. Your giftee's list should be easy to find once you know their name.
• An easy way to join. Some relatives will never install an app. A link that opens in a browser saves a lot of reminder texts.
• Kid support. Children without phones still need a wishlist and a place in the draw.
• Avoiding duplicate gifts. Someone claims an item, everyone else sees it is taken, and the recipient doesn't.
• Life after December. If the same people buy each other birthday gifts, an app you keep using all year is worth more than a one-time draw.
• Price. Most of these apps are free to download. Check what is included before you set up a big group.

Elfster alternatives at a glance

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

1. Giv-able: a draw plus profiles for the people you buy for all year

We make Giv-able, so read this one with that in mind. Giv-able runs Secret Santa with an automatic name draw and exclusion rules, and everyone keeps a wishlist they can share by link. You invite people with a link. New people sign up, you approve them, and they are added to the draw.

Where it differs is everything around the exchange:

• Profiles, not just lists. Each person has a profile with interests and gift preferences, plus a dream board for bigger wishes, so you can shop well even when their list is thin.
• Kids in the draw. The host can add their own kids through parent-managed profiles, so a seven-year-old can be in the exchange and have a wishlist without a phone. Whoever draws a child sees their photo, age and top wishes right next to the match.
• Claiming for birthdays. In a birthday event, guests claim wishlist items so two people don't buy the same thing, and the host can turn on Surprise mode to hide that activity from the birthday person until the event day is over.
• Bring your old list. If your family already keeps lists on Elfster, Giv-able can import a wishlist by pasting its link. It also imports Amazon lists.
• Birthdays the rest of the year. Birthday reminders, private gift ideas and a gift log mean the app stays useful after the exchange.

Worth knowing: the free tier hosts three events per year. If you organize several exchanges a year, hosting more needs Givable Pro ($3.99 a month or $39.99 a year in the US). Joining someone else's exchange stays free. Elfster's listing says it has no paid tier, which is a point in its favor if you host several exchanges a year.

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

2. DrawNames: a quick draw with no account

DrawNames is a Secret Santa app and website built around the draw itself. You set up a group, add the people who should not draw each other, and run the draw; its listing says no account is required to start. People can join from a browser on whatever device they have, without installing the app, and each person can keep a wish list.

Best for: groups that want to draw names quickly without accounts, for one exchange or several.

3. Giftster: private family wishlists you keep for years

Giftster is built around a private family group where everyone keeps a wish list. Items marked as purchased are hidden from the person who made the list, and you can set up child accounts for kids and pets. Name draws can be added to any group with three or more members, and exclusions and reusing a previous draw are available on giftster.com.

Best for: extended families who want one shared set of wishlists for Christmas, birthdays and everything in between.

4. Giftful: a universal wishlist and shopping companion

Giftful is a wishlist app first. You save products from any online store, organize lists for every occasion, compare prices and share lists with friends and family, who can claim gifts privately. A name draw is not part of its App Store listing.

Best for: people whose main need is a good shareable wishlist rather than running the exchange.

5. Drawing names the old-fashioned way

Paper in a hat still works when everyone is in the same room. It is free and instant. The trade-offs are that someone may draw their own name, exclusions take some juggling, and the wishlists end up spread across texts. If your group is small and together, it is a perfectly good option.

Which Elfster alternative should you choose?

• You want a quick draw without accounts: DrawNames.
• Your family wants shared wishlists that last all year: Giftster.
• You mainly need one wishlist that works with every store: Giftful.
• You want the draw plus profiles, birthday reminders and gift history in one place: Giv-able.
• Everyone is in one room and the group is small: a hat and some paper.

Whichever you choose, set the budget and the exchange date before anyone draws, and ask everyone to add at least five wishlist items in the first week. Those two steps make a bigger difference than most features. Our guide on how to do Secret Santa online walks through the whole setup, and if your group is doing a white elephant instead, start with white elephant gifts under $25.

How do you switch apps without losing your lists?

Switching mid-season is easier than it sounds:

1. Pick a date to move. Do it before the draw, not after, so nobody is shopping from two lists.
2. Move the wishlists first. In Giv-able, paste the link to an existing list and it imports the items. Ask each person to check their imported list once.
3. Recreate exclusions. Write down who shouldn't draw whom before you start, then add the same rules in the new app.
4. Send one invite link. One message to the family chat with the new link beats individual invitations.
5. Keep the old app until gifts are opened. If anyone already bought from an old list, nothing is lost.

For more ideas on reading people and choosing better gifts, see our gifting tips, or take the gift personality quiz with your group before the draw.

A quick setup checklist for any app

Whatever app you pick, the exchange goes better when the organizer settles these before the draw:

• Budget: one number for everyone, said out loud. One number like "$30" is easier to shop than a range.
• Dates: when names are drawn, when wishlists should be finished, and when gifts are opened.
• Who is in: confirm plus-ones, kids and anyone joining remotely before you draw, so you don't have to redraw later.
• Exclusions: couples, siblings who always swap anyway, and last year's pairs.
• Shipping: if some people are far away, agree whether gifts are shipped straight to the recipient or opened together on a video call.
• A backup plan: ask everyone to add a few general ideas to their list, so a giver isn't stuck if a specific item sells out.

A good app makes each of these easier, but none of them happen automatically. Five minutes of planning in the family chat saves a lot of last-minute scrambling in December.