Best Amazon Wish List Alternatives
Amazon Wish List is the default wishlist most people already have. It is a good answer to one specific question — Amazon-only shopping within a family that already uses it — and if that is your situation, it may be all you need.
This page is for the people it does not fit: those who want a list with no ads in it and nothing being recommended at them. It compares Amazon Wish List with Things To Have on the eight things that decide whether a wishlist actually gets used, and lists the alternatives worth considering alongside it.
Short version: if you want a free, calm wishlist app for you and your friends — no ads, no account needed to view, and reservations your family can use without spoiling the surprise — Things To Have is the closest fit. If you need Amazon-only shopping within a family that already uses it, Amazon Wish List is probably still the right tool.
What Amazon Wish List does well
- everybody already has an account
- one-click adding while you shop on Amazon
- price-drop notifications on saved items
- registry options for weddings and birthdays
Why people look for an alternative to Amazon Wish List
Amazon only. A handmade mug from a small shop, a local store, a concert ticket or a second-hand record cannot go on the list.
Amazon restricted adding external links and notes to lists — which is exactly why many long-time users migrated away.
The list sits inside a shop. Recommendations and sponsored products surround it.
Address privacy needs care. Gift givers see part of your shipping address depending on your settings.
Amazon Wish List vs Things To Have
| App | View without an account | Reservations keep the surprise | Free, no paywall | No ads | Any store + autofill | Works on any device | Sort & filter | Export your data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Things To Have | Yes | Yes — anonymous even to the owner | Yes — everything free | Yes | Yes — autofill without an extension | Yes — web/PWA, nothing to install | Yes | Yes — JSON |
| Amazon Wish List | Yes | Partly | Yes | No — recommendations | No — Amazon only | Yes | No | Partly |
The best alternatives, compared
| App | View without an account | Reservations keep the surprise | Free, no paywall | No ads | Any store + autofill | Works on any device | Sort & filter | Export your data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Things To Have | Yes | Yes — anonymous even to the owner | Yes — everything free | Yes | Yes — autofill without an extension | Yes — web/PWA, nothing to install | Yes | Yes — JSON |
| WishList.com | Partly | Partly | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes — web | — | — |
| Wishr | Yes — public profile | Partly | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes — web | — | — |
| My Wishlist | Partly | Yes | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes — web only | — | — |
| GiftList | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes | Partly | — |
“—” means we could not confirm it from the app’s own documentation.
How the two compare, criterion by criterion
Against the eight criteria, Amazon Wish List falls short on 5 of them. The two apps are level on 3 others.
- Reservations keep the surprise
- Amazon Wish List: partly. Things To Have: yes — anonymous even to the owner.
- No ads
- Amazon Wish List: no — recommendations. Things To Have: yes.
- Any store + autofill
- Amazon Wish List: no — Amazon only. Things To Have: yes — autofill without an extension.
- Sort & filter
- Amazon Wish List: no. Things To Have: yes.
- Export your data
- Amazon Wish List: partly. Things To Have: yes — JSON.
Giving up: Amazon Wish List's specific strengths, listed above. If those matter more than the criteria in the table — and for some people they genuinely do — staying is the right call.
Which should you choose?
- You want a free list to send to family who will not sign up: Things To Have.
- You want what Amazon Wish List is best at (Amazon-only shopping within a family that already uses it): stay with Amazon Wish List.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to Amazon Wish List?
Yes — Things To Have has no paywall and no list limits. Amazon Wish List is free too, so cost is not the reason to switch — the rest of the table is.
Do my friends need an account to open the list?
Not on Things To Have — viewing never requires a signup. Amazon Wish List also lets people view a list without one. This is the criterion that decides how many people actually see your list.
Can I move my list out of Amazon Wish List?
Amazon Wish List offers a partial export. Either way, a pasted list of links is enough to rebuild it here — importing shows a preview before anything is written, and the way back out is an export in JSON.
Keep comparing
- Best wishlist apps — all of them, ranked against the same eight criteria
- Every comparison — one page per app