Giftster Alternatives: Family Wishlist Apps Compared

Giftster is a family wishlist app: everyone in a private group keeps a list from any store, items marked as bought stay hidden from the person who asked for them, and a Secret Santa draw can be added to the group. If you are comparing it with other apps, the right pick depends on whether your family needs a shared group, a name draw, help with kids, or just one good list to send around.

Below are five options worth a look, what each one does well according to its own listing, and a table you can scan in a minute.

What should you look for in a family wishlist app?

Before comparing features, picture how your family actually shops for each other. These questions settle most of it:

• Do you need a group, or just a list? A private group suits families who buy for each other all year. If you only want to send one list to a few people, a simpler wishlist app may be all you need.
• How will you avoid duplicate gifts? Look at how givers mark something as taken and whether the person who made the list can see it.
• Who manages the kids' lists? Young children need a list someone else keeps up, and it helps when both parents can add to it.
• Do you also draw names? If your family does Secret Santa, check exclusions, and decide whether the organizer should know the pairings.
• Will every relative install an app? If not, check whether lists and invites open in a web browser.
• What does it cost? Most of these are free downloads. Check what is included before you set up a big group.

Giftster alternatives at a glance

As of October 6, 2026. Competitor columns are based on each app's App Store or Google Play listing (and website, where it loaded); the Giv-able column describes our own app.

1. Giv-able: wishlists plus the people behind them

Giv-able comes first because we make it, so you know to weigh this section accordingly. It works on iPhone, Android and the web with the same account, and it is built around the people you buy for rather than a single list.

• Wishlists you share by link, with up to three items marked Most Wanted so givers know where to start.
• Profiles with interests and gift preferences, plus a dream board for bigger wishes. When someone's list runs short, their profile still gives you ideas.
• Kids. The host can add their own kids through parent-managed profiles, and givers can see the child's wishlist and gift preferences.
• Birthday events with claiming. In an event for one person, such as a birthday, guests claim wishlist items so two people don't buy the same thing. The host can turn on Surprise mode to hide claims from the birthday person until the event day is over.
• Secret Santa. An automatic name draw with exclusion rules, so couples don't draw each other. You share one invite link; new people sign up, the host approves them, and they join the draw.
• The rest of the year. Birthday reminders, private gift ideas about the people you shop for, gift plans with a budget for each occasion, and a log of gifts given and received.

Worth knowing before you choose it:

• Import by link works for wishlists from Amazon and Elfster, plus one registry site. Lists kept in any other app need to be re-added by hand.
• Claiming happens in birthday-style events, not inside a Secret Santa draw.
• The host can see every pairing in a draw. If your organizer wants to be surprised too, ask someone who is not playing to host.
• For an adult, the match in the app shows their name. You then open their profile or a wishlist link they shared.
• 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 event is free.

Best for: families who want lists, profiles, kids and birthdays in one place.

2. Elfster: a free Secret Santa 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. You can keep couples apart, stop kids from being paired with adults, and skip last year's matches, in groups from three people to several hundred. Organizers set a budget and an event date and invite people by text, email or social media. Participants add items from any online store by pasting a link, and givers can mark items as purchased.

Best for: families whose main event is a holiday name draw.

3. Giftful: a universal wishlist

Giftful is a universal wishlist app. You save products from almost any online store, keep as many lists as you like (for holidays, hobbies or your kids), compare prices and track deals, and share them with family and friends. Givers can claim gifts privately so the recipient isn't spoiled.

Best for: people who mostly want a well-organized list to share.

4. Listful: a wishlist anyone can open from a link

Listful is a wishlist maker app. You save things by pasting a product link from any shop, or by browsing stores inside the app, then share one link that people can open in a web browser without installing anything or signing up. Friends can reserve gifts, and you can track prices, get price-drop alerts and build lists with collaborators. Its listing says creating, sharing and shopping lists is free.

Best for: sharing a list with relatives who will never download an app.

5. DrawNames: a quick draw with no account

DrawNames is a free Secret Santa app and website. You enter names, set exclusions, add a budget and date, and send invitations by email, text or messaging apps, and people can take part from a web browser. It also offers wish lists, a gift finder, and the option to watch the draw live.

Best for: a quick exchange where nobody wants to sign up.

Which Giftster alternative fits your family?

• Your big event is a Secret Santa and you want it free: Elfster.
• You only need one list to share: Giftful or Listful.
• Nobody wants to make an account: DrawNames for the draw, Listful for a list people can open from a link.
• You want lists, profiles, kids and birthday reminders together: Giv-able.
• Your family already has years of lists in one shared group and the organizer wants to play: staying with Giftster makes sense.

How do you switch your family to a new app without losing lists?

Moving a whole family is mostly about timing:

1. Pick a quiet month. Switch well before December or a big birthday, not the week of the exchange.
2. Send one invite link in the family group chat, with a date when the new app becomes the one everyone uses.
3. Re-add the top items first. Giv-able imports lists by link from Amazon and Elfster, plus one registry site; give imported items a quick look afterward. For lists kept anywhere else, ask each person to copy over their five most-wanted items by hand.
4. Set up the kids' profiles early. The host can add their own kids as parent-managed profiles, so givers can see each child's wishlist and gift preferences.
5. Keep the old app until gifts are opened, in case someone already marked something as bought there.

What if someone's list is empty?

Every family has one person who never writes a list. Try these:

• Ask three quick questions: a hobby they want more time for, something they use every day that's wearing out, and a treat they wouldn't buy themselves.
• Send them a game instead of a form. Our this or that preference profile takes a couple of minutes and gives givers real direction.
• Keep private notes. When someone mentions a book or a gadget in passing, write it down. In Giv-able, private gift ideas about a person are not visible to them.
• Set a budget and go for an experience, such as a class, a meal out or tickets, when nothing physical comes to mind.

For more ideas, browse our gifting tips, and for invites, budgets and deadlines step by step, see our guide to running Secret Santa online. Comparing Secret Santa apps rather than wishlists? Our DrawNames alternatives and Elfster alternatives roundups cover the same ground from the exchange side.